Theory and Theorist On Genre

They key concept of genre relates to the codes and conventions shared by texts and the generic features they share. A text is classified in a genre through the identification of key elements which occur in that text, and also in other text of the same genre. These elements are referred to as ‘Padigrims’; (they way something is done). The targeted audience recognise these padigrims and they have expectations, predictions and they anticipate whilst viewing the text.

An example of this would be in a romance based film, one of the characters is expected to find love at the end of the film.

Theorist such as:

Richard Dyer (1973) says that "Genres are pleasurable because they offer escapist fantasies into fiction worlds that remove the boredom and pressures of reality."

Steve Neale: says “Genre are instances of repetition and difference” he also adds that “difference is essential to the economy of genre” - audiences like to feel safe with the genre they are familiar with, but sometimes they can welcome a little change.

David Buckingham (1993): says “Genre is not simply given by the culture: rather, it is in a constant process of negotiation and change”

For my production the theorist I will take into consideration will be ‘Graeme Burton and his six elements’.

One of Graeme Burton's theory is of horror films, it states there are formulaic key elements of the horror genre which the audience expect to see' applied to movies.

Burton suggests that each text shares particularly key elements to make up the generic formula, these formulas include:

Ø      Protagonists

Ø      Stock characters

Ø      Plots and stock situations

Ø      Icons( mise en scene)

Ø      Background and Décor- the setting (for example if it’s a comedy film the atmosphere will be bright and jolly)

Ø      Themes

These padigrims are grouped, and the groups include:

Ø      Iconography- these sometimes help to define the genre. They include things such as; the main signs and symbols that is seen or heard. Iconography doesn’t always involve looks and symbols, it is also applied to people especially the actors/stars for example Angelina jolie, she is a famous well know actress, celebrities that are known world wide and have made an impact in the film industry are also known as ‘Screen icons’. Iconography runs through different media output, it varies from Magazines such as ‘Hello’ and it runs right through MTV into film and television.

Ø      Structure- this involves the way the text is put together and the shape it takes.

Ø      Theme- this relates to the ideas the text deals with.

Codes and Conventions of Short Films

For my research into short films, I’ve had to watch a variety of short films. From doing this I have come to a realisation that makers of shorts films take into account a number of things that the viewers don’t seem to notice.

Some of these things include:

Characters

Characters is an apparent convention for short films, this is because short films tend to stick to having just 2-3 main characters that the film is focused on. This is the because the duration of short film are around 3-5 minutes long and the producers of the film don’t have enough time to create a background or character history. They decide to keep the numbers of characters minimal so the audience can relate to them in a short amount of time the film runs for.

An example of this is a film I watched called ‘Thirst’, where the main character is a male and he finds himself lost and has an overwhelming thirst for water, when he finally finds a lake he’s excited to drink but drinking from it takes him further into the lonely and isolated desert. All through the film he remained the main frame, but there were two other characters in the film but he was the dominant one. The screen shot below is the last scene of the film, and from the look on the character's face he looks lost and out of place with everything around him, but he is actually relived that he's in the city and not lost in the desert like he was at beginning of the film.

Twist

Short films always have a form of twist involved with it, it’s the moment that caps the rest of the story off and reveals it for what it really is.  The reason for this is to keep the audience interested and engaged, because the films are short, and without the twist the film will be boring, and dull. The twist can happen any time during the run time of the film, it could be at the beginning, middle or at the end of the film. A well suited example for a short film with a ‘Twist’ would be a short film called ‘LUCKY - Tropfest Finalist’ by Nash Edgerton. The film is a about the only character waking up at the boot of an unknown car and struggles to get out, and when he finally does, he is shocked to find out that there’s no one driving the car he’s been kidnapped in, but he manges to regain control of the car, (which some people might have found a little too easy), he then bring the car to an abrupt stop and he turns off the ignition and the car explodes with him (main and only character) in it.

This keeps the audience on edge as they were not expecting it to happen, and leaves them wondering in their minds if he manages to get out, but when the film finishes without the character surviving, they come to conclusion that he didn’t get out of the exploding car.

As well as giving it a twist the director also gives the audience what they wanted, in a way they didn’t expect it.

<<<He wakes up from being knocked out, and finds himself in the trunk of a moving car

 <<He finds his way out of the boot, and he works his way to the  bonnet of the car so he can break the window to control the high   speed moving car.

 <<The final scene this is where the car blows up with the main  character in the Vehicle, leaving the audience on edge.

Situation

For a short film to be successful, it needs to have a very intriguing storyline. The producers take everyday situations that the audience can relate to and flip and nip it in a way the audience will find interesting.

An interesting example of how a simple everyday situation can be flipped in a film is the film ‘FOCUS - Tropfest 2011’ by Ari Kruger. In this film a man meets a lady in a supermarket and from there they get to know each other, after a while they take their relationship to the next level, they fall in love and  things have never felt better. But one day, he notices something about her you hadn't noticed before, and when he brings it up she gets really aggressive about it, so he drops the topic. Soon her condition gets worse and he can’t help but question her she gets aggravated and she wakes up one morning and leaves him for another man and he blames himself for falling in love. Here we can see that the director takes something such as love, something everyone knows to be a good thing, he flips it to create an interesting story.

<<<Where he meets her for the first time

            at the supermarket.

<<<This is where he finds out there's

         something wrong with her.

<<<Finally when they grew apart, she tells him she's not interested in him anymore.

Budget

Short films don’t always have a high budget, and this can be noticed whilst watching them, there are no expensive cars, houses or costumes; this is mainly because it’s a short film and the producers and directors are independent, so they don’t need financial backing/support. They maintain a low budget by sticking to one or two locations and using a maximum of three characters. In each of the examples I have used, they mostly have 2-3 locations. In ‘Focus’ we see that some of the shots were taken in a house whilst the rest of the shots were taken outdoors, the same goes for ‘Thirst’ where there was just one shot the house and the rest took place outside. Reason being filming outside is free and won’t cost the producers and directors a dime.

These conventions are things to take into consideration when I decide to make my own short film. The things I have learnt and will consider when making my own short film include:

Ø      Keeping the characters simple and keep their numbers down in order to save time.

Ø      Make sure the twist is effective and this keeps the audience interested.

Ø      Use every day simple situation and turn it around.

Ø      Use maximum of 2/3 locations.

Ø      Use one location and try to get actors for free (preferably friends)

Ø      You don’t need a big budget to make a good film.

In order to achieve this I will have to do a lot of planning and research. This is so my production will be of good and real quality, and also it can be accessible for people to view especially my target audience.

 

My Chosen Genre

For my production I have decided to create a Drama based film on Dramatic poetry (Spoken Words)
A spoken word is a literary and performance art in which lyrics, poetry, sketches or stories are spoken instead of sung.
The spoken word genre can be used to recognize by any word-based performance that takes on such forms that include features such as: poetry reading, storytelling, sound-emphasis poetry etc. The spoken word group is usually characterized by coffeehouse performances, improvisation, and liberal themes. These are usually performed by poets, actors, musicians, prose writers, commentators, and in some cases comedians.

Dramatic Poetry is a form of writing that expresses emotional feelings and attitude. It includes elements that very much relate to drama, this is because it is written in a dramatic form and can sometimes uses dramatic techniques. However in some cases it could also be a story, but in this case there is more weight on the character than on the narrative. An example of this type of writing is in some of Shakespeare's plays.
There are three different forms of Dramatic poetry, and they include:

• Dramatic monologue
• Soliloquy
• Character sketch

My main focus for my production would be the ‘Dramatic Monologue’, this is because it follows through and it entails everything I want my production to be about.

Dramatic monologueThis is a combination of drama and poetry. The character is presented to be in a specific situation in an important moment. The speaker is addressing one or more persons, the speaker’s personality/character is shown through the way he/she communicates with others and attitude towards life. A dramatic monologue is written to reveal both the situation at hand and the character as an individual.
Victorian poets such as Robert Browning and Alfred Tennyson wrote some of the most well known dramatic monologues.

Drama convention includes features such as:

• Exhibiting real life situations with realist characters and settings.
• They keep the audience interested and get their attention emotionally. They do this by structuring it with climaxes.
• The centre attention of the drama is the conflict between the characters. The conflict could include: inner/outer realistic struggles, where the character has to deal with depicting hardship, difficulty and in some cases pain.

Genres and Sub-genres of Movies

The history of film is the historical development of the medium known variously as cinema, motion pictures, film, or the movies.

The history of films spans over 100 years, from the latter part of the 19th century to the present day. Motion pictures developed gradually from a carnival novelty to one of the most important tools of communication and entertainment, and mass media in the 20th century and into the 21st century. Motion picture films have substantially affected the arts, technology, and politics.

Genre is a very important component of a film, because it defines which direction the plot line will go and allows you to prepare yourself for that film. Genre is a categorization of certain types of art based upon their style, form, or content. Even though video stores use about eight to fifteen genres to categorize their films, there are about five main genres that are big and popular.
Every indivudual has their own movie preferences. There are people who love the hard core action and there are some who prefer the slow paced drama and romantic movies. People may be turned off by a movie because of the Genre It’s in.

There are different types of movie genres out there are: Action, thriller, horror, comedy, kids, musical, wars, drama, teen and romance, crime, science fiction etc. Whilst having Genres, there are Sub-genres and it is a subcategory within a particular genre. They have their own distinctive subjects, matter, style, and iconography.

Drama

A prose or verse composition, especially one telling a serious story, that is intended for representation by actors impersonating the characters and performing the dialogue and action. It includes an exciting, emotional, or unexpected event or circumstance surrounding the main character’s life. The features included in drama genre are:

Sub-genres include:

Ø      Melodramas

The typical plot of this genre is a conflict between characters who personify extreme good and evil characteristics. Melodramas usually end  happily and emphasize sensationalism. Melodramas originally referred to romantic plays featuring music, singing, and dancing.

Ø      Road movies

This is a movie in which the main character travels and has adventures along the way. An example is a film called ‘Road’

Ø      Sport films

This list of sports films is a compilation of films in the genre covering sports activities. Example: ‘Happy Gilmore, Rocky’

Action

This genre of movie is mostly fast paced.  The story line always has to do with one or more heroes that are thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases mainly through a clash of physical forces. They occasionally have a resourceful character struggling against incredible odds such as: life-threatening situations, an evil villain, and/or being chased in several ways of transportation (car, bus, truck, etc.) with victory achieved at the end after difficult physical efforts and violence. This keeps the audience awake and excited with their non-stop action sequences. They are usually filled with fast paced chases, explosions, fighting, numerous stunts, and special effects. The Action movies are usually intended to entertain male audiences from the ages of 13 to the mid-30s. Examples of Action movies are:

Ø      Dark knight

Ø      The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the Kings

Ø      Inception

Ø      The Matrix

Ø      The Terminator

The Sub-genre of this includes features such as: Spy, Espionage, Martial arts, Race against time.

Romance

This is a genre that has been going on since the 1890s. Romantic movies are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centred on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus. Occasionally, lovers face obstacles such as finances, physical illness, racial, social class status, or sexual orientation discrimination, psychological restraints or family that threaten to break their union of love. Examples of romantic films are:

Ø      Casablanca

Ø      Forest Gump

Ø      City Lights

Ø      Valentine’s Day

Sub-genres include:

Ø      Historical romance

Romance that tells a story that takes place in the past.

Ø      Romantic suspense

This is where a Hero and heroine solve a mystery and find love.

Horror

These types of films seek to extract a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewers. Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a genre of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its audience; it gives them the feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural. The genre has ancient origins which were reformulated in the eighteenth century as Gothic horror.

Ø      The Thing, Alien

Ø      The shinning

Ø      Friday the Thirteen

Sub-genres include:

Ø      Slasher

Involves Psychopathic killer stalking, and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a chainsaw or an axe. Example of this would be ‘Friday 13^th’

Ø      Science fiction

This type of genre is based on stories whose central struggle is generated from the technology and tools of a scientifically imaginable world. They have featured content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, parallel universes, aliens, and paranormal abilities. Examples are: ‘Back to the future, star wars and Alien’

Comedy

Films based on this genre are emphasized mostly on humour; they are made to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedy films are mainly light-hearted Drama that is made to amuse and entertain the audience. Comedy movies are considered the oldest film genre and the most popular.  Examples of comedy films are:

Ø      I love you Philip Morris

Ø      You Again

Ø      Honey, I shrunk the kids

Sub-genres include:

Ø      Spoofs

These films impersonate, ridicule, or scoff at serious situations and people. These films rely heavily on satire and can be used as a means of social or political commentary.

Ø      Romantic comedies

Romantic-Comedy is a genre that attempts to catch the viewer’s heart with the combination of love and humor.

Ø      Black comedy

These films often explore concepts and topics that are considered taboo. Black Comedy takes topics and situations that are commonly held as serious and explores them in a comical way.

What is a Short Film?

Short movies are films that last from 5 minutes to 45 minutes and are designed to engage the viewer in a very small story that unravels in rapid segments. There have been a whole host of incredible short films and they were at there most popular in the 1920’s which is when they actually came to light. Short films are considered to be the equivalent of a short literature story or a poem. Short films come into the all the entertainment area, which includes: advertisement, music, documentaries and some animation. Short films can be created in different forms, they can be shot digitally, and 3D animated, this also allows the director and the producer and everyone else working on the film to be as creative as they wish.

Final Decision

Looking through the project briefs, I have decided to produce a Short Film, including a poster for the film and a radio trailer. I initially planned on making a music video, this is because I wanted to try something new and interesting. But I changed my mind and decided to go ahead with 'Brief 10'. The decision to make a short film over a  music video, was because a short film is much more practical and a great way to develop my media skills and it will also allow me to come up with an interesting and realistic story line. 

In AS I made an opening sequence film, which I wasn’t too pleased with the out come of the final product. I have decided to give it another go, and implement the knowledge I gained from making my first opening sequence into this, and hopefully progress my skills from AS to a much advanced standard in A2.

First Lesson Class Discussion

During our first A2 Media lesson we looked at the briefs to the project of our coursework this year, and we were asked to pick ones which took our interest. The briefs that took my interest were:

The first two pages of a new local newspaper, together with two of the following three options:

• A poster for the news paper
• A radio advertisement for the newspaper
• Two hyperlinked pages from the news paper’s website

A promotional package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer, together with two of the following three options:

• A website homepage for the film
• A film magazine front cover, featuring the film
• A poster for the film

A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:

• A website homepage for the band
• A cover for its release as part of a digipak(CD/DVD package)
• A magazine advertisement for the digipak(CD/DVD package)

A short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live action or animated or a combination of both, together with two of the following three options:

• A poster for a film
• A radio trailer for the film
• A film magazine review page featuring the film.