Deciding on Genre

  Before making a final decision on what genre to do for our trailer, we felt it would be best to do a little research into various genres to give us a clear understanding of each one. By doing this we can assess each genre individually and choose one that we feel we can create a capativating trailer and story line. We did a mind map of genres, then looked into each one along with examples of films for each type of genre to give us an idea of what requirements need to be met to create a successful film for that genre. 

Adventure: Films of the adventure genre often include fast pace action

 scenes that display an expedition or exploration of an exciting places.

For example a jungle, desert or unknown locations. Often follows a heroic character on a quest to find something of importance in a race against the clock. One example of an Adventure film is Indiana Jones, this film revolves around Archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones. Although the adventure genre is one that is well-liked, we feel it does not attract a large audience as it is not the most popular of genres. Also, setting would be an issue as we would need to find a location that could convey the typical fast pace and excitement of a Adventure film.

Action: This genre is similar to that of Adventure as again there is a hero who is thrown into a series of challenges which need physical strength, fights against villains, violence and high speed chases. The hero is often facing life threatening situations, but over comes all difficulties with victory achieved at the end. Explosions, guns, and car chases are often the key parts of an action film. One example of an action film is Die Hard, revolving around a man who is trapped in a building where terrorists have taken over and are holding people hostage. 
The die hard franchise was even responsible for the creation of a sub genre 'Die Hard Scenerio' which takes place in a limited location like a tower block or plane. Along with this, other sub genres include action comedy, disaster films and sci-fi action.





Comedy:  This genre of film's main emphasis is on humor, comedy films are designed to create laughter from the audience by exaggerating situations, having characters with comical mannerisms and humorous personalities. Often being light hearted dramas that are amusing, often having a happy ending. Comedy is one of the oldest genres, therefore has formed many hybrid genres, including Action comedy (Hot Fuzz), Comedy horror (Scary Movie), Romantic Comedy (Four Weddings and a Funeral) and Sci-Fi Comedy (Back to the Future). 


Although the comedy genre is very popular, we feel that we would not be making the most of all our resources, it would be difficult to incorporate an special effects into a trailer for a comedy as many films of this genre very much depend on acting and the script.  




Drama:  A drama film is probably the most broad in genres, as it includes many sub-genres like romantic drama, sport films, period drama, courtroom drama and crime. This genre creates very realistic and emotional characters that are in situations that are realistic, often allowing the audience to sympathise and even connect with the film. The themes among this drama include Alcohol and Drug addictions, infidelity, racial prejudice, class divisions, violence and moral dilemmas. Drama's often follow a character who is going through a difficult period in their lives, and often having conflict with themselves, friends, family and society. They often have tragic events that lead to the struggle of a character in overcoming the consequences.
My sisters Keeper is an example of a powerful drama film, which shows the tragic story of a girl with Leukemia and needs a transplant from her sister, who is being pressured to agree. We see the sister struggle to cope with her decision and seeks help to overcome her problems. 


Western:
Westerns often revolve around the lives of those who lived in the latter half of the 19th century in an area that became known as American Old West or Wild West. Western films include The Magnificent Seven and The Great Train Robbery. 
 Although many westerns are very popular, in the contemporary film of today it does not have as larger audience. It would be difficult to create a successful trailer as this genre requires the location and props that are conventinal, for example the Wild West scene and props like horses, guns etc. Therefore we feel we would not be able to meet the conventions well enough. 




Musical:
The Musical Film is a film genre in which songs are sung by characters as a way of narrative in the film. The songs are you used to develop characters and advance the plot, they are also often adapted from the stage musical version. Examples of this genre include Moulin Rouge!, Chicago and Mamma Mia. 


Although the musical genre is well loved, the trailer would obviously have to revolve around singing and acting, and we feel we would not be making the most of our resources like special effects. 






Thriller:

This genre uses suspense, tension and excitement as its main elements. Simply, if it thrills the audience then it is a thriller. A very common and popular sub-genre of thrillers are psychological thrillers, and themes that are included in this sub-genre are mind games, psychological themes, stalking, confinement/deathtraps, horror-of-personality and obsession. Examples of thrillers are, Sleeping with the Enemy, Panic Room, The River Wild and Misery.

After researching various genres, and thinking of both the disadvantages and advantages of the genres, we've made a decision to create a Trailer for a Thriller Film. We as a group are fans of thriller films and we enjoy watching them, therefore we feel we can put our enjoyment to use to create a thrilling trailer. Thrillers also allow us to use special effects and editing to make a fast pace trailer that will excite the audience.