The history of short films began in the late 19th century with very early films being only seconds long and showing simple scenes and events. As technology advanced in the early 1900s, film lengths increased which allowed genres like narrative films to emerge. Popular early narrative short films included A Trip to the Moon (1902) and The Great Train Robbery (1903). Audiences enjoyed the new medium so much that by 1910 they demanded even longer films, leading to the creation of the first feature films. In modern times, short films are often used to gain experience and prove talent with the goal of obtaining funding for future films. Major animation studios like Pixar, Disney, and DreamWorks commonly produce short films to accompany their feature-length
2. The History of Short Film
All films used to be short before the 20th century came
around. The first films were mere seconds long and
were of circus performers, exotic cities, scantily clad
ladies and people going about their daily business.
Seemingly boring to us now, however these were the
very first of their kind and mankind marvelled at the
latest technological triumph. The very first films were
presented to the public in 1894 they were shown
through the great Thomas Edison’s kinetoscope,
allowing an individual to peer in and watch. Projected
films followed and replaced these first films.
In the early 1900s things changed in the film industry and
this was because there were many improvements in
recording and editing technology which in turn allowed
film makers to produce longer films. Some of the most
popular longer short films from the pre-features era are
Georges Méliès’s A Trip to the Moon (1902) and Edwin S
Porter’s The Great Train Robbery (1903). From 1910
onwards audiences were so enraptured with the
fascinating world of film that they alongside studios
demanded that film makers make even longer films and
out of this the first features were created.
Both projected films and films shown through the
kinetoscope were often one-shot films depicting scenes from
everyday and the latest celebrity. One of the best know films
from this early time period is The Lumiere Brothers Arrival of
a train at La Ciotat (1895) a simple 50 second long film
stopping at a train station, this films shocked audiences and
caused terror as the train came “hurtling towards them”.
Films were a deep change in the fabric of society as before
outlets for entertainment were few such as “music halls and
fairgrounds, where programmes were made up of a variety of
different acts lasting 20 minutes.”
3. Short films are often screened at local, national, or international film festivals
and made by independent filmmakers for non profit, either with a low budget
or no budget at all. They are usually funded by film grants, non profit
organizations, sponsor, or personal funds. Short films are generally used by
filmmakers to gain experience and/or prove their talent in order to gain
funding for future films from private investors, entertainment companies, or
film studios.
Short films in the modern world
Animated shorts continue within mainstream
commercial distribution. Pixar has created a short along
with each of its feature films since its initial theatrical
run which started in 1995, however they have been
producing shorts permanently since 2001. Disney
acquired Pixar in 2006, which caused Disney to also
produce animated shorts since 2007, this started with
the Goofy short, How to Hook Up Your Home Theatre,
they also produced a series of live action films featuring
The Muppets which were uploaded to YouTube as viral
videos to promote the 2011 movie.
DreamWorks Animation also often produces a short
sequel that accompanies each movie and is released
in the special edition dvd, and are typically of a
sufficient length to be broadcast as a TV special.
Warner Brothers often includes old animated shorts
from its library. In 2010 and 2012 Warners also started
to release new Looney Tunes cartoons before family
films.
Shorts International and Magnolia Pictures organize an annual release of
Academy Award nominated short films in theatres across the US, UK, Canada
and Mexico throughout February and March. Short films generally rely on
festival exhibition to reach an audience. Such movies can also be distributed
via the Internet. Certain websites which encourage the submission of user-
created short films, such as YouTube, Short of the week and Vimeo have
attracted large communities of artists and viewers.
