Matthias Brütsch

The Art of Reduction: Dramaturgy of the Short Film

Although the production of short films outweighs by far the output of feature films and although there is a lively international short film community, serious critical and scholarly investigation into the narrative structure and dramaturgy of short films is rare; a deficiency all the more surprising given the fact that in the field of literary studies the short story has always received strong attention. Moreover, a rather condescending attitude towards the short film is widespread, classifying it only as quick entertainment in the form of an appetiser before the "real" film starts. And by "real" film usually a film with a certain epic dimension is meant that allows for complex character development and intricate story-lines, ensuring strong and sustained emotional involvement of the audience. In this view, the shortness of short films is only seen negatively, as a lack or handicap that is responsible for not achieving certain qualities and effects which usually are associated with the specific pleasure of the movie viewing experience. In my opinion it is high time to take the short film format more seriously and, for once, to put the question the other way round by asking what impact short films may have on the viewer that features lack. What advantages does the reduced format offer? How can the limited time span be turned into a trumpcard?

In my paper or talk I propose to answer these questions focussing on examples of "short" short films (up to about 10 minutes), not considering longer short films as they often display a narrative structure closer to the feature film. (So my argument will also lead to the conclusion that what is generally subsumed under the term short film - including films of 30 as well as 1 minute length - should, from a narratological and dramaturgical point of view, be divided into at least two or even three categories.)

Examples could be: Desserts (3 min., Jeff Stark, Scotland 1998), Le Taxi (9 min., Gabriel Mamruth, France 2000), Porvari Tanssii Ja Soi (The Call of the Swing, 3 min. Jani Jaderholm, Finland 2001). The analysis will pay special attention to the beginnings and endings of short films, to their time structure, to the way characters are constructed, to effects of suspense and surprise, to changes from literal to allegorical meaning and to effects of ambiguity. All these issues will be addressed in order to point out some of the peculiarities as well as the rich narrative potential of films of only a few minutes length.

Matthias Brütsch, former curator and co-organizer of the International Short Film Festival Winterthur, scientific assistant and lecturer at the Film Studies Department of the University of Zurich, member of the joint Film Commission of the town and canton of Zurich and member of the Board of Trustees of Pro Helvetia, the Arts Council of Switzerland.