The History Of Romantic Films
The screwball comedy is a subgenre of the comedy film genre. It has proven to be one of the most popular and enduring film genres. It first gained prominence in 1934 with It Happened One Night, and, although many film scholars would agree that its classic period ended sometime in the early 1940s, elements of the genre have persisted, or have been paid homage to, in contemporary film.
While there is no authoritative list of the defining characteristics of the screwball comedy genre, films considered to be definitive of the genre usually feature farcical situations, a combination of slapstick with fast-paced repartee, and a plot involving courtship and marriage or remarriage. The film critic Andrew Sarris has defined the screwball comedy as "a sex" comedy without the sex.
(1896) (aka The May Irwin Kiss) although regarded as "disgusting" and scandalous, a Victorian couple May Irwin and John Rice re-enacted a lingering kiss. This was produced for Thomas Edison's film from their 1895 Broadway stage play The Widow Jones; it was the first film ever made of a couple kissing in cinematic history. It then became the most popular film produced that year by Edison's film company (it was filmed at Edison's Black Maria studio, in West Orange, NJ)
The first American feature-length sex film was Traffic in Souls (1913) (aka While New York Sleeps) The original vamp and first movie sex goddess, the full-bosomed Theda Bara, starred in a number of early silent’s for the Fox Film Corporation - her first lurid, slinky vamp appearance (and first lead role) was in Fox's melodramatic A Fool There Was (1915).
It was not until the creation of romantic love in the western European medieval period, though, that "romance" came to refer to "romantic love" situations, rather than the heroic adventures of medieval Romance. These adventures, however, often revolved about a knight's feats on behalf of a lady, and so the modern themes of love were quickly woven into them, as in Chrétien de Troyes's Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart.
Friday 4 December 2009
Book Research Into Romantic Comedies
Book Research
The Cinemas Book Third Edition BFI Edited By Pam CookPart 5: Genre Comedy (Steve Neale)
Romantic Comedies:
Rom Com, has received the greatest attention in recent years, at least in part because of its revival by Hollywood in the mid 1980s under the guise of what Neale and Krutnik have termed ‘the new romance’ (Neale and Krutnik, 1990; Krutnik; 1990: Neale, 1992) In contrast to the screwball films, little has been written on the ‘sex comedies’ of the 1950s and 1960s – films such as Pillow Talk (1959) and Lovers Come Back (1961). There has been a revival of interest in the ‘sophisticated’ comedies of romance, sex, marriage and remarriage that preceded the screwball cycle in the late 1910’s and 1920s, especially those directed by Cecil B. DeMille. (Higashi; 1994; Musser1995). However, there are as yet no histories of romantic comedy in Hollywood that encompass all these trends. Neale (1992) proposes a number of basic conventions, including ‘the meet cute’, ‘the wrong partner’, the learning process the couple nearly always have to undergo and the initial hostility it eventually dispels. Neale and Krutnik (1990) argue that deviations from the norm are conventional in comedy and hence that ‘subversion’ is a licensed and integral aspect of comedy’s social and institutional existence. And Purdie (1993) has explicitly attacked the views of Balchtin and others, arguing that all forms of comedy involve a recognition of the norms whose transgression they entail, and hence a claim to social membership at the expense not only of those who are comedy’s butts, but also of those who do not get it jokes. Either way, it is likely that, as is the case with most genres, comedy’s ideological significance and impact varies from film to film, cycle to cycle, and audience to audience, and is probably best assessed at specific and local levels rather than through universal generalisations.
Miss Congeniality
(USA/Australia 2000 p.c- Warner Bros. /Castle Rock Entertainment/Village ROADSHOW Pictures/NPV Entertainment/Fortis Films; d – Donald Petrie)
Traditionally classic Hollywood romantic comedy focused on the apparently mismatched heterosexual couple, overcoming conflicts and obstacles in order to move towards their happy union. As a contemporary rom-com, Miss Congeniality follows this formula, but the predictable romance that develops between FBI agents Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) and Eric Matthews (Benjamin Bratt) is pushed away from the centre and towards the margins of the narrative which instead focuses on the question of female identity and the performance of gender – contributing to the films queer appeal. Miss Congeniality plays with the conventions of this popular Hollywood genre to provide its audience marriage of masculine and feminine characteristics within Gracie’s personality. Thus it is Gracie herself, rather than the couple who undergoes a significant change. Miss Congeniality makes use of stereotypes and much of the comedy derives from gendered attitudes to hair, make-up, costume and behaviour. The films opening scenes establish Gracie as a social definition of femininity. Consequently she is a misfit who exhibits typically masculine characteristics she is aggressive, violent and clumsy.
The Cinemas Book Third Edition BFI Edited By Pam CookPart 5: Genre Comedy (Steve Neale)
Romantic Comedies:
Rom Com, has received the greatest attention in recent years, at least in part because of its revival by Hollywood in the mid 1980s under the guise of what Neale and Krutnik have termed ‘the new romance’ (Neale and Krutnik, 1990; Krutnik; 1990: Neale, 1992) In contrast to the screwball films, little has been written on the ‘sex comedies’ of the 1950s and 1960s – films such as Pillow Talk (1959) and Lovers Come Back (1961). There has been a revival of interest in the ‘sophisticated’ comedies of romance, sex, marriage and remarriage that preceded the screwball cycle in the late 1910’s and 1920s, especially those directed by Cecil B. DeMille. (Higashi; 1994; Musser1995). However, there are as yet no histories of romantic comedy in Hollywood that encompass all these trends. Neale (1992) proposes a number of basic conventions, including ‘the meet cute’, ‘the wrong partner’, the learning process the couple nearly always have to undergo and the initial hostility it eventually dispels. Neale and Krutnik (1990) argue that deviations from the norm are conventional in comedy and hence that ‘subversion’ is a licensed and integral aspect of comedy’s social and institutional existence. And Purdie (1993) has explicitly attacked the views of Balchtin and others, arguing that all forms of comedy involve a recognition of the norms whose transgression they entail, and hence a claim to social membership at the expense not only of those who are comedy’s butts, but also of those who do not get it jokes. Either way, it is likely that, as is the case with most genres, comedy’s ideological significance and impact varies from film to film, cycle to cycle, and audience to audience, and is probably best assessed at specific and local levels rather than through universal generalisations.
Miss Congeniality
(USA/Australia 2000 p.c- Warner Bros. /Castle Rock Entertainment/Village ROADSHOW Pictures/NPV Entertainment/Fortis Films; d – Donald Petrie)
Traditionally classic Hollywood romantic comedy focused on the apparently mismatched heterosexual couple, overcoming conflicts and obstacles in order to move towards their happy union. As a contemporary rom-com, Miss Congeniality follows this formula, but the predictable romance that develops between FBI agents Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) and Eric Matthews (Benjamin Bratt) is pushed away from the centre and towards the margins of the narrative which instead focuses on the question of female identity and the performance of gender – contributing to the films queer appeal. Miss Congeniality plays with the conventions of this popular Hollywood genre to provide its audience marriage of masculine and feminine characteristics within Gracie’s personality. Thus it is Gracie herself, rather than the couple who undergoes a significant change. Miss Congeniality makes use of stereotypes and much of the comedy derives from gendered attitudes to hair, make-up, costume and behaviour. The films opening scenes establish Gracie as a social definition of femininity. Consequently she is a misfit who exhibits typically masculine characteristics she is aggressive, violent and clumsy.
Questionnaire
Template Of Our Questionnaire
Questionnaire Summary
After researching through the different genres and gaining an understanding of the codes and conventions through different analysis, I have decided to do a romantic comedy as my final piece as 40% of people aged between 15-20 preferred romantic comedy to any other genre. I gathered this information from my questionnaires which where handed out around the college and out side of the working environment into my family home. By doing this gathered that majority of females asked aged 15-19 favoured romantic comedies rather than watch a horror or a thriller, some of the reasons given for this for this was that they found a romantic comedies more interesting and funny, and it was they liked the idea they could watch a film without being scared of what is going to happen and afraid of what will happen next. A large amount of females aged 15-20 said that the only thing they disliked about watching a romantic comedy was that it is too unrealistic and the story lines are sometimes predictable.
The most popular style of romantic comedy was American Rom Com’s which were preferred by both male and female. In the questionnaire they were asked to define why they preferred American comedies and both genders answered because they hadn’t really seen many British Romantic Comedies and because the actors are funnier and the actors in American Romantic Comedies are at a better standard of acting. Also 30% of females who took part answered they favoured an American comedy to an English one for the reason that the actors are more “glamorous” and English films always look low budged
The question 9 was ‘what lifestyle do you prefer in romantic comedies?’ they had the choices of ‘urban lifestyle’ and ‘posh lifestyle’ and 80% of the participants answered ‘urban lifestyle’.
The participants where also asked what point of view they prefer to see a romantic comedy from and 17 / 30 people said that they prefer to see it in 1st person. 13/30 said they find it hard to stay engaged into a film being told in 1st person. Overall the main question of the questionnaire was ‘why do you watch romantic comedies’ and the males aged 20-23 stated that they watch it because they get dragged to watch it with there female companions,
The participants were then asked, other than this why would you go to the cinemas to watch a romantic comedy females aged between 20-23 stated that they would watch a romantic comedy because it makes them feel better and they feel that sometimes they can relate to the film in situations wise. The younger generation of females aged between 15-19 stated they watch romantic comedies because its entertaining and they make them smile and they feel they have better knowledge on how boys think and what they want, however a lot of the males asked also response was slightly different from the age15-19 as they stated that they would watch a romantic because they are funny and there are always dilemmas in the end which they find amusing, The males aged 23+ stated that they would watch romantic comedies because they feel they’re sometimes interesting to watch, where as the females aged 23+ replied in a unexpected way as they would prefer to watch a horror or thriller but if they where to watch a romantic comedy it would be because they are interested in watching it through the reviews off the mass media.
Due to the feedback I received on my questionnaire, I have decided that I will be doing Romantic Comedy with a target audience of people aged between 15-20. Mainly because of the positive feedback we received from this particular age group.
Here is the template to our questionnaire:
1. What gender are you?Female ___ Male ___
2. What age are you?15-16 ___ 17-18 ___ 19-20 ___ 21-23 ___ 24+ ___
3. What genre in films do you prefer?Romantic Comedies, Horror, Thriller or Other _____________________________
4. Do you watch romantic comedies?Yes ___ No ___ Sometimes ___
5. What would attract your attention to watch a romantic film?
6. What do you dislike about a romantic comedy?
________________________________________________
7. Would you prefer a romantic comedy if you could relate to it?
Yes ___
No ___
8. What do you prefer?American Romantic ComediesEnglish Comedies &Why ………………………………………………………………………….......................................................
...........................................
9. What lifestyle do you prefer in romantic comedies?
‘Urban Lifestyle’ ____
‘Posh Lifestyle’ ___
10. What point of view would you prefer to see a romantic comedy from?
1st Person ____
3rd Person _____
11. What emotion are you normally left feeling with at the end of a romantic comedy?
12. Why do you watch romantic comedies?
We appreciate that you have taken time out to complete our questionnaire!Thank You :)
Questionnaire Summary
After researching through the different genres and gaining an understanding of the codes and conventions through different analysis, I have decided to do a romantic comedy as my final piece as 40% of people aged between 15-20 preferred romantic comedy to any other genre. I gathered this information from my questionnaires which where handed out around the college and out side of the working environment into my family home. By doing this gathered that majority of females asked aged 15-19 favoured romantic comedies rather than watch a horror or a thriller, some of the reasons given for this for this was that they found a romantic comedies more interesting and funny, and it was they liked the idea they could watch a film without being scared of what is going to happen and afraid of what will happen next. A large amount of females aged 15-20 said that the only thing they disliked about watching a romantic comedy was that it is too unrealistic and the story lines are sometimes predictable.
The most popular style of romantic comedy was American Rom Com’s which were preferred by both male and female. In the questionnaire they were asked to define why they preferred American comedies and both genders answered because they hadn’t really seen many British Romantic Comedies and because the actors are funnier and the actors in American Romantic Comedies are at a better standard of acting. Also 30% of females who took part answered they favoured an American comedy to an English one for the reason that the actors are more “glamorous” and English films always look low budged
The question 9 was ‘what lifestyle do you prefer in romantic comedies?’ they had the choices of ‘urban lifestyle’ and ‘posh lifestyle’ and 80% of the participants answered ‘urban lifestyle’.
The participants where also asked what point of view they prefer to see a romantic comedy from and 17 / 30 people said that they prefer to see it in 1st person. 13/30 said they find it hard to stay engaged into a film being told in 1st person. Overall the main question of the questionnaire was ‘why do you watch romantic comedies’ and the males aged 20-23 stated that they watch it because they get dragged to watch it with there female companions,
The participants were then asked, other than this why would you go to the cinemas to watch a romantic comedy females aged between 20-23 stated that they would watch a romantic comedy because it makes them feel better and they feel that sometimes they can relate to the film in situations wise. The younger generation of females aged between 15-19 stated they watch romantic comedies because its entertaining and they make them smile and they feel they have better knowledge on how boys think and what they want, however a lot of the males asked also response was slightly different from the age15-19 as they stated that they would watch a romantic because they are funny and there are always dilemmas in the end which they find amusing, The males aged 23+ stated that they would watch romantic comedies because they feel they’re sometimes interesting to watch, where as the females aged 23+ replied in a unexpected way as they would prefer to watch a horror or thriller but if they where to watch a romantic comedy it would be because they are interested in watching it through the reviews off the mass media.
Due to the feedback I received on my questionnaire, I have decided that I will be doing Romantic Comedy with a target audience of people aged between 15-20. Mainly because of the positive feedback we received from this particular age group.
Research into Romantic Comedies & Classification
Research into Romantic Comedies & Classification
2008 was a great year for the Box Office UK as it grew to a record £850 million. The top film of 2008 was Mamma Mia which is a romantic comedy and has gone down in history by becoming the highest grossing film of all time in the UK, which means romantic comedies becoming increasingly popular. Another romantic comedy which was in the top five best film releases of 2008 is Sex in the City which was made in the USA.
Four Weddings and a Funeral is an English romantic comedy which is the top independent UK film which shows that the public do enjoy watching romantic comedies even if they are independent. This is also inspirational for me and my media team as we will be an independent group making a romantic comedy.
Comedy is currently the UK’s favourite genre and making almost a quarter of the Box Office in 2008. Comedy was the dominate genre of films sold in 2008 accounting for around 22% o the market figure. The next genre was action with 18% of all sales. However although comedy did exceptionally well in 2008, it did perform as well as it did in 2007.
Comedy was again this year the top grossing genre which means comedy alone turned over £222.4 million, which was followed by action which achieved £203.7 million. Primarily, comedy did so well because of the record breaking Mamma Mia which was the highest grossing film of all time.
In 2008 the Box Office released 140 comedy films which toped all other genres, however only 7 romance films toped the UK box office which states that romance is not as popular has comedy, however merging the two genres it will be drawing two types of audience together so that will be increasing the amount of viewers.
Classification
All films in the UK must carry a classification indicating the age group suitable to view the film. The British Board of Film Classification classifies most of the films of the theatre, however some local authority’s also can grant their own classification.
The box office released 193 films and15 rating topped all other classifications. It also made the most gross profit at the box office. The top film of this classification was Sex in the City which is also a romantic comedy and classified 15 rated film. The lowest gross profit made at the box office was 18 rating which only turned made 0.1 million gross box office. This is because of the rude and offence nature of 18 classified films the audience is very restricted.
From the classification 15 and above the nature of the film contains much stronger material than any other younger classification. Most of the older classified the films (depending of what genre it is), are more likely to involve adult – oriented topics.
If the classification of the film is U rated, then the film is limited to what it can show. The film has to make sure that all the material showing is suitable for all ages and contains no material likely to harm or offend anyone of any age or culture.
PG classification is abbreviated for Parental Guidance. Which means young children are suitable to watch the film, however an adult should be present at the time because the child may feel uncomfortable at times as the film may contain mild, infrequent language or mild fantasy violence.
The next rating is 12A, which means 12 years of ages accompanied with an adult. This classification allows the film to have mild language, moderate violence and sex; it is also aloud to show drug use which is band from any younger rating.
Rating 15 is the next rating above 12A and there is a large gap between what can been shown in a 12A and a 15. 15 is currently the most popular rating of film mainly because the martial approved for the film is much stronger and can me more attacking/shocking. The language in a 15 can be a great deal stronger and the film can contain scenes of a sexual nature and strong violence.
2008 was a great year for the Box Office UK as it grew to a record £850 million. The top film of 2008 was Mamma Mia which is a romantic comedy and has gone down in history by becoming the highest grossing film of all time in the UK, which means romantic comedies becoming increasingly popular. Another romantic comedy which was in the top five best film releases of 2008 is Sex in the City which was made in the USA.
Four Weddings and a Funeral is an English romantic comedy which is the top independent UK film which shows that the public do enjoy watching romantic comedies even if they are independent. This is also inspirational for me and my media team as we will be an independent group making a romantic comedy.
Comedy is currently the UK’s favourite genre and making almost a quarter of the Box Office in 2008. Comedy was the dominate genre of films sold in 2008 accounting for around 22% o the market figure. The next genre was action with 18% of all sales. However although comedy did exceptionally well in 2008, it did perform as well as it did in 2007.
Comedy was again this year the top grossing genre which means comedy alone turned over £222.4 million, which was followed by action which achieved £203.7 million. Primarily, comedy did so well because of the record breaking Mamma Mia which was the highest grossing film of all time.
In 2008 the Box Office released 140 comedy films which toped all other genres, however only 7 romance films toped the UK box office which states that romance is not as popular has comedy, however merging the two genres it will be drawing two types of audience together so that will be increasing the amount of viewers.
Classification
All films in the UK must carry a classification indicating the age group suitable to view the film. The British Board of Film Classification classifies most of the films of the theatre, however some local authority’s also can grant their own classification.
The box office released 193 films and15 rating topped all other classifications. It also made the most gross profit at the box office. The top film of this classification was Sex in the City which is also a romantic comedy and classified 15 rated film. The lowest gross profit made at the box office was 18 rating which only turned made 0.1 million gross box office. This is because of the rude and offence nature of 18 classified films the audience is very restricted.
From the classification 15 and above the nature of the film contains much stronger material than any other younger classification. Most of the older classified the films (depending of what genre it is), are more likely to involve adult – oriented topics.
If the classification of the film is U rated, then the film is limited to what it can show. The film has to make sure that all the material showing is suitable for all ages and contains no material likely to harm or offend anyone of any age or culture.
PG classification is abbreviated for Parental Guidance. Which means young children are suitable to watch the film, however an adult should be present at the time because the child may feel uncomfortable at times as the film may contain mild, infrequent language or mild fantasy violence.
The next rating is 12A, which means 12 years of ages accompanied with an adult. This classification allows the film to have mild language, moderate violence and sex; it is also aloud to show drug use which is band from any younger rating.
Rating 15 is the next rating above 12A and there is a large gap between what can been shown in a 12A and a 15. 15 is currently the most popular rating of film mainly because the martial approved for the film is much stronger and can me more attacking/shocking. The language in a 15 can be a great deal stronger and the film can contain scenes of a sexual nature and strong violence.
Friday 27 November 2009
Narrative Codes and Conventions of Romantic Comedy
Narrative Codes and Conventions of Romantic Comedy
Currently Romantic comedy is one of the most popular film genres there are. In 2008 comedy topped all other genres including action and thriller. Of course there are certain expectations you would expect to see in a Rom Com and they started in some of the very earliest Romantic Comedies such as The Apartment. The Apartment was made in 1960 and has which was a typical story line of “boy meets girl, boy looses girl, boy gets girl back”. This is a very basic story line however even to this day big Hollywood movies use this same method such as 500 Hundred Days of Summer, which is a more recent Rom Com being made in the year 2000 however it has the exact narrative of a film made in the early 60’s. However even those two separate films share the same narrative the substance of the film is very different, making each Romantic comedy different from the other.
Another film which was made in the early 80’s called Sixteen Candles, also contains roughly the same sort of story line however this time, instead of the boy winning the girl back the girl gets the boy back. This is slightly different to the “typical” romantic comedy however it still shares the same concept of two lovers meeting, having trouble and splitting up. This romantic comedy was aimed at teenagers so it includes things teenagers would be interested in such as adolescent love, young parties, school, cheating and other things that a stereo typical in a young persons life. Another more recent teen Rom Com called John Tucker Must Die, made in 2006 share similarities between the story line because the main characters are three young girls, in a school, who like to go to parties and things a “typical” young teenager would do, who find out their boyfriend has been cheating on them and swears revenge.
No matter what age the Rom Com’s target audience is the film will normally include an attractive male or female as the main actor because this will appeal to all ages and all sexes. The male is normally slightly dorky, however loveable and the female is usually quite sexy and independent (someone woman can resemble themselves in). I also found out in my question air that attractive characters are one of the main reasons why people watch Romantic Comedies so it is crucial the film includes them.
Currently Romantic comedy is one of the most popular film genres there are. In 2008 comedy topped all other genres including action and thriller. Of course there are certain expectations you would expect to see in a Rom Com and they started in some of the very earliest Romantic Comedies such as The Apartment. The Apartment was made in 1960 and has which was a typical story line of “boy meets girl, boy looses girl, boy gets girl back”. This is a very basic story line however even to this day big Hollywood movies use this same method such as 500 Hundred Days of Summer, which is a more recent Rom Com being made in the year 2000 however it has the exact narrative of a film made in the early 60’s. However even those two separate films share the same narrative the substance of the film is very different, making each Romantic comedy different from the other.
Another film which was made in the early 80’s called Sixteen Candles, also contains roughly the same sort of story line however this time, instead of the boy winning the girl back the girl gets the boy back. This is slightly different to the “typical” romantic comedy however it still shares the same concept of two lovers meeting, having trouble and splitting up. This romantic comedy was aimed at teenagers so it includes things teenagers would be interested in such as adolescent love, young parties, school, cheating and other things that a stereo typical in a young persons life. Another more recent teen Rom Com called John Tucker Must Die, made in 2006 share similarities between the story line because the main characters are three young girls, in a school, who like to go to parties and things a “typical” young teenager would do, who find out their boyfriend has been cheating on them and swears revenge.
No matter what age the Rom Com’s target audience is the film will normally include an attractive male or female as the main actor because this will appeal to all ages and all sexes. The male is normally slightly dorky, however loveable and the female is usually quite sexy and independent (someone woman can resemble themselves in). I also found out in my question air that attractive characters are one of the main reasons why people watch Romantic Comedies so it is crucial the film includes them.
Saturday 14 November 2009
Film Clip Made By Jaime Sugar & Karina Daniels 11/11/09
On the 11th of November 2009 me and my partner, Karina Daniels constructed a mini clip showing our camera skills and knowledge of different shots.
Overall the shots were very good and the whole clip made sense. Every shot was clear of what was being represented and the whole clip flowed from one sequence to the other. However one thing which I would change is to swap the panning shot of the area with character A walking up the ramp. People feedback said that it would of been better if the audience had none where character A was walking to before we saw him walking, on the other hand other viewers said that they prefer it the original way because it looks like a point of view shot.
Unfortunately because we filmed outside we had no control over the lighting, so in one shot when character A is walking towards the camera the lighting is very poor and it is difficult to see the character, however i think this creates a good effect because the darkness could represent the character walking into something bad / illegal.
We also had a lot of positive feedback especially for the shot reverse shot was was very accurate, another thing which was good was the match on action was flowed very well.
On the 11th of November 2009 me and my partner, Karina Daniels constructed a mini clip showing our camera skills and knowledge of different shots.
Overall the shots were very good and the whole clip made sense. Every shot was clear of what was being represented and the whole clip flowed from one sequence to the other. However one thing which I would change is to swap the panning shot of the area with character A walking up the ramp. People feedback said that it would of been better if the audience had none where character A was walking to before we saw him walking, on the other hand other viewers said that they prefer it the original way because it looks like a point of view shot.
Unfortunately because we filmed outside we had no control over the lighting, so in one shot when character A is walking towards the camera the lighting is very poor and it is difficult to see the character, however i think this creates a good effect because the darkness could represent the character walking into something bad / illegal.
We also had a lot of positive feedback especially for the shot reverse shot was was very accurate, another thing which was good was the match on action was flowed very well.
Friday 23 October 2009
Task 2: Research into Existing Products
Codes and Conventions of a Horror Film
A horror movie is a film concentrated to scare people. Right from the opening credits of a horror movie you can normally identify the genre of the film by the lighting and music used. The lighting used in the opening credits are usually dark colours such as black (which represents darkness) and red (which represents blood and murder).
In horror movies the audience need to be able to relate to the main characters to feel the fear the movie is trying to make them feel. To do this the horror movies generally have one or more innocent people who get caught up in the world of this scary event. The characters are usually young, pretty and who have a lot going for them in the “real world” this is so the audience feel emotionally attached to the character and generally feel bad if something were to happen to them. Sometimes in horror movies the “innocent” people come in crowds of 3 or more. This means the audience can relate to at least one character and feel part of the movie. Again these characters are usually young people who are trying to have a good time.
The scariest parts of horror movies always take place when weather is rainy/windy and it is dark. Many times thunder is herd in the background with a full moon, which creates the scary atmosphere all around the setting.
One of the main aspects of a horror movie is that there is always suspense and the audience is always left wondering throughout the film either: is a certain character going to die, who is the murderer, what is the scary force ect.
Occasionally in horror movies there is something which is actually visually scary such as the “bad guy” who has a deformed face or who wear a scary mask. Also in horror movies they like to show a lot of gory details for example, people being chopped up and blood spitting everywhere.
Analysis Of a Horror Movie
Name: Scream
Genre: Horror Movie
Textual Analysis : From the very start of the movie the director lets the audience know what type of genre the movie is. Before the film even starts the title of the movie “Scream” is shown. When the title appears on the screen a non diageitic scream is herd. This relates the title of the movie and it also makes the audience wonder “why is a girl screaming?” and “is she ok?” so its already hooking the audience into the scary feel of the movie. In addition to the scream being herd the title of the movie fades into red and gradually gets bigger. This also adds to the horror feeling the film is trying to give off because red is normally associated with blood and death and the size of the text is getting bigger suggesting something coming at you.
The actual movie begins in a living room. The room is quiet large and pleasant looking, it looks as if a woman lives there because it clean and has bring colours. The phone then rings and a young, innocent looking woman answers the phone. She seems as if she is in a good mood suggesting that by the end of the scene that good mood may change. The diageitic voice of the man on the other side of the call has the "wrong number" which is quite spooky for the audience because the audience know that this is a scary movie and something is going to go wrong but to the character in the film nothing is wrong yet which is all adding to the suspens. Once the girl puts the phone down, the phone rings again, when this happens, the camera zooms into the characters face which looks slightly worried, which makes the audience also slightly worried, however she quickly changes her face suggesting she is not scared which is pacing the movie.
The scene then cuts into the woman’s back garden showing a swinging swing, however nobody is on the swing and its not windy because the tress are still. This is building up the suspense of the movie because it makes the audience wonder weather somebody is in her back garden watching her, it also shows the audience how alone the character is and there’s no where for her to run to.
The camera then quickly cuts to a close up shot of the popcorn. The director has deliberately chose to have this shot at this point of the film because as soon as the popcorn begins to cook the phone rings again, so the tension and suspense of the phone call starts at the same time as the popcorn. As the conversation gets more intense, the more the popcorn starts to rise and constantly the scenes cut from the conversation to the popcorn. Also the conversation between the two characters builds up the tension since they are talking about "scary movies" which is what “Scream“ is.
The movie really sets the genre when the character on the other side of the phone says "Cause I wanna know who I’m looking this". At this point the camera zooms into the characters face to show the audience how scared she is which makes the audience also scared. What’s more is the diagetic sound of the dog barking outside suggests that somebody is in the back garden because the director has exposed the surrounding area in so much detail that little things such as the dog barking stands out and gets the audience thinking and scared at the same time.
Soon after that the voice of the man on the other line changes to a much harsher, violent voice and the camera again zooms into a medium close up of the characters face revelling just how vulnerable and afraid she actually is. The voice then changes into a slightly more calmer voice to slow down the pace of the movie, this is a trick to build up the audience and then drop them.
A horror movie is a film concentrated to scare people. Right from the opening credits of a horror movie you can normally identify the genre of the film by the lighting and music used. The lighting used in the opening credits are usually dark colours such as black (which represents darkness) and red (which represents blood and murder).
In horror movies the audience need to be able to relate to the main characters to feel the fear the movie is trying to make them feel. To do this the horror movies generally have one or more innocent people who get caught up in the world of this scary event. The characters are usually young, pretty and who have a lot going for them in the “real world” this is so the audience feel emotionally attached to the character and generally feel bad if something were to happen to them. Sometimes in horror movies the “innocent” people come in crowds of 3 or more. This means the audience can relate to at least one character and feel part of the movie. Again these characters are usually young people who are trying to have a good time.
The scariest parts of horror movies always take place when weather is rainy/windy and it is dark. Many times thunder is herd in the background with a full moon, which creates the scary atmosphere all around the setting.
One of the main aspects of a horror movie is that there is always suspense and the audience is always left wondering throughout the film either: is a certain character going to die, who is the murderer, what is the scary force ect.
Occasionally in horror movies there is something which is actually visually scary such as the “bad guy” who has a deformed face or who wear a scary mask. Also in horror movies they like to show a lot of gory details for example, people being chopped up and blood spitting everywhere.
Analysis Of a Horror Movie
Name: Scream
Genre: Horror Movie
Textual Analysis : From the very start of the movie the director lets the audience know what type of genre the movie is. Before the film even starts the title of the movie “Scream” is shown. When the title appears on the screen a non diageitic scream is herd. This relates the title of the movie and it also makes the audience wonder “why is a girl screaming?” and “is she ok?” so its already hooking the audience into the scary feel of the movie. In addition to the scream being herd the title of the movie fades into red and gradually gets bigger. This also adds to the horror feeling the film is trying to give off because red is normally associated with blood and death and the size of the text is getting bigger suggesting something coming at you.
The actual movie begins in a living room. The room is quiet large and pleasant looking, it looks as if a woman lives there because it clean and has bring colours. The phone then rings and a young, innocent looking woman answers the phone. She seems as if she is in a good mood suggesting that by the end of the scene that good mood may change. The diageitic voice of the man on the other side of the call has the "wrong number" which is quite spooky for the audience because the audience know that this is a scary movie and something is going to go wrong but to the character in the film nothing is wrong yet which is all adding to the suspens. Once the girl puts the phone down, the phone rings again, when this happens, the camera zooms into the characters face which looks slightly worried, which makes the audience also slightly worried, however she quickly changes her face suggesting she is not scared which is pacing the movie.
The scene then cuts into the woman’s back garden showing a swinging swing, however nobody is on the swing and its not windy because the tress are still. This is building up the suspense of the movie because it makes the audience wonder weather somebody is in her back garden watching her, it also shows the audience how alone the character is and there’s no where for her to run to.
The camera then quickly cuts to a close up shot of the popcorn. The director has deliberately chose to have this shot at this point of the film because as soon as the popcorn begins to cook the phone rings again, so the tension and suspense of the phone call starts at the same time as the popcorn. As the conversation gets more intense, the more the popcorn starts to rise and constantly the scenes cut from the conversation to the popcorn. Also the conversation between the two characters builds up the tension since they are talking about "scary movies" which is what “Scream“ is.
The movie really sets the genre when the character on the other side of the phone says "Cause I wanna know who I’m looking this". At this point the camera zooms into the characters face to show the audience how scared she is which makes the audience also scared. What’s more is the diagetic sound of the dog barking outside suggests that somebody is in the back garden because the director has exposed the surrounding area in so much detail that little things such as the dog barking stands out and gets the audience thinking and scared at the same time.
Soon after that the voice of the man on the other line changes to a much harsher, violent voice and the camera again zooms into a medium close up of the characters face revelling just how vulnerable and afraid she actually is. The voice then changes into a slightly more calmer voice to slow down the pace of the movie, this is a trick to build up the audience and then drop them.
Codes and Conventions of a Romantic Comedy
Romantic comedies are movies which centre around romance between two people in a light hearted, humorous way. Romantic comedies always have a situation involving love however it always ends in “true love”. Initially the main male and female characters are not romantically involved with each other or sometimes even like each other, this may because one of them have another partner or parents do not approve. However the two characters can not fight fate and everybody else seems to eventually accept them and there one big happy family.
Usually the main characters of romantic comedies are male and female, depending on what the target audience is the ages of the characters will vary. For example teenage romantic comedies normally have teenagers or young adults as the main characters. This is because the target audience for this particular genre teenagers and young adults. Recently a lot of teenage Romantic comedies have been released because they have become so popular because teenagers and young adults can relate to the movie since the issues the films deal with are the sort of issues young people have to deal with.
Most of the time in romantic comedies one of the characters is less physically attractive then the other, for example the girl may be “typically” beautiful and have long blond hair, nice body, make up done well and popular whereas the boy may be not so popular, looked down on by the trendy people and not so accepted by their fellow class mates. Equally the boy could be the popular one, be in the football team, very toned, get all the girls but however wants a serious relationship so ends up falling in love with the nerdy girl who wears glasses, has bushy hair, no dress sense and who is not expected by the boys friends. Those are all the type of issues romantic comedies have to deal with.
Countless times in teenage romantic comedy films are set in a American high school. This is because the target audience will either be in high school or college. They will have somebody who does not approve of the romantic relationship the two characters are building up. This is normally a parent or another potential partner.
The characters normally come from a nuclear family and have a “typical” teenager / young person life which includes; going out, drinking, the opposite sex and arguments with parents.
Analysis of a Romantic Comedy
Name: 50 First Dates
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Textual Analysis: The film beings with the opening credits which a appear through the dark, black background. The words appear as if they are shimmering through the water which is giving clues to the audience about what the movie is going to be about and where about the movie is going to take place (near water suggesting a beach). The director has also given the audience a clue of the setting by the music which is playing while the credits are being shown. The music is light hearted and "Hawaiian" which is telling the audience that the movie is going to be light hearted and easy going.
The opening shot of the film is a beautiful beach with a red sky. The music is still playing to add to the effect of the relaxing feel of the beach. There is also a tracking shot which fades into the main scene which takes place in a kitchen. The title of the movie appears next to a pineapple which again is given the audience clues about the setting of the movie. The "50" is in red which is represented with love, the "First" is in a light blue which represents the sea possibly, and the "Dates" is in white which contracts with the white because Romantic comedy titles are usually red and white.
Two girls then appear on the screen, speaking about Hawaii, the woman then says " I met this guy" which tells the audience this is a romantic film. The camera then switches to another woman speaking about the same holiday which tells the audience this is going to be a romantic comedy, so the director has told the audience the genre of the movie right at the start. The camera is then constantly switching to other women speaking about the same holiday so keeps the audience on their toes, wondering who is the main character because we have been introduced to many in the first three minutes of the movie. All the women seem to be in there late 20's early 30's and all quiet pretty which links them all together. However there is one older woman speaking about the same holiday in the car which is funny because the audience is not expecting her because she’s not the like the other women.
The mood then changes when the women beginning to talk about getting this mysterious man's phone number. The camera is constantly cutting between these characters, having close up shots of their faces showing their emotion. Again the women in the car has the "funny line" because she is only one is which is over weight, old and not dressed as nicely. When they all beginning to say his name a man is introduced to the sequence of people, which is funny because again this shocking the audience because we expect to see women not a man. Which is adding to comedy feel of the romance.
Name: Maid in Manhattan
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Textual Analysis: The movie beginnings with a black screen with a tracking shot of new York city. There is also non-diegetic music behind which sets the mood. The music is happy and bubbly which tells the audience that the film is going to be a light hearted film. By the film introducing the audience to the statute of liberty it is setting the scene and telling the audience where the movie is going to be set. It is in the middle of the day, its sunny which gives a good feel to the movie. It then keeps cutting between different parts of the city to again show the audience what the city is like, still the music is playing to keep the good feeling going. The director then choices to show "cheaper" areas to show the contrast of the city. This may make the audience think somebody from the "cheaper" area will meet somebody from the "better" area, so the two areas are going to clash or meet in some way. The music then turns into a whistle, which is very effective because somebody whistling normally means that person is happy and cheerful. We then get a long shot of a building with diegetic sound of a car driving past bringing the sound from non-diegetic to diegetic. The camera zooms into the top left window of the building suggesting that is where the next scene is going to take place.
The audience is then introduced to a beautiful young single mother, who is in a rush to get her son ready to go to school. Her flat is untidy giving us the impression that her life is very busy and she’s not very rich other wise she could get a cleaner.
It then cuts again to outside where the two characters are crossing the road, again they look like they are still in a rush. The walls and buildings in the area have been graffitied on which allows the audience to get a feel of what kind of neighbourhood these two characters live in. We are then shown a view of the city, while the characters walk up some stairs. This is showing the two characters in front of this massive city suggesting that their two little people trying to survive in this big, quick lifestyle city. On the bus the two characters have a light hearted fun conversation, the bus then drives off the non diegetic music comes back on which sets the mood of fun within the movie.
Name: He’s Just Not That Into You
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Textual Analysis: The movies begins on a nice sunny day, in a children’s play park. It sets the tone of the movie which is quite relaxed and laid back. The camera does a tracking shot around the park so the audience can get a feel of the setting of this scene. The movie then switches to a young boy around the age of 7 walking onto the park. The boy is walking in front of two other boys which is making himself look like the bigger one. A non-diegetic voice then is herd, which is an older educated womans voice . The first thing she says is " a girl will never forget the first boy she likes" which immediately tells the audience this movie is going to be about romance. The next thing she says is "...Even if things don’t quite work out" which straight away tells the audience this is also going to be a comedy, so from the very start of the movie the audience know that the movie is a romantic comedy.
The scene then cuts from the little girl speaking to her mother to an older girl (suggesting the girl is now grown up and that little girl was in the past). The older girl is crying about a boy and her friends are trying to comfort her by telling her "she’s to good". The scene then straight away cuts to a extreme close of a telephone with the number 0 on it, suggesting the girl is hoping to getting a call or a message from a boy. Again the audience is introduced to a two girls, one who is upset over a boy. Again he friend try’s to comfort her in the same way by telling her "she’s too good". The camera is constantly cutting between different girls, from different cultures, wearing different clothes however they all have the same problem with a male associate. Between the shots there is non-diegetic music playing which is bubbly and light hearted making all these little scenes funny.
On the last scene with the African women the non-diegetic voice comes again, and she asks the audience question so the audience can begin to think. The title of the movie then appears acting like the answer to her question. The bubbly music is still playing. The title is in white bold writing on a black ground which makes the title stand out. When the whole title appears the "not" in the title goes green which is funny and also emphasizes the "not".
Codes and Conventions of A Thriller Film:
Thriller are typically set in claustrophobic spaces such as:
* planes
* coffins
* under water
* boot of a car
* elevator/lift
* walk in freezer
* tube trains
* white van
* small room
* car
* prison cell
* narrow alleyways
* multi-storey car parks and the lighting is always seem to be very dark and Chiaroscuro -
light against dark - creates a sense of illusion, nightmare whilst also being aesthetically pleasing. The director always uses surprises and twists to play with the viewers mind, and the different camera angles and quick cuts to draw suspense, the music that is added to create tension, there's typically always mirrors and stairs, flashbacks and time sequences are also used to make the audience think and your most likely to always see the film from a killers point of view.
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