Structure of Short Films.

Michael Sokolor and The Structure of Short Film

• Its often the case that short  films tend to lack the traditional structure that a full length form would have.
• Its often thought that the traditional structure doesn't have to be/ isnt imperative to short film.
• Micheal Sokolor doesn't think this is always true.
• The style or genre of film has to be taken into consideratio before the structure should begin to be formed.
• If its an experimental movie for example, then of course structurally rules can be broken, as it is an "experiment".
• When looking at short film, documtaries or aninmated shorts then some traditional methods have to be worked with.
• Although an advert on the television isn't a short film, they are similar in some ways, this is an indication that short films should work under a similar structure.
• Another important factor is the length of a short film. Short films can be anything from around 5 minutes to maybe 25 or so. Its recommened to try and apply the structure of a feature film to a short movie (meaning act structure, exposition, inciting incident, turning points etc).
• With a film that is less than 15 or 20 minutes its difficult to have such a complex structure such as the one mentioned before, however it should be tried out. It may work.
• One of the key facts is creating something that an audience can relate to or at least to get a reaction out of them. Using a structure should hopefully ensure the audience feel like there is about to be some sort of conclusion, rather than just a series of frames that may or may not make sense.
• After any sort of film the audience should feel satisfied and not cheated of the whole story. Its a good thing to confuse the audience in some circumstance, but they shouldnt feel completely baffled, the plot in some way has to be self contained.

Different Types of Structure:

The Act Structure: The majority of full length films use the Act Structure, whether its two acts or five. If using this structure, its important to group things into potential acts fairly early on. It pushes one to think about what is the exposition moment, or the inciting incident or what each turning point is. It brings you to think about what the climatic moment of the story or the journey of the actor/actors is.
It often acts as a sort of safety net, its almost an outline that keeps the filmmaker on track. However it could be difficult for short films.
Its often the case that a short films doesn't have the same kind of complex plot as a full length film, its normally just a snap shot or insight into a character, or a part of a characters life.

Beginning and End Structure: Although of course the beginning starts the story, it doesnt have to be an exposition in the traditional way. The beginning should be the thing that throws the audience into the action. In short film you might not want to/ have time to explain all the background of a characters situation, if you cant, quite simply, then just dont. It should hopefully just make sense.
The end is most likely the most important part, it should be conclusive (even if the end is open).
Turning Points: Inciting act, turning point, climax may not be a written in part of the short film script, however there of course should be these things included, but in a short film you dont have enough time for these to be a huge long process. Like its said before a short film is usually a snap shot of the protagonists life.
Character Arc: Just like the story, the character most likely doesnt have time to develop a full narrative, its important to note that it must just be a snap shot. If too much background detail is put in, it may become messy.
Subplot: Subplots are extremely hard to apply when using short film, unless its completely obvious.
Avoid Long Chunks of Dialogue: "Show dont tell" is the best option is short film. Long chunks of dialogue take up valuable time that you could just portray it in different way.