4.The 3 act Structure, Vladimir Propp, Genre

Features of short film

Vladimir Propp 

Vladimir propp was a literacy critic born in 1895, his idea is that a certain type of character is part of every narrative structure These characters are:
  • Hero/anti-hero- This is someone that the audience invests their support, no matter weather they're good or bad
  • Villain- They are against the villain, the hero wouldn't be needed unless they have someone to go against them
  • Helper- Assists the hero in their mission
  • False Hero- This is someone who takes credit for the heroes actions and is often not as they seem
  • Dispatcher- Sends the hero off on their quest, for example the princesses father.
  • Donor- Aids the hero by giving something
  • Princess- Is in need of help and is often the prize at the end, generally saved by the hero
There are examples of these in almost any film. For example nick fury in avengers, he would be the dispatcher as he gathers the heroes together and sends them off to fight evil. An example of a helper could be robin in all of the batman films, he provides physical support to batman (a hero). An example in a short film that we have watched is the getaway driver in "fly". This man Would be an antihero (because i found myself rooting for him despite that he is robbing a bank). The fly would be the villain because it is troubling the hero and preventing him from doing his job. 

3 act structure

Short films, just like feature films, tend to have a three act structure, however, due to that fact that they are so much shorter, They cannot be quite as complicated. In a narrative short film, there tends to be three points where the plot is sent into a different direction to begin the next act. Feature films work in a similar way but almost always have small sub-plots to keep the audience gripped until the next big twist in the story occurs (for example, Luke sky-walkers backstory in star wars). Short films do not have to worry about loosing the audiences attention as the whole film will probably be shorter that just one act in a feature film. Short films are very often about a certain situation rather than a whole story due to lack of time, this means that the final act is normally the character solving whatever issue they are having. An example of this structure in a short film that we have watched is in tight jeans. The 1st act would be the 3 friends just sitting on a wall chatting, the man walking past in tight jeans then changes the topic of conversation as we go into the second act. After discussing the mans clothing choice and how it would not suit a black men like themselves, a man walks past in a tight wight t-shirt. The men then question that piece of clothing as the film comes to a close, this is the final act.

Genre

Due to short films short nature, they do not often have time to cross over genres like feature films do. For example in a feature film it may be a thriller, but have some romance as well to attract more people, therefore making them more revenue. If a film is short, then it would be very hard to develop a romantic relationship as well as focusing on another genre, with probably its own story line and characters. There are a few main genres that people tend to stick to; comedy, drama, horror, animation, romance, sci-fi/fantasy, or thriller. There of course is the odd film which doesn't follow these genres, however the majority of short films, you will be able to link back to one of these genres, for example 'the operator' short film, could be a thriller because of hoe it puts the audience on the edge of their seat.

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