Since we first talked about genre theory in week one, I have developed my understanding of genre. I think that modern films can never truly stick to one genre, as John Frow theorises, genre is a dynamic process that reflects the time. Films and genres talk to each other. Genre doesn’t imply a set of rules, or boundaries you cannot cross when film making, but acts as more of a guide for film discussion.

After 12 weeks of exploding genre, the following things stand out about what I have learnt:

• Media management is really important when you are creating content.
• How to use an EX3 camera, from turning it on to focusing, exposure, and white balance.
• How to hire an camera equipment, haul it around the city and not get blacklisted for winding earphones the wrong way.
• How to write an exegesis, (not to leave an exegesis to the last minute).
• And of course genre; genre conventions, purity, hybridity and the problems and opportunities for us as creators that genre poses in filmmaking.

‘Subject matter doesn’t determine genre. Genres only start existing when there’s enough of them to form a sort of critical mass’ (Gaiman & Ishiguro 2015). So for creators, remixing genres allows us to draw on a range of genre rubrics, using varying visual, aural and narrative styles.

This studio has been really worthwhile and makes (slightly) easier to motivate yourself to come to class at 8.30AM.

References:

Frow, John. Genre. The Critical Idiom, Series ed. John Drakakis. London: Routledge, 2006.

Neil Gaiman & Kazuo Ishiguro (2015, June 4), Let’s talk about genre, New Statesman.

As Kimberly Jackson talks about in Technology, Monstrosity, and Reproduction in Twenty-First Century Horror, genres are are being created over and over again, which leads to genre exhaustion,and  as a result genre hybrids emerge. When the audience is aware of conventions and tropes it becomes fun to play around and defy audience expectations.

The Cabin in the Woods (2011) had abilities that meant you were aware you were watching a horror movie; you knew what was going to happen yet you were still scared when it happened. ‘simultaneously asserting and denying the genre structure and knowledge’ (Jackson 2013, p.12).

You were able to be removed from the situation and see humour but then return to the scene and forget comedy sequence that just happened and sit on the edge of your seat again. Drew Goddard did this in such a succinct and smooth way that you were aware what was happening but still enjoying the film. The Cabin in The Woods (2011) ‘utilizes his in-between space to create and preserve layers of mediation and to comment on the horror genre’ (Jackson 2013, p.21).

I think that genre hybridity is a positive thing for film, it means we can test the limits and as film makers, draw on a range of conventions and visual styles which makes creating content exciting. The trouble is when studying genre theory you aren’t able to talk about genres as their own.

References:

Jackson, Kimberly (2013). Metahorror and simulation in the Scream series and The Cabin in the Woods. In Technology, Monstrosity, and Reproduction in Twenty-First Century Horror, pp. 11-30.

I always associate the action genre with destruction, it has a ‘dramatic physical action with a dynamism and intensity that marks it out from other sequences’ (Purse 2011, p.56). It is probably the genre screening I was least looking forward to. Despite the fact that I like big blockbuster films like the Avengers, and co and action is a ‘crucial ingredient in the block buster format’ (Purse 2011, p.59). The unnecessary death and damage always frustrates me. All I can think about is how much it is going to cost to repair an entire city or how ridiculous it is to constantly be shooting and wasting bullets when you can’t even see your target.

However, I did enjoy the plot of Ronin (1998), There seems to be a wise, skilled character in a lot of action films that always knows the right answer, such as Captain America (Chris Evans) in the Avengers, Dom (Vin Diesel) in Fast and the Furious and Sam (Robert De Niro) in Ronin (1998).

Although Purse’s reading was very focused on Fast and the Furious, there were some useful points. I always considered action films only possible for producing companies for blockbusters with massive budgets, if you wanted to pull off realistic and captivating content, but the readings helped me realise you just have to be smart about how you make it, if you combine techniques such as fast cutting, bursts of images, whiplash pans, jerky re-framings, rack focusing, bursts of lights, rapid editing and unstable camerawork (Purse 2011, p.59).

Despite the fact that I dismissed making an action sketch for any of my screenings if I could go back I would have read this reading at the start of the semester and attempted to make my own action short film.

References:

Purse, Lisa (2011). Chapter 3: The action sequence. In Contemporary action cinema. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 56-75.

This week we discussed bottle dramas, they are not recognised academically as their own genre, however Dan used them as one of the genres this week because they have a unique format.

Bottle dramas are easy to recognise but hard to produce. They are dialogue heavy, which means that the writers have to be skilled in scriptwriting. They have a minimalist cast and are based in a single location. However there are no signifying conventions of tropes past these that restrain it from being it’s own genre. This may make it difficult to create and adhere to any rules.

Bottle drama’s are usually the result of producing companies running out of money but still needing to produce something. The producers are forced to rely on existing sets and focus on dialogue. ‘rather than limit a show’s creative potential a bottle episode can unleash it’ (New York Magazine 2015).

Bottle dramas provide great viewing experiences because they rely entirely on the skills of the cinematographers, editors and actors performances. They have to prove their skills and originality. Dinner parties are common in bottle dramas, such as in the film we watched this week, Coherence (2013). I loved this film and thought it was so innovative. It shows you don’t need a multimillion-dollar budget to produce good content.

Personally, I don’t think of bottle dramas a genre so much but more a convention, it is recognisable predominantly in TV shows and can be used as a style within any kind of genre.

References:

New York Magazine 2015, Bottle Episodes: “Vulture’s Secret History of Television” Episode 2, online video, 8 July, YouTube, viewed 22 October 2016, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usql12uOUVg>.

EXPLODING GENRE – WEEK EIGHT

‘Most of these films were about crime, often murder, and the harsh world of private investigators, police detectives, and the criminals they seek. These films centred on “a world of darkness and violence, with a central figure whose motives are usually greed, lust, and ambition, whose world is filled with fear. ” The setting was almost always an urban one, with rain-slicked city streets reflecting neon signs in the night. The world presented in these films was almost always totally corrupt and devoid of any human sympathy.’

(House 1986, p.62)

I didn’t actually know what a noir film is until this week. Now I realise it is a genre I really enjoy. Dan raised the question, what are the defining characteristics of noir films? There was a lot of talk in the readings about if it can be labelled it’s own, or if it is simply ‘a movement rather than a genre’ (House 1986, p.64), a period of film making rather than it’s own type of film.

As House states, ‘it is not defined, as are the western and gangster genres, by conventions of setting and conflict, but rather by the more subtle qualities of tone and mood’ (House 1986, p.64). As an objective observer who is unfamiliar with film noir I would classify it as it’s own genre, because when you watch these films you recognise them as noir. They are unique and are identifiable from an impartial perspective. As Rebecca House discusses, unlike other genres, film noir is unique in how it is distinguished. It is the ‘elusive qualities of mood, style, and tone’ (House 1986, p.64).

There is a mood that noir films exhibit that is unlike any other genre. This feeling comes from the overtly fake sets, obvious lighting and sets. The producers care more about the way the story is told than the story itself. Films such as The Killers (1946) show that the story takes a back seat and the aesthetic becomes more important.

References:

House, Rebecca R. (1986). Night of the soul: American film noir. Studies in Popular Culture, 9(1), pp. 61-83.