MY CHOSEN GENRE
FOR MY FILM TEASER TRAILER, POSTER, AND WEBSITE HOMEPAGE PRODUCTS - MY CHOSEN GENRE WOULD BE HORROR/THRILLER. THIS MEANS I WOULD HAVE TO STUDY BOTH GENRES...
Background Information...
In film theory, a genre refers to the primary method of categorisation. A 'genre' generally refers to the films that share similarities in the narrative elements from which they are constructed.
For example: The objective of a horror film is to scare the audeince via the characters actions and the narrative told. Audiences are supposed to experience that frightened feeling after watching a horror movie. Similar emotions and feelings occur with thrillers as well.
Genre is fundamental to communication. Genre makes information more controllable and more rule-bound. Its genre that makes characters predictable and therefore transforming the world into something more controllable. In other words, it offers imaginary solutions to real problems; one of the reasons films are so entertaining for people.
IN FILM, GENRES ARE STRUCTURES USED BY FILM-MAKERS AND AUDIENCE FOR CREATING MEANING.
To construct a film within a genre, specific selections need to be made...
HORROR: Paranormal acitivty, scary creatures, ghosts and goolies
THRILLER: Violence, death, serial Killer, sharp weapons, grunge
WESTERN: Saloon, guns, horses
SCI-FI: Space-ships, robots, laser guns
GANGSTER: Black suits, speakeasy, the moll
These paradigms are iconographical. They signify meanings.
THE HORROR GENRE
Horror is a genre that aims to create a sense of fear, panic, alarm, and dread for the audience. These films are often unsettling and rely on scaring the audience through a portrayal of their worst fears and nightmares. Horror films usually center on the arrival of an evil force, person, or event. Many Horror films include mythical creatures such as ghosts, vampires, and zombies. Traditionally, Horror films incorporate a large amount of violence and gore into the plot. Though it has its own style, Horror film often overlaps into Fantasy, Thriller, and Science-Fiction genres. Most Horror texts are released in late October for the halloween period to attract more viewers and suit the occasion.
Brief background:
- Consistently popular since the 1930s - attracts predominantly youth audiences
- Thematic preoccupation: Can reflect moral fears in society and reflect changes in attitudes
- Repertoire expanded through the development of specific cycles
- Specific studio’s associated with genre developments: Pinewood and Hammer Horror
In HOLLYWOOD, one of the most popular cycles of horror
films of the 1990's began with Scream (1996) > Click here to see Scream Trailer.
...and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) > Click here to see I Know What You Did Last Summer Trailer.
This cycle involved a reworking of earlier films in
which young people were terrorized by a ‘slasher’, eventually cornered by the ‘final girl’. This is very similar to what my film will be about therefore it is safe to say the Horror genre suits my plot, although my film will be slightly different but thats where it is unique!
The cycle was that successful it led to a number of
sequels and exploited further with a ‘spoof’, Scary Movie. By 2000, the Sixth Sense, starring Bruce Willis and
described as a ‘ghost story with a twist’, was a massive worldwide
hit.
This was followed by Unbreakable, The Others and The
Ring. Within the space of a few years the Horror genre had produced its variants from slasher-horror to ghost.
Since the mid 1990's the Horror genre had the status of
being a
high budget, mainstream genre. This is where my mainstream target audience comes into it which is shown in my next post.
HORROR GENRE AND AUDIENCE
This is the Audiences understanding of the Horror text and what it mainly entails.
•Expectations and predictability
•Repetition and variation
•Horror movies aim to scare and provide horrific experiences
•Plays on our emotions, nerves and fears
•Pleasure of the text
•Ideological implications
•Fandom
•Popular culture
•Narrative pleasure
•Taboo feelings
The horror text it seems is consistently testing the
implications of the behaviour of humankind, the impact of late industrial capitalism,
the effects of historical determinism and the enduring influence of the need to
preserve some notion of moral order, social value and consensual justice. It is keep changing. Rob McInnes argues that it is nonsense to claim that genres possess
clear, stable and identifiable boundaries. This challenges many of the assumptions that are
held about how a given genre
works and this is what allows me to twist and change what happens in my Horror film story. I do not have to stick to the 'rules' although I don't want to stray too far away from them.
We should acknowledge that a genre’s supposed features
will depend on the audiences own understanding and viewing histories, and that
audiences will think about genres differently from critics, academics, film
makers or
marketing departments.
Thriller Film is a genre that revolves around anticipation and suspense. The aim for Thrillers is to keep the audience alert and on the edge of their seats. The protagonist in these films is set against a problem – an escape, a mission, or a mystery. No matter what sub-genre a Thriller film falls into, it will emphasise the danger that the protagonist faces. The tension with the main problem is built on throughout the film and leads to a highly stressful climax.
The Horror and Thriller genres are very similar in what they affect the audience with and I know that they are commonly put together with real films. I decided to put those together because with just the Horror genre it seemed like there was gaps in the genre in relation to what my story entails. For example - I knew my story would have a killer and be revolved around violence suggesting 'Thriller' to me. But I still wanted to give those 'Horrific' effects and spookiness of the Horror genre. Horror is going to be my main genre and focused on making it like that of the 1990's Horror genre cycle.
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