Websites
Websites are a way for short film creators to distribute their product for very little money or for free depending on how they create their website, through sites such as Wix or Weebly. Short film creators do this in order to provide their viewers with more insightful information on their short film, such as; behind the scenes, actor’s input/information, production, contact information, awards. The website is a form of distribution that will allow up and coming directors to market themselves by providing them with the appropriate contact information.
Whilst conducting research on the websites of the short films I previously analysed as well as others, I found that many times, the websites are either quite limited as they are only about the film or they do not have a website, and instead all the information is available on a page of the director’s website. Because of this categorized the websites into two groups: Short Film websites (SFW) and Director Websites (DW).
Hyper Reality - SFW
^ A short video scrolling through the website
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This a website that was created specifically for the short film. The website is very simple and consists of only one page that links closely the ideas that are displayed in the film. As you scroll down it becomes progressively more and more hectic due to images overlapping the text slightly as well as lots of bright neon colors in the background of the website. In regards to information the website provides us with information of the film itself (the meaning behind it), the director as well as all people who were involved. This film website is very concise and provides only the necessary information and is very easy to navigate for visitors as they only need to scroll down. This is a very efficient form for a website to take, but it can also come across as very limiting in regards to what the film has to offer. |
Strange Beasts - DW
^ A short video going through the website
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Unlike hyper reality, this website belongs to the director and instead has a page dedicated to a specific short film. This means that they are able to increase their number of visitors as people already interested in their work can simply find more through their website. As this is a pre-existing website, it can be easily edited. In the case of strange beasts, the director has made strange beasts (their latest film) the homepage of her website. This means that the first thing people see when they visit is her latest work instead of forcing them to go searching through a series of menus to find what they are looking for. In regards to information it provides all the same information as hyper reality however, it incorporated more by showing us visitors images of the film as it was in production, including timestamps to show how much work has been put into the film. Finally it makes clear mentions to key collaborators. |
The Answers - SFW
^ A short video going through the website
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Similarly to hyper reality this is a website created specifically for the film. The website is very easy to navigate thanks to the header of the website. This header has 8 buttons, 5 of which are connected to anchors on the main page whilst the other 2 lead you to a new page that is filled by the necessary information. This is done in order to separate the key information (About, Filmmakers, Trailer, Press, Contact) from extra information which invested viewers would like to hear more about, such as the Awards and Credits. These 2 pages consist of long list which would also disrupt the flow of the main page which has bodies of text that can span the width of the page. The information provided is similar to that of the previous two websites, however this website seems to place a bit more emphasis on the creators of the film as well as the co-producer / main actor. The synopsis provided is very effective as it describes the premise of the short film very clearly with minimal words without revealing any key information that could spoil the film. |
After looking at these 3 different short film websites I identified the following pieces of information the need to be included:
- The film itself
- Synopsis / About
- Awards
- Cast
- Contact information