History Of Short Films

History of short films

- Short films has a revolutionised the film industry. With each new advancement in film there has been a short film that sparked it off.

- In 1095 the first short film was publicly exhibited “La sortie de l’usine”. The main reason why it was short was down to technical restrictions.

- It wasn’t until 1910 when films got longer that the term “short subjects” was coined.

- “short subjects” became quite popular amongst audiences because people could go to the cinema and see three to four films rather than just one. This was important at the time as there were few forms of entertainment for the masses.

- 1930’s Hollywood block-booking. Big Hollywood studio forced small production companies to sell their shorts and then they would turn them into feature films.

- Supreme court of U.S declared block booking as illegal but the damage to short film had been done.

- The classical narrative became a 90 min or more feature film. It became more profitable for film exhibitors with a two hour turnover of film.

- With the invention of TV’s short films were able to be aired until the 1960’s.

- In the 1980’s short films were reinvented however, they were much darker and grittier. No longer about commercial success but about content and conveying a message.

- A style started to become more and more frequent with short films. Avant Garde film became more and more popular with their ahead of the crowd thinking, cutting edge styles and experimental shots.

- Maya Deren: Avant Garde director 1940 + 1950’s. She was very anti mainstream, had a strong stance within her films of promoting the idea of an artistic licence and creative freedom. One of her famous pieces of work is “Meshes Of The Afternoon”.