learning aim A
genre and theories
horror
horror moves are meant to strike fear in the audience.the setting is normal run down or old with low-key lighting. common camera techniques are hand-held, high angle shots and panning. the costumes have lots of dirty, bloody and dark clothing. the colours used tend to be dark grey, black and red. the editing has a lot of colour grading to make scenes look darker. it also has CGI and special effects to make the supernatural part of the movie. Horror uses unique and unusual angles to create confusion and unsettling feel with the viewer. The lighting tends to be dark, underexposed with lots of shadows, making the audience feel tense and on edge.
Furthermore, the use of sound, such as a high pitch key, creates a sense of alarm with the audience. There is also an emphasis on footsteps, doors creaking and animal noises, making the audience feel as though they don't know what is round the corner.
semiotics: in horror an example of a denotation would be a crow which is just a bird. but the connotations of a crow is death and danger. the meaning audiences attached to that would be that the characters are in a dangerous area and are about to encounter something murderous
narratology: the equilibrium will have the main characters do what they normally do
disequilibrium is them realise somethings going and getting scared of it
recognition is them admitting something weird is going on and feeling helpless against it
attempt is the protagonist trying to stop it and the resolution is the main character picking up the pieces then getting back to normal life.
structuralism: in horror the binary opposite tends to be predator vs prey. the audience is meant to feel sorry for the prey and want them to win. the predator is meant to be fair and hated, their evil and ugly. meanwhile the prey is pretty and kind.
genre theory: in horror there are some things that your meant to have in every movie that people expect to see. one of which is jump scares since people are meant to be scared it's basically a requirement. they also need a monster for everyone to be scared of. but some have differences like how the problem is resolved and how much tragedy befalls the cast
sci-fi
sci-fi is high tech and supernatural with the setting normally being space. with futuristic tech stuff like ray gun , robots and synthesiser. since the setting is normally space there's a lot of alien characters. the lighting normally adds a lot of purple and blue. typical characters are space explorers with a thirst for knowledge. common themes are time travel, space exploration, aliens robots and telepathy. sci fi uses lots of extreme long shots and establishing shots to show the detailed sets and locations they create. speaking of scenes they create green screen are often used to create massive landscape that the characters are meant to be exploring
semiotic: in sci fi there are symbols like glowing stuff which has connotations of life and radiation. this would make the audience think whatever it is might be radioactive.
narratology: in sci fi films the narrative follows the structure starts with a space explorer travelling he universe which would be the equilibrium. then the disequilibrium comes in when the explorers reach a new planet that seems dangerous but they don't know why. then they realise what's dangerous about the planet and are in danger. the attempt is them trying to fixes what ever is wrong or trying escape. resolution they escape or fix it then live there life normally.
structuralism: in sci fi a binary opposite could be man vs machine. the robots are cold and emotionless meanwhile the human are real and full of compassion. this binary opposite shows the audience they should root for man since they're real and robots aren't
genre: a requirement of the sci fi genre is that it has to be futuristic and technologically advanced especially in its weapons. but there's also many subversions it can make like where it's taking place you could have it set on earth, another planet, space ship basically anywhere
comedy
comedies are meant to be funny they tend to have continuity editing and are fairly simplistic. the protagonist is normal a quirky person with a dysfunctional life or who has something happen in the life that changes everything. comedies tend to have normal everyday location and costumes. the lighting is naturalistic. comedies use a lot of intertextually with there jokes.
semiotics: in comedy a sometimes there's something on the floor that can be tripped on which tells the audience that a character will trip on it later
narratology: in comedy the equilibrium is normally the main character waking up and starting there day then they're friends invite them on a trip which is the disequilibrium. the recognition is whatever goes wrong on the trip, then attempt is them trying to fix it. the resolution is the problem fixed.
structuralism: i can't think of a binary opposite in comedy
genre: comedy doesn't have a lot of conventions that you need to follow the only thing it needs to be is funny but you can change everything else.
romance
romances has lots of two shots with cute pop song as the sound . the narrative normally has 2 people fall in love then the women the mans cheating, he does a romantic gesture to win her back they get back together. they tend to be simplistic since there to replicate normal life but they're set in cities like New York. the costume has pretty make up and business casual clothing. it uses continuity editing with lots of dissolves and cut always. the camera angle most used would be a two shot to show the couple talking
semiotics: in romance a symbol is the weather for example sunny weather is often used to connote happiness which makes the audience think the relationship is amazing.
narratology: the narrative structure of romance starts with the audience being introduced to both characters then the characters meet. romance is a bit different though, it has the recognition and disequilibrium within seconds of each other. typically the disequilibrium is someone kissing one of the main characters then the other one seeing it and running away. the attempt comes next where the one who was kissed must make a grand gesture to show there love. the resolution is them getting together again and dating/marring each other.
structuralism: in romance binary opposite would be the 2 love interests. one might be angry, strong and controlling, the other might be sweat, soft and supportive. for these opposite the audience is meant to think the bad boy is better cause he's more exciting meanwhile the other guy is meant to be annoying cause he's nice
genre: romance normally sticks to it conventions with almost no difference the most they change is the genders normally and maybe how attractive one of the characters is. some romances ad a second love interest competing for the main character attention
action
action films are excited, energetic and fast pace. the point of them is to excite the audience which they do using special effect to create explosions and crashes. the editing has a lot of jump cuts to make everything more fast pace, it also has close ups for for the characters reactions. the setting tend to be a city or secluded military base.
semiotics: action movies have symbols like guns even is no one is actually getting shot the act of the a character loading a gun tells the audience someone is getting shot at some point.
narratology: the narrative structure of action movies is the equilibrium which has the main character doing random spy work or anything similar to that. the disequilibrium comes when the main character gets called in by some kind of agency to do a job that requires them to defeat an evil force. the recognition is them making a plan to defeat this threat. then there's the attempt where they do the plan but something normally go wrong forcing them to scrap the plan. after a couple explosions the main character just manages to escape and then the resolution
structuralism: in action the binary opposite in between god and evil with the good being the main character and the bad is a villain or company trying to do bad. the audience supports the main character cause there cool and handsome meanwhile the villain is cruel and ugly.
genre: action movies have conventions like double crosses, explosions, and fight senses. there's also subversions like who the villain is and the type of fighting.
fantacy
fantasy movies are often set in magical medieval world or forest with fairies and elves. a lot of the costume are based on the time period with a modern twist. there's a lot of long shot, establishing shots to show off the location and costume. CGI and green screens are used to make the set and some of the creatures. elliptical editing technique are also used a lot. typical character in fantasy is a young girl that got lost.
semiotic: a code in fantasy movies are anything glowing. when
objects glow it tells the audience that object has magical properties
narratology: the equilibrium in a fantasy is the main character living there normal life then they get teleported to a strange land which is the disequilibrium. the recognition is her finding out where she is and trying to find a way out. the the attempt is her discovering how to get home and getting home the the resolution is her home and safe with her family.
structuralism: binary opposite in fantasy is the main character and the rest of the world. the main character is plain and boring but the fantasy world is colourful and bright this tells the audience that the girl needs more brightness in her life
genre: there aren't many convention fantasy needs to has, all it needs is magical world with strange creatures but other then that you can do what you want.
narrative
enigma code
linear
an enigma code reels the audience in while giving them more questions
linear narratives refer to narratives that happen in a certain order with all the events happening one after the other
non-linear
multi strand narrative
a narrative that doesn't go in chronological order e.g. story told from end to start
this means a story with have multiple characters that have their own plot point instead of just one character and a supporting cast
serial narrative
series narrative
a serial has a set amount of episodes. It is made up of one narrative split into episodes, with one episode following directly on from another. An audience would have difficulty understanding the middle episode of a serial if they had not watched the previous ones.
this is a long-running television programme like a crime drama. Each episode of a series has a self contained storyline and the audience can watch a random episode audience. However, it also contains storylines that link one episode to another.
flexi-narrative
episodic drama
this is the most complicated narrative type with the characters being complex and the narrative having twist and cliff-hangers
this is a show where each episode is it's own story
unrestricted narrative
restricted narrative
this is when the view knows more then the characters
when the audience knows as much as the characters
evalution
learning aim B
treatment
planning docs
