Primary research: understanding the codes and conventions of a short film

In order to fully understand the codes and conventions that are established within a short film, it was crucial to share ideas and different perspectives with somebody else conducting the same short film task.

Typical codes and conventions of a short film:

1. Lack of dialouge= story is told through the camera. This is seen in "The First Time It Hits" where CGI is used to express the love and hurt shared between the two characters.

2. Black background with a white font= adds to 'thrillerness' of the text.

3. Simple narrative= only few characters

4. Music reflects narrative/ genre= parrallel music= non-diegetic

5. Title sequence using CGI

6. Majority of Close up shots, especially in the beginning of the text in order to keep the audience members engaged from the very early stages of the short film.

7. Fast paced editing or slow paced editing= two extremes of editing, no medium. This is reinforced through either punchy, fast music or slow, classical music to match the action of the narrative.

8. Mise en scene= helps to establish the mood/ tone of the narrative

9. More than one range of representations throughout the text, so that the audience appeal is more widely spread.

10. Engagement occurs from the very beginning of the text, i.e. pace of editing, music.

11. A voiceover is most commonly used= mainly non- diegetic, but can be diegetic as seen in the short film "About A Girl".