Looking into Comedy #1

 The comedy film I have decided to analyse is 'Step Brothers'. This is, as you can gather from the title, about two step brothers and having watched the whole film I know that they form an unlikely friendship towards the end after many many scenes of showing hatred to one another.

The opening starts with a George Bush quote about family, with them showing the author as "an actual George Bush quote". This is comedic due to George Bush's character and how it contradicts this quote. The credits all shown against a black screen in a doodle form text. This shows fun and lets us know its a lighthearted kind of film as it isn't as 'adult'.

Whilst these credits are running we hear a crunching/ruffling sound which we soon see to be a grown man overfilling a plate of tortilla crisps and cheese - finger/childrens food - again a theme of slight immaturity running with the greed. Fun music then begins to play with the man grabbing even more food than what he already has. I think the fun music is a pro in all of this at it helps set the lighthearted and comedic atmosphere.

We then see a scene with a mum leaving the house giving this man who we realise to be her son information about her whereabouts and when she will be back, another sign of adolescence.

A pattern emerges when we see another grown man acting like a child playing a guitar on a game depending on his father for food as he goes out.

This is all 'funny' because its not a social norm for fully grown men to act in the way the two males are shown in the opening, the things they are saying and doing also consist of 'adult' humour which is also something the audience would find entertaining.

After the two very similar men from different families are introduced we see their parents meet and form a connection with their similarities and attraction to each other - which is also very humorous, eventually we see the couple get married and their two children joined together.

Both of the children end up throwing some form of a tantrum in the reception at the idea of being in each others families and living together and it is at this point where the opening ends.

Like I said, I like that right at the start of the film we were given a feel for the atmosphere and story with the fun font and music. I also like the idea of a quote to set it all off as it immediately tells the audience what the theme of the film will be - family.

I think a con would be how the scene jumped from the parents first meeting to their wedding day, I believe an improvement would have been to film a short montage of the two getting to know and love each other rather than just jumping from lust straight to love. Apart from this however I believe the opening revealed and set the base for the plot very well in the amount of time it had, we saw the situation of both men and families and saw them join together with a little bit of 'step-sibling rivalry' which is enough for the audience to decide if its their kind of film.

Another thing I like about this film is that its genre is almost 100% focused on one thing; comedy. The romantic part is over and done with within the opening and the marriage scene, and the producers are more concerned in showing us the growing relationship in the two brothers.

A brief plot synopsis idea for a film in this genre
Andy is a 13 year old boy trying to find himself and fit in with all of the people at his school, when his now single and 'nothing to live for' 22 year old brother, Alex, moves in for the summer everything seems to come together. With his careless and Andy's tactfulness, they join forces in their journey of having fun, getting to know each other and climbing the high school ladder Andys desperately been wishing for.

Looking into Thriller #1

The film i've chosen to look into for the thriller genre is 'Abduction' starring Taylor Lautner and Lily Collins. 

At the opening we are given many impressions about the characters shown's life. We immediately hear strong 'screamo' rock music blaring from the car radio (which is diagetic sound) with a teenage boy sitting and leaning on the windscreen on the outside of the car as it travels at high speed.

The 3 boys all seem to be having fun, with Taylor's character shouting at the driver to 'go faster' as he shows his excitement by screaming and 'woo'ing. As the driver is shouted at to go faster we are shown close up shots of him putting his foot down on the accelerator and the speed meter getting closer and closer to the highest number. All of this tells us a lot about the characters, particularly Nathan (Taylor), who is sat in the most dangerous position of all. It tells us that he is daring and possibly careless about his life, not valuing it enough in order to be as reckless as that which suggests something could be occurring in his life that he would like to escape from.

We see they are arriving at a party and as they arrive Nathan's friends tell him he is crazy, to which he responds with 'yes I am'.

This film opening fits with the genre as a thriller usually involves lots of excitement which can almost be negative and dangerous. I think the way the film has been put together is fitting with the genre as particularly the way it opens, isn't hugely intense - it just sets the scene with the overhead shot looking down at the car and the loud music blaring, showing regular teenagers, however as the opening unravels and we see a little glimpse of Nathan's discomfort we see there will be more to the film than we think.

I think opening with music that fits with the scene is also a clever idea as people connect to music and can immediately know what the overall feel may be, for example if slow and sad music played, the audience would immediately know the overall theme for the film could be heartbreak.

In this opening I liked the music being the first thing the audience heard, I also liked that the dialogue fits with the opening atmosphere of danger and craziness. One thing I wasn't 100% keen on was that i don't feel enough of the plot was revealed, in the opening all we really see is 3 wild teenage boys and a party, there doesn't seem to be much of a deeper meaning and the opening is the most important few minutes to engage the audience and I don't think this particular opening was entirely engaging. It also goes to show how important the movie title is, because if I didn't know the film would be as intense as an abduction I most likely would have turned it off. I do, however, like the excitement behind it and the element of danger and that something could go wrong, because films that aren't entirely a thriller based genre can include them to an extent and I think this can be used to enhance emotions to make a film more dramatic.

A brief plot synopsis idea for a film in this genre

Alex, a 37 year old divorced spy, is a father of 2 and when he sees that his ex wife's fiancé is on the run and planning to bring the entire family down with him, there is nothing he will not do to ensure he restores his loved ones safety. Lies and truths will out, danger looms however love will conquer.

Looking into Romance #1

Looking into the Romantic genre, I have chosen to do a brief analysis of the opening for 'The Vow'. I have chosen this because I think it is a very powerful opening and the entire film was outstanding.

The producers open this film very well with calm slow and happy music being played as an overhead zooming in shot is used to show a couple coming out of a theatre as it is snowing, as they're linking arms we can tell they have a romantic relationship, and the falling snow adds a magical and romantic effect to it.

There is then a pan shown of the setting around them, one big blanket of snow as they are talking about how beautiful it is. The music is taken down a notch to a gentle and magical almost christmassy feel with slight jingling sounds and a piano playing high notes and he is shown kissing her head as they almost cuddle up. This tells us these two are very much in love and the beautiful setting could be a metaphore for their relationship.

As they enter the car we have a back seat view of the two which I think makes the viewers feel a part of it more as though we were in the car with them.

Emphasising the romance further, Leo, turns on the radio singing along to 'I would do anything for love' and as they're laughing and having a good time Paige says 'I'm married to a cheeser'. This shows us that they aren't just a fling, their relationship is serious and real, they're at one of, if not the biggest step in a relationship which shows the audience its depth. The fact we are shown a close up clip of the radio being turned on shows us its diagetic sound - the characters can hear it too.

As the car stops, the music does too and the fun atmosphere has almost disappeared as we can only hear the running engine and wind wipers in the background.

Paige then starts talking and begins the sentence with 'I have a theory", its still a light hearted atmosphere as she goes on to say "a girl will get pregnant if she does it in a car". The two characters begin to get intimate with each other and we see a close up of Paige releasing her belt.

Suddenly the story line gets dark, the noise is turned to a tense sound slowly getting louder as we see headlights of another car in the back mirror of theirs. Then a voiceover comes on of a present day Leo as we see that the sound isn't diagetic, he says he has a theory too. This is powerful as we can tell from the tone of his voice that this is serious, the reason we feel something bad is about to happen is because of a theory his wife had so hearing he has one with a deeper meaning as we see the two cars getting closer together builds tension and emotion in the opening.

As he tells us his theory is about "moments of impact" just after the last word the cars collide, we see the impact the collision had as the glass windows instantly smash as sad music plays in the background and as the only other thing we can hear is the smash of the front windscreen as Paige fly's through it - again because of the impact.

This all happens in slow motion and after Paige has gone through the windscreen, time speeds up, the glass falls and there is no more noise except for the intense instrumental sounds being played in the background as another overhead shot is used this time zooming out as the snow falls.

Not only is the performance and direction very good for the opening in this film, but also the techniques used and opposites, for example Barthes code of binary oppositions, the very begining of the opening shows an overhead shot zooming in with the snow with beautiful scenery and happiness, however the end of the opening is an overhead shot zooming out with the snow, but this time not so beautiful scenery, and a devastating accident. This is 100% a pro to this example of a romantic opening.

I also like how we were given an exactly perfect amount of information just in the few minutes, the intensity of their relationship (they were trying for a baby) and that something was about to change due to a fatal accident, which is inciting because we don't know what that will be or the effect it will have.

I really liked the voiceover, as from that point on, it managed to change the mood and direction of the entire opening from just the tone of the voice in the first sentence. I think voiceovers are very powerful, especially when it is done in such a way that it is a present day character referring to something that happened in their past - it shows growth. I would take inspiration from this in particular if i was to make an opening in this, or any genre.

There's nothing from this particular opening that I didn't like, one con if I had to pick at it would be that the voiceover did not carry on in the opening, it didn't come to a final sentence for closure expanding his theory on impact, however this can be seen as a good thing as after the opening the voice over may continue throughout the film - it can be a reason to keep watching, so it is bittersweet in that sense.

A brief plot synopsis idea for a film in this genre
Rosie is 25 wanting to settle down and wondering why every relationship she has been in has never worked out, she takes a trip down memory lane visiting lovers from her past only to realise exactly why she has ended up this way. An unexpected twist occurs for Rosie when someone from her past shed never even met could be the one to change her life forever...

Looking into Drama #1

Looking into drama I have decided to focus on one of the most dramatic and intensely emotional films I have ever watched; Titanic. The opening has no dialogue in it what so ever however I personally believe that it is immensely powerful. 

The scene starts with the sound I can only describe as the shore on a stormy beach, this sound lasts for about 3 seconds before we hear a very low base instrument and a woman who begins to sing. As she is singing one note she goes into many keys, however on the third as they are getting higher a sound of a base drum hits.

On this base note, a sepia film appears where we see a cruise ship (the titanic) thats about to depart as there are masses of people waving goodbye on land- they are the first thing we see as the camera zooms up to the boat and the people on it. Knowing the the tragic story this film follows, a sense of irony appears as the camera zooms up, in an upward shot as this would usually signify importance and high status of the people on this cruise ship - which in order to afford this holiday they thought they were, however we know the real end, which is even more upsetting.

The shot then moves to masses of people on the boat waving goodbye, with joy and their hats in the air and then focuses on more specific parts of the boat for example the deck, then the corner, then people at a stairway and so on. I believe this is because the film shows how this disaster affects many people, old couples, upper class, lower class and young families. One very well done thing in this film opening was showing people waving goodbye as a close up rather than many in a widescreen makes the film become more personal, making people emotional and causing them to connect more with the film.

The opening carries on with music throughout and its significance is almost beautiful when shown in an emotional light. Everyone knows titanic is an emotional and romantic film, revealing a beautiful, tragic, heartbreaking yet heart warming storyline. It is a juxtaposition. Just like the film, the music can be portrayed in this light too, the background instruments are low and convey an underlying sadness that is about to come whilst the higher singing voice can be seen as calming and happy - together they create something very bittersweet. I think this is definitely a positive as it immediately gives off this atmosphere letting us indirectly know how this film might make us feel as the audience

This opening also talks brings history into the scene, as it is also common knowledge that Ireland was the titanic's last port of call, the tune being sung particularly up until 11 seconds is extremely comparable to traditional Irish music. The sepia effect (filter) also emphasises that it is an old event as this and black and white were the colours people would watch the tv in, in the olden days - almost making us feel as though we were back there with them.

Another thing noticeable with the music is that it is very in time with the camera movements, at many of the higher notes there is a transition, either from masses of people or individual people. This is particularly meaningful as soon after the shot moves from daylight to darkness of the sea where we can see its movements in the wind and can guess that this disaster will have something to do with the water, which they show for 11 seconds all together after finally revealing the title of the film above this water 'TITANIC". As this appears the woman singing is at her highest note in the section of that song as well as the song all together, this is highlighting the importance of the actual titanic in this film, almost honouring it or the people inside it, again rising emotions.

As the womans voice continues we hear the sound we heard at the beginning again beginning to almost overpower it, and we see that the shot has moved into the deeper parts of the sea with a submarines lights as the shot gets higher and begins to be a downwards shot looking down on the submarines. After a few seconds, with now two submarines with many lights on them almost looking for something under the water it becomes clear to us that this is due to an accident and the voice then drowns out for almost five seconds before continuing and coming to an end as these submarine become further and further into the distance.

This five second pause also portrays a message of silence, respect and -you could say- sympathy. Similar to the two minute silence, it is almost something honorary and it is something whereby people feel connected to what has happened and feel the sorrow and effects of the accident through this emptiness.

Overall I think it is an outstanding opening and can not be competed with. I can genuinely find no fault whatsoever apart from that I would have liked to get a glimpse of the shipwreck at the end of the opening as it could add to reason and complete and answer the question we've been contemplating throughout the opening - if there was a disaster, what was it? However I believe the producers decision to not put this in was clever as it doesn't reveal everything right away, it lets us wonder and fear and feel for the people we saw at the begining more for a while longer.

Any inspiration I would take from this film would be the use of angles to portray different kinds of emotion and contradictory/ironic emotion as explained above, and the use of music to deliver the message of the story. Both of these are very powerful.

A brief plot synopsis idea for a film in this genre
Two 11 year old twins who are also the best of friends find out that they're being evacuated, but separately as it is the only way they can be safe. They live for 5 years with no contact allowed and both go on a desperate journey to find one another at last.

Looking into Documentary #1

The documentary film I have decided to look into is 'This is Us" by One direction. This is a documentary about each of 1D boys and their tour life.

The documentary stars off with a blank screen and Niall Horan talking about his life, this then leads on to each of the other boys doing the same thing. They initially talk about their life as young children and their background and Niall perfectly starts this off as the voiceover begins with "When I was small I had a desk", he goes on to say that on this desk he had carved "when I grow up i wanna be a singer" into it. This sets the rest of the opening up very well because each of the boys begin to talk about something when they were younger in relation to their career now, for example "When I was little, I knew I wanted to entertain" - and they are now entertainers.

When each boy begins to speak a picture of where they were brought up is shown along with a signpost for the place, for example when Louis Tomlinson comes on the train station sign of Doncaster comes up. After the pictures of their location appear, baby pictures or videos follow with relevance to what they are saying - when Harry Styles talks about how he always wanted to perform a clip of his younger self singing on a school stage is shown and when he talks about his sister, pictures of them together as children are included.

As each boy has their turn we hear faint screams from adoring fans and a guitar strum, signifying they achieved their musical dream as we see the production for their tour being set up with hundreds of seats only on the floor. There is slightly more background to their lives delivered to us through another voiceover and the guitar strums at a higher key when a photo of one of the boys standing on a stage looking out to a very big crowd comes onto the screen. We are then shown more pictures but of the boys as older children, we hear more screams and the guitar strums at a higher key again. There is then a pause where each of the boys are having a group moment on stage as they put their hands in together, after this there is a very fast montage of photos of them all from their childhood up will now and it is at this point where the voice over ends with Zayn Malik saying "That is when the dream started".

I really like that the guitar strum got higher and higher in key in the opening at each stage, the first strum, like i said, was when the set for their tour was being set up. I think this is very clever as it is meaningful and marks the beginning of their musical career as well as the fact they achieved all those childhood dreams they were talking about just seconds before in the voiceover and photo montage. The second strum was when one of the boys were facing a crowd with thousand of people screaming in excitement that adore him and his band, this is in a higher strum from the tour because its more personal and individual to that specific member. The third, final and highest key strum is before there is a pause where the boys all group together, showing their friendship and the emotional journey they have all had together through their dream. These three strums signify three elements to the film, the boys growing up and reaching their dream, how each individual boy's life changed and their friendship and life together. It gives an amazing and inspiring story emotion as you see these stars as real life people rather than robots who sing - and so the plot is revealed.

I wouldn't say there were any cons to this film opening because it is very emotional and enticing, especially for fans of this band. I would have said it could be improved by everything happening in order for example all pictures and stories to be shown then moving onto the tour rather than going backwards and forwards, however I feel like this adds to the emotion and intensity as showing the present day are just little flashes to constantly remind us how far these ordinary boys have come.

Like i said for the twilight film, I also really like the idea of voiceovers, whether it is to give thoughts away or things that have happened - I think it adds a more personal touch from the characters to the film, without breaking the fourth wall. However in a documentary it is almost necessary to break the fourth wall because it is real and therefore people expect a bigger connection to the people in it, this is mainly done through interviews during the documentary etc.

A brief plot synopsis idea for a film in this genre

Casie is 16 years old getting bullied by not only her peers, but by her work colleagues and customers too. Get an inside look as we follow this young girl letting her express how society has destroyed her confidence and investigate why body weight is something society feels is important enough to judge someone by.

Looking into Fantasy #1

The film I will be looking into for the fantasy genre is the first film of the series Twilight, this film was released in 2008 with the key character revealed in the opening being Bella Swan - played by Kristen Stewart.

This films opens in quite a 'dark' manner, however not dark enough to be considered a horror. 

The first words we hear are "I'd never given much thought to how i would die". This immediately tells us that this isn't a typical happy and joyful fantasy film, it is clearly intense - we can also see this from the nervous and uneasy tone in her voice. She continues her monologue with "dying in the place of someone I love seems like a good way to go". This tells me that the underlying base of the film will be about romance and possibly not a healthy relationship if it were to cause her so much pain.

As she is giving this monologue about death we see a hunting scene between a wolf and a deer. The deer is unsuspecting and alone when the wolf jumps up at her she runs away as he runs faster towards her, they change directions and suddenly when the deer reaches 'the light at the end of the tunnel' the wolf jumps out and kills her. We know that this must be significant in order to have made it into the cut however different meanings can be interpreted from it leaving a few questions in the audiences heads. My interpretation of it is that she is the deer and her lover is the wolf, initially when she sees him she tries to avoid him because she senses that he is dangerous and she begins to run however when she thinks she has gotten away she realises she loves him and he takes her on this almost dangerous relationship ride where she ends up getting physically hurt - or worse - dead.

The deer also symbolises innocence, vulnerability and being scared which can all relate back to Bella in terms of the hunting scene, which is the producers way of revealing the character indirectly.

In the opening we also hear Bella talking about leaving home to be with her dad, the last words she says in the opening is that its a "good thing, I think". The 'I think" doesn't give us any reassurance that the story line will be happy, instead it sets the story line on a more negative foot because Bella herself isn't sure that this is the best thing for her. The voice over could also be in the present as she's telling us a story about her past which we could then relate what she said back to the relationship she may find at her dads and that she thinks whatever she sacrifices for it is a good thing, because like we found out at the beginning she would sacrifice herself for love.

In this opening a voice over is used whilst clips are playing in the background, like the hunt. To emphasise the danger in this hunt the voice over is paused so that the audience are 100% focused on it. We also see a clip of her and her mother hugging before she leaves with her step father saying he loves them both in the background, this is used to show us the close bond she has with them and that leaving them is a big step.

I personally really like the way this film has opened, it has given us indirect information about the character. The voiceover and clips enable the baseline of the story to be revealed to us without too much being given away, there is a mysterious feel about it and the fact a deer and a wolf were used add to the fantasy element because both of these animals in different forms are known to be magical e.g. a reindeer and a werewolf.

I don't think there are any negatives to this film opening because enough characters have been revealed and we are briefly shown Bellas strong thoughts about love so it is enough for us to have an idea about what the film will entail. The only negative could be that a voice over was used for the entire opening however this is made up for by the fact there was none in the hunting scene and there was conversations being had by the step father, mother and Bella in a quieter volume over the voice over.

From here, I have taken the inspiration to include a voiceover into my final opening as i feel it is a perfect way to start the story off and give people an idea of what is happening but still having the capacity to be mysterious.


A brief plot synopsis idea for a film in this genre

Natalie can read minds, this is passed through every fourth generation in her family and she is unaware of this until she sees that her father has committed a terrible crime that could jeopardise the entire families lives. Will she stick by her fathers side or will she do what is really the best thing for them all?.

Secret Intelligence Service - Student textual analysis

'Secret intelligent service' is a student made film coming under the genre of sci-fi/mystery/spy. You can see the opening for this below.

In the opening to this film we see there is a Sci-fi element to it between 0:7-0:11, we can also take a guess that the plot may be sad as well as mysterious as the sad music plays in the background of this ident as if something devastating has occurred. The shot then cuts to a man writing what seems to be a very important letter headed 'SIS Intelligence Report: Potential London Threat' with the date of 2005. From this we can tell that the film is quite serious and could be about a spy. We then hear a baby cry and the atmosphere appears to be stressful for the man due to this and the fact that, unknown to him, the important letter did not save. We are shown a clip of a bombing that cuts straight to news reports overlapping each other emphasising the stress levels by doing so and showing devastating pieces of news, we also see an ambulance come in. This is all done in black and white which is very clever as it shows something in a raw and plain state where emotions are heavier and duller, there is more focus. We then hear an alarm clock go off and this man we think could be a spy, get ready. After he is ready there are establishing shots of London showing iconic buildings and the classic red London busses, letting the audience know the exact location. There are also very good shots and angles, particularly as the man is crossing the bridge in order to get to his final destination. We see a big building and at this point the title comes up across it with 'Secret Intelligence Service' so we therefore assume this is a spy building - especially as the man comes up to it and we get a point of view from a security camera.

The plot theme is revealed that the film is all about mystery and secret intelligence, it is very enticing as the London Bombings are such an important topic, so when brought up and people are given the directors theory or take on a story behind it, it is likely they will want to watch - even if they know it is not a true story. We can see that the plot will most likely revolve around these bombing and that some form of a secret mission is included later.

Only one key character seems to have been introduced, being the man, there is also a shot with his wife or girlfriend sleeping beside him who could become a key part later on in the story, however as far as the opening is concerned the main character is the man who appears to be a spy, as we see that this 'secret intelligence service' plays a critical part in the story. We see that this man is also a family man because we hear his baby cry through the baby monitor at night and he gets up from writing the letter to attend him/her. So overall, 3 possible key characters have been revealed.

There is no dialogue except for the news reports, this also emphasises and highlights their importance, especially due to he fact it is the only thing the audience can here and have a full understanding of. In cases like this, less is definitely more as a lot of the plot or themes of it are not hard to guess, so I think that the silence is a good thing here.

A way in which this film challenges the usual conventions of a Sci-fi film is that at the start there is no harmony, it jumps straight into an issue and stress unlike others which usually slowly build up to it. It conforms to the usual genre because straight away we see there is some kind of a fight between good and evil right from the start where we see the potential spy write a letter to the intelligence service about a threat. Another way it conforms to the usual conventions is that the lighting is dark, which emphasises the dark intentions and situations of what the film is based around (the bombings).

I really like the use of angles here and the fact that only relevant speech is used. I also like the use of lighting, again to only highlight the important things such as the bright computer screen with a letter about a potential threat. Even though I find sci-fi and mysterious spy films enticing, I don't personally want to use this as a genre in my final film opening as so far it is not my favourite. I also feel like in order for any sci-fi film to be good, it has to be professionally made with professional equipment and access to certain locations or tools to make it, as technology plays a big part in it and as students we don't have access to this kind of material therefore I would rather make an excellent film in a different genre that appeals to me more.

Insanity - Student made analysis.

Below is a horror student made opening called 'Insanity'.

From the start of the film we can tell that the main character is taking a journey, we can see this from the backpack and the map he pulls out pointing to his destination. When he reaches his destination he looks up at it as if it is highly important, almost with hope and fear. As he trips up the entrance steps we see a silhouette figure behind him, as if they caused him to fall. As he turns around a scary, possessed looking face appears making the audience jump. The only part of the plot revealed is that he was on a journey and as he reaches it a dark character appears, the only question we are left asking is 'where was he on his way to?' because everything else seems basic and predictable, there's some form of a 'monster' that will harm him in some way. Due to this it is not something that really creates suspense, instead it just causes the audience to jump a little bit. Even though the story may unfold to be very good, I don't feel like the opening is very enticing and not enough of the story is revealed to make me personally want to watch.

There are two key characters revealed, one the man that is shown for the majority of the film and the second being the 'monster'. This isn't usually a bad thing because in a horror film these are the only two really important characters (the protagonist and villain, good/evil) and in the first two minutes we can be shown a possible reason behind this however in this opening we aren't given much insight, which I think is important, even if it is just a bit.

There is no dialogue except for when the man falls and expresses his pain, there is a very quiet tense background noise playing that is unidentifiable however it is not complete silence. I do believe this goes well with the horror genre as it doesn't emphasise fear alone, it shows something bad may be coming and there are other things going on through this minimal noise. The man is unsuspecting, therefore complete silence would be portraying the wrong message - that he was afraid.

Another way the conventions of a horror film are conformed to is the idea of the 'calm before the storm' as at the beginning the sequence and atmosphere appears to  be particularly calm with only a hint of nervousness, presumably due to the location he knew he was travelling to, with the storm coming as the mysterious and horrifying figure appears.

Even though the idea of showing contrast between good and evil or rich and poor (Barthes symbolic codes) appeals to me and that is a big part in horror movies, I have decided that for my own media opening I will not use a Horror film as I don't enjoy watching them and I find them quite predictable and pointless, I don't feel as though the opening can give the audience much insight in order to entice them like other genres can and for that reason I am not interested in looking further into this genre with the intention of making a Horror myself, although I may look at some for inspiration in terms of the narrative.

Inner Evil - Student Textual Analysis

Inner evil is a student made thriller opening, you can see the video for it below.

In terms of how much is introduced, there is not a whole lot however it makes us ask questions and learn a bit about the character. There are two assumptions that we can make from this plot

1. The girl is constantly paranoid, she has scary visions or dreams where she is getting or has been abused that we can not yet tell apart in terms of whether they could happen or are only her imaginations, the plot could be about this girl constantly living in her own fear worrying about things that could happen and 'what if's and that is the concept behind her idea of the inner evil - she is her own worst enemy.
2. The girl is living in fear due to consequences of her own actions, she may have done something where she knows she will be taken vengeance to and for that reason is always on the look out.

Either way, we can assume that the plot will be full of tension and suspense, therefore quite thrilling, there are questions to be answered such as 'why is the girl so afraid' and 'who is the girl following her, is it imagination or reality?' which is a good thing because it keeps us guessing and therefore cause us to keep watching.

We have only been introduced to two characters, one being the paranoid girl you can see for the majority of the video and the other being someone we are unsure of resembling that girl who we can guess that is either a figment of imagination, inner evil character or a real life replica of her out to get her.

There is no dialogue in this opening, it is mainly heavy breathing and gasping. I personally believe this is effective because silence emphasises fear, when you are quiet it is like you're constantly listening out for something or someone to jump out at you, just like the girl seems to be. It fits in well with the story.

Usual conventions or themes of a thriller is that no answers are immediately revealed, once one question is answered another appears, it keeps the audience on constant edge. I would usually expect a mystery to have been solved, new information to cause a rage or a fight between the good and evil. This film seems to conform to this aspect due to the fact there is an obvious line between who the good and evil is, especially due to the evil wearing dark and the good wearing light clothes, however it challenges the typical element of this genre as it seems that the good and evil are the same person and the girl is fighting a battle against herself, which I find very interesting.

I really like the use of flash-forwards and flashbacks to visions that this girl has whether they may be real or not, for example in the video above from 1:55 - 2:05 where we are shown the girl being kid-knapped for a second as she turns round the corner and then realise that we were seeing a worry she had after the real life version of her turned the corner and there was no one there. This is a clever technique as it causes the audience to believe something bad has happened when in fact it hasn't, causing the constant 'rollercoaster' of tension, suspense and relief. This is a flash-forward, an example of a flashback to a vision or a dream she may have had is from 1:36 - 1:43 where she seems to remember seeing someone cut her throat with her key and looks down at it as if she feels she is about to have de-ja-vu.

Overall I think this is an excellent film opening, I like the concept of a thriller however if I decide to incorporate the element into my film opening I would only mildly include it as I would like there to be suspense however I wouldn't like the audience to be strongly on a constant edge as I personally feel the film becomes less enjoyable.

BBC Fairytales Cinderella - Narrative

How does this film play with (or change) original narrative elements and how does this coincide with Narrative theories (Barthes, Todorov, Propp)?

The BBC have taken a classic Disney fairy-tale and have completely transformed it into a modern day, possibly realistic Cinderella. The original narrative element has been taken and turned on its head, delivering a story both similar to, and quite different to, the original story.

The plot synopsis for the original narrative is as follows; Cinderella lives happily with both of her parents until her mother dies. Cinderella's father remarries a wicked, evil woman who is a mother to two girls, that become Cinderella's ugly and cruel step sisters, Drizella and Anastasia. When the father passes away, the cold hearted step mother  turns Cinderella into a servant in her own home. Cinderella is unhappy and is wishing for a miracle.

In this same town is  a castle, where the King is adamant that his son (the prince) should find a suitable bride and marry her in order to have a certain number of grandchildren. The King invites every eligible single woman in the entire kingdom to a ball, where he expects his son to choose his future wife. Cinderella's wicked step mother is absoloute in her decision that Cinderella can not attend the ball which results is her step daughter giving up because her evil step sisters tear her dress apart on the evening of the party so that she has no suitable dress for it.

It is at this point when the Fairy Godmother enters with a pumpkin carriage and a dress, making it her mission to ensure Cinderella attends the royal ball, however she warns that at the stroke of midnight all magic will wear off. Cinderella attends the ball and catches the prince's eye, they meet and it is clear he has taking a liking to her, however it is about to strike 00.00 so Cinderella runs off leaving only a glass slipper behind. The prince takes this slipper and is determined to find the bride of his dreams, he searches the kingdom trying to find her whilst Cinderella's evil step mother has locked her away. Eventually, the prince finds Cinderella with the help of her animal friends and they get married and live 'Happily ever after'.

The BBC delivered a similar storyline in terms of type of event, but changed what the actual event was. In the beginning a cleaner named Cindy dreams of going on an anthropology trip to Borneo with a principle people refer to as Prince, when the opportunity arises her boss, Charlotte and her research students do everything they can to take the attention off Cindy and onto them so that they would get the place/job on this trip to be Prince's assistant, they go as far as trying to put Cindy down using phrases like 'people like you' and sabotaging her chance of an interview. Cindy is on the verge of giving up when Mona helps, guides and mentors her along the way to finally getting recognition from Prince in order to get the job. Unlike every other candidate, Cindy challenges princes theory and he admires that in her, over the course of the story he starts to fall in love with her and when he eventually realises that Cindy's theory was correct, he runs to find her. They both decide they do not want the money or publicity in going to Borneo and instead decide to stay together for their 'happy ever after'.

The narrative is kept to the original in terms of patterns in the storyline, e.g. an opportunity arises, there is a battle between jealous girls and the main character and in the end the genuine girl and prince fall in love and get their happy ending.

This film coincides with narrative theories in terms of Propp's character types. Below is a table of each character from the BBC version, the character they are matched with from the original and how I have applied Propps characters to them explaining why they may challenge his ideas (anything that doesn't challenge them, accords to them).

BBC Fairytales Cinderella Characters	The character they're matched with from the original cinderella	Propps characters the BBC characters work well with
Prince	The Prince- Both characters are knows as a form of prince either by name or royalty. They are rich, well known and end up in a relationship with the one they love.	Prince could be seen as the heroine and this is because he is Cindys prize after making scientific history. He could also be the false hero, as in the beginning through till the end he claims to be knowledgable in all areas of science and the hero of a discovery when in fact, oblivious to it, he is incorrect and has been told so by Cindy many times.
Cindy Mellor	Cinderella- Both characters are poor and helpless looking for a miracle to help them achieve their dream. As well as this they are held back by a powerful woman in their lives who does not wish them the best (Fairy Godmother and Boss)	Cindy is the Hero as she leads the narrative and seeks the quest to prove Prince wrong and show the world what she has to offer scientifically. She makes a scientific revelation proving that what everyone thinks is right, actually isn't - making her a hero.
Charlotte Brooks	Evil Step mother- Both characters are wicked and cruel, trying to disrupt and get in the way of Cinderella’s goals and wishes.	Charlotte is the evil headmaster who takes on multiple roles in terms of Propp. She is a villain because of how she tries to get in the hero’s way and sabotage what they are working towards. She can also be seen as the father character purely because she has authority over Cindy. This challenges Propp’s theory of characters due to one character taking on the role of two. Even though this challenges Propp, it does not challenge the actual story of cinderella as in the original the evil step mother would have been the Villain and Father according to propp characters too.
Mona Hammond	Fairy God Mother- Both characters help cinderella and mentor her so that she can succeed. They both also appear to be ‘miraculous’ or magical.	Mona takes on 3 roles, these being the Helper, Donor and Mentor. This is because she offers the hero support throughout, she helps her by providing her with an object (a dress and shoes to impress the prince) as well as teaching and guiding the hero by giving advice and sending them on their way. This also goes against propps idea that each character only had one role and it also differs from the original cinderella in terms of the fairy godmother also being the helper, because in the original all of Cinderellas animal friends would have taken on the helper role however in the modern BBC version cinderella had no friends, if anything else should have been given the title ‘helper’ it would have been the books she studied on.
Finola+Phoebe	Ugly Sisters- These characters all try to overshadow Cinderella even though they both know that Cinderella is intact more beautiful and intelligent than them, they are supported by the evil stepmother and do what they can to sabotage Cinderella’s chances of getting what she wants, as they are jealous.	These girls also take on the role of the villain, this is because, like the Boss, Cinderella is not in their best wishes, and even though they know she is capable, they shoot her down making her feel unworthy and therefore try to sabotage what she is working towards.

Moving onto Todorov's narrative theory, the new BBC cinderella coincides with the states of equilibrium. For example, at the start even though Cindy isn't the happiest in her job, she accepts it and the situation is balanced. After this an opportunity arises where Cindy could be a co researcher with Prince and the situation is thrown off balance into disequilibrium when she strives for it and because of this her boss sacks her, the story continues until eventually a new equilibrium is reached as Prince Hans sees Cindy's theory is in fact correct and instead of working together, they realise they love each other and live 'happily ever after' just like the ending in the original fairy-tale.

Barthes codes are also incorporated into the new version in many ways, below is a mind map I have produced containing examples of the each code within the BBC Fairytales version of Cinderella.

Overall you can see that the BBC have played with and changed some narrative elements in terms of character roles however it largely coincides with the majority of narrative theories.

Strong Characters Profiles

Big movies are often successful because of the characters in them, it is important that an actor fits the image of the character you are trying to portray. Below I have profiled three characters of professionally made films from different genres ; Thriller/Adventure (Taken), Teen Film (Mean Girls) and Fantasy/Thriller.

Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson, Plays in Taken)

Name: Bryan Mills

Age: Middle aged, in his 50's

Background: Former CIA agent

Location: Southern California

Ethnicity: White, American

Personality: Mills is a determined, loving and caring man that will do anything and everything to protect his family, such as going to Paris and shooting every man involved in his daughters kid-knap dead. Aside from the nice and calm character, as soon as one of his loved ones comes into harms way, his body switches to 'warrior mode' where nothing and no one will stop him from restoring them to happiness and safety. Bryan is a calm, efficient, determined and tactful man, even when he comes into direct contact with the man who kidknaps his daughter he remains calm and instead of frantically shouting, he asks the kid-knapper (Marco) "you don't remember me? We spoke on the phone...I told you I would find you" before killing everyone trying to attack him and taking Marco to a separate room to interrogate and torture. His way with people makes them take him seriously, and rather than them making him feel threatened, it is the opposite. He has a deep and calming voice and due to the loving actions he carried out for his endangered daughter, the audience fall in love with him.

Physicality: Bryan is 6’4 and weighs 230IBS, he is more towards skinny than fat, however not scrawny. He wears casual, dark clothes that do not hinder his movement. He looks serious and is therefore taken seriously. He has brown eyes and hair, and stubble that makes him appear more 'rugged' and unafraid to get messy e.g. with blood and bruises, rather than a clean cut business man who would not have appeared to suit the role and character producers were trying to portray.

Relationships: Bryan is a divorced man to Lenore and a father to Kim Mills. He appears 'put out' when he see's Kim's step father bought her a birthday present he could not afford and possibly guilty that he cant give his daughter everything.

Skills: Mills has a particular set of skills that he learnt from his job which allows him to track down and kill criminals (Marco). He is athletic and is able to hold his own when in a physical fight, he is also very smart and tactful and because of this is efficient in the way he tackles and handles other (quite threatening) people.

Quotes:
"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you're looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that will be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you"

"That's what happens when you sit behind a desk for to long. You forget things! Like having a gun that's loaded and one that's not"

"I have a daughter who wants to be a singer. I was wondering if you have any tips for her"

Regina George (Rachel McAdams, Plays in Mean Girls)

Name: Regina George

Age: Teenager in High School

Background: Most popular girl of the school her entire life, her parents are 'filthy rich'.

Location: America

Ethnicity: White, American.

Personality: Regina is the self-appointed queen of her school, she is nasty, malicious, self obsessed and wishes to destruct anyone and anything that comes in between her and what she wants, for example when she told her friend Cady she would set her up with her ex boyfriend and ended up telling him rumours about her so that he would no longer like her. She is spoiled and acts catty among her peers, an example of this is her 'Burn Book' where both her and her friends would stick photos in of people from their school and write nasty comments or rumours about them. She is a judgmental mean girl that intimidates many people.

Physicality: Regina is the 'beautiful' tall and skinny blonde. Every girl wants to be and look like her, and every male wants to be with her. She is popular due to her looks and expensive taste in clothing and people look up to her because of this beauty and style.

Relationships: Kyle, Aaron Samuels and Shane Omen were are all past boyfriends of regina that she 'dumped'...the first time. Her 3 'best friends' whom she treats like dirt are Karen Smith, Gretchen Wieners and Cady. All of whom she thought was 'beautiful' and possibly felt threatened by; 'If you can't beat them, join them'

Skills: Spreading rumours, gossiping, backbiting and looking beautiful.

Quotes:
"Get in loser, we're going shopping"

"Gretchen, stop trying to make fetch happen! It's not going to happen!"

Cady: "So, are you gonna send any candy canes?"
Regina: "No. I don't send them, I just get them. So you better send me one, byotch"

Hermione Granger (Emma Watson, Plays in Harry Potter)

Name: Hermione Granger

Age: Teenager born in September 19, 1979

Background: A posh, English and Muggle (non magic) family. At her parents surprise she realized she was a witch and during her first visit to hogwarts she was put into the 'Gryyfindor' house that triumphed.

Location: England

Ethnicity: White, British.

Personality: Hermione is a loving, caring, intelligent, determined and feisty character. She is certainly not afraid when it comes to protecting and being loyal to her friends, Harry and Ron, showing them her support every single step of the way and not letting fear conquer. Hermione is very brave and doesn't let people see her she may be afraid, calling Voldemort his name rather than 'He who shall not be named'. Hermione is also very studios and helps her friends not only through physical actions such as fighting Voldemort, but through her knowledge and understanding of magic, for example when she is the only one of the three who knows the spell to open the door in order to pass to the location of the Philosophers Stone. Aside from the fact she can come across as 'tom boyish', Hermione also shows she can scrub up well and be girly at times, for example at the Hogwarts Ball in the Goblet of Fire.

Physicality: Hermione has frizzy brown hair with big brown eyes. She is of an average height and weight and doesn't care about looking 'perfect' all she is concerned with it practicality, with looks not entirely mattering too much. This makes people take her as a serious witch rather than an overly girly character who cant handle battle.

Relationships: Her best friends are Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, she initially had a love interest in someone named Victor Crumb, however this was brief and almost irrelevant. In the end we see that Ron and Hermione are in a relationship together and eventually marry and have a child.

Skills: learning spells and rules of magic quickly, intelligence and acting reasonably and cautiously around a situation. She is also good at comforting and being a good friend, as well as student.

Quotes:
"Is that really what my hair looks like from the back?"

"If you're going to kill Harry you'll have to kill us too!"

"No one blames you, Harry. The Dementors aren't meant to come on the grounds. Dumbledore was furious. After he saved you, he sent them straight off."

"Its wingardium leviOsa not levioSA"

Genre Conventions

Horror

Themes: A theme in a typical horror film would be calmness gradually leading to suspense and a 'storm' (metaphorically speaking) with an unexpected turn with rising tension and fear levels. I may also expect to see a relationship flourish between two vulnerable and desperate people followed by an aftermath that does not deliver the usual happy ending and instead delivers a sad, numb and depressing one - or possibly a cliff-hanger ready for a sequel.

Types of Characters: victims, friends, siblings, parents, possible girl/boyfriend and either a regular psycho-villain or a monster in an inanimate form that has come to life, for example a clown or a dead doll, maybe even a ghost.

Target Audience: The target audience for these types of film would usually be from the ages of 15-25 as that is the age when most horror films become appropriate to watch and past the age of 25 the majority of people may find horror films less interesting and thrilling.

Setting: The setting for these types of films would most likely be somewhere quiet e.g, a house where the victim is home alone and any other abandoned, dark and quiet location.

Examples of films in this genre: The Exorcist, The Conjuring, Scream, Paranormal Activity, The Purge

Genres it combines with and works well: Crime fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Sci-fi

Comedy

Themes: Comedy films are one of the most diverse in terms of what I would expect themes of the storyline to be because the plot could be anything as long as it was funny and made people laugh. Most comedic films would have a lot of adult humour in them and would most likely incorporate a time in the story line where something is dangerous or hard and could have the potential to go wrong however is overcome and instead delivers a happy, light-hearted and funny ending. Most often, I wouldn't expect a romantic relationship to form however, I would expect a friendship to form possibly between two unlikely characters - like in the film 'Stepbrothers'.

Types of characters: boy/girl, friends, siblings, parents, family and a 'villain' who is less of an actual villain OR enemy trying to humiliate or get the main character into trouble (such as an older/younger sibling - like in 'the diary of a wimpy kid').

Target Audience: The target audience will vary depending on what type of comedy film it is, if it is a comedy film with adult humour then the target audience would be 18+ as usually all people interested in comedy films would find the same thing funny and there's no limit to finding something funny no matter how old you are. If the film is a children's comedy such as 'The Diary of a Whimpy Kid' the target audience would most likely be 6-15 as at the age of 6 most children would understand the context and any person beyond the age of 15 would most likely find it 'boring' or 'immature'
 
Setting: The setting can vary, if it is a comedy aimed at children and a family the setting will most likely be in a home or school, for more mature comedy films the location will be different depending on the film, for example in 'The Dictator' some of the setting is in a palace, where as in 'The Hangover 3' some of it is in a hotel room. It depends on the storyline.

Examples of films in this genre: The Hangover, A Million Ways to die in the West, 21 Jump Street, Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Genres it combines with and works well: Romance, Western, Teen film, Mock-umentary, Musical

 

Drama

Themes: Common themes of a drama film would be that it tells and exaggerates a realistic story in order to emotionally connect to the audience. There is often conflict with relatable hardships that convey pain characters may be going through, where the story is explained in detail from start to finish through the performance and dialogue of them. There is also usually a romantic element to the film for example in 'Titanic'.

Types of Character: man, woman, friends, ex lover, enemy

Target Audience: Usually between the ages of 16-35 as they can often require mature intellect, it is more likely to be aimed at a female audience however, doesn't discriminate against males.

Setting: This will depend on the narrative and storyline of the film, e.g. 'Titanic' was set on a cruise-ship whereas 'Slumdog Millionaire' was set in a studio and a slum.

Examples of films in this genre: Titanic, The Fault in our Stars, Slumdog Millionaire, The boy in striped pyjamas, Hunger Games

Genres it combines with and works well: Historical, Romance, Teen,  Thriller/Adventure.

Teen Film

Themes: The typical storyline in a teen drama would be boarder-lining romance.  The theme would be that in the beginning the girl and boy meet, realise they like each other, flirt and eventually have a relationship. Someone will get jealous and begin to interfere, slowly get in between the two causing heartbreak, however most often this is overcome and the two lovers decide to forgive and forget. There can also be teen dramas where romance isn't at the forefront of the story, another theme could be bulling within a school, or the genre could be hybridised with a thriller (like 'Abduction) to make a teenage drama that is different to the stereotyped idea. The most common theme no matter what the genre is, is that there is a happy ending towards the end

Typical Characters: The characters you would see are; a girl, boy, an 'ex' or threat to the soon to be relationship, teachers, friends or people within school bullying and parents. This is because these are the majority of people an average teenager would see and interact with in their daily lives.

Target Audience: Teenagers, mainly girls between the ages 12-19, as these are the people that can most relate to the storyline and therefore enjoy it the most.

Setting: The typical setting for a teenage drama would be in a school, in a town (where characters would 'hang out' after school hours) and home.

Examples of films in this genre: Juno, Mean Girls, Clueless, Cyberbully, Wild Child, Twilight and Hairspray.

Genres it combines with and works well: Romance, Comedy, Drama

Documentary

Themes: In a documentary I would expect to be told a real life story that goes through the realities of a topic such as war, crime, somebody's life, wildlife etc. I would expect interviews with the people featuring in it throughout and would expect to be told the story in the order from start to finish, for example if watching a documentary about a criminal case I would expect it to go from a situation where everything was in harmony and gradually show us how the crime came about. After this I would expect to be shown everything from after the crime to the present day and how the criminals actions effected peoples lives. The documentary would usually be delivered in a 'timeline' style, even in a wildlife documentary talking about how animals give birth - the most recent events would be towards the end. I would also expect voice-overs.

Types of Character: People featuring in documentaries will vary a lot depending on what it is aboout, but usually it would be all those people that are affected by the topic of the documentary (parents, family, friends, doctors, workers in a centre - anyone so long as they are relevant to the story), an interviewer, presenter and possibly an expert too (e.g. in a wildlife documentary - a wildlife expert)

Target Audience: The target audience for a documentary will vary depending on the subject for example a wildlife documentary may attract more mature adults however a documentary about a reality TV star would attract late teenagers and young adults. Aside from this, the general/average target audience would be aged between 16-80.

Setting:The setting is also very versatile and could also be anywhere depending on what the subject was, if it was a look into what fast-food restaurants are really like it would be in the city in restaurants and most likely asking customers questions outside on the street as well as a possible lab where the food is being examined. There could also be an interview room.

Examples of films in this genre: 'This is us' One Direction, 'Part of Me' Katy Perry, Supersize me

Genres it combines with and works well: Culture+Society, Music, Wildlife

Mock-umentary

In a mock-umentary I would expect to see everything I have mentioned above in the documentary from the people that would feature in it to how the story would unfold. The only main difference would be that the person doing the voiceovers or people undercover would be subtly mocking the story and therefore providing entertainment to the public. The mocking may be to a certain extent rude or be seen as racist or maybe even homophobic on occasions but these are done extremely lightly and there is a line where it no longer becomes funny that I wouldn't personally expect to see from the genre. The people featuring in it that are not aware it is a mock-umentary would most likely be treated in a patronising way because they have no clue about the real intentions of the film, and that is why the public would find it funny (e.g. 'come fly with me')

Examples of films in this genre: The Dictator, Bruno, The Office

Genres it combines with and works well: Comedy, Culture, Parody

Romance

Themes:

In a romantic film a theme I would expect to see is two people meeting, falling in love, coming to breaking point as friends, parents, ex's or possibly an illness comes in between them. After this the couple will most likely overcome the issue and then live 'happily ever after'

Types of Characters: Types of characters I would expect to see would be a girl, boy, an 'ex' girl/boyfriend, parents and friends as these are all people that could directly influence a relationship.

Target Audience: People of many ages can appreciate a good romantic film, however the target is mostly females. The film 'Love Actually' would attract a wider audience age range because the characters in it have big age ranges, it would be from 18-70 however a film like 'Mamma Mia' would attract less of a variety and the target audience is more from 16-40 because of the characters in it and the fact it is a musical. Theres no close age range that can be set because of how popular this genre is, however on average the target audience for any romantic film would be 16+.

Setting: I would expect the scenery in romantic movies to be very beautiful with scenic or 'rich' views such as a city soaring with sky-scrapers, a beach with a sky-blue sea or a countryside with fields of natural green and peaceful land. This is because I believe the characteristics of these settings signifies things a good relationship can be (beautiful, happy, peaceful) and they are the types of places good memories can be made for the couple, like splashing in the ocean or late night strolls in Central Park.

Examples of films in this genre: Titanic, About Time, The Notebook, 50 First Dates, Love Actually, A Cinderella Story.

Genres it combines with and works well: Drama, Comedy, Teen

 

Thriller/Action

Themes: In a thriller or action film I would expect to be kept on constant edge, wondering what is going to happen. I would usually expect a discovery to be made somewhere along the line and then the main characters aiming to solve this mystery, get revenge, fight the evil or help the good. Story lines would be realistic enough to be believable when trying to relate to what is being put out as a 'real' story, even though we know its fictional but they are also far fetched sometimes. For example the film 'Taken' seems realistic and puts viewers on edge by building tension, however even though the story is realistic and could happen, its something that people would say 'only happens in films' because its so dramatic. I would expect to see fights, chases and possibly death.

Types of Characters: I would expect a boy/girl who finds out new information or seeks something from 'the other side', a parent, guardian or mentor to help them, an accompanying friend or someone that is helping the main character or hero, the villain or enemy and companions of each.

Target Audience: The target audience for thrillers would be 15+ as they create a lot of tension and may not always be appropriate for younger viewers. Even though I believe all films can be enjoyed by all ages I think the cut off point whereby this audience isn't thought of when coming up with a plot would be age 40+ as most people may think they would expect a different narrative, for example including elders in the film for the purpose of relating, however this is not the case. I don't believe there is a specific gender that is targeted for these types of films, however some films may target boys more than girls  and vise-versa, but the genre as a whole does not.

Setting: I would expect the majority of the storyline to be held outside where there is space to run and hide, and for some parts inside buildings of a working company or a secret hide out where the either the enemy or victim can be found.

Examples of films in this genre: Inception, Divergent, The Purge, Dawn of the Planet Apes, Taken, Abduction, Spiderman.

Genres it combines with and works well: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Mystery

 

Sci-fi

Themes: In a sci-fi movie I would imagine seeing a world of harmony followed by an idea that has good intentions (such as the Matrix) however there is then an unbalance in the harmony and some form of a war must be fought between good and evil that involves saving the world. Typically good conquers evil before the world returning to its balanced, harmonious state

Types of Characters: The characters you would most often come across in a film of this genre would be a villain, a hero, companions of each, police and a guide for the hero - for example the Oracle in the Matrix.

Target Audience: the target audience for a sci-fi would usually be for the ages between 15-30. This is because usually sci-fi films have a lot of modern hi-techology aspects to it where people of this age would take the most interest to

Setting: A typical sci-fi setting would be in a lab, outer space or a location with high modern technology, I would also imagine that the lighting may be dark in some scenes.

Examples of films in this genre: The Matrix, ET, Star Wars, Avatar, Rise of the Planet Apes, The Avengers.

Genres it combines with and works well: Fantasy, Adventure, Thriller

 

Musical

Themes: In a musical, a story will unfold, there is no dead set theme as it can be based around many things, however usually there is a romantic element as you find in Mamma Mia, Hairspray and Les Miserable. Like in most films, the storyline will be set out so that in the beginning there is harmony and the majority of people are happy, then there will be something to disrupt this and will eventually be resolved. The reason there is no set theme is because a musical is an element to a film rather than being the entire film; what I mean by this is you can take almost any genre and turn it into a musical just by singing dialogue and involving a lot of relevant music. It can range from a criminal musical to an animated to a romantic one. It all depends on what producers are trying to achieve, however musicals often have a romantic element to them.

Types of Characters: Depending on the genre there will be a range of characters, the most likely to see in a musical (give or take depending on the genre the film is paired with) are: girl/boy with a goal, someone that will get in the way of this (possibly an enemy, villain or a magical power e.g. in frozen), parents, romantic interest and companions of each.

Target Audience: Again, because of the variety and different genres a musical can be matched with this will vary. An animated musical such as frozen would be aimed at younger children but would also be something young adults can enjoy due to the fun and meaningful messages in it, whereas a musical such as 'Les Miserables' would be aimed at an audience from the ages of 16+ because of the mature performance and because it may require more intellect.

Setting: The setting can be anything depending on the genre it is paired with, all of the other genres I have spoken about in this post apply to this, e.g. in a romantic musical I would sometimes expect the location to be somewhere with nice views, as it emphasises the beauty not only of the place, but of the flourishing relationship.

Examples of films in this genre: Les Miserables, High School Musical, Frozen, Grease, Mamma Mia, Pitch Perfect, Aladin.

Genres it combines with and works well: Romance, Comedy, Teen

 

Fantasy

Themes: In fantasy films, Propps character codes usually apply very well. The main characters are often taking on a quest and the film may be emotional at points. Todorov's model also applies well in the changes of equilibrium as usually fantasy films start off where most characters are happy and something stops this and eventually a new equilibrium is found. There is almost always a happy ending in these films, especially due to the fact the target audience is usually younger. These films also often deliver a moral message or lesson to its viewers e.g. 'tangled' teaches us not to be too trusting of everyone. There is also usually a romantic element to most films in this genre too.

Types of Characters: (A) hero(s), villain, heroine, mentor, helper, parent/guardian, donor and a false hero with companions of each - Propp's character codes.

Target Audience: The target audience for fantasy films is from the age of 2-25, this is such a big range because depending on the film, the audience will require a certain level of intellect. There can also be a considerable appeal for older audiences too however the target is not to please them, its to please the majority of whom the film and narrative will appeal to.

Setting: This can vary depending on what the film is hybridised with, for example, partnered with an animated film the setting will often be around an exaggerated home e.g. shrek in a swamp or Elsa in a frozen tower. Partnered with a sci-fi film, such as spiderman the location will most likely be in a public place such as a city. On its own, depending on the storyline it could be anywhere, in contrast to horror films it would be in light places with people in it (not quiet).

Examples of films in this genre: The Hobbit, Harry Potter, Twilight, Narnia, Frozen, The Hunger Games, The Matrix.

Genres it combines with and works well:

 

Animation

Themes:Usually in animated films such as Disney, I would expect to be given a background story of some sort or an insight into it, such as the introductions in tangled and frozen showing the characters lives as children and growing up. It would be typical to initially see a balance where the majority of the characters are happy and there is no change for a while, however I would expect a change in that balance somewhere along the line where either a discovery is made, a situation goes wrong or the characters set out on a mission and after the balance is shaken it would eventually be fixed by some form of a hero because of the love they have for the one in danger.

Types of Characters:The characters you would see in this genre of film are most likely; a parent, child, sister, brother, hero, friend, lover and a villain role.

Target Audience:These are usually family/children's films and convey a moral lesson of the story, for example frozen teaches girls that the love between sisters is stronger than the love any lover could have for you and that you shouldn't let outsiders come between family.

Setting:The setting is usually in a home but exaggerated so that it has an element of fantasy, for example a swamp (Shrek), a tower (Tangled), a palace (Frozen) or a house floating in the sky held by helium balloons (Up).

Examples of films in this genre: Tangled, How to train your dragon, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Despicable Me, Kung-fu Panda.

Genres it combines with and works well: Fantasy, Comedy, Family, Romance.