The History of Short Film (Short Film On TV + Video Acitvism)

So I did a little bit of research on Short Film.

1895 and the Lumiere Brothers' 'Sortie de l’Usine' is considered to be one the first ever pieces of cinema and subsequently due to it's length, short film. At this time technology was incredibly limited and so films weren't really expected to be very long and this early stage was mainly used to experiment and see what was possible.

It wasn't until 1910 when the name 'short subjects' was used mainly in American cinema to describe any film using only 2 reels with a duration of 20 minutes or less, as feature lengths had become very popular. It appears the first to flourish in the practice of short film were comedians such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton as well as Laurel and Hardy.

This one or two reel film was similarly adopted in Britain and reined supreme within the industry around the years 1908-1913. This was mainly down to the fact that British cinema was willing to be innovative and push boundaries which the Americans weren't so willing to do. British cinema was all about new ideas and the Americans were all about creating stars.

The 1930s saw a huge decline in short film and by the late 50s, the rise in television saw the viewing of short films plummet. For the next quarter of a century or so, short film was predominantly for Independent film-makers and studio projects.

It wasn't until the late 80s when short film began to find it's feet again, after gaining late night and filler slots during the 70s, filmmakers began to realise that short film was a brilliant medium to cover topics and express opinions. Short film began a symbiotic relationship with video activism, and the emergence of concepts such as the 'witness video' began to blossom, a famous example of this being the footage of Rodney King which consequently caused the L.A. riots. Organisations such as Greenpeace and Amnesty would commission short films in an attempt to use real footage or documentary based work to gain followers and showcase their beliefs.
In 1993, the BBC launched 'Video Nation', which saw the rise in video based film, in which the creator would address the camera; this concept was famously taken on by Michael Moore, director of successful documentaries such as 'Bowling for Columbine' and 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.

Nowadays, short film is a fantastic way for amateurs to gain acknowledgment and pull themselves into the industry. With more affordable technology, and more and more film festivals harvesting talent, it seems that short film can only go from strength to strength.