What are the similarities in short films I have seen?

There are a few similarities and running themes I have noticed during my study of short films so I will be analysing them to try and help me make my own short film.

Of the short films I have studied so far I have noticed that there are three dominant genres of short films;

1. Animation: The Piano 

    2. Surrealist: The Alphabet

    3. British Films: Eight

Most of the short films I have watched so far can fit into one of the categories stated above but genre isn't the only similarity I have noticed in short films. There also appear to be closely related running theme's in many short films I have been studying recently.

1. Short films can often go the entire duration without any talking involved. Short films such as 'The Piano' have just a soundtrack but none the less manage to tell an entire story of a man's life in short 'flashback' clips. 'For The Birds' also contains no words just the chatter of birds and sound effects. This has been attempted in full length films such as 'Walle' where there are no spoken words for the first half of the film however with a shorter screen time the lack of speech appears to be a lot more popular with makers of short films.
2. Montage's also appear to be very popular among short films. A montage is a great way to show a large amount of time passing in just a few minutes of seconds which explains why 'Geri's game' has the feel of a montage almost the entire way through and 'No Time For Nuts' as well as 'Big Buck Bunny' both contain montage sequences. 
3. Short films also rarely contain more than three to five characters in the shorter films such as 'Doodlebug' being only approximately 3 minutes long contains just one character however 'Wasp' being one of the longest short film's I have analysed (approximately 26 minutes long) has just five characters that exist for more than one scene including the protagonist, her man and her three children.

There are a few narrative tools used in all kinds of film today (that I have seen evidence of in the short films I have watched) that could help me with the narrative of my short film project.

• Flashbacks - Shown in 'The Piano,' flashbacks can show a character background, enabling the audience to quickly relate to the character or become invested in the storyline. Flashbacks can act as a short-cut to providing information about the character therefore can act as a good narrative tool for short films.
• Dream Sequences - Can offer something similar to flashbacks, an opportunity to show something desired or feared by your character, looking into the possible future can also help the audience identify with them and fast forward the story somewhat.
• Voice Over - Can offer the audience the characters true thoughts or feelings, getting to know them in a certain depth that cannot be achieved in real life, helping the audience to step into the shoes of the protagonist.