Know your Genre – Additional Group Research

Film Title: Genre (and or sub-genre) :

Group Members:

Popular films – list 5 popular titles from your chosen genre and write a 1-2 sentence synopsis for them. You do not need to have watched these films, though it may help your awareness of your genre to watch them over the next few weeks. Do not cut and paste synopsis; put the stories into your own words.

Film 1 –

Title SynopsisShutter Island The main detective goes to an insane asylum on an island in the middle of nowhere to

investigate the disappearance of one of the inmates in the asylum. Throughout the investigation there seems to be a lot of strange behaviour coming form the guards and the other psychiatrists, which pus the detective on edge and causes him to do things that are not allowed to try and complete the investigation as he feel that the people working there have done something to the patient the disappeared. The entire film isolates the main detective to make him feel alone, and at the point that he feels he has figured out what happened to the patient and goes to get tem he meets the person in charge of keeping the island running, who then proceeds to tell him that he is inane and has created this alter ego as the detective to try and get over the guilt that he has killed his wife after she murdered their children. This was all an act in the hope that he will finally be able to snap out of this pattern of insanity so that he can return to the real world.

Film 2 –

Title Synopsisinception A man infiltrates people dreams and steals information about them for an employer

that is unknown. He is asked to implant an idea in someone’s head instead of steal information. He needs to get a new team together to go into a new dream and pull of the most complicated job of his life.

Film 3 –

Title SynopsisThe dark knight Batman has been around for some time now and has gained the trust of the police in

the city. A new enemy (the Joker) has emerged and is the most dangerous and unstable foe he has ever faced which causes batman to be face with a number of scenarios set up by the k=joker to try and prove that he is just as insane as he is as he attempts to get the batman to brake his one rule.

Film 4 –

Title SynopsisPhone booth A man is walking down a street in New York when a payphone rings, he proceeds to

answered it and from there finds out that the man calling has a gun pointed at him and that he must stay on the phone at any costs or he would be killed. From there a series of events unfold that would tests what the man can do to ensure that the call does not end and that he is not harmed.

Film 5 –

Title SynopsisThe revenant In the early stages of American expansion to the West, a group of frontiers fins

themselves lost after their temporary camp was attacked by native American Indians. Only a small number of them remain and they rely on the main character played by Leonardo DiCaprio to get them back to the camp. After he is attacked by a bear and severely mauled one of the more impatient members of the group wants to leave Leonardo behind but Leonardo’s son wouldn’t allow that to happen. The impatient member then kills Leonardo’s son and buries Leonardo alive in the snowy dirt. Leonardo is able to dig himself up and spends the rest of the film getting through the deadly frontier to find the man that did this to him and his son and end his life.

Settings

What are 6 settings that have appeared frequently in films from your chosen genre? List film title next to answer.

1. In a dream sequence/flashback featured in the film: Inception and shutter island2. Enclosed spaces/dark rooms featured in the film the dark knight, shutter island and phone

booth3. Broken down/abandoned buildings featured in the film shutter island and the dark knight4. wilderness featured in the film the revenant5. Fictional places/not really there featured in the film inception and the dark knight.6. In cities featured in the film inception, the dark knight and phone booth

Cinematography

Find 3 iconic shots from films of your chosen genre. Copy the images and paste them below. Identify titles under

Shutter island the dark knight the revenant

List the major differences and similarities between the images. At least 3 points per column.

Differences Similarities

Shutter island is a flashback/memory/nightmare scene.Seems to be very broken down and destroyed similar to the person that is having the dream.

They are all representatives of the challenge that the protagonist must face in the film.

The dark knight shows the joker standing in the middle of the road, which reflects his purpose of the film both in the ways that he it out purely to cause chaos and disruption, but also to prove to batman that he is not the symbol of hope that the people think he is. Because he is standing in the middle of the road normally where he is not supposed to it reflects that fact that he does not have order in a want to follow what people do, but is there to only cause chaos.

They are all at points within that film that are of the most climactic

While the first two images are lower lighting the third is in a bright and open space

They are all set in wide open spaces

Image analysis

What do you believe makes the images above so iconic (or have such a strong impact)?

The first image about Shutter Island is very meaning when looking at the context of it with the film. This scene is one of the pivotal moments of the film when the audience realise what the character has been struggling with and why he feels the way that he has been feeling for the film. The image depicts him in a burning building holding his late

wife that burned alive in the building while he was at work. It is doing this as a metaphor for his entire life burning down around him and he is the only thing in his dream that is not burning into ash while all that he loves and all of his memories are destroyed while he can only stand and watch.

The second image of the joker standing in the middle of the road is a great depiction of his entire existence in this world. The joker is only there to cause chaos and disruption with no real sense of what it will achieve. This image is very powerful as it reflects that the character mindlessly does things that he thinks will have bad effects for everyone around him, in this scene in particular shows that he does whatever he thinks will cause disruption as he is standing in the middle of the road while batman is driving at him. Through his insanity he encourages batman to hit him and prove that he is not the hero everyone thinks that he is, causing the realisation by the audience how deranged this man is and the lengths that he will go to so that he can produce chaos.

The third image is from the revenant and it shows the main character having been beaten down by a bear buried alive and still healing to be in the middle of this frozen forest wasteland. It gives the sense that it is man vs. nature and that he has zero to no chance of making out of there alive. The particular frozen icicles on his beard emphasise that he is alone in this and that he has nothing to help himself with besides his knowledge and skills. This gives a real scope to the film and really shows the struggles of the main character.

Colour scheme

Are there any colours or shades that can be associated with your genre? List the colour, why we might associate this with your genre (what we see that is this colour) and any connotations connected to that colour.

Colour Where that colour appears in your genre

Connotations – what we associate with that colour.

red is a very high visibility colour, a small object in this colour would stand out. It could be used in the film as the lipstick that is on Catherin and could be a cause for one of jakes flashbacks to a part of the war.

The double edged colour connotations can be used to an advantage, as it would have the audience wondering if the object is meant to display the negative connotation or the positive.

There are various places where this colour can appear. One example would be the formal suit and tie or form of power suit which Catherine can be dressed for work. This can support the idea that she is a professional or is going to a place of profession. Once Catherine is missing, Jake or Joe can start to wear black more often as a way to mourn for the “loss” of Catherine and the unborn child. Dr Mark/Jake would wear black or associate himself with items which are in the colour of black, e.g. a notebook (black book), this would emphasise secrecy and something they want to keep hidden.

Black is normally associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, depression, isolation, hidden and mystery.Black is a mysterious colour which is normally paired with the fear of the unknown, which is a negative connotation. Furthermore, black is the normal colour worn when mourning. However the other side to this can represent elegance and power, which is in huge contrast to the other connotations.When combining other colour with black, it creates an aggressive colour scheme, such as yellow and black, connoting danger/warning.

Protagonists V Antagonists

Find an image of a notable protagonist and antagonist from your chosen genre.

Paste their image below.

Protagonists V Antagonists (continued)

What are the key or common characteristics of the protagonists and antagonists from your genre?

Protagonist Antagonist

Jake is a returned war veteran

that has shown some signs of PTSD

What are some other common character types from your chosen genre?

- Eg, Damsel in distress Antagonist (Dr Mark) - Hero Achiever (Joe)

Props

Jake is a returned war veteran that has shown some signs of PTSD but feels embarrassed to go to the military doctor so he goes to a therapist that his wife knows from the past.

The antagonist’s job in this film is to push the character of Jake to the point of insanity while trying to frame him for the kidnap of Jakes wife so that he can get away with it. Because Eugene seems emotionally distant Jake tries to find out about him and that’s what causes Jake to be framed.

What props appear significantly or commonly in your chosen genre?

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Costume and Make-up

What types of costumes are prevalent in films from your genre? Describe them and find examples.

Description - ______________________________________________________

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Costume option 1 Costume option 2 Costume option 2

How is make-up (or prosthetics) used significantly in your chosen genre? Describe its use and find any notable examples.

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Lighting

How is lighting used commonly and in your chosen genre?

When looking at the method of lighting used in the Drama Thriller Genre we see most commonly , the use of; shadow-casting low-key lighting. One example of this would be in the Crime Thriller genre. When an antagonist or protagonist is in view, their body is given a silhouette so only the background is lit. This most commonly occurs in closed/abandoned locales o signify a characters mental state. The image can reflect violence, yet at the same time produces an air of peacefulness which frequently breaks tension in films. One of the most notable of these occurances would be in the film ‘Seven’ featring; Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey. When Spaceys character John Doe, is evading police, he is only seen as a dark figure/silhouette. This use of lighting both protects Doe’s identity and creates a sinister view of the an reflecting more the image of a murderer.

What is the effect of these styles of lighting?

The Effects of Back-lighting creates a silhouette and casts shadows which create more dark emotions whilst also allowing for conflicting contrast between the brightness of the anterior to the darkness of the interior. In some cases we see use of bright lights to signify a moment of perfection which is than replaced by low key which shows the change which is usually negative.

Find 2 examples of where lighting has been used significantly in your chosen genre. Briefly explain the type of lighting used and the effect that is created by the light scheme and shadow.

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Lighting Continued

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Character action and movement

How would you expect your 3 main characters to act and behave? How would they carry themselves/ pose/ act towards one another. Why would they act in this way?

Veteran -> Wife = The Veteran would act quite kindly to his wife by caressing her, however due to his troules with PTSD we would expect some form of negative reaction to being touched, whilst also acting quite detached to his wife. We may see actions such as; refusing to kiss, yet they can be as simple as; stepping away from touch or refusing to say goodbye.

Veteran -> Psychiatrist = The Veteran would be quite negative to the psychiatrist to begin with due to his generally partial relation to being helped by others. We would see him later develop a dependence on the psychiatrist, as he is his only output to voice his problems and opinions, even becoming accustomed to the presence. After the event the Veteran would suspect the Psychiatrist and become extremely hostile towards him. Eg- Prisoners.

Symbolism

What symbolic objects/colours/concepts/gestures/costumes might appear in your film? Look to other films from your genre for inspiration. Find images of your own symbolic objects. What could these objects symbolise?

When analysing other films it seems that we should be drawn towards objects such as flowers and mementos (cards) as these would reflect the idea that the wife is not missing however she is dead. The flowers would be reflective of those found at funerals and would be an emphasis of the idea of death. We also would see a heavy use of dark clothing such as black suits and dresses to reflect the idea of death.

Examples of notable symbolic items

Scarface

Psycho - 1969