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theaters want them - with the competition from the box in the living room, theater owners wanted to get as many showings of as few films as possible in during a day.' (ibid.) As the short film made no financial sense from a commercial standpoint, it ceased being exhibited theatrically.

Since the 1980s the short film has been defined by its running time of less than 40 minutes according to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in America (this differs in the U.K slightly as the British Academy of Film define a short film as being no more than 30 minutes (see appendix A.7, pg. 53) (Bafta.org, 2006)). (Oscars.org., 2006) It is seen as non-commercial, where filmmakers can often use it to express and experiment with ideas that would be deemed difficult or untenable with the commercial film. Young filmmakers have been drawn to this type of cinema because it is much cheaper to produce, and with the widespread use of digital media, equipment for production and post-production is much more cost effective and easier to use than ever before.

1.4 Spielberg, Lucas and Scorsese
Perhaps the short film represents the only way into the industry for new filmmakers? It's certainly an argument that has plausibility since three of America's most famous directors began their careers by making short subject films. Just as Chaplin learned his acting craft in the one and two-reel films he made for Keystone Pictures, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese were doing the very same thing in the 1960s, only they were learning what it meant to be behind the camera.

In 1973, George Lucas rose to fame with his film American Graffiti. Yet, as Tom Shone claims, Lucas' feature film debut was a culmination of the lessons he'd learned producing two short films entitled Herbie and 1.42:08 A Man and his Car. American Graffiti, a film about a group of young friends driving around town getting drunk and racing their cars, had very similar attributes to 1.42:08 that was simply about driving fast' (Shone, 2004. pg. 48). Before that, he made a film about just driving: Herbie, in which Lucas' camera went cruising around town, catching the street life in its gleaming hood and polished fender.' (ibid.,)

Spielberg was no different, producing several short films before his first feature. One of which was named Amblin and this would later become the name of his own production company. Likewise, Scorsese directed The Big Shave, a six minute film that served as a metaphor for the Vietnam War.

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