Genre in short film - Comedy

Is Comedy Suited for short Films?

 

I think that Comedy is suited for short films because the sense of Comedy can easily be created in a short period of time ranging from 2-10 minutes. This is because comedy can be delivered as a short and witty joke or it can all lead up to one punch line. Or in some cases it can be a whole load of funny actions and clips throughout the entirety if the film. I also think that comedy suits the short film genre well as the creator can achieve what they want in a short period of time and the joke/pun wont be overused as it hasn't got long enough for this to happen. So if its an effect like exploding heads or if its a catchphrase used over and over again then it wont be tiresome for the viewer. 

 

On the other hand comedy may not be suited to short films though because in some cases comedy films prefer to have more of a storyline to it instead of pure jokes and puns. For example the film 'The Hangover' uses a storyline to aid it comedy by putting them in a location and story that provides them multiple opportunities for comedy. Also Comedy may not suit a short film because sometimes the comedy can seem forced and not funny at all. When someone has to write a comedy short they need to include the funny parts in a way that flows with the story if not viewers will not find it very amusing if it sticks out like a sore thumb. And this is a very challenging tasks for short film creators so its not always the best end result.

 

Analysis Of A Short Comedy Film (Time travel lover)

 

Matt and Hannah have been seeing each other for about 2 weeks and tonight is the night that they return to her apartment in order to have sex. A world of possibilities lie in front of their young relationship, but none of that is in their minds as they mutually undress one another – or at least it wasn't on their minds until Matt returned from 2 weeks in the future to warn his horny self of the road ahead.

There is a certain freshness to this short film. It is there at the start with the visually cool apartment, the good clean shots and look of the film and it continues with the plot development. The writing takes all stages of a relationship, the good and the bad, and compresses them into a short scene – keeping it light to be funny but still undeniably pretty smart. The script has plenty of chuckles and energy to it but it is the delivery that makes it work. Of course it helps that you have the writer in the lead role, so he knows the good material that he wrote, but this shouldn't take away from the performances.

His multiple roles gives him plenty to do but he does well to stay in character for all of them, making small changes that are comic and nicely done. In the middle of all of ths is the woman, who has a harder role with a constantly shifting reaction-mode (often I guess, reacting to air or stand-ins), but she is also funny with her facial reactions and delivery. The pacing of the film in the studio and in the editing is appropriate and effective, making it work well for what it does. It is a really enjoyable little scene, with a lot of energy but also control as it has good pace and timing throughout.