Short Film Dissertation Help!

C

classof2013

New member
Hello there, My name is Alex, I am a third year animation student in the North East of England. I am writing an 8,000 word dissertation about short animated films, as I love them dearly! I have sent some questions to various producers, animators and even other forums with various levels of response... I was hoping that perhaps some people on here with five minutes to kill might like to help me out and be gracious enough to have a look over them?

I realise this is a big ask, especially coming from somebody who has only just signed up, but any help would be appreciated so so much!

Thanks in advance! Also, if anybody should wish to criticize my questions, then please do!

1
Animated shorts screened at cinemas used to be commonplace. Since then it would be fair to say that the short has become more diverse. Do you feel that animated shorts still could be appreciated by the general public?

2
What are your feelings towards the hugely popular video hosting website YouTube with regards to the short animated film?

3
What do you consider to be the main purpose of an animated short film, as regards to the animator?

4
How do you feel about the fact that some animation festivals will not accept short films that are already accessible to the public?

5
What, in your personal view, are the qualities that make a great short film?

6
Are there any other aspects to do with the short animated film that you would be interested to see questioned or examined?

7
This one is more just for my own personal interest really, but what do you consider to be the best example of an animated short film?

Thankyou. If you have got this far you are now officially my best mate.
 
1
Animated shorts screened at cinemas used to be commonplace. Since then it would be fair to say that the short has become more diverse. Do you feel that animated shorts still could be appreciated by the general public?

Hard to say - it's really an issue of distribution. Showing them before movies kind of limits the appropriate subject matter, animation festivals are a bit niche, packaging them as TV series isn't popular amongst broadcasters (Channel 4 tried that with 4mations, which was around for a while but eventually just sort of faded away), so that really just leaves the Internet and DVD. It's hard to get the things to the general public, let alone win appreciation...

2
What are your feelings towards the hugely popular video hosting website YouTube with regards to the short animated film?

On the whole a good thing. Good for beginning animators to get their work out there, and handy if there's a specific short that you're looking for. But the manky video quality means that it only goes so far - at that point classier sites like BBC film network step in.

3
What do you consider to be the main purpose of an animated short film, as regards to the animator?

Depends on what the animator wants to do - takes allsorts, I say. Personally I'm generally most interested when short films try out new techniques which (in theory) could make their way into features and TV.

4
How do you feel about the fact that some animation festivals will not accept short films that are already accessible to the public?

Seems a little restrictive. I suppose it depends on how much submissions they get - if they really get a lot, then maybe it makes sense to cut them down a little.

5
What, in your personal view, are the qualities that make a great short film?

Oh boy, er... that's a tough one. Well, see #3 for a start. I generally lean towards shorts with strong narrative and dialogue (as opposed to be the airier ones), but I appreciate just about all the approaches I see. Although, like I said in another topic recently, I'm a bit turned off by shorts that look like videogame cut scenes...

6
Are there any other aspects to do with the short animated film that you would be interested to see questioned or examined?

Their relation to longer formats. Would, say, a Caroline Leaf short work as a feature film or TV series? That's somethng that interests me.

7
This one is more just for my own personal interest really, but what do you consider to be the best example of an animated short film?

Well, there's a lot to pick from, but I'll go for... Dimensions of Dialogue, by Jan Svankmajer. Partly because it totally contradicts what I said about narrative and dialogue earlier, yet I still love it, which is interesting.

Hope that helps!
 
1
Animated shorts screened at cinemas used to be commonplace. Since then it would be fair to say that the short has become more diverse. Do you feel that animated shorts still could be appreciated by the general public?

I think so-- especially with shorts being re-introduced with Pixar, Disney, and other company films. A new Goofy short played infront of a live action film, and the response from the audience I was sitting in, was fantastic.

2
What are your feelings towards the hugely popular video hosting website YouTube with regards to the short animated film?

It's a double edged sword because while it's a great way for a student, novice, or upcoming filmmaker to share their work quickly and easily, it's also going to be a theft issue-- as numerous other web pages will literally pull the file from YouTube and post it elsewhere.

3
What do you consider to be the main purpose of an animated short film, as regards to the animator?

It's a good way to show some work in a short, tidy story without having to devote an extended period of time for a huge project. It also gives them a chance to come up with short concepts.

4
How do you feel about the fact that some animation festivals will not accept short films that are already accessible to the public?

I think for shorts to be exclusive is a choice of the people running the festival-- and I assume it's for their own advertising purposes to drum up interest. I honestly dont care if it's exclusive, and it's a shame that fantastic work would be denied.

5
What, in your personal view, are the qualities that make a great short film?

If the story makes sense, and everything is pulled off in a reasonable way, then thats awesome. I underststand experimental work is for the artist to reach beyond their normal limits and try new things, but I enjoy a nice little story.

6
Are there any other aspects to do with the short animated film that you would be interested to see questioned or examined?

Id like to see people just sit back and enjoy them. Sometimes they just don't need to be questioned. I love wrapping my brain around the technical aspects--- but after the enjoyment.

7
This one is more just for my own personal interest really, but what do you consider to be the best example of an animated short film?

Pixar's Luxo Jr.--- hands down, my favorite. It was clean, simple-- and even though the character was a lamp-- that lamp was something you could relate to and understand. It was so realistic in it's actions and behavior that you forget it's a lamp and think of it as a being-- almost living. Thats just amazing to me.
 
(1) I think some percentage of the moviegoing audience would like to see animated shorts. I used to be an operations manager for a major movie theater chain, and I can tell you that the "pre-show" (ads, slideshows, etc.) are tolerated at best by the public, and substituting something that has some entertainment value would be welcomed. The problem with shorts is that they cost money, and the ad-content produces money for theaters, so we're not likely to see a "short renaissance" any time soon. Plus, the number of moviegoers who actually show up on time for the movies they want to see isn't what it used to be, so there is the problem that the shorts might not get the viewership desired.

(2) I think YouTube works better as a storage facility for old content than a proving ground for new content. The screen resolution sucks for anything more than the most casual viewing, and if you want to appreciate the artwork or style of the animators, you're pretty much stuck.

(3) I think the "purpose" should be whatever the animator intended. If he wants to entertain, that's enough of a justification for me. If he wants to show off his talents, make a statement, or indulge in political commentary, it's his choice. Doesn't mean I'll like it or spend my time on it, but that's my choice.

(4) The producers of an animation festival are entitled to set their own rules (or the rules of their investors) about what gets shown. If anybody doesn't like the rules, they can always try to start their own festival. That may sound unfair, but it's the nature of the business.

(5) For me, the qualities of a great short are the same as the qualities of a great feature. I want to see and hear what the animators are trying to tell me. I prefer my cartoons to have good storytelling (and that's not confined to feature; you can tell a short story very well if you are talented enough). I prefer elegant visual styles that reflect the animator's personal art style. I don't mind if the animation isn't great, and yes, I think a cartoon can have mediocre animation and still be compelling. But I don't like writing that insults my intelligence.

(6) I don't really have an answer to this question. I'm not an animator, or even an artist, so I don't know that I would find any examination of their aspect particularly interesting. I watch animation for entertainment.

(7) Whoooo...gotta admit, it's darn near impossible for me to pick just one. Windsor McKay's "Gertie the Dinosaur" gets props from me just because it was such a groundbreaker, and the Fleischer Brothers' Superman cartoons rewrote the rules of what could be done in shorts. But I think the top prize goes to Chuck Jones' "Duck Amuck". It was innovative, hilarious, brilliant, and was both trippy and surreal at a time when that sort of humor was vitually unknown in our pop culture.
 
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