Science fiction

Action/

Adventure

Thriller

Drama

Crime

Romance Horror

Comedy Documentary

Animation

Fantasy

Genres

Conventions of a t

hriller

Conventions o

f a Document

ary

In Adventure genre there tends to be a story about a protagonist who journeys to epic or distant places to accomplish something. It can have many other genre elements included within it, because it is a very open genre. The protagonist has a mission and faces obstacles to get to his destination.It is typically characterized by high-action, often humorous plots featuring male protagonists. The camaraderie between boys or men on sports teams, fighting squads, and the like is often emphasized. Attractive female characters with exaggerated features are also common.Superhero fiction: A story that examines the adventures of costumed crime fighters known as superheroes, who often possess superhuman powers and battle similarly powered criminals known as super villains.

In an Action genre there is usually a story, similar to Adventure, but the protagonist usually takes a risky turn, which leads to desperate situations (including explosions, fight scenes, daring escapes, etc.). Action and Adventure are usually categorized together (sometimes even as "action-adventure") because they have much in common, and many stories fall under both genres simultaneously (for instance, the James Bond series can be classified as both).

Comedy genres:Comedy usually has stories that tell us about a series of funny or comical events, intending to make the audience laugh. Comedy is an open genre, and thus crosses over with many other genres on a everyday basis. Action comedy is a subgenre that emphasises physically humorous actions, unorthodox body language and often annoying situations, e.g. Charlie Chaplin, Jackie Chan and Lucille Ball.

Crime Genre:A story about a crime that is being committed or was committed. It can also be an account of a criminal's life. It often falls into the Action or Adventure genres. There are many stories about crime, such as the detective story. This is a story about a detective/s who has to solve a crime that has taken place. They must figure out who committed the crime and the reason for it.

Documentary genre:A story that re-tells events rather than create them. Usually, it is about true historic events.

Mockumentary is a story that employs the style of the documentary to present fictional, and generally humorous, events or characters. This is very common in films and television programs. In lesson we have watched a Mockumentary called “This is Harry”.

Animated sub-genres:AnimeAnime is a form of animation originating from Japan. This sub-genre can consist of both hand drawn or computer generated animation.Animated ChildrenAnimated Children film is a sub-genre that caters to a young and specific age demographic. This sub-genre usually explores a fantastical world with vivid animation. The tone of these films is light and fun, and musical numbers are often incorporated into the plot. The story usually centers on a protagonist who must battle in a “good-over-evil” scenario.Examples: Aladdin, Fern Gully, Beauty and the Beast.Animated MusicalAnimated Musicals are animated films that incorporate large musical numbers into the narrative. These films usually appeal to children and families. This sub-genre has been dominated by Disney productions, especially with the surge of Animated Disney Musicals in the 1950s and 1990s. Like children’s animation, these stories usually show the battle of good defeating evil with likable protagonists of moral fiber.Examples: Snow White, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast.

Drama film is a genre that relies on the emotional and relational development of realistic characters. While Drama film relies heavily on this kind of development, dramatic themes play a large role in the plot as well. Often, these dramatic themes are taken from intense, real life issues. Whether heroes or heroines are facing a conflict from the outside or a conflict within themselves, Drama film aims to tell an honest story of human struggles.Drama Film Examples:The Shawshank Redemption - A former banker convicted of murdering his wife develops a lifelong friendship with a fellow prisoner, and ultimately tries to defy the odds by keeping hope alive inside prison walls.The Godfather - The aging patriarch of an organized crime circle must secure the future of his family’s empire by leaving it in the hands of his reluctant son.Casablanca - A jaded nightclub owner must choose whether or not to help his ex-lover and her husband flee Nazi-occupied Morocco.

Fantasy genres:A story about magic and supernatural forces, rather than technology, though it often is made to include elements of other genres, such as science fiction elements, for instance computers or DNA, if it happens to take place in a modern or future era. Depending on the extent of these other elements, the story may or may not be considered to be a "hybrid genre" series; for instance, even though the Harry Potter series canon includes the requirement of a particular gene to be a wizard, it is referred to only as a fantasy series.

Horror genre:A story that is told to deliberately scare or frighten the audience, through suspense, violence or shock. There are many types of horrors:

•Slasher: A horror genre featuring a usually male serial killer or other psychopath as an antagonist, methodically killing a number of vulnerable, often female protagonists in succession. Dramatic suspense is heightened by the victim's obliviousness of the killer. The victims are typically in isolated settings and often engaged in sexual activity previous to the attacks. The "slasher" kills his victims by stealthily sneaking up on them and then bloodily stabbing and slicing them to death with a sharp object, such as a Chef's knife. Gender roles in slasher films are of particular interest in feminist film theory which has extensively examined the trope of the Final girl.

Survival horror: A horror story about a protagonist who is put in a risky and life threatening situation that he or she must endure, often as a result of things such as zombies or other monsters, and the rest of the plot is how the hero or heroes overcome this.

Romance genre:Romance genre initially is all about love and relationships. Its when a man or women start to fell the love attraction between them, this is the main plot. Most romance films end in a happy way where the man and women get married and stay with each other. This genre is easily seen to combine with genres such as comedy, fantasy fiction, realistic fiction, or action-adventure.

Thriller:A story that is usually a mix of fear and excitement. It has traits from the suspense genre and often from the action, adventure or mystery genres, but the level of terror makes it borderline horror fiction at times as well. It generally has a dark or serious theme, which also makes it comparable to drama.There are different types of genres:

Disaster-thriller: A thriller story about mass peril, where the protagonist's job is to both survive, and to save many other people from a grim fate, often a natural disaster such as a storm or volcanic eruption, but which may also be a terrorist attack or epidemic of some sort.Psychological thriller: A thriller that emphasizes the psychological condition of the hero that presents obstacles to his objective, rather than the action. Some psychological thrillers are also about complicated stories that try to deliberately confuse the audience, often by showing them only the same confusing or seemingly nonsensical information that the hero gains.

Crime thriller: A thriller story that revolves around the life of detectives, mobs, or other groups associated with criminal events in the story.

Techno-thriller: A thriller story whose theme is usually technology, or the danger behind the technology people use, including the threat of cyber terrorism such as State of Fear.

Science fiction genre: science fiction is seen to be similar to fantasy, although this genre uses scientific understanding to explain the universe that the film takes place in. It generally includes the presumed effects or ramifications of computers or machines; as they travel through space, time or alternate universes; alien life-forms; genetic engineering. The science or technology used may or may not be very thoroughly elaborated on; stories whose scientific elements are reasonably detailed, well-researched and considered to be relatively plausible given current knowledge and technology are often referred to as hard science fiction. This genre as elements of other genres, such as action, comedy, alternate history (which is sometimes considered a sub-genre of science fiction), military or spy fiction, and fantasy mixed in.

Conventions for Thriller genreThriller Generic Characteristics

The narrative centres around a crime e.g. a theft or a murder.The protagonist is fallible and has an 'Achilles heel' that is exploited by the antagonist. The title of the thriller may relate to this weakness e.g. Vertigo and Insomnia.The protagonist will be seen 'in peril' in one or more scenes before the resolution.The antagonist ensnares the protagonist in an increasingly complex web, until the protagonist feels isolated and helpless.The narrative presents ordinary situations in which extraordinary things happen.Micro elements combine in a build up of suspense. ( Micro means film elements like camerawork, sound, narrative, genre, mise-en-scene, lighting, costumes, actors and facial expressions, etc.)Themes of identity are common: mistaken identity, doubling/doppelgangers, amnesia.Themes of seeing, reflection and mirroring. Manipulation of perspectives, visual McGuffins, and optical illusions are common.The audience of a thriller is placed in the ambiguous position of voyeur. Voyeurism can also be a theme and the objectification of female characters is common especially in earlier thrillers.A series of/ one important enigma(s) are/is set up in the opening sequence of the film, is further complicated during the first part of the film and only resolved at the very end.

Conventions for Documentary genre

A convention of a documentary is having a voice over, however voice over's can sometimes be biased and can lead the audience the wrong way. Another convention of a documentary is having real life footages of the event, for example a place like nightclubs, police stations or someone house etc. you cannot film the events in another place apart from the area that is focused on in the documentary. Other conventions of a documentary can be the Mise en scene (props/costumes, set design, lighting, space and acting. It is important that the character blends in with the actual theme of the documentary so it seems more realistic and true.