The definition of genre is the categorising of a certain aspect of a subject. It is usually used to define films, but it can be putting anything into groups varying from books to people. For example, horrors categorise films so viewers know what they are going to see, blood, gore and violence. The problem with this is it can be viewed differently by people from different back grounds, an 80 year old woman might look at an old women with poor cinematics as scary as that is what they grew up with, but a 20 year old man might see it differently as technology has advanced throughout the years.
The benefits of Genre are
- It offers you reassurances in an uncontrollable world - Most films have a happy ending, although in real life this is not always the case and although people know that, they enjoy the film more knowing everything ended on a high.
- It offers a set of easily recogniseable conventions like a language - The genre makes it so that the audience can easily sterotype characters and objects alike and understand the story better.
- It was seen as a stratergy used by producers to ensure audience identification and reduce the risk of the film fading.
- Genre can be seen as a way of working through important myths and fears.
- This shows how genre is not static but is constantly rengiated often between industry and audience.
The drawbacks of Genre are
- We should be understanding how a film text functions in relation to genre, rather then being defined by them.
- We should acknowledge that a genre features will depend on the audiences own understanding.
- Different people will categorize different genres in their own interpretations.
The genre we have chosen for our film is Action/Thriller. The conventions you would expect in an action thriller are twists, guns, fast paced and explosions. Conventions are needed as they let the audience know what to expect. People can chose their favourite genre from the convention.
The origins/history of an action film
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_film#History
During the 1920s and 1930s, action-based films were often swashbuckling adventure films in which Douglas Fairbanks wielded swords in period pieces or Westerns.
The 1940s and 1950s saw "action" in the form of war and cowboy movies. Alfred Hitchcock almost single-handedly ushered in the spy-adventure genre, also firmly establishing the use of action-oriented "set pieces" like the famous crop-duster scene and the Mount Rushmore finale in "North by Northwest". That film, along with a war-adventure called "The Guns of Navaronne" directly inspired producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman to invest in their own spy-adventure based on the novels of Ian Fleming.
The long-running success of the James Bond series (which easily dominated the 1960s) essentially introduced all the staples of the modern-day action film. The "Bond movies" were characterized by larger-than-life characters, such as the resourceful hero: a veritable "one-man army" who was able to dispatch villainous masterminds (and their disposable "henchmen") in ever-more creative ways, often followed by a ready one-liner. The Bond films also utilized quick cutting, car chases, fist fights, a variety of weapons and "gadgets", and ever more elaborate action sequences.
Top action directors consist of:
Quentin Tarantino
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quentin_Tarantino
Born in america, Quentin Tarantino is well known for films such as Death proof, Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction. He was born in March 27 1963.
Michael Bay
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Bay
Well known for his fast pace, high budget action films, Michael bay has made films like Texas chainsaw massacre, Transformers and Pearl harbour. He was born in the united states on February 17th 1965.
Christopher Nolan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Nolan
Most famous for his input into the batman films, Christopher Nolan is a well known action film director. Christopher was born in July 30 1970 in London, England. He is now a British and American citizen.
The Negotiator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Qd7IaILW30
The negotiator is a perfect example of Thriller action and it is similar to the film we are creating. The camera angles are constantly changing as the fast paced action scenes involving Samuel Jackson telling the police to shoot him. This film is full of twists as I have mentioned before in thrillers. The character played by Samuel Jackson pretends he shoots a man, making him look like the bad guy throughout to the audience, but at the end, you find out that he was trying to do that, so that the police thought he was capable of anything. The director filmed this perfectly, as it puts the viewers on edge throughout as they don't know who to believe. As you would expect in a Action film, there were gun shoot outs, explosions and killings. But with the added twist of a thriller, there is plenty to think about.
