Conventions of short films

Conventions of short films
Unlike other genres it's not always easy to come up with conventions of short films, as a short film can be anything. I have seen 14 short films LOVE FIELD, A Thousand Words, Validation, The Black Hole, 9, Signs, Strangers, I’m Here, NOSTALGIA – YOUNG LOVE, Last hand standing: love or stuff? Love in a Backward World, Oedipus, Can We Kiss, 10 Minutes, The Sound Machine, Fifty People One Question, Vincent.
In general I have found that short films are defined by time and not by iconic images or characters. Most short films are between 5 and 10 minutes long, with some exceptions being up to 30 minutes. Because of this time limit, in short films there is not often a lot of dialogue. For example 'A Thousand Words' 'LOVE FIELD' and 'The Black Hole' do not use any dialogue at all. In 'A Thousand Words' the lack of words emphasizes the gap between the characters and also the actions made by them. This also allows for the atmospheric music to have full effect. In 'LOVE FIELD' the horror genre is used in the beginning by using atmospheric music and digetic sound, without any dialogue, which helps create the suspense needed for this genre to work.
The time does not allow for character development and characters are introduced quickly and often not given a history or past and the audience has to go on first impressions and subtle hints. Conventionally, there are also fewer characters, with the plot focusing on one or two people.
Plot: multiple plot strands, more intense
But needs to leave the audience with something intense
Protagonists – recognizable lead characters – often male, usually loners
Plot and Stock situations – storylines that are predictable and recognizable
Icons – this is the aspect of genre, which we immediately recognise and latch on to. Think of them as symbols that tell us what genre we are seeing.
Theory. Todorov’s theory is that every thing starts out with equilibrium, where every thing is in balance. There is then a disruption or problem, which leads to a crisis or state of disequilibrium, before finishing with a solution or resolution and thus creating a second state of equilibrium, usually different from the first. I think this ties in with Levi-Strauss’s argument when talking about the romantic genre. Levi-Strauss said that with all narratives there is a dependence on binary oppositions. The narratives meaning is dependent on conflict and tension between opposing forces. This is usually shown with a couple or two people who are together, or have conflict. There is them a problem, usually breaking up,