Essentially, and most commonly, a short film follows a very loose path that includes lots of enigmas leaving the story very open ended. This approach tends to work best as it requires no final outcome, and no introductions of time, location or character need to be included.
Another approach for short films, most commonly related to that of Pixar's animated short films, is that of comedy. Presenting a quick, comedic sketch visually, allows for everyone to enjoy the film and immediately be pleased. These allow for a quick fix of entertainment, but can soon become old and loose their touch, which is why it's important for the studio to keep producing new sketches.
Short films can also have that sympathetic factor. Like the film 'kiwi' by Pixar. The film starts with you thinking, 'aww, what a cute little bird', then you wonder what it's doing, nailing long logs into a cliff, must be something cool because the little bird is so cute. Then you see it's a tree. Curiosity rises. Then he jumps and pops his little wings out, the camera turns and you can see that he has simulated flying by falling, just so he can feel like a real bird and you get another 'awwwwww!' from the audience, then the tear of joy runs down his face and that's it, everyone is immediately in love with kiwi. It becomes a massive hit because it's nostalgic, the bird is cute, and it makes some people laugh.
Different short films can also collaborate to tell a story or a number of different stories, as long as they are all based around the same idea. Take the 'Animatrix' for example. Lots of short films, each no longer than 10 minutes long, created by various different animation studios, to tell their side of the matrix story. The thing that makes the 'Animatrix' a good focal point of research for short animated films, is you can see the many different approaches that can be taken just to present a story based on the same idea. You can see a number of different animation styles, from clean lined styled animation in 'Beyond', to the more sketchy loose semi-real look of 'Kid's Story'.
This form of collaboration of short films is also apparent in 'Batman: Gotham Knight', where once again, the different studios each produce a short film based upon a similar idea, in this sense, Batman. And much like 'Animatrix', each short film has it's own style of animation, usually related to the animation studio that created it.
Around the world short films or 'shorts' are expected to be very different durations. In Europe, a short film is expected to be anything from 1-15 minutes, and the story usually involves a plot twist or is dedicated to showcasing visuals and or appearance. whereas in America, a short film is usually expected to be no longer than 50 minutes, and typically revolves around one character and the events the befall upon him/her. An example of a longer 50 minute short film could be 'Dead Leaves', an animated short film from japanese animation studio Production I.G. and directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi, also known as 'Mr Toonz'.
The story is centered around the two main characters, Retro, who for some reason has a TV for a head, and Pandy, and their escape from the DL (dead leaves) prison facility. The film is one of my all time favourites, and it's made by one of my favourite animation studios. Although focusing on the characters as expected from a longer duration short film, Dead Leaves also is a visually stunning piece of animation that break the boundaries between real and surreal.Short films have so many conventions, it all depends on the creators wants and needs. The plot can be entirely open ended, usually used for short films of a duration of around 1-10 minutes, or it can be a short story that follows a character as he/she is making there way through a series of events, or meeting a character. Aesthetically, short films have no conventions at all. Short films are a good way to showcase a style or idea without having to spend years on it to get it finished (unless of course you want to).
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