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". 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.

Ronald "Ronnie" Hazlehurst (13 March 1928 – 1 October 2007) was an English composer and conductor who, having joined the BBC in 1961, became its Light Entertainment Musical Director.

He composed the theme tunes for many well known British sitcoms and shows of the 1970s and 1980s, including Are You Being Served?, Sorry, Last of the Summer Wine, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, To the Manor Born and Yes Minister.

Ronald Hazlehurst was born in Dukinfield, Cheshire in 1928, to a railway worker and piano teacher. Having attended Hyde County Grammar School for Boys, he left at the age of 14 and became a clerk for a cotton mill. From 1947 to 1949 he did his National Service as a bandsman in the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards.

During his spare time, he played in a band, and soon became a professional musician earning £4 a week. The band appeared on the BBC Light Programme, but Hazlehurst left when he was refused a pay rise. Moving to Manchester, he became a freelance musician until he was offered a place on another band at a nightclub in London. Ronnie Hazlehurst worked at Granada for about a year in 1955 and, after he left there, worked on a market stall in Watford to make ends meet.