Action:

The action genre has codes and convention with common elements of the genre that provide: mystery, drama, spy fiction and suspense. Also, the Themes – violence, death, with the heroes or villains, other characters the plot may be set around. Most of the sequence analysed show the characters being introduced in a violent scene, they are always involved, the villains are always carrying weapons. Characters who are part of the backstory, they may help set the scene, or reinforce the genre for instance Mission Impossible, Ghost Protocol, the first character shown was part of the back story, which links to the film. The action genre has a age group range between 15-45, because teenagers love the adrenaline burst they get from watching action films and this often continues into adulthood. Yet the secondary audience adults aged 65 or above, this emphasis males of this age range mostly are more interested in fast paced stories with lots of action filled scenes that include explosions and fight scenes.

Conversely, the genre is closely associated with the thriller and adventure film genres the action-drama genre was more popular among older generations. The audience are most of the time able tell the heroes from the villains. The villains are carrying the guns and weapons, they act in a threatening manner towards other characters, they may be running after them, chasing them. Most of the openings don’t have an equilibrium, although do have a disruption at some point in the first 2-3 minutes, for example in the opening of Taken, the scene starts of with a view of the sea and a long shot of a plane, it shows that everything is fine and calm.

Adventure: 

Adventure films along with games are usually set in exotic places, desert islands and jungles, which tends to be a lot of action sequences, yet they always take place in mountaineering places like jungle, desert or at sea which gives the adventure genre its own unique twist. 

Popular concepts that are shown are an outlaw that is considered a fugitive by the system of authority fighting for justice on behalf of the public who need it. Highly volatile scenarios the protagonist manages to get everyone out of. Pirates on a journey for a quest, protagonist discovering his/her identity, or experiencing some sort of realisation to set him/her on their journey. 

Adventure sub-genres there are three main sub-genres; these are the following: swashbuckler, fantasy, quest, disaster, and historical dramas films, these include the same major plot developments and there is always something the protagonist and the antagonist want to get; this was shown in films such as The Hobbit, Warcraft, harry potter and star-wars which gained huge fanbases and created a universal following with conventions such as comic-con for fans to connect with other fans, creators and experts. Also, for example, fantasy has a common portrayal about a heroic story set in a invented world that is more of an eccentric version of our world or a legendary mythic past with common codes like superpowers, wizards, witches, ghosts, aliens, happy endings and spaceship. Moreover, thriller convention grabs the adventure audience with an exciting, suspenful narrative when the hero tends to overcome a numerous amount of obstacles set by the villain. Ultimately the target audience for adventure film is young boys/men (15-55) because of the male antagonist, female love interest.

Romance:

The romance genre emphasises falling in love and establishing an emotional and committed relationship between couples. The romance genre focuses on the following elements, a romantic couple, a hero and a heroine, and the development of their romantic union/love relationship drives the fundamental conflict as well as climax of the story. The story culminates in an optimistic or happy ending, where the good are rewarded, the evil are punished, whereas the romantic couple are rewarded with unconditional love. This highlights the target audience being young woman (15-24) and mature woman (55+) especially since romance narratives appear in many sub-genres for example, contemporary Romance: romances set in the time period in which they were written, and reflecting the norms and values of the era. 

Historical romance: romances set in the historical past, such as romance with religion. Stories must remain faithful to the culture with traditions of the time period. Erotic romance develops the sexual and sensual side of romantic relationships, these stories use direct language and avoid euphemisms, preferring explicit sex scenes over traditional love scenes. Common romance tropes include: Alpha hero, forbidden love, comfort and hurt, heroine reforms rake, love at first sight, mistaken identity, secret admirers, and soul mates. his is due to the light heated nature of films that are produced in this genre.

Romance films in general are based around the girl, so this can attract a big female audience. Girls can also find them relatable, due to life experience and family/friend’s situations with heartbreak in relationships and marriages. Traditionally, every woman dreams of a man coming along to express her and take care of her, however have no face in their delusion and the romantic genre of film puts a face on their dream man/prince.

Comedy:

Comedy is a genre within film intended to make the audience laugh, often through exaggerated onscreen performance to create a comedic effect. These are frequently lighthearted as well as even unrealistic to some degree, their purpose to joke about matters which wouldn’t necessarily be funny within real life. Subgenres of comedy differentiate depending on the audience and context of the film. The most popular comedy genres are as following: Surreal Comedy: Nonsense logic with ridiculous situations, similar to cartoons such as Looney toons or SpongeBob. Cringe Comedy, actors/actresses onscreen will do things to which would be embarrassing in real life, regularly by saying moment-killer punchlines or publicly/privately doing things that would be deemed uncomfortable, e.g (The Inbetweeners). Also,comedies are usually aimed at 8 to 13 year old. There is spoof films that have very crude humor yet with a more adult humor, this pushes its age rating up e.g. scary movies, airplane. These films are m age rated certificate 15/18 certificates, therefore are aimed at 15 to 24 males because of its crude humor.

Black comedy: making fun out of unfunny subjects, such as drugs, violence, and terrorism; an example director would be David Fincher, andWes Craven. Hybrid genres. Hybrid genres are unusual formats of films, often daring to cross popular genres with their own differences. Usually, hybrids combine two film genres with more differences than similarities; however they’re often the most unique films. Some hybrid genres of comedy might be: Horror-Comedy, an example such as Scary Movie, Zombieland and Piranha 3D. These are usually parody movies of traditional horror films for those who enjoy lighthearted movies. Fantasy-Comedy, this is a more popular hybrid genre of comedy, where the supernatural crosses over with humor. Blockbusters like Guardians of the Galaxy and X-men: Origins fall under this category.

Thriller :

Thriller film genre is known for having numerous, and overlapping subgenres. Thrillers are characterised and defined by the moods they elicit, giving audiences heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, and anticipation. Urban setting is a very common iconography of the thriller genre, since it’s a high-populated area, meaning that the crime rate usually is a lot higher than in other areas such as rural. Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer’s moods, giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and terror. The target demographic is 30-50 years old because the statistics show that the common age rating in the genre is 18+.

Characteristics

  • Thrillers will often include elements of science fiction, mystery or horror.
  • The hero/protagonist is usually an ordinary person, allowing for easy audience sympathy.
  • Main character is outnumbered, out gunned and unsure who to trust.
  • There is usually a multi-narrative format.
  • Gives the viewer a feeling of pleasurable fascination and excitement mixed with apprehension, uncertainty, anticipation, tension and anxiety.
  • antagonist driven plot, where by the present obstacles that the protagonist must overcome.
  • Psychological
  • crime
  • conspiracy
  • mystery
  • spy
  • horror and action

As films film in Thriller genre intends for the target audience to be a large age range, between 15-50 years old as it can relate to a range of ages due to the content e.g. violence, relationships. Because of this, the film will be of a more serious nature, rather than being light-hearted. As our film is targeting a more older age range, we will have to take onto consideration the style of acting, the camera angles and props we use to make the film look as professional and appealing as possible.

Main elements of the thriller genre.

  • Suspense is crucial characteristic of the thriller genre because suspense builds in order to make the final moment, no matter how short the most memorable.
  • Delivers a story with sustained tension, surprise, and a contrast sense of impending doom.
  • In terms of narrative expectations, it may be contrasted with mystery or curiosity.
  • Protagonist faces death in some form. either his/her own or someone close to them.
  • The force of the antagonist must be cleverer or stranger than the protagonists.
  • There’s be a mystery that must be solved.
  • Characters must be realistic or natural in their representation on screen.
  • presence of innocence in an essentially corrupt world.
  • Protagonist and antagonist have to fight physically and/or mentally.