Oliver Turner AS MEDIA: Genre

What is Genre
The genre is the particular style and class of a film which is portrayed through the cinematography. Often, editing is key to elaborating the genre of a movie whether that be the overall colours used or the visual effects.

1.  conventions of the horror, sci- fi, comedy, romance, teen, action and crime genres.

Horror- The horror genre must hook the audience through building suspense and tension via various assets such as: Isolated areas (suggest there is no escape and tells us the characters are away from any form of society/normality. Pathetic fallacy may also be used here to enhance on this isolation), Use of Props (things like weapons, antiques and desolate buildings), Music ( the music can create severe tension and incline the viewer to anticipate what might happen next), Colours (usually deep reds or blacks which are related to death and danger). Horror movies would appeal most to older audience like teenagers or adults depending on the ratings and scenes involved. Horror movies should not be made suitable for younger audiences and an age rating should clearly be displayed on the case itself or in digital format.

Sci-Fi- This genre must focus mainly on things like science, space, and aliens which is what we would expect from this type of film. Sci-fi may focus on costumes and special effects to support the genre and ultimately make the film more believable. Props must be relevant and in keeping with a futuristic feel. The setting would be set either in the future, or set in an historical past that contradicts records. A good example of a Sci-fi film is Star wars which follows these guidelines well. Sci-films are aimed for all ages but probably more the younger age group as they can require quite a lot of imagination.

Comedy- A comedy should be set in a bright place (suggest a more light-hearted feel as opposed to a darker set), examples include: Social events/places like cafes. On the other hand, the camera angles are usually rather close up so we can interact with the characters and identify things like facial expressions. The camerawork is usually naturalistic and the main character is usually filmed in a way that no one is better. A good example of this is the comedy TV show, Miranda. Likewise, Comedy has a target audience of teenagers and above as humour can be rather rude or explicit at times and can be hard to understand at times.

Romance- Typical "boy meets girl" scenario and usually ends as a happy ending. The main characters are normally introduced at the very beginning, frequently in their typical lifestyle to contrast between the two characters life. Colours that are used are mainly seemingly warm hues of red and orange; all of which symbolise love. Furthermore, narration can also form part of romance and help remind us of characters internal monologues and thoughts. Romance is mainly targeted at women but can be age rated from 15+ to 18+.

Teen- The teen genre must include a clique in which different groups of people are identified. A good of this is "mean girls" which highlights this idea- Cliques include: Cheerleaders/jocks, popular, geeks, loners, artsy people, and the people who aren't in a clique (the protagonist of the film). Common settings involve places like High schools, houses of these characters, universities or the mall. The teen genre also focuses mainly on teen issues like peer pressure or being outcast which sets them apart from the people around them. Teen is obviously aimed at teenagers as the content often has immature humour and a storyline that teenagers could relate to.

Action- There is almost always a good side/bad side force that we follow throughout the film. We, as an audience, follow one of these forces until a finale scene which usually involves the conflict between both good and bad characters e.g. James Bond and villain. A typical action film also involves visual effects like explosions and crashes and warfare like scenery that keeps an action film fast paced and consistent. Action is often aimed at teenagers and above as they can be rather violent and include disturbing scenes that may put off younger audiences.

Crime- This genre should offer an engaging narrative that allows for audience debates for things like policing, criminality, gender, race and social or cultural values. Crime is often spilt between "One-off crime dramas" and "long running" Crime dramas. This depends on whether it is a film or a TV programme. Typically, one off dramas are shown on tv, lasting a just a couple of shows and would involve crime like murder or serial killing as these create more viewing revenue for the public. However, a film would go into more plot development and would consist of sub-plots to keep the audience engaged. Again, crime appeals to teenagers and above with a large portion of viewers male.

 Textual analysis of film opening from each of the above genres.

Horror

Sci-Fi-


Comedy-


Romance-


Teen-

Action-
Crime-


 What do film companies do to attract these audiences in terms of marketing?
Film companies will produce a range of advertising techniques to market their film to the public. Typically, companies will produce movie trailers which give us an insight to the film and allows us to determine whether we would watch it or not. The trailer is often showcased on TV and the soundtrack is usually very loud as to gain are attention from any other advert on screen. Companies may also take to social media to gain more customers. Sites such as Twitter and Facebook can easily communicate with vast amounts of people quickly and simultaneously advertising a film by giving a link to the trailer.