What is genre?

A genre is what defines the type of film, it puts it into a category for the institution and audience. It helps the consumer because it gives them a category of their type of films which attracts them, and the genre is fit to live up their expectations. This benefits the institution because it gives them rules to follow and guidelines. It also helps the producers to fit what attracts a certain crowd of people. Genres allow the consumers to choose which type of film they want to see, and media producers can make certain types of films for certain audiences. 

Under a genre category, there are subgenres, the purpose of subgenres is to attract more people giving the film a larger audience appeal and therefore the institution gains more money. An example of subgenre's are action-adventure, romantic comedy and horror. Furthermore, another category within genres are hybrid genres, A hybrid-genre is a genre which changes theme mid way through a film. it is also known as a 'cross genre'  which is a genre that mixes themes and elements from two or  more different genres. Examples of hybrid genres include action comedy, dark fantasy, comedy horror and comic fantasy. Hybrid genres attract a mix of audiences, for example, a romantic comedy attracts romantic genre consumers and also audiences which are interested in comedy. This allows the institutions to widen their types of audiences. 

Genres are made up of conventions, media producers use conventions to define consumer expectations. A genre convention are typical story elements in a certain genre, it's like a structure for a good film. Genre conventions include setting, characters, narrative, mood, structure, storyline and also certain prop use.

For example, action conventions will include a hero, victim and villan characters. The purpose of the hero in an action is to stop the villan and save the victim. The common mood set in an action film is usually sinister and upbeat but will incorporate nerve racking soundtrack to create suspense. As the audience, we know what to expect in an action film, we know there will being exploations, fights, weapons, fast cars, and always a motive. An excellent example of a typical action film is The Terminator. Produced in 1984, it is directed by James Cameron and produced by Gale Anne Hurd (Hemdale Pacific Western Productions Cinema). 

Horror conventions usually include specific fears which is common within the audience. Such as clowns, alienation, zombies, death, ghosts and nightmares. Horrors often based in dark areas with minimal amounts of people like in 'Cabin In the Woods'. the purpose of horror films is made to be unsettling as it has a purpose to scare to audience. Some examples of horror films are; Cabin in the woods, Paranormal activity and Annabelle. 

A good example of a thriller convention is Extraction, directed by Sam Hargrave, produced by Joe Russo and distributed by Netflix. Extraction is technically a subgenre as it includes action and thriller together. Conventions of a thriller include a antagonist victimising the protagonist. Usually thrillers incorporate elements of low key lighting, quick cuts to reinforce action, tense music, diegetic sound of breathing and sometimes montages. Thrillers like Jaws, are shown to the audience in the killers point of view while the creature is hidden within the shadows. 

 A main convention of a romance is the two main characters going through a heartbreak, this common convention is used as it is what the audience expects to happen. Normally, romance genres contain emotional feelings of loss or death. The typical narrative in a romance genre include a couple meeting and falling in love, however there is always someone who disagrees, typically there is a fued and they break up. A perfect example of this generic convention is The Titanic (1997), directed by James Cameron and produced by 20th Century Fox. 

Western conventions are usually set in western America in a natural, desert like setting. Typical western films include good guys vs bad guys, gangs, robberies, and chases. Codes and conventions for a western are used to attract a specific audience, Western genre's are aimed at target audiences which are usually older age category and normally men. Western conventions use props such as guns, horses, whiskey and costumes such as cowboy hats, spur boots and also often use sound effects like gunshots and buzzard calls. The cinematography in western genres are specific to the codes and conventions, the audience expects to see extreme longshots of the American West, desert landscapes and shots of old, ghost-like towns. A typical western film is Toombstone (1993) directed by George P. Cosmatos and Kevin Jarre, this film is shot in Arizona USA and is produced by Hollywood Pictures.

Finally, consumers expect Si-Fi's to be associated with space, aliens and futuristic spaceships. The genre incorporates hypothetical and science based themes into the plot of the film. The genre often includes futuristic elements and technologies to explore social, political, and philosophical issues. In many cases the film itself is set in the future, either on earth or in space. The generic convention of sci-fi incorporates heroes, villains, quest, advanced technology and unfamiliar locations 

Mise-en-scene of film poster

For my film poster analysis I will be analysing ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’.
 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Produced by Columbia Pictures. Set in 1969 Los Angeles, the film follows a fading character actor and his stunt double as they navigate the rapidly changing film industry, with the looming threat of the Tate-LaBianca Murders hanging overhead. It features multiple
 storylines in a modern fairy tale tribute to the final moments of Hollywood's golden age.  

From this poster, we are shown that there are three main characters, played by Leonardo De Caprio, Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt, which is clearly written at the bottom of the poster, maybe this was purposefully done to attract a grater audience to watch this film knowing it stars famous actors and actresses. We can guess that Leonardo De Caprio is the star of the film and plays the main character as Rick Dalton. He is in centre stage of the poster looking confident, this could signify that maybe his status is greater importance than the other characters below him. Margot Robbie plays Sharon Tate who is a powerful woman in this film, she clearly plays a big role along with Brad Pitt who plays Cliff Booth. Guessing from the positioning of these characters in the poster, perhaps these 3 people are good friends throughout the film or play a powerful, strong role in the storyline. Maybe there’s a spark of romance between these men and woman.

The poster conveys a sense of gender stereotyping, we can see various pictures of women dressed in shorts and with blonde hair, hinting that it attracts a male audience and maybe in the film it mocks the male expectation of women? Due to the time in history it was set in, we know that feminism was a rising movement and that the film industry was rapidly changing. The poster reflects a humorous and action packed tone, it seems quite fun, light hearted and we can guess that love plays a big part in this film. We can see in the poster that it is obviously set in Hollywood as there is lights, the sign and stereotypical images of Hollywood. ‘Hollywood’ is bold in the poster, instantly this makes us as the audience think of stereotypical things that we expect to see in such a place, like for example, the classic bright lights, old fashion movie signs and old cars. The poster presents itself as a vintage film poster, it is set in the 1960’s so maybe it wants to give off the impression of a throwback to the old days to the audience of the modern day. The vintage posters have been created by Steven Chorney, an artist known for his illustrated posters from the 1980’s. Chorney created posters for films such as Labyrinth and Who Framed Roger Rabbit and his work here is similar to his previous designs.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood seems to be mocking its own posters in a unique way. Quentin Tarantino's ninth film takes the audience back to one of Hollywood's prime eras in the late 1960s while also providing a brief look into the making of movies and television. Of course, a film like this, which not only takes place during an infamous time in Hollywood's history but also includes portrayals of several real-life people.

In this poster, we can recognize the way people are dressed. I can see cowboys dressed in their hats and boots actresses dressed smartly in large sunglasses and  tight clothes, maybe this shows how women in the Hollywood film industry were viewed and dressed. Rick Dalton gives the impression from the way he is dressed in the poster that maybe he comes from Western America. Rather than the opposite of Sheron Tate who is dressed quite classy and neat, this could imply that maybe she is playing as a actress in this film, living in LA or Hollywood. Maybe the three of them have united together in the film industry working in Hollywood but have all come from different backgrounds and areas in America.

How tension is created in opening thriller

 This is my analysis I did individually on an opening sequence to a movie from Hurtwood House.

Analysis of opening scene

 This is my powerpoint presentation I made individually on The Breakfast Club opening scene and how mise-en-scene is used

My favourite film

For my film review I will be writing about ‘Kingsman and the secret service’, a 2014 action spy comedy film directed and produced by Matthew Vaughn. The screenplay is written by Vaughn and Jane Goldman. This film covers the job of a super-secret spy organization as it recruits a young boy into the agency's ultra-competitive training program just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius. The film includes some well known actors such as; Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Mark Strong and Samuel L. Jackson. Matthew Vaughn is an English film producer, director, and screenwriter. He has produced films including Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Stardust, X-Men and the Kingsman series. I was particularly drawn to this film as it included colin firth who is one of my favroute actors, he stars in Bridget Jones which Is also one of my favroute films. I watched this film the first time at home with my family and found it very entertaining and hilarious. I find it quite a light-hearted, fun and family friendly action-adventure, comedy film. My favroute part of this film is the intense and suspenseful training in which the spys go through to pass as a agent, I find it gripping and amusing! I first watched this film about 2 or 3 years ago and since then I have re watched it plenty of times. Moreover, recently they releced a sequal called, ‘Kingsman and the Golden Circle’ which stars Elton John. This sequal was released three years later in 2017 following the outstanding reviews from the first one. On top of that, a prequel, ‘The King's Man’ is scheduled for release on the 26th of February 2021.