The Australian: Live narrative short films aren't so diverse.

Creativity bypass | The Arts | The Australian

SHORT films aren't dying, only their relevance is. As Hollywood studios increasingly look towards the flashiest talent from the hottest new media -- the Zeitgeist-hitting, video-dominating YouTube or MySpace, for example -- the competent work of a film school graduate just doesn't look sexy any more.

Digital film-making has liberated the creative community and given it access to a medium once viewed as prohibitively expensive to work with. The internet has added accessibility to that low cost; but while the volume of such short films and videos has increased, they haven't exactly added to the greater good.

I don't think Adelaide Punk, for example, will have any problems setting itself apart from the mainstream, but I agree with a lot that is said in this article. I wouldn't say, though, that M.A.P.S. as an educational institution necessarily "encourage(s) social realism" as a rule.