Pitch Dictionary by pitch.dog
Genre, tone, theme & meaning · Core

Short film

Also called: short, short-form film

ELI5

A complete movie told in a short amount of screen time.

Used in conversation

“The concept works as a short film because the transformation happens in one concentrated encounter.”

Definition

A complete film with a substantially shorter running time than a feature.

Here “Short film” means: A complete film with a substantially shorter running time than a feature.

Pitch context

Defines the project’s compact form and the scale of story, resources and audience pathway being proposed.

Why it matters: A short is not a compressed feature; it needs a form suited to limited duration.

Connected terms

  • Proof of conceptA short can be a proof of concept, but a complete short is not automatically a sample for something larger.
  • Feature filmA short film is a substantially shorter standalone form.
Sources & evidence · 2

Direct term-level sources and supporting source families.