Production, Distribution and Exhibition

Production-
The production of any type of animated short film is a very time consuming process. Animations used to only be completely hand drawn, meaning that each and every movement had to be drawn out, resulting in hundreds, often thousands of drawings. Most animations that are produced now tend to be more 3D and are made using special computer programs. This is still a very time consuming process though and is much more expensive. Financially, animated films can be expensive to make due to the amount of time they take to produce, and also the programs that they use to edit.

Distribution-
Many animated short film/ programs that are seen on TV are made by small independent companies. They are often just shown on TV however the more popular ones are now being released on DVD and are available to buy on sites such as i-tunes, along with a range of ancillary products. Short animated films are often produced by large film conglomerates such as Pixar and Disney. These are often distributed as an extra on a DVD with a relevant feature film. Some are also distributed to cinemas and are shown after or during the end credits of the film.

Exhibition-
Cartoons/ animations considered to only be for children however some appeal to adults as well. When cartoons such as Tom and Jerry were and Looney Tunes were on they appealed to a wide target audience as the were broadcast at a time which was suitable to most people. These cartoons were often shown at the end of the time when children's programs were shown, just before it changed to adult programs for instance the news. This meant that adults would often tune in just as the cartoon was on so that they didn't miss the start of their program. However the cartoons that were shown at this time were more appealing to adults as many had the combination of perhaps an every day task that working people carry out and also comical elements to appeal to the younger audience.

Mood board of images

To get an idea as to the different characters and themes of animation, I created a mood board with a range of images. The styles of animation have changed greatly over the years from the original black and white Mickey Mouse cartoons to the comic book style of the Simpsons. Audiences have also changed as animations such as Family Guy are directed at adults and contain adult content, whereas animations are more stereotypically aimed at children. The use of colour has also changed from the more washed out colouring like that used in the Snowman to bold solid colours used in Looney Tunes. The overall shapes and images used within animation have also changed from being reasonably simple to slightly more detailed.

Genre

The genres of short films can be similar to those used in normal feature length films. However the most popular genre is comedy. This probably because it is very easy to make a short film funny as there is less time to fill with the rest of the story. Many short films are included alongside feature length films, such as Pixar made a short narrative to accompany the film 'UP' (Pixar short). This means that a lot of the short films produced today are aimed at the younger audience, perhaps whose attention span is shorter.

Short films are becoming more and more popular in portraying important social messages such as don't recycling or road safety (stop, look, listen hedgehogs). Genres can however differ from comedy and social messages to things like horror, however these are less known and are mainly shown at specialist places such as film festivals (specifically for short films).

Why is genre important?
In relation to audience, genre is important in helping them to decided on whether they will like the film. By the audience identifying the genre of a film, its a way of them seeing whether its their sort of film. One way that genre is expressed is through the actors/ actresses that star in the film. For instance if you liked Hugh Grant, and saw that he was in a new film, you would assume that it would be of the genre romantic comedy, as this is tha main style that he acts in. This is useful for the institution or industry producing the films.

For the film industry, genre also helps in the marketing of films. If genres have recognisable visual motifs, they can be used as advertising to give an idication of what sort of film is. Making films in genres makes it easier to plan production. Certain sorts of sets and costumes could be used time and time again. A studio could invest in certain types of actors if it is specialised in a particular genre.

Codes and Conventions of short films

Just like feature length films, short films also have many conventions. These are quite similar to those of a feature film. The main convention would be that short films only tend to have one or two main characters. This is because there is not enough time to introduce a whole cast, meaning it would become too busy and confusing having lots of characters. The storylines are often very simple and can be anything from simple everyday tasks (bus journey, shopping) to a story about friendship or an adventure. The majority of short films include a soundtrack or sound effects rather than dialogue. Again, in a short film, there would only be a limited amount of dialogue which is why producers find that music illustrates the film better. By having no dialogue, it means that many short films are and can be shown in different countries as they can be understood by everyone. The most conventional genre of a short film would be comedy as it is very easy to make a short film funny, as you would not need to worry about filling out space, or having a strong story behind it. Other genres are also used such as romance, however most short films do tend to have some sort of comical element to them. Some short films are also produced to show social messages such as the high way code (Stop, Look, Listen). Short films last anything up to 5 minutes long.

Animated Short Film

I really like this short film, as I find the simple concept really appealing and the actual animation is quite good. It is a bit shorter than most short films, and it does not really show a full story which is not conventional. However the story is about an everyday task carried out by a cat (which is also the only character- conventional), which is a conventional feature of short film genre. Again, the film features no dialogue, but features music and sound effects. Through looking at different short animated films, I have found that they work better with a soundtrack/ effects rather than dialogue as the story can be told easier and helps create a comedy element to it.

Animated short film

This animated short film is quite conventional. The genre is almost sort of romance however it does have a comedy element to it as its target audience is still children/ young people. The film features no dialogue and the story is told completely by the characters and the music. The music plays consistently throughout, changing during scenes to make the story understandable and easy to follow. The plot of the film is very simple with the male cat falling in love with the girl and trying to win her over, with it ending happily. The whole film lasts just under 4 minutes including all of the credits etc.  I really like the simple concept of this story, and believe that it works really well.

Pixar Short film

The genre of this short story is comedy/ adventure with the same target audience as the film (this short film was produced by Pixar as an extra to accompany the film 'UP'). The animation, although it appears detailed and colourful is actually very simple. The mouths of the characters do not move when they are speaking meaning that you are just watching a still image. In my opinion this is not as effective as if their mouths were moving as sometimes it gets confusing as to which character is actually speaking. The movement in the characters is also quite limited. The story does however feature a range of quite effective sound effects which help make up for the lack of movement from the characters. The short film does feature some conventional features though. The film is based around 2- 3 main characters, with a simple problem/ storyline that becomes solved at the end. Many sound effects are also used to accompany the dialogue (dialogue is not a conventional feature).