In an age of tweets and texts, cellphone novels and films created with iPhones, it seems that short is in vogue, at least when it comes to technology-enabled communications and artistic expression.

Perhaps it’s the fast pace of our lives these days. Everyone’s so busy. No one seems to have any time.

Or, maybe it’s the easy and affordable access people now have to the technology. With just the expense of a smartphone, anyone can make a film, particularly a short film, right?

For these, and other reasons, the creators of Vine would certainly like to think that short is the latest new thing.

We are starting to see the dawn of a new type of online movie maker and new forms of digital films that combine the traditions of filmmaking with the functionalities of the internet and various emerging networked digital technologies. Because of their experimental nature, web films are not easy to define, but the Pluginmanifesto Version 1.3 has made an attempt to outline the basics …