What is a Short Film?

A short film is a film that isn't long eough to be considered a feautre film. The Academy of Motion Picture Art and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits." Longer films were rare before the 1920's, so length based catergories had little meaning, however now this has changed, although we do still get shorts within mainstream comerical distribution. 'Pixar' for eample has screened shorts alongside its feautre films, so has Disney, in 2007 they produced the 'Goofy' short 'How to Hook up Your Home Theater.'
Short Films are a typial first stage for new film-makers, as they are cheaper to create and can make a big impact if done correctly.