Short Runtime, Big Story (MMM#61)

Greetings all,

Madeline here with the first Movie Minute of November! For this entry, we’ll be focusing on how short films can be just as, or even more powerful, than feature length films.

So what exactly qualifies as a “short film”? The Academy (who runs the Oscars) says that films with a total runtime, including credits and titles, of no more than 40 minutes qualify for submission as a short film. Many short films run around 5-7 minutes, some longer or even shorter. But just because it’s a smaller runtime doesn’t mean it has less impact than a typical hour and a half long feature film or even a 3 hour epic! In addition, many shorts span across a wide variety of mediums and genres, such as animation, comedy, drama, and even documentaries.

Back at SCAD, my professors would often have us watch short films regularly, either one assigned to us or any of our choice. Having watched multiple shorts over the past few years through popular platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo, as well as specialty sites like Short of the Week, it made me understand more how shorter runtime doesn’t always hinder the ability to tell a powerful story. And as I edited several short highlight videos and many reels during my time here at Poor Bear Stories, that only became more and more apparent.

Some of my favorite short films include “Fresh Guacamole”, one of the shortest ever films to be nominated for an Oscar, as well as “Everkeep”. Jacob has some favorites too: “Solstice-5” a realistic CGI sci-fi animated short film created by concept artist and director Paul Chadeisson as well as “The Mauritania Railway: Backbone of the Sahara” by Macgregor.  They can be viewed below:

And just because a film has a long runtime doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to be an effective story. Many long films have been criticized for having a lot of “filler” unnecessary to the story, while short-form content is becoming more popular among audiences. This is especially true due to platforms like YouTube and TikTok gaining more traffic compared to streaming services like Netflix, and even then, many shorts gain accolades and recognition at major film festivals.

Overall, short films are a prime example of the many different ways to tell a film. And when you focus on telling a good story before worrying about how much to cut out, it will turn out to be a story that can effectively entertain, inform, or persuade a potential audience

And that concludes this entry in The Movie Minute. Wishing you all the best, and see y’all in 2! -Madeline

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