CRITICAL AND CONTEXTUAL AWARENESS

Revision: Production Elements

Cinematography Mise en Scene Put the following under the correct production
The angle of the shots Costumes & Make-Up element.
Movement of the camera such as Color & quality of light
panning & Tilting. How characters, props and setting are • Costumes & make-up
Zoom. placed within a frame… spatial relations • Manipulation of speed
How the camera is positioned- the within the frame. • The angle of the shots
size of the frame. Shadows • Movement of the camera, such as panning & tilting
Focus and depth of field. Colors • Color & quality of light
• Transitions between shots
Lighting Volume
•
• Diegetic sound
• How characters, props and setting are placed within
a frame…spatial relations within the frame
• Dialogue
• Duration of shots
• Zoom
• Juxtaposition of shots
• How camera is positioned – the size of the frame
• Colours
Sound Editing • Shadows
Manipulation of speed • Visual rhythm
Volume • Lighting
Special effects
Diegetic sound Transitions between shots • Placement of scenes
Dialogue • Silence
Duration of shots • Music
Silence Juxtaposition Of shots
Music • Special effects
Visual rhythm • Voice Over
Voice Over Placement Of scenes
Non-diegetic sound • Focus and depth of field
Non-diegetic sound • Non-diegetic sound
You will need to know about:

Genre
Narrative
Semiotics
By the end of the task:

1. You will gain an understanding of genre

theory.

2. You will be able to apply genre theory,

using correct terminology, during textual
analysis.

3. Gain an understanding of the importance

of genre to both producers and
audiences.
 Genre
What is genre?
Genre is a French word that means type or kind. Most students will be aware of genre as a way
of putting films, television programmes and other media texts into groups that have things in
common, such as the story, or the 'look' of a film, or the characters, the settings and even the
way the characters dress
 Starter Task
Working in pairs, identify as many different film genres as you can. Each of
you must then list the film genres you have come up with below:

Horror Mystery
Sci-Fi Police Drama
Action Gangster
Adventure Martial Arts
Romance
Romantic Comedy
Action Adventure
Slasher Horror
War
Western
Fantasy
Paranormal Horror
Thriller
Zombie Horror
Horror Comedy
Period Drama
Bio Pic
Musical
Documentary
 Task 1
Thinking about film genres, and using the Internet,
find at least SIX images that show the types of
things you would expect to see in a Western and
paste into the worksheet.

Extension
If you finish, do the same for horror films and action.
WESTERNS
HORRORS
ACTION FILMS
What do we call the elements that make
genres recognisable to media
producers and audiences?
 CODES AND CONVENTIONS

 Content  Recurring icons

 Subject matter  Stock characters
 Structures  Narrative events
 Themes  Situations
 Mood  Motifs
 Period  Styles
 Plot  Props
 Settings  Stars
Steve Neale – Genre Theory.
“Genres are instances of repetition and difference.”

Neale writes about film genres, but his theory can also be applied to other media.

Neale believes that films of a genre, like romance or horror, should include features that are
similar, so the audience know it is a horror film or romance for example, but also include
features that are different, to keep an audience interested.

As genres become established, audiences begin to have certain expectations. These are
known as genre conventions, and audiences gain gratification from recognising them.

Audiences like genres because:

 Allows them to make informed choices
 Allows them to understand a text more readily
 Offers familiarity and comfort
 
Producers like genre because:
 Guarantees a degree of success
 Easier to target an audience
 Provides a tool box for them to experiment with
Steve Neale states that genres all contain instances of repetition and difference and that
difference is essential to the economy of the genre.

Neale states that the film and its genre is defined by two things:
1. How much it conforms to its genre’s individual conventions and stereotypes: a film
must match the genre’s conventions to be identified as part of that genre.

2. How much a film subverts the genre’s conventions and stereotypes: the film must
subvert convention enough to be considered unique and not just a clone of an
existing film.

Neale states that Hollywood’s generic regime performs two functions:

3. To guarantee pleasure and meaning for the audience.

4. To offset financial risks of film production by providing collateral against innovation

and difference.
 
Popular cinema relies on audiences finding pleasure in difference and repetition i.e.
recognition of familiar elements and the way those elements are linked in an unfamiliar
way or the way that unfamiliar elements might be introduced.

Genre is constituted by specific systems of expectations and hypothesis which spectators

bring with them to the cinema and which interact with the films themselves during the
course of the viewing process.

To the film’s production team (producer, director etc) genre provides a template.

To the film’s distributors genre provides assumptions about which audiences they should
be marketing to.

To the film’s audience genre identifies a liked or disliked formula and provides certain
rules of engagement in terms of anticipation of enjoyment.
GENRE AND ME
What genres of film do you like, and why do you like them?
I like comedy and action. These are my two favorites as comedy is very entertaining because it
makes me laugh and it normally has a individual plot that I haven’t really saw before as comedy can
be such a wide niche. In addition I like action because it is normally full of suspense meaning that
you are waiting for the villain to make a move. But as well as that action plots are normally filled to
the brink with exiting stunts and exiting scenarios which I personally enjoy. For example there are a
lot of gun fights and explosions in James Bond movies which does appeal to me as a viewer.

Find examples of two films posters, of films you haven’t seen, which appeal to you and explain why
you would want to see the film.
I like ‘The Bourne Supremacy’ because it clearly shows a common usage of weapons as the main character by looks
is holding a pistol and the smaller image below is him pointing a gun at someone. This to me guarantees eximent and
anticipation as it is clearly an action film. I also like how the cover has a dark blue color theme giving it a cold and
dark gritty aesthetic. In addition I like how the character on the front is covered with a shadow giving the feeling of
suspense and hiding the identity of the character.

I like the cover of ‘Ride Along 2’ because it shows how the characters are meant to be presented in the movie, in this
case the person on the left is in a dark and serious outfit showing that he is less comedic character whereas the
character on the left is in a bright yellow color evidently giving me the hint that he is the more comedic character. In
addition the character on the left is in more of a comedic stance showing that he has a comedy element in the movie
which appeals to me as I want to laugh at the movie.
 What is the genre of the film?
Task 2 Romance

List the codes and conventions that support this.

-Tagline (How far will you go for a second

chance) Sounds romantic.
-The two main characters are kissing (links
to romance).
-The credits and the release date are on the
bottom of the cover.
-Have different shades of lighting on it.
-Male and female characters (conventional
of the romance genre)
 What is the genre of the film?
Task 2 Sci-Fi

List the codes and conventions that support this.

- Main character has a close up and is in the center of
the movie cover.
- Set in space meaning that it adheres to the Sci-Fi
audience
- Character is looking beyond the camera (gives
suspense to the cover)
- Use of sci-fi technology (adheres to the sci-fi genre)
- Planet is paranormal doesn’t look natural at all
 Solaris - Cinema Release

Release Date - 27th November 2002.

Budget -
Gross Profit - $30,002,758.
Awards Won - Satellite Award for Best Sound
(Editing and Mixing), Biggest Disappointment.
Rating - 6.2/10 (IMDb), 66% (Rotten
Tomatoes), 59% (Rotten Tomatoes Audience
Review).
Other Relevant Information - First released in
the United States and Canada.
 Solaris - DVD Release
Release Date - 5th September 2003.
Amazon Rating - 4.3 out of 5 stars.
Why Is It Different To Film - The cover of the
DVD connotes the Sci-Fi genre which appeals
more to a mixed audience that it male
dominated. The cover of the film connotes the
Romance genre which appeals more to a
female audience.
 Hybrid Genre

Solaris is an example of a film that belongs to the

hybrid genre.

Films of the hybrid genre blend themes and elements

from two or more different genres.

The Twilight films are a hybrid genre, combining

horror, fantasy, teen and romance.
 Colossal (2017) – Hybrid:
Comedy-drama, Monster Movie (Kaiju)
 Let the Right One In (2008) – Hybrid:
Horror (Vampire), Romance, Coming of age film, Nordic noir
 HYBRID FILMS: TASK 3
Using the Internet, identify THREE Hybrid films and then complete the first two
columns of the table below. If you finish, fill in the last column about audience.

Film Title Genres Evident Possible Audience? Why?

 SUB-GENRES
All genres contain sub-genres which further define and
categorise the media text, like the ones shown below.
 SUB-GENRES: TASK 4
Write down three sub-genres for Radio Programmes, TV
Dramas and Magazines.

Radio Programmes TV Dramas Magazines

Storytelling Period Fashion
Breakfast show Crime Cooking
Sport Romantic Lifestyle

List as many horror film sub-genres as you can below.

•Slasher
•Paranormal
•Psychological •Witchcraft
•Monster •Vampire
 ANALYSIS: TASK 5
Using the Internet, choose a film trailer that you’d like to analyse in terms of genre.
Make sure that the clip you choose has lots of production elements that you can write
about.

Content Recurring icons 1. Mention as many of the codes and

Subject matter Stock characters conventions listed on the left as you can in
Structures Narrative events
Themes your analysis (if relevant).
Mood Situations
Period Motifs 2. Remember to write about how the codes
Plot Styles and conventions reinforce what genre the
Settings Props trailer is.
Stars
3. Write about how the production elements
help create meaning and reinforce the genre
the film belongs to.

4. You will need to write a minimum of 500

words.
 Analysis
https://youtu.be/0KYroBErj1g
6 Days (2017) Action

Firstly there Is a opening shot of all the soldiers lined up and there is a shot of their weapons that they are holding in a dark
grungy hallway. Followed by a shot of the man at the front of the pack of soldiers looking towards the door. Then there is a close
up of one of the soldiers spitting out his gum and putting on his gas mask. This is followed by a Birdseye shot of what is meant to
be the houses of parliament reading out the date ‘30 April 1980’. Then there is a tracking shot of the terrorists entering the
building. This is followed by a medium close up of someone shooting a gun upwards. Next there is non diegetic text saying ‘Based
on real events’ Then followed up by a tracking shot of a man walking to a gate then followed by him on a desk talking to one of
the terrorists on the phone. This suggests that he is a negotiator. After this there is a shot of a terrorist holding a gun to the
hostages inside the building. And then followed by a shot of him closing the blinds. Suggesting there is police and press waiting
outside. As the blinds shut there it there is a shot of the houses of parliament at night time this shows that there was a significant
amount of time that has passed as when he shut the blinds it was day time. This is followed by a shot of 3 generals discussing the
possibility of a SAS assassination attempt. Then it jumps to a shot of the black vans in the middle of the night traveling to the
houses of parliament. This suggests that they are about to attempt the breach shortly. This is followed by a series of shots that
are supposedly on the news of the event taking place as the terrorists preach their demands on the balcony. Then there is a shot
of the negotiator followed by one of the soldiers loading a shotgun. Next it is followed by a shot of all the ammunition and them
preparing for the eventuality. There is a shot of the negotiator talking in direct addressed followed by a shot of one main
character cocking his MP5 gun. This is followed by a shot Then there is a shot of one of the men placing a spy camera through the
hole in a brick wall showing the hostages tied up. Followed by the negotiator talking through a window to the terrorist as he says
‘’you have one day or I am shooting them’’ then proceeds to slam the window shut. There is a Lower angle shot of all the soldiers
practicing a breach showing them in a powerful and heroic fashion. Then there is a shot where a man says ‘’He has the heart of a
Lion’’ then it cuts to the main character planning the operation and then a close up of his face looking directly towards the
camera in a serious tone. This suggests that the main character is very respected by the other characters. Then there is a shot of
all the hostages panicking and looking frightened. Followed by a shot of the main villain talking to the negotiator on the phone.
There is use of ambient light as shadows cover his face making him look more intimidating. The negotiator tells the terrorist ‘’I
want this to be resolved peacefully’’ as the terrorist slams the phone down showing that it is most likely going to be resolved with
violence as the villain has power over the situation. The trailer as a whole uses a action themed with plenty of explosions and
action themed props such as guns and explosions. There are a series of events that have been edited fast and make the film
engaging.