Potential audiences for short films

Short film has genres that are very small in the film industry. They are not advertised on posters, television and hardly famous directors make them. Short film caters for a very small niche in the market.

One reason why short film does not cater for the majority of the market is due to the theme it presents. Normally, short films deal with controversial topics that mainstream films would not, themes that make the public audience consider and get them thinking about a moral or ethical issue. However, some of the most popular short films are not thought to tackle theses society issues, but in fact fun and whimsical films like ‘sign language’. Films that try out new ideas like documentaries tend to make the film industry and would be shown on channel 4.

The types of people that tend to go see short films are not the average movie addict that is interested in action, thriller, etc… but those that appreciate the art and purpose of the short film; those that like to think about public issues and are thinkers. But to find the potential audiences for short films we should look at who makes them first.

Typically short films are made by media students in college or universities studying the subject or aspiring directors, people wanting to show off their directing and producing talents to try make it into the film industry. So the first potential audience would of course be other film directors that could spot the talent. Directors of short films are familiar with the certain audience they aim to please therefore the conventions they portray intend to meet the likes of these niche audiences. For example if an independent director wanted to become noticed by a big Hollywood director they would use different themes narrative and cinematography. Through having such a low budget to produce the short film if it is noticed by major film directors they would see the talent as they could produce an amazing short film with such a low budget.

Critics would also have to be part of the main target audience. As if a short film gains the recognition of critics and respect for the short film it most likely would become viral as it will be spoken about through reviews that would gain the interest of bigger things like Hollywood. A short film named 'Alive in Joburg' directed by a man named Neill Blomkamp was intentionally created to meet the likes of big Hollywood directors- a specific audience. His short film was successful and has gained thousands of hits on Youtube.

Furthermore another potential audience would of course be the students studying media studies or people in sixth form as short films do normally tackle hard hitting issues that younger children in high school might not be able to handle cause of the content but people aged 16-18 have a mental mind frame that could handle that sort of content and have their own opinion on the themes present.

In conclusion the target film is made up of a wide range of people,but tend to be viewed by other big directors, critics or for educational purposes in school.