Monday 15 December 2008

UK Film Council Summary

I have looked at the UKfilmcouncil statistics and have been able to draw results about different genres.
The most popular genre with the most films made, and biggest amount of revenue made is the Comedy genre making £206.6 million. Following after is the Thriller genre which got the second biggest amount of money £149.0 million. Judging through these results would lead us to believe that comedy is the most popular with the UK and Republic of Ireland, however looking closer, it took 127 Comedies to give it the highest amount of money, but it only took 50 thrillers to be second best. Perhaps if both genres released the same amount of films, the thriller genre would have proven more popular.
The horror genre appears 10th on the list, with 24 releases, showing that it isnt as popular as comedy, Thriller appears 5th with 28 releases, and with around the same amount of releases and a much less amount of money made shows that thrillers are much more popular that horrors.
The romance Genre is much further down the list, showing that a romance film is only carried by its comedy aspects.

Sunday 7 December 2008

Conventions of different film Genres

In preparation for my coursework, i have been looking deeper into the different genres of films to see the tecniques adopted by script-writers and directors to captivate their audience.

Horror
In the horror genre, a strong soundtrack is very important. Whether it be a simple yet eerie tune played during the credits (though many times this simple tune builds up to a creschendo), or a heavy (usually guitar-based) soundtrack, both are very effective in letting the audience know what type of fim they're about to view.
Audio in this genre is very powerful and compliments the on-screen action. Most of the sound in horror films is non-diegetic or ambient.
Black and red are the predominant colours used in the genre. Black has connotations of isolation, disorientation and the unknown. Red has connotations of anger, blood and panic.
Every horror film has a hero/heroine, who will always survive the bloodshed. Typically, the main protagonist will be intelligent and courageous. In some (mostly slasher) horror films a young, provocative, teenage girl will be amongst the first to confront the predator.
The outcome of a horror film isn't always apparent and has many twists and suprises.
The horror genre covers a wide spectrum of film. Sci-fi horror, detective horror, psychological horror etc.

Romantic comedies
The soundtracks in Rom-coms usually link to the title of the film (E.g. Pretty woman). Or they are used as a way of expressing the characters thoughts, emotions or relationships.
Romantic comedies have alot of stereotypical characters: A family member or friend of the main character to provide comic relief, a gorgeous woman, and a charming male. Although sometimes the main character could be described as a underdog, a fumbling and insecure character who gets gradually more attractive and steals the heart of the love interest.
The storyline of rom-coms become apparent within the first few minutes of the film and is repetitive in most films; Eyes meet across the room, build up of relationship, breakdown of relationship and make up of relationship and happily ever after (at least until the sequel).
In romantic comedies there is always a obstacle standing in the way of the relationship, social norms dictate that the couple shouldnt be together (social class clash, family problems, hidden motives etc.) However despite the problems the couple face, love conquers all and a happy ending will occur tying all loose ends.