Hello!
Today is the day I finally start to explore film as I will be doing the opening brief for my project. Going into this project I hope to create an entertaining, interesting and moving opening. For the opening, I am considering three genres of which I want to utilize and use to guide my project's editing, sound, angles types of shots, mise en scene and other important components that will help it come to life! When I think of genres I like, what usually comes to mind are my favorites like romance, drama, crime and mystery as well as thriller. And so three genres that I'd like to focus on my research out of the following are thriller romance and last but not least drama. To be able to make a reasonable yet favorable choice of genre for my project, I will be tackling each genre, getting to know the ins and outs of what makes these genres stand out from one another.
Romance:
Romance is a genre that I personally love and enjoy and it is present in films, Tv shows, animated movies, musicals and even live performances. The romance genre focuses mainly on two characters that develop a romantic relationship throughout a piece of media. This genre is known for highlighting and and exploring feelings of intimacy, desire, passion and other emotions that come with having feelings for another person. It commonly involves situations of heartbreak, rejection, love triangles and cute first encounters that first spark the start of the relationship early in the movie.
What are Identifiable Characteristics of the Romance Genre?
In the romance genre, the classic love at first sight is a common occurrence across the forms that this genre comes in. This is where the characters first meet through eye contact, and meet cutes. Meet cutes are usually the first encounter characters will have with each other. This gets the audiences attention and support for the potential relationship that will later form in the film. Some classic meet cutes can be seen when characters bump into one another, grab for the same item in a store, or even spilling coffee.
Types of Meet Cutes:
- The Comedic Meet-Cute
- The Meet-Misunderstanding
- The Meet-Ungrateful
- The Meet-Thrown-Together:
- The Meet-Hate
- The Childhood Connections Meet-Cute
- The Meet-Unique-Circumstance
- The Meet-Competition
- The Missed Connections Meet-Cute
In this genre, another characteristic that builds up film is the concept of opposites and opposition. In romances characters tend to have differences in background, lifestyle, social circles, financial stability, conflicting personalities and where they live that can reveal itself as a problem or situation that characters may have to overcome to fulfill the desire of wanting a relationship. These problems can also present themselves as interpersonal as a character might be experiencing personal growth as well. This can also create the concept of "Forbidden Love". This is where characters might not be socially accepted by other factors like culture, family and society expectations that stands as a threat to the relationship.
The concept of opposites and opposition present themselves as a way to test characters throughout a film/show and provides a foundation for the storyline. It works as a way to progress the plot and can reveal emotions, situations and limitations of characters. It is able to highlight and show the audience what weaknesses and strengths the relationship may have. Situations like heartbreak, isolation and rejection are some examples of weaknesses that can be triggered, yet, strengths like empathy, compassion and understanding and emotional closeness can also be discovered through these differences.
Lastly, the most frustrating yet rewarding characteristic that stands out to audiences in this genre is the breakup and resolution stage. This characteristic is what resonates with audiences and makes romances realistic. It deepens characters relationship as they see not only the positives of one another but the negatives as well. It creates a good balance throughout a film and fuels the feeling of audiences towards the end; it inputs a sense of relief, happiness when characters come back to each other and work things out.
Classic Romance Films You've Probably Seen!
The Titanic - an 1997 film that is about a rich seventeen year old girl who falls in love with Jack a poor artist on the RMS Titanic, a cruise ship which had historically been known to sink after crashing into an iceberg in 1912.
The Notebook - an 2004 film adapted from a novel which focuses on a boy named Noah Calhoun and Allie Hamilton who share a summer full of romance but are torn part due to differences of upbringing and class. Allie was raised in a upper class white collar family while Noah on the other hand is lower of class as he works as a lumber mill worker. Their differences and family expectations take the better of their relationship as they both go seperate ways and later reunite which sparks their relationship again after years.
A Walk to Remember- an 2002 film that takes place in North Carolina where Landon, a reckless high school student finds himself falling in love with Jamie, a religious, kind and talented girl who is forced to work with James after he finds himself in trouble needing community service hours. Through this James matures and learns from Jamie and their love.
Thriller:
Thriller is a genre that is suspenseful, psychological, and will keep you on your toes in all its forms. Tv shows, movies you name it! There's constantly high stakes at risk causing an audience to feel anxiety and adrenaline. The key to picking out a thriller genre is usually when the main character slowly and strategically distances themselves from people who they once love and trusted and transition into a character who is always at risk and being threatened or even vise versa; the main character could be the antagonist in turn. That's the fun part about thrillers-you never know what to expect!
What makes a Thriller feel Thrilling?
In thrillers, suspense is a crucial factor that makes up films/tv shows as thrillers are supposed to evoke emotions in the audience purposely and tactfully. Suspense makes the audience stay on edge and engrosses the audience to pay attention throughout as viewers never know what's coming next. Suspense is created in many ways as filmmakers aim to play with pacing, sound and silence, narrators and cinematography.
Some common themes used among thrillers that have been used to hook viewers are heists, ransoms, kidnappings, revenge, captivities investigations and 'whodunits". This involves murders, terrorism, political conspiracy, serial killings, people in pursuit and more. As for typical types of characters that can be seen are stalkers, victims, criminals, assassins, secret agents, cops, investigators, psychotic individuals. These type of themes and characters make thrillers come to like but are only part of the thrill viewers feel.
Thrillers are supposed to be exciting, daunting and unpredictable so to do that, there are certain elements used. Some of these elements include the use of plot twists and cliff hangers which keeps and audience engaged throughout the movie. This also overall keeps the plot interesting and entertaining for viewers. It steers viewers away from any predictions they might have had previously.
To capture a successful thriller, the structure is important. In most thrillers the structures follow this sequence: order, threat, escalation, confrontation and resolution. In a thriller resolutions are often unsettling and ambiguous, leaving an impact on the viewer. These endings usually give viewers and character some sort of agency back, but still are left with heavy emotions. Here some sort of truth might be discovered or the main character might be facing processing what they went through.
Popular Thriller Films!
The Dark Knight- a 2008 film about the Joker and his destruction over the city of Gotham, where popular DC super heroes like Batman, James Gordon and Harvey Dent work together to stop him from taking over.
Fight Club- a 1999 film where an insomniac office worker named Edward Norton and a soap worker named Tyler Durdmen come together to make an underground fight club for themselves and other men who find themselves bored.
Kill Bill- a 2003 film about a former assassin named The Bride who wakes up from a 4 year old coma after her ex decided to attempt to murder her on her wedding day. This leads to her making a hit list for anyone who took part in the challenges she had to face.
Drama:
Drama is another genre I personally enjoy, as it captures the daily struggles and joys of everyday life. Whenever I watch drama films I feel like it's when I can relate the most. Drama's overall aim is to capture real conflicts, real emotions and show the journey of characters of them understanding themselves, family, the world, growing up and grief. This genre is very broad while it often is mixed with other genres as most genres require, conflict, character development and some sort of relatability with the audience.
What makes Drama Dramatic?
In order to capture reality, this genre uses characters that would be seen on the regular in anyone's life. This can be neighbors, family, school or work peers, and even local workers depending on the plot. Therefore, most settings or developments will go down in those places like school, home, or another local area known to characters.
Because drama is so flexible yet complex, most topics in drama aim to highlight issues of society, or internal struggles. Some common topics covered by this genre include, poverty, racial injustice, politics, mental illness, gender inequality, and even corrupt insititutions. These are only the surface of what drama topics include. This genre has the capability to get very detailed and deep, opening viewers hearts to situations creating understanding and empathy.
In any drama obstacles are key to the development of a story and character. Obstacles can be revealed through big physical feats to even really small ones. This is mainly because drama focuses on the everyday small struggles we may have, like frustrations with work, a partner and bigger things like addiction. This is also why words, dialogue and body language and facial expressions of characters are extremely important.
Highly Rated Drama Films!
Marty Supreme- a 2025 film about Marty Mauser a man who is a shoe salesman who wishes to be table tennis world champion. To do this though, Marty must pull some strings and avoid trouble.
Wake up Deadman- a 2025 film about a detective named Benoit Blanc who investigates the death inside of a church of a man named Monsignor Jefferson Wicks who has a past full of spiritual and family secrets.
No comments:
Post a Comment