Short films do not have a specific criteria that they need to oblige to in order to be referred to as a short film however the duration of the film is important though again not specific. A short film is any film that is not long enough to be considered or named a full length feature film; meaning it can be anything from 2 minutes long to 15 minutes.
A short film is not a genre but rather a category to help audiences put these types
of films in a particular group as though short films are just films that are compressed or have a shorter duration period, there are many differences between this type of film and a full length feature film. Directors of these films are able to have less restrictions compared to a feature film as they do not have to create a well thought out plot but can actually start at any point of a plot and usually has an open narrative meaning there are not many, if any, resolutions to the film. Following normal film conventions is also something that short films do not need to do as with a shorter time frame there is a smaller canvas so to speak, therefore directors and producers need to be creative, imaginative and organised meaning following conventions is not a must.
of films in a particular group as though short films are just films that are compressed or have a shorter duration period, there are many differences between this type of film and a full length feature film. Directors of these films are able to have less restrictions compared to a feature film as they do not have to create a well thought out plot but can actually start at any point of a plot and usually has an open narrative meaning there are not many, if any, resolutions to the film. Following normal film conventions is also something that short films do not need to do as with a shorter time frame there is a smaller canvas so to speak, therefore directors and producers need to be creative, imaginative and organised meaning following conventions is not a must. 
Short Film is used for certain purposes by the directors/producers. Firstly and most commonly these types of films are used by directors for promotion so that the directors are promoting themselves to audiences as well as production companies and more mainstream directors. For example the short film "Double Take" by Toa Stappard was initiallly created for a competition meaning with the initial reason of promoting herself as a director. Short Films are quicker and fairly cheap ways for directors to get news out about them and for people to see a small part of what theyre capable of. Also, these types of films can be used by directors to promote a film idea but in a more compressed way such as "Ataque De Panico" by Fede Alvarez who tried to promote a film idea and was successful as a Hollywood Producer (Sam Raimi) offered Alvarez $30 million to turn his film idea into a big budget Hollywood film.
Another purpose for short film is to show education and awareness. If the film has this purpose they are usually used in schools to make a point and try educate people visually and in a short period of time to make it more effective. An example of this is the short film "Gravity" by Colin Hutton which focuses on youths in Britain showing the effects of peer pressure and gun crime starting from a young age as well as the consequences that follow that. This film is assumed to be shown in a school to raise awareness in the students.
Moving on, an additional purpose is the quite simple entertainment aspect; alot of directors try to create short films that promote themselves but also bring entertainment to the audience otherwise no audience would be interested in them. Entertainment should always be kept in mind when my group plan and make our short film as if the movie is not liked by audiences it would not be liked by any kind of big time producer and director. 
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