A short film is, by definition any film shorter than 45 minutes,therefore too short to be considered a feature film. This allows short films to explore a variety of genres and a free selection of techniques, however many short films share some characteristics and conventions, making them typical to short films in particular.

Commonly, we see a linear narrative seen in short film, this is due to time constraints in many cases,and it is often easier to show a plot in a simple flowing narrative. "Sign Language" also incorporates circular elements into the narrative. Short films also utilize more unconventional narrative structures, due to their experimental nature. This is best demonstrated in "Double Take" which uses two narrative points of view, linking at the climax.

Themes vary in short film as much as they do in feature length cinema. Due to the time constraints, these themes are explored in more concise ways. We see elements of social realism and crime shown in both "Double Take" by Toa Stappard, as well as in "Gravity", films like this show important issues in society, particularly "Gravity", which is used in schools to educate young people on gun crime. We also see more light hearted themes, such as elements of romantic comedy, seen in Nadia Attia's "Sold", which also leaves a deeper meaning, illustrating consumerism. Short films often lack narrative resolutions, due to time constraints, meaning audiences have different expectations when watching short films, in terms of the conclusion, which is often open ended.

Areas such as mise en scene, editiding sound ,and cinematography also vary in short film, however, they are often impaired by budget restraints. We often see a lack of score, simplistic and often open sets as seen in Sign Language, and basic editing and effects. Many films compensate for this by utilizing stylistic techniques, for example "Double Take" uses kenetic camerawork from a DV camera, a cheap technique used effectively to show the movement and create a sense of stalking from the cameraman who is later revealed to be a vigilante attacker. On the other hand, some short films do not face this problem, we see CGI and high production values used in some short films, showing how short film is often used experimentally, to show off new techniques, and to show promote a director or producer.

Titles also share similar conventions in short film as they do in feature length cinema, for example "Double Take" shows the full credits at the end of the film, keeping the viewer's attention on the action itself. We are going to use these conventions to explore the in our short film as these artist that were mentioned aboved related to our short film.