What is genre?

         GENRE           

Genre is a way of containing or categorising a media product based on its conventions. 

Genre is important to institutions because it helps them to identify their audience and market the film. This allows them to target the audience effectively as they know what conventions are needed in the film. This is done so that the institution can fulfil the expectations of the audience effectively.  

 

 

Genre is the main umbrella of categorising a film. An example of a genre is action, such as a comedy. This keeps the potential audience relatively small as a specific genre, such as romance, has a stereotypically mostly female audience. 

Sub-genre contains a category within the category of that genre. For example this might reveal the comedy is a dark comedy. Thus, making it even clearer to the audience what they can expect from the film. An example of this is the dark comedy Parasiste.

A hybrid-genre is when two or more main genres are merged together. This can be very effective in pleasing more than one audience. It can also make films more unpredictable which keeps films interesting as the audience is less sure of what audience they should expect from the film. This might have the ability to target a wider audience as they won't be sure of what emotions will be revoked.  For example, the horror-comedy film "Shaun of the Dead" offers the conventions of both horror and comedy films. A trailer for this film can be seen below.

 

With each genre, comes expectations from the audience. For example, if the audience is watching a horror film they may expect the setting to be a large house in a remote setting or to be set in a dark forest. They might also expect the victim to be a young girl or child. Above all, the audience wants to experience jump scares and experience suspense. On the other hand, if the audience is watching a comedy, they might expect to see an everyday situation that has been over-exaggerated to create a humorous effect. The audience wants to laugh and find a light-hearted escape in the film.

Research into a big institution

 Walt Disney 

Walt Disney studios, named after its creator Walt Disney, was started up by Walt Disney and his brother Roy in the rear of a small office based in Los Angeles. Here, the brothers created multiple short films, both animated and live-action. After four months, the company relocated next door in order to gain access to a larger workspace as the number of staff employed had grown significantly. At this point, the studio was known as “Disney Bros. Studio”. In 1925, the studio relocated again to the Silver Lake District, Los Angeles. In this new studio, over the next fourteen year many of the world’s beloved characters. Mickey Mouse, after which Pluto, Donald Duck and Goofy were also created. Today, the Walt Disney Studios are located in Burbank, California and has been formally named “The Walt Disney Company” since 1986. 

On 25th February 2020, it was announced that Bob Chapek would take on the role of Chief Executive Officer. The Walt Disney Company is not owned by one person, but multiple corporations and individuals. The largest current shareholder is the Vanguard Group Inc. Individuals with significant ownership include Bob Iger, the previous Chief Executive Officer of the company, as well as the CFO, Christine M. McCarthy and the general counsel, Alan Braverman. However, The Walt Disney Company owns other companies as well as their own. One of these companies is  21st Century Fox, which they have owned since 2019. Other companies include National Geographic, Marvel, Muppets Studio, ABC and GoPro. Moreover, they own significant shares in networks such as ESPN.

Walt Disney has enjoyed a number of successes in the box office since 1937 when “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was released. Their top five biggest box office successes include “The Avengers”, “The Lion King”, “Avengers: Infinity War”, “Star Wars: Episode VII - The force Awakens” and the highest grossing of all: “Avengers: Endgame” which generated a total of $2,797,501,328. In 2020, the highest grossing films produced by Disney included “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”, “Onward” and “Frozen II”. The budget for “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”. The budget for these films ranged between $150 million and $275 million. 

Disney has employed a number of directors to work on their films, however there are some directors that have worked on a number of their most successful films. For example, Jennifer Lee, who directed “Frozen”, “Wreck it Ralph” and “Zootropolis”. Many of the same actors appear in a number of Marvel films such as in the “Avengers” franchise where many actors play the same character in multiple films. These actors include Robert Downey Jr who plays Iron Man and is also the producer of these films. Currently, Disney has thirteen movies in pre-production, eight in production and six in post-production. 

Being such a large institution comes with a number of advantages for The Walt Disney Company. The most significant of these is that the company is allowed greater creative freedom as they have bigger budgets and a great deal of financial security to rely upon if one of their movies were to be less successful than expected. It also means that they can use this budget to work in synergy with other companies and generate more revenue.

Research into a small institution

 Belstone Pictures

Belstone Pictures was started by the Chief Executive Officer Finn Cardigan Bruce in 2016 who gained an interest in film-making whilst studying at Hurtwood House. After leaving school, he wanted to continue his passion and this resulted in the creation of his own company, Belstone Pictures. Before setting up Belstone pictures, Finn Cardigan Bruce worked in London on a number of films and TV shows including “Top Gear” and “Downton Abbey” and then working as Executive Assistant to Shaun Redick and Ray Mansfield in Los Angeles. Belstone Pictures is currently based in Chelsea, London and is owned by its CEO and founder, Finn Cardigan Bruce. 

As of 2021, Belstone Pictures has released four films, one TV show and three short films. These films include “Tank 432”, “Tucked”, “Tracks” and “Paul Dood’s Deadly Lunch Break”, however none of these have been released in cinemas. The most recent of these films is “Paul Dood’s Deadly Lunch Break”. The actors that star in their films are usually unheard of actors, some of which have starred in several of their films. For example, April Pearson stars in both “Tucked” and “Tank 432”. Nick Gillespie was the director for both “Tank 432” and “Paul Dood’s Deadly Lunch Break”. They currently have a total of nine films in pre-production and production.

Despite the limited budget that smaller institutions such as Belstone Pictures experience, there are several advantages. For example, since films released by smaller institutions usually star actors who are less recognised, this can be a great opportunity to launch their career, which helps the studio gain recognition in turn.

Opening sequence presentation

In this presentation, I explored how meaning and effect is communicated in the opening sequence of Little Miss Sunshine. In order to do this I analysed the use of camera (including angle, movement and composition), mise-en-scene, sound and editing throughout the opening sequence.

Film poster (mise-en-scene analysis)

How does the mise-en-scene and camera angle/composition within the poster for “The Talented Mr Ripley” communicate concepts and connotations to the audience?



The poster for the film “The Talented Mr Ripley incorporates elements of mise-en-scene as well as camera to create an image of a sinister character who could possibly be in control of, and at least directly relevant to the other characters throughout the film.

Firstly, the poster makes use of both camera angle and composition in order to communicate key concepts to the audience. The use of camera composition helps to reveal which characters play the most importance in the film, as well as pointing towards likely power dynamics between them. By placing one of the men in the foreground, the poster indicates to the audience that this character is of great importance to the film, and so is likely the protagonist. The other two characters in the background are perhaps of less importance due to their placement behind the character at the front. Furthermore, the editor has used composition to make the male and female characters to the right of the poster appear smaller, adding to the impression that the man at the front possesses a form of power, possibly over the other characters present in the poster. The close-up angle suggests that the audience will experience an intimate connection with the characters in the poster, and gain a close insight into their thoughts and feelings. This will apply particularly to the man in the foreground of the poster due to the connotations of importance that his positioning suggests.

Many elements of mise-en-scene also play a role in hinting at the plotline, thus encouraging both men and women to watch the film. Firstly, juxtaposing levels of lighting are used on the different characters in the poster. The couple who can be seen at the back of the poster are completely submerged by the glowing light. In contrast, the man in the foreground of the poster is only half-submerged by the golden light. Light often has connotations of truth and goodness as well as angelic associations. Therefore, by juxtaposing these different levels of lighting, the poster could possibly be implying that the character at the front is a figure of deception. Meanwhile, one can assume that the characters at the back are honest and good-natured, depicted almost as angels. Therefore, the theme of honesty and disguise could likely be a key part of the storyline. Meanwhile, the couple at the back, a and woman, are pictured in an embrace with joyful expressions on their faces. The image of one’s head rested on the shoulder of another person has connotations of security and comfort. Perhaps they are blissfully unaware of the cruel intentions of the man at the front, who we can assume is the protagonist.

Mise-en-scene is also used in order to communicate a likely setting for the movie. Although the over-exposed lighting makes it hard for us to see, if we look closely, cathedrals, an architectural feature that is characteristic of an Italian setting can be seen at the back of the poster towards the right. We can therefore infer that the majority of the film may be set in a major Italian setting, such as Venice. In addition, the placement of birds on the poster further indicate that the setting of the play might be in a city setting like Venice.

Due to the representation of both genders on the poster, I believe that the film is attempting to market itself to a wide audience. However, mise-en-scene is used in order to convey other areas of representation. For example, costume is used in order to convey status. Both men in the poster are dressed in suits, a dress that has connotations of high-class and professionalism. Therefore, it is justifiable for the audience to make the assumption that class and wealth is an important theme in the film.

It can be argued that it is difficult for the audience to tell what genre the film is just from looking at the poster. For example, if the man in the foreground was removed, leaving just the smiling couple at the back, we might assume that the film is a romantic comedy. However, by adding the man in the foreground who has a serious expression on his face, the audience is left to wonder how these characters relate to one another, and therefore also question what the genre of the film might be. Although the genre of the film suggested by the poster is quite ambiguous, the top of the poster reads: “How far would you go to become someone else.” This statement sets a very sinister and mysterious tone as we wonder which character will be taking on a new identity and what the reasons for this are. Moreover, the phrase “how far” has a particularly intriguing effect as the audience are prompted to watch the film to discover the extents that the character or characters will go to in order to take on this new identity. By adding this statement, the audience can deduce that the genre may be a thriller or associated with crime in some way. This is a genre enjoyed by people of all genders and backgrounds. Therefore, the poster is successful in marketing the film as something that can be enjoyed by all.

How is tension created within an opening sequence?

In this presentation, Meadow and I chose an opening scene from the Hurtwood House youtube channel to analyse. We analysed the effect of camera angle and composition, as well as mise-en-scene.

Favourite film review

La La Land is a film released in 2016. Set in Los Angeles, it tells the story of an aspiring actress and a pianist that fall in love. However, ultimately they come to realise that in order to follow one another’s dreams, they must go their separate ways. Directed by Damien Chazelle and starring Emma Stone as ‘Mia’ and Ryan Gosling as ‘Sebastian’, La La Land was awarded a total of six Oscars, including “Best achievement in cinematography”. 

One aspect of the film that makes it so special to me is the soundtrack written by Justin Hurwitz. I can remember how I was immediately enchanted by the opening number: “Another Day of Sun”, in which a traffic jam break into song and dance on top of their cars. For me, a particular highlight of the soundtrack is Emma Stone’s solo entitled “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)”. Up until this moment, Mia has been struggling to achieve her dreams in the Hollywood scene; however, in this scene she sings completely from the heart and is able to capture the interest of the directors for a film, changing the course of her future, just as she was about to give up on her dreams of becoming an actress. Watching the film for the first time in a cinema with an incredible sound system certainly enhanced the experience. 

The cinematography also plays a major role in why I enjoyed La La Land so much. Throughout the film, the screen is filled with an array of bright colours, making it a magical experience from the moment that the film begins. The use of such vivid colours makes it almost a surreal experience for the audience to watch. Through this, I was able to transform my mind into the headspace of a Los Angeles dreamer and forget about reality for a couple of hours. One of the most spectacular scenes is the tap-dancing scene, “A Lovely Night”. In this scene, Mia and Sebastian dance against the backdrop of an atmospheric purple sunset and it is truly a spectacle to behold. Infact, the director of photography, Linus Sangdren, has stated that there was a period of exactly thirty minutes within two days in which they could film this scene in order to achieve the desired dusky purple.

Above all, what makes this film my favourite film is the epilogue. The epilogue is a ballet, lasting a total of seven minutes and envisions the future that Mia and Sebastian could have had together if they had given up on their careers. Initially, I found it heartbreaking to watch Mia and Sebastian’s relationship come to an end. However, after some thought I was able to see that this bittersweet ending is necessary. Without it, Mia and Sebastian are unable to achieve their full potential in their careers. Through this, the film provokes the audience to question the sacrifices they make in their own lives in order to achieve their dreams, offering up an important message.