For a hundred years, the biggest innovations in film could be summarized in two words: sound and color. Now the operative words are digital and shorts. And as in so many other daily applications, the Internet has inserted itself as the money player, freeing film from neighborhood multiplexes and television. There is a new breed of upstart start-up playing a leading role here - short film websites. Bandwidth limitations and need for content are creating the ideal forum for shorts, translating into new opportunities for both viewers and aspiring filmmakers alike. Once considered almost a cinematic afterthought, shorts are now getting the star treatment on sites like AtomFilms, IFILM, Eveo and reelshort.com, besides getting serious attention from some of Hollywood's biggest names.

The new guerrilla filmmaker, armed with a digital camera and a good idea, is breeching Hollywood's celluloid wall, resulting in a global, virtual film-fest of edgy, offbeat and humorous content that would never find a home in traditional outlets. "Pulse" is a perfect example - a new form of short that blurs the line between short films, Slam poetry and the spontaneous combustion of digital effects and musings. Check CinemaNow for "News from the West," a collection of the 13 Pulse shorts acquired from an underground filmmaking outfit known as Chamber of Poets.

AtomFilms, the early leader in the nascent online short film movement, confirms the international cachet of Web films with their EuroChannel collection of shorts. "Kleingeld" from Germany is particularly notable. And, acknowledging the importance of new voices, an entire channel on Atom is devoted to the USC School of Cinema, where shorts by both students and now-famous alums like George Lucas can be viewed.

The commercial viability of the short is not going unnoticed either. Spirits purveyor Skyy Vodka sponsors a short film site of its own, and the buzz is spreading. "Before the Internet, my own parents hadn't seen any of my shorts projects," said Megan O'Neill, AtomFilms' vice president of filmmaker relations. "Online, they are everywhere, reaching a global audience. There's no question, they're hot and getting hotter."

Eric Hiss
Photo courtesy CinemaNow