1.1 GENRE

GENRE THEORY:

Genres (meaning type) are a way of categorising media products. They provide an easy framework in which the industry can market products and audiences can choose the products they wish to consume. Over time different genres become more or less popular (see graphic 1)  

1.

Film genres are often classified by theme (eg. war or western) or the emotional response they generate (eg. thriller or comedy).

Steve Neale: "Pleasure is derived from repetition and difference'

The theorist Steve Neale argues that genre works because audiences like to recognise similarities or 'repetitions'. We might also call these media conventions.  Because we understand the conventions we are also able to gain pleasure from spotting the differences.

TASK 1: 

For your chosen FEATURE FILM choose three images from the film and annotate them to illustrate  the genre of the film.  Identify any conventions (repetitions) of this genre and identify 

if there are any differences - where the film breaks with conventions. 

You might label the following (remember to relate them to genres): 

TYPICAL SETTINGS

CHARACTER TYPES (costumes, casting)

KEY PROPS 

SCENARIOS 

THEMES

COLOUR & LIGHTING

FRAMING & COMPOSITIONS

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TASK 2:  
TV DRAMA:

TV Drama often draw on film genres but they also have features of there own.  Some texts draw on a number of genres.  This is often called a hybrid or cross genre.  Stranger things draws heavily on 70's and 80's horror and scifi films but also teen movies and rights of passage stories.  Some of the influences are presented here:

When texts draw heavily on other media it is refered to as an inter textual reference


For your LONG FORM TV SERIES create an info-graphic that illustrates the references or genealogy of your show. You can choose images of films, TV shows that you think have influenced the show. You might like to think about why the TV show is popular now?

Export your diagram and add to your blog.
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TASK 3: SIT COM VIDEO ESSAY

Choose a 'situation comedy' (MEDIUM FORM TV SHOW ) . Take a clip of the show from the internet and try to add as as many of these SIT COM conventions using the graphics functions:

EPISODIC NARRATIVE
LIMITED NUMBER OF LOCATIONS/STUDIO SETS
LIMITED OR ENSEMBLE CAST (a tight group of characters bound together by situation)
CANNED LAUGHTER or STUDIO AUDIENCE
CATCHY REPETITIOUS MUSIC
COMIC TRAP (Characters in a situation that they can't escape from)
RUNNING JOKES (repetition of the same joke or scenario)
EVERYDAY SITUATION (family home or workplace)
DYSFUNCTIONAL/NUCLEAR/URBAN/RECONSTRUCTED FAMILY
WORKPLACE SCENARIOS
ONE LINERS (throw away jokes)
INNUENDO (something that is inferred but not obvious)

Export your video essay (H.264>YOUTUBE)
Upload to your youtube account
Embed on your Unit 4 Blog