History of short films

• Short film has revolutionised the film industry, with each new advancement in film there has been a short film that sparked it off
• 'La sortie de l'usine' (1895) was the first short film to be made, it was short due to technical restrictions
• In 1910 when films got longer the term 'short subjects' was coined
• 'short subjects' became popular among audiences because people could go to the cinema and see 3-4 films rather than just 1
• 1930's Hollywood block booking big Hollywood studios forces a small production company to sell their shorts, which they turn into feature films
• The US Supreme Court declared block booking illegal but the damage to short film had already been done
• Classical narrative-90 mins or more feature film
• More profitable for film exhibitors-2 hours turnover of film
• Invention of TV-mass medium short films were aired until the 1960's
• 1980's; short film reinvented however they were much darker and grittier.No longer about commercial success but about content and conveying a message