I have recently been looking into what makes a short film "great". Although by this point I do have a bit of experience working with short-film, I still feel that it is important for me to accurately pinpoint exactly what makes a short-film format work as opposed to a regular feature-length film.
In
"Short Screenplay: Your Short Film from Concept to Production" by Dan Gurkis, the general dos and dont's of short-film making are outlined, including some storyline and character concepts that most certainly do not work.
In this graphic, and the accompanying article that comes with it, Dan Gurkis explains that plot elements such as resolution through the death of characters and dream sequences are over-done in film. and do not work in a short-film environment due to time-restraints and the over-usage. Although I never intended for our film to contain any dream sequences, it was still nonetheless interesting to read about how they didn't particularly fit in the "short film" format.
A very important part I read about was the usage of multiple subplots in short film. I read about how having lots of mini-stories within a short film can be quite confusing for the viewer, and as such they are best avoid when writing for a short film format. With this in mind, I will do my best to make the central story the only focus of the film, and try not to create a film with many small subplots that could oversaturate it.
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