Research and Planning - Analysing Genres

Horror

The horror genre of films stereotypically contain blood, death, the supernatural and are usually filmed in dark eerie locations to ultimately strike fear into the audience's hearts and make them scream. Horror films often use everyday situations and real life stories to structure their plot around to make the horror in the film more identifiable to the audience and make them believe that something similar could happen to them, adding a larger element of fear. Editing is often fast paced and combines both straight cuts and jump cuts to give the sense of panic and desperation and low key lighting helps to add an element of tension to the film as the audience can't often tell, or see, what is about to happen. Dark colours such as reds and blacks are often used in horror films to accentuate the over all dark and scary horror genre of film.

Romance

Romance films are usually filmed in high key lighting and have warm colours such as reds and yellows in the mise-en-scene in scenes. Romance films are usually full of romantic sounding non-deigetic music and the plot is usually based around two characters coming together in peculiar circumstances and falling in love. The romance genre is often targeted at the female audience and uses stereotypically female things throughout the film, such as candles, cute animals, poetry and good looking leading male actors to convey the romantic genre.

Musical

Musical films are often very 'cheesey' and the singing and musical element of the film breaks the believability of the film and just gives the audience a 'good time'. The musical genre of film is often light hearted and very elaborate/over the top and has the intention of just giving the audience a good time and making them leave the cinema with a smile on their face. The plots of musicals are often very far fetched, such as the plots of Mamma Mia (a girl inviting her potential 3 fathers to her wedding on a greek island after reading her mother's diary) and Rock of Ages (a 'wonnabe' rockstar and actress meeting in a bar on the 'sunset strip' which has a campaign running against it to close it down and falling in love). The characters often have huge personalities and elaborate costumes, mirroring the costumes of their west end (or broadway) stage production counterparts (if the musical is based on one).

Action

Action films typically contain a hero and a villain who 'battle it out' throughout the film. Fast paced editing and jump cuts are often used to show the fast pace of the action during the film. Choreographed fight scenes are often present in action films and they are often set in distinctive locations with landmarks to show the severity of the conflict between the hero and villain/villains and to convey just how dependent the 'general public' and audience feel they are on the hero protecting them and the places they know and love.