Genre Research

Definition

• A Genre is a style of film which has distinct features like a type of lighting or stereotypical characters or settings. For example a horror would generally use low lighting and be set in an isolated place to show the vulnerability of the character whereas a comedy would have bright lighting and many colourful characters.

Chosen Genre:

• I have chosen thriller because this particular genre has many opportunities in terms of cinematography and story. Thrillers are usually seen to be serious, but can still have elements of drama, comedy, horror and action but I think I will create a hybrid with the superhero genre grounded with the gritty realism that thrillers often show. The film would likely keep the superhero idea but perhaps present said hero as a vigilante, a dark outcast in society on the run.

The Dark Knight

• Firstly, I will look at Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight”. This film is perhaps one of the most famous comic book films of recent times due to the dark and gritty tone of the film and realist view on society and how a superhero would function in this situation. The plot itself is set so the audience is always captivated, much like a thriller, and the sadistic nature of the antagonist (the Joker) wouldn’t be out of place in a thriller or horror film which certainly sets this film product apart from the stereotypical, almost cliché family friendly superhero film.

• The film doesn’t have a title sequence at the start, but the opening sequence is interesting as it only introduces the antagonist and in an elaborate way by having him acting as one of his henchmen robbing a bank. This complicated plot sequence highlights the complicated nature of this film universe, so the target audience of this film would be around 13 and up to fully understand the film’s events.

• The editing is very efficient in the sense that every scene has a meaning, there are few moments where a scene doesn’t drive any subplots which is important for a film of this genre (dark superhero hybrid) and for the more adult target audience.

X Men 2• The next film I looked at is X Men 2 as the clear genre is superhero yet it has a

prominent dark undertone highlighted by certain events in the plot. The film itself is about a group of mutants (gifted with superpowers at birth) who are outcast by society, which is a fairly adult undertone as it’s similar to racism in society today.

• The opening title sequence fits with the film as it has imagery associated with biological science (linking with Mutantkind) and the upbeat music and visuals link with the overall feel of the film. The image of Cerebro (a machine in the film series) is also clever as it’s extremely relevant to the film’s plot.

• The editing of the film is different to the Dark knight in the sense that it feels a lot lighter. The cuts are less sharp, so the pace is slower (yet the audience is still eager to watch on with the content) and the lighting is a lot brighter in most scenes to show the brightness of this film universe.

• The dark undertone of the film is unconventional as though it seems like a stereotypical superhero film, there are scenes of child experimentation (or intended experimentation) and the film’s climax involves a near genocide of all mutants. Discrimination is seen towards the mutant race which I think sets the film series aside from other conventional superhero films.

• Finally, I have looked at the Television series “Arrow” which I believe has elements of both the thriller and superhero genres. The overall tone is somewhat similar to Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy of films, but with added grittiness and realistic violence which is often shown explicitly in thrillers.

• Arrow follows the life of dark billionaire Oliver Queen who fights crime as “The Arrow”, a dark archer bent on curing his city of the criminal disease. This format seems to be a recurring theme in the superhero genre, the idea of a superhero eradicating evil- so in my product I may consider changing this format slightly to appeal to the audience as it would be seen as more unique than something like the cliché of saving a kitten from a tree.

• The series as a whole doesn’t have a title sequence, more of an opening montage which sets the tone of the episode and establishes key characters involved in the episode. The sequence itself is fairly quick in pace which is likely to reflect the fast paced martial arts action in the series, but this quick pace is juxtaposed with a slower monologue by the antagonist (Arrow) to perhaps ground the opening sequence to a realistic and gritty reality that the violence isn’t meaningless.

• The editing of the series is sharp and straight to the point, there are rarely any moments when the audience feel the scene isn’t important to the story as each episode has 40 minutes to express the plot line. This sharp editing style will definitely be used in my final product as this thriller/superhero hybrid genre will be fairly dark in tone and to highlight this I will edit so each clip has meaning and the montage as a whole feels fresh and unique to the audience.

Arrow

• Looking over the previous products I have compiled a group of features from the Thriller and superhero genres which I will use in my product. These features will be subject to change as tests and questionnaires on my target audience will determine how the product will be formed, however from the three existing products I have decided to use:

• The dark and gritty style from the Dark Knight trilogy, and the meaning behind the opening sequence, and the overall plot.

• The exciting title sequence from X Men 2, and the light nature of the film I will use occasionally to break the tension that the realism creates.

• The sharp editing style from Arrow to show the nature of the product, never missing a beat to make the viewer watch on.

• I will also use occasional humour as despite the genre being a Thriller hybrid, humour could be used to prevent the viewer losing interest as the film would come across to the audience as too depressing.