Featurette
Encyclopedia
Featurette is a term used in the American film industry to designate a film whose length is approximately three quarters of a reel
, or about 20–44 minutes in running time - thus midway between a short subject
and a feature film
; thus it is a "small feature" (the ending "-ette" is a common diminutive
suffix
derived from French
). The term was commonly used from before the start of the sound era into the 1960s, when films of such length stopped being made or were made as experimental or art films and subsumed under the more general rubric of short
. Its use outside the USA is unknown, although it was as commonly applied to foreign imports as domestic productions within that country.
After the advent of DVD, the term - at least in America - also gained the meaning of "a brief documentary film covering one or more aspects of the film creation process", usually being used in DVD features descriptions to refer to video-format "Behind The Scenes" type bonus features such as documentaries on special effects or set design (although blooper
reels and interviews with cast or crew seem to rarely if ever be described as "featurette"). This usage possibly derived partly or completely independent from the term's original meaning, as should be apparent from the fact that most Bluray "featurettes" are actually less (sometimes far less) than 20 minutes in length.
Today, the latter definition, though possibly an inaccurate usage of the original term, is far more common.
Reel
A reel is an object around which lengths of another material are wound for storage. Generally a reel has a cylindrical core and walls on the sides to retain the material wound around the core...
, or about 20–44 minutes in running time - thus midway between a short subject
Short subject
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...
and a feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
; thus it is a "small feature" (the ending "-ette" is a common diminutive
Diminutive
In language structure, a diminutive, or diminutive form , is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment...
suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
derived from French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
). The term was commonly used from before the start of the sound era into the 1960s, when films of such length stopped being made or were made as experimental or art films and subsumed under the more general rubric of short
Short subject
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...
. Its use outside the USA is unknown, although it was as commonly applied to foreign imports as domestic productions within that country.
After the advent of DVD, the term - at least in America - also gained the meaning of "a brief documentary film covering one or more aspects of the film creation process", usually being used in DVD features descriptions to refer to video-format "Behind The Scenes" type bonus features such as documentaries on special effects or set design (although blooper
Blooper
A blooper, also known as an outtake or boner is a short sequence of a film or video production, usually a deleted scene, containing a mistake made by a member of the cast or crew. It also refers to an error made during a live radio or TV broadcast or news report, usually in terms of misspoken words...
reels and interviews with cast or crew seem to rarely if ever be described as "featurette"). This usage possibly derived partly or completely independent from the term's original meaning, as should be apparent from the fact that most Bluray "featurettes" are actually less (sometimes far less) than 20 minutes in length.
Today, the latter definition, though possibly an inaccurate usage of the original term, is far more common.