The purpose of a Short Film

• Promotion, Short films are meant to promote new full length films as well as to be built on to make full length films. They are shown the majority of the time at film festivals almost exclusively. There are even website that buy short films to help promote new upcoming film directors. Short films differ from mainstream full length films because, short films rarely go mainstream to be distributed into cinemas for the public to view. They are usually privately commissioned or may go straight to DVD.
  'Alive in Joburg' by Neill Blomkamp is an example of an unconventional experimental style of filming. The almost continuous interview documentary style is a experimental technique you would not see being tried out in mainstream films because they simply would not be able to invest hundreds of thousands of pounds into a new technique without testing it. In a short film like it is a risk worth taking to gain feedback, this film was successful and went on to being made a full length mainstream film 'District 9', which earned $37 million in its opening weekend, its a fair amount considering it was a short film to begin with.
  
  
• Education, short films are usually released on teacher resource websites, as well as on DVD for educational purposes, as the short films I viewed which included a booklet to explain the the issues raised and how to teach from, short films are perfect for discussing important issues in a matter off minutes better than watching a full length film to gain information on a issue/topic.
• Short films, are not usually to make, but are used by young or new directors as a testing ground for a idea to see how it in a logical sequence to work and expand on to make a full length film. A short film can tell an hour long story in a 10 minute video sequence or simply just a scene of a story to see what it looks like.

Christopher