Audiences for short films

Short films have different audiences and different audience expectations to that of a feature length film. due to their length, not many productions companies decide to invest in the short film medium because the question is always asked, "how are we going to make money from this?"

this is a key question with a simple answer. lack of supply and distribution. not many people would pay the same amount of money for an hour and a half movie as they would for a 5 minute long one from HMV.

Also, not very often will they be shown in the cinema or on TV and so results in the audiences more or less having to search for the short films themselves on Short film promotion websites such as Channel 4, BBC and failing that, can often be found on YouTube. Not being heavily funded doesn't just effect the film its self, but also the advertisements and promotional campaign. The lack of distribution of short films is the bane of their existence as not many can find these in cinemas and such so they must be found on the internet, but must be sought out in most cases rather than being advertised themselves.

although because of this there is no classification for short films and so all audiences are eligible to watch it. However, this doesn't mean to say that all audiences will want to watch it, it all depends on the target audience in themes and genre of the short film. for example, Hitchcock (2012), is rated at 12a. this does not mean to say that 12 year olds will be breaking their necks to go and see it, but simply means that the themes in the film are only suitable for that specific audience.

Another key feature about the audiences for short films is that there are different audience expectations when it comes to short films. Audiences for short films generally have a restricted audiences, where as feature films have are renowned for having varied audiences, where as until recent times audiences of short films have struggled to find audiences. Potential audiences don't expect a lot of depth when sitting down to watch a short film, they expect it to get straight to the point and have, most of the time, an abrupt or unresolved ending. some prefer short films to end like this and some don't, leaving the story unresolved can make the audience yearn for a sequel, like with the harry potter franchise and the main antagonist surviving the 8 films, but some also like abrupt endings because they are more powerful and convey a more powerful message.

For example, the short film "Gravity", a film about a kid that refuses to give up a recently found gun, shoots it, and the person they think they have hit, gets up unscathed, and so the audience believe everything is okay, until the camera almost tracts the movement the bullet would take when shot in the air, in 2 180° tilts, to reveal the bullet dropped out of the sky to kill a child, showing almost the power of the stupidity in the teens actions, and the implications they can cause.