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A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits".^[1] The term featurette originally applied to a film longer than a short subject, but shorter than a standard feature film.

The increasingly rare term short subject means approximately the same thing. An industry term, it carries more of an assumption that the film is shown as part of a presentation along with a feature film. Short is an abbreviation for either term. Short films can be professional or amateur productions. Short films are often screened at local, national, or international film festivals. Short films are often made by independent filmmakers for non profit, either with a low budget, no budget at all, and in rare cases big budgets. Short films are usually funded by film grants, non profit organizations, sponsor, or out of pocket funds. These films are used by indy filmmakers to prove their talent in order to gain funding for future films from private investors, entertainment companies, or film studios. Short films do qualify for Academy Awards if screened in Los Angeles.

History[link]

William Garwood starred in numerous short films, many of which were only 20 minutes in length

Longer films and shorter films coexisted with similar popularity throughout the early days of film. However, comedy short films were produced in large numbers compared to lengthy features such as D.W. Griffith's, "Birth of Nation" . By the 1920s, a ticket purchased a varied program including a feature and several supporting works from categories such as second feature, short comedy, 5–10 minute cartoon, and newsreel.

Short comedies were especially popular, and typically came in a serial or series (such as the Our Gang movies, or the many outings of Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp character). Even though there was often no set release schedule, these series could be considered somewhat like a modern TV sitcom – lower in status than feature films but nevertheless very popular (comedians such as Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton all 'graduated' from shorts to features).

Animated cartoons came principally as short subjects, as did newsreels. Virtually all major film production companies had units assigned to develop and produce shorts, and many companies, especially in the silent and very early sound era, produced mostly or only short subjects.

In the 1930s, the distribution system changed in many countries owing to the Great Depression. Instead of the cinema owner assembling a program of their own choice, the studios sold a package centered on a main and supporting feature, a cartoon and little else. With the rise of the double feature as a cinema programming format, 2-reel shorts went into decline as a commercial category. Hal Roach, for example, moved Laurel and Hardy full-time into feature films after 1935, and halved his popular Our Gang films to one reel. By the 1940s, he'd moved out of short films altogether (though MGM continued the Our Gang shorts until 1944).

Later shorts include George O'Hanlon's Joe McDoakes movies, and the animated work of studios such as Walt Disney Productions, Leon Schlesinger Productions/Warner Bros. Cartoons, Walter Lantz and Fleischer / Famous Studios. By the mid 1950s, with the rise of television, the commercial live-action short was virtually dead, The Three Stooges being the last major series of 2-reelers, ending in 1959. Short films had become a medium for student, independent and specialty work.

Cartoon shorts had a longer life, due in part to the implementation of lower-cost limited animation techniques, but also declined in this period. Warner Bros., one of the most prolific of the golden era, shut down its studio permanently in 1969. Woody Woodpecker was the last of the "golden era" cartoons to end, shutting down in 1972. The Pink Panther was the last regular theatrical cartoon short series, having begun in 1964 (and thus having spent its entire existence in the limited animation era) and ended in 1980. By the 1960s, the market for animated shorts had largely shifted to television, and even the existing theatrical shorts were being secondarily syndicated to television stations.

Modern era[link]

A few animated shorts continue within mainstream commercial distribution. For instance, Pixar has screened a short along each of its feature films during its initial theatrical run since 1995 (producing shorts permanently since 2001).^[2] Since Disney acquired Pixar in 2005, Disney has also produced animated shorts since 2007 with the Goofy short How to Hook Up Your Home Theater and produced a series of live action ones featuring The Muppets for viewing on YouTube as viral videos to promote the 2011 movie of the same name.

Dreamworks Animation often produces a short sequel to include in the special edition video releases of major features, and are typically of a sufficient length to be broadcast as a TV special. Warner Brothers often includes old animated shorts from its considerable library, connected only thematically, on the DVD releases of classic WB movies.

Shorts International and Magnolia Pictures organize an annual release of Academy Award nominated short films in theatres across the US, UK, Canada and Mexico throughout February / March.

Shorts are occasionally broadcast as filler when a feature film or other work doesn't fit the standard broadcast schedule. ShortsTV was the first television channel dedicated to short films.

However, short films generally rely on festival exhibition to reach an audience. Such movies can also be distributed via the Internet. Certain websites which encourage the submission of user-created short films, such as YouTube and Vimeo^[3] have attracted large communities of artists and viewers. Sites like FILMSshort and the BBC Film Network focus on showcasing curated shorts.

Short films are a typical first stage for new professional filmmakers. But professional actors and crews still choose to create short films as alternative form of expression. Short film making is growing in popularity as equipment becomes cheaper and more amateurs are making movies. "Prosumer" or semi-professional cameras now cost under USD$3,000, and free or low-cost software is widely available that is capable of video editing, post-production work and DVD authoring.

Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival and is generally regarded as one of the most prestigious. Tropfests now take place in Australia (its birthplace), Arabia, the US and elsewhere. Originating in 1993, Tropfest is often credited as being at least partially responsible for the recent popularity of short films internationally.

Short shorts[link]

Short short films are sometimes considered as a category of their own. The International Festival of Very Shorts is a festival based in Paris, which shows only movies less than three minutes long. Filminute, the international one-minute film festival, has presented and promoted a collection of one-minute films across multiple media since September 2006.

See also[link]

• List of animated short series
• List of independent short films
• List of short live-action films
• List of short subjects by Hollywood studio
• Movieola: The Short Film Channel
• The Journal of Short Film
• Tropfest

References[link]

External links[link]

• VideoGp.Net | The Video Graphics Portal
• pabarabanum.com
• FILMSshort.com | The Greatest Short Films
• Platform for media students to produce their own short-films, documentaries
• Short Films at the Open Directory Project
• British Film Institute: "Writing Short Films" by Phil Parker screenonline, website of the British Film Institute

This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (May 2010)

Ien Chi (Born June 1, 1991) is a Korean American filmmaker. He is the director of the short film "Tick Tock" which won the Best Picture and Best Director awards at Campus MovieFest 2011 - the world's largest student film festival.^[1] It is currently the most viewed and highest rated film of Campus MovieFest of all time.^[2] The film went viral and collectively has approximately 1.7 million views online and has been featured on Gizmodo and The Guardian among other places.^[3][4] He is the winner of the 2010 Emory Arts Competition and of several film festivals.^[5] In 2010, his film "Wake" won Best Drama at the Emory division Campus MovieFest festival and screened at the Southern Regional Grand Finale.^[6] His 2009 film "Crippled" won the Trinity Grammar School International Film Competition and competed in the Korean American Film Festival New York alongside an Academy Award winning short documentary "The Last Mermaids." ^[7][8] He is also the winner of the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival Young Filmmaker Golden Lion Award, George Lindsey UNA Film Festival Best Story Jury Honor, and Crossroads Film Festival Adam Forth Youth Filmmaking Award.^[9][10]

References[link]

External links[link]

• official website
• imdb page
• youtube channel
• "Crippled" film
• "Tick Tock" film

Dan Trachtenberg
On location, shooting The Totally Rad Show
Born	(1981-05-11) May 11, 1981 (age 31)
Occupation	Podcast host, director, writer
Website
http://dantrachtenberg.com/

Dan Trachtenberg is a filmmaker and video podcast host from the Philadelphia suburbs who currently resides in the Los Angeles metro area. He is one of the three hosts of The Totally Rad Show and a former co-host of Geekdrome. Both programs are hosted at Revision3. In addition to working on Internet shows, Trachtenberg is the writer/director of the 2003 short film Kickin' and the director of various television commercials and public service announcements.

Directing[link]

Trachtenberg has directed commercials for Lexus, Nike, and Coca Cola. In April, 2008, he joined Tight Films,^[1] for which he collaborated with Matt Wolf on an alternate reality game for Hellboy II: The Golden Army."

He directed the internet show, "Ctrl+Alt+Chicken."

On August 23, 2011, Trachtenberg released the short film, Portal: No Escape.^[2] Based on the video game, Portal, the film drew more than one million views within its first day on YouTube.^{[citation needed]} Within two months, the number of viewers surpassed six million.^{[citation needed]}

On October 13, 2011, slashfilm.com announced that Trachtenberg would be directing a science fiction action heist film for Universal Pictures and writer Chris Morgan (Wanted, Fast Five, 47 Ronin).^[3]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Dan Trachtenberg at the Internet Movie Database

Flying Lotus
Background information
Also known as	Flying Lotus FlyLo Juno Leed
Born	(1983-10-07) October 7, 1983 (age 28)
Origin	Los Angeles, California United States
Genres	Electronic, experimental
Occupations	Musician Record Producer Filmmaker Record Label Owner
Instruments	Computer, Turntables, Sampler, Drum Machine, Synthesizer, Keyboards, Multi-instrumentalist
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Warp, Brainfeeder, Plug Research
Associated acts	Thundercat FLYamSAM Alice Coltrane Ravi Coltrane Thom Yorke Laura Darlington Gonjasufi
Website	flying-lotus.com, brainfeedersite.com
Notable instruments
Reason Ableton Live

Flying Lotus (born Steven Ellison) is an experimental multi-genre music producer from Winnetka, California. His debut album, 1983, was released on Plug Research Records in 2006.^[1] He produced much of the bumper music on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block,^[2] for which he is uncredited, and he also contributed remixes for fellow Plug Research artists including Mia Doi Todd. He is often referred to as FlyLo by fans and critics. His grandmother was songwriter Marilyn McLeod. He is the great-nephew of the late Alice Coltrane, whose husband was John Coltrane. He is also the cousin of musician Ravi Coltrane.^[3]

Music career[link]

In 2007, he announced that he signed with Warp Records.^[4] Following his Warp debut, the six-track Reset EP, he quickly became one of the label’s cornerstone artists and released his second album, titled Los Angeles, on June 10, 2008. In 2008, Flying Lotus also remixed "Reckoner" from Radiohead's album In Rainbows.^[5] His third album, Cosmogramma, was released on May 3, 2010, in the UK and May 4, 2010, in the US.^[6] In January 2011, Cosmogramma won in the Dance/Electronica Album category in the 10th Annual Independent Music Awards.^[7]

Recently, Flying Lotus collaborated with the Ann Arbor Film Festival in the performance of a live scoring of the 1962 avant-garde film Heaven and Earth Magic.^[8] In a post-viewing interview with the audience, Flying Lotus said that he was unsure whether or not a recording of the performance (or a recreation of it) would be publicly released, but he would be enthusiastic toward similar projects in the future. He was chosen by Battles to perform at the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas festival that it co-curates in December 2011 in Minehead, England.^[9]

In January 2011, Flying Lotus won the 10th Annual Independent Music Awards for his video "MmmHmm" in the Short-Form Video category.^[10] Flying Lotus will be collaborating with R&B singer Erykah Badu on new material for her next album.^[11] In August 2011, Flying Lotus announced a multimedia project with filmmaker Miwa Matreyek, which is to be titled The Mapping of Countries Yet to Come.^[12] It is currently rumored that Flying Lotus plans to remix one of Radiohead's songs from The King of Limbs.^[13]

Discography[link]

Demos[link]

• 2005: July Heat

Note: Various unofficial Flying Lotus demos leaked by fans are sometimes mistaken as official Flying Lotus releases, such as "Raw Cartoons."^[14]

Albums[link]

EPs and Misc[link]

12-inch singles[link]

• 2006: Pink Sun EP (12", EP) My Room Is White (Flying Lotus Remix) - Plug Research
• 2008: Cool Out (12") Lost (Flying Lotus Remix) - Hyperdub
• 2008: Dive EP (12", EP) Blank Blue (Flying Lotus Remix) - Ubiquity Records
• 2008: Get Dirty EP (12", EP) Game Over (Flying Lotus Remix) - Ghostly International
• 2008: Natural Selection (Flying Lotus' Cleanse Mix) / Vancouver (2562's Puur Natuur Dub) (12")
• 2008: Woebegone (CD, Single, Promo) Woebegone (Flying Lotus Remix) - Ninja Tune

Production[link]

• 2008: José James - Park Bench People (on the track "Visions of Violet")
• 2009: Declaime - Whole Wide World
• 2010: José James - Blackmagic
• 2010: Gonjasufi - A Sufi and a Killer (on the track "Ancestors")
• 2010: Mike Bigga - Adult Swim Singles Program (on the track "Swimming")
• 2011: Thundercat - The Golden Age of Apocalypse
• 2011: Blu - 'NoYork! (on the tracks "Doin’ Nothin", "Everything Ok" and "Doin’ Something"
• 2012: "Lately" and "Lamented" on the Hodgy Beats Untitled EP

Collaborations[link]

• 2008: One for Pep Pep (Remix) (Tim and Eric Awesome Record, Great Songs)
• 2008: Testament (w/ Gonjasufi)
• 2009: Bootleg Beats (w/ Samiyam)^[17]
• 2010: ...And The World Laughs With You^[18][19] (w/ Thom Yorke)
• 2011: Kryon (w/ Kode9 & the Spaceape)^[20]
• 2011: Group Tea (w/ Matthewdavid)^[21]
• 2011: Lost (w/ King Midas Sound) ^[22]
• 2011: Live (w/ Hodgy Beats & Mike G of OFWGKTA)

Mixes[link]

• 2011: Lover's Melt (Stones Throw Podcast)
• 2011: Lover's Melt Pt. 2 (Brainfeeder Podcast)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Brainfeeder
• Official Online Game
• Warp Records
• Plug Research
• RBMA Radio On Demand - Sonar Sessions 2007 - Flying Lotus (Warp/Plug Research, Los Angeles)
• Sept 2007 Interview with L.A. Record
• Interview (2007)
• Los Angeles Review (2008)
• New Yorker profile by Sasha Frere-Jones
• Flying Lotus “BRAINFEEDER RADIO” Part 2 at Dublab

Mike Birbiglia
Birth name	Michael Birbiglia
Born	(1978-06-20) June 20, 1978 (age 34)[1] Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, United States[1]
Medium	Stand-up comedy, Theatre, Radio, Television
Nationality	American
Website	birbigs.com

Mike Birbiglia (born June 20, 1978) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and director.

Professional work[link]

Birbiglia has starred in three Comedy Central specials and has released three albums with Comedy Central Records: Two Drink Mike (2006), My Secret Public Journal Live (2007), and Sleepwalk With Me Live (2011). My Secret Public Journal Live was named one of the best comedy albums of the decade by the Onion AV Club^[2]and Sleepwalk With Me Live debuted at #1 on the Billboard Magazine Comedy Charts.^[3]

From 2006 to 2009, Birbiglia was a commercial spokesman for Suddenlink Communications, the seventh largest cable/broadband provider in the United States. He appeared in a number of humorous commercials promoting cable, internet and telephone service for Suddenlink.

In 2008, Birbiglia opened Sleepwalk WIth Me, a one-man show that straddled standup comedy and theater, off-Broadway at the Bleecker Street Theatre.^[4][5] The show was presented by Nathan Lane and the New York Times called the show "simply perfect."^[6] Time Out New York named it their "Show of the Year" in 2009.^[7]

Birbiglia followed up his theatrical debut with Sleepwalk With Me & Other Painfully True Stories, ^[8] a book which debuted as number 29 on the hardcover nonfiction New York Times Bestseller List^[9][10] and number four on the hardcover nonfiction section of the Washington Post Political Bookworm Best Sellers.^[11] Birbiglia was also a finalist for the 2011 Thurber Prize for American Humor for Sleepwalk With Me & Other Painfully True Stories.^[12]

In 2011, Birbiglia mounted his second one-man show My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, which ran for 4 months off-Broadway at the Barrow Street Theatre and won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show. ^[13] Birbiglia is currently touring My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend around the world with tour dates in the US, Australia, Canada, and the UK.

Birbiglia recently made his feature film debut with Sleepwalk With Me, a film based on his one-man show of the same name that he wrote, directed, and starred in. The film premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and won the NEXT Audience Award.^[14] It was also selected in the "Festival Favorites" category at the South By Southwest Film Festival in Austin, TX. ^[15] The film was produced by Jacob Jaffke and This American Life's Ira Glass and stars Birbiglia, Lauren Ambrose, Carol Kane, James Rebhorn, and Cristin Milioti and has cameos by Kristen Schaal, Wyatt Cenac, David Wain, and Marc Maron.^[16]

As an actor, Birbiglia has appeared in the films Going the Distance, Cedar Rapids, and Your Sister’s Sister, as well as the HBO series, “Girls.” ^[17]

Birbiglia on This American Life[link]

Birbiglia is a regular contributor to the Public Radio International-distributed program This American Life.^[18]

Personal life[link]

Birbiglia attended St. John's High School in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts for one year,^{[citation needed]} graduated from St. Mark's School in Southborough, Massachusetts in 1996 ^[19][20] and subsequently graduated from Georgetown University in 2000.^[21] During college Birbiglia performed as a member of the Georgetown Players Improv Troupe.^{[citation needed]}

Birbiglia lives with his wife, Jen Stein, on New York's Upper West Side.^[22]

He has rapid eye movement behavior disorder (sleepwalking), which caused him to run out of a second-story window of a motel he was staying in Walla Walla, Washington, while on tour. As a result of the accident, Birbiglia received 33 stitches in his leg.^[23][24][25]

Discography[link]

• 2004: Dog Years (out of print) (self-produced, winner of the "Just Plain Folks" comedy album of the year)
• 2005: Invite Them Up (Comedy Central Records compilation CD of NYC indie comics)
• 2005: My Secret Public Album, Volume 1a (weekly guest spots on The Bob and Tom Show)
• 2006: Two Drink Mike
• 2007: My Secret Public Journal Live
• 2008: What I Should Have Said Was Nothing (DVD)
• 2011: Sleepwalk with Me Live

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Mike Birbiglia at the Internet Movie Database

Birbiglia on This American Life[link]

• Episode 361: The Fear of Sleep
• Episode 370: Ruining it for the Rest of Us
• Episode 374: Somewhere Out There
• TAL: Live: Scene of the Crime