Film Genre
When choosing a genre, I thought about what kind of films I enjoy watching. Although it would be straightforwards to choose to do a horror film opening as the conventions are fairly clear, I myself am not a huge fan of scary films. As I watch a lot of crime films, series and documentaries, I thought this genre would be better as I not only find it interesting and exciting, but I am also more familiar with it. To ensure I make it clear throughout my opening that the genre is crime, I made a list of all the different codes and conventions that appear within crime films:
1. Setting
Pathetic fallacy is technique commonly used in crime films as the dull and dreary weather often reflects the seriousness of the story line. This can be seen in the TV series Sherlock, as it is set in London, where the weather is often overcast or raining. There are also several locations where crime films are often shot. They include busy cities and large offices, deserted factories, dirty/empty houses, off licences, night clubs and back street alleys.
2. Costume
Dark coloured clothing is used again to reinforce how the atmosphere is not happy or upbeat. In gangster crime films, costumes are often very casual, but in line with the current social trends. Murder crime typically features detectives and undercover cops that wear smart casual clothing, as they do not want to give away their cover. Action crime usually has squadrons of police in their uniforms, and villains often dressed in sleek black clothing to reinforce stealth.
3. Actors
It is uncommon to see a female actor take a lead role in a crime film, as steriotypically, women do not meet the strong and violent characteristics of a criminal. This is evident in The Wolf of Wall Street, as all of the wealthy bankers are played by men. It is also rare to see women in positions of power within the police force, as they are often perceived as being weaker than men, making a less exciting story.
4. Character types
Crime films typically follow Propp's theory on character types, with few exceptions. The common characters often featured in this genre would include police, detectives, drug dealers, business CEO's and gangs.
5. Props
The most common props used in crime films are drugs, money and guns, no matter what the story line or sub genre, it would be unusual to not see this. The frequent use of weapons helps to add to the fear and danger of certain situations to reinforce how serious it is as a gun shot can kill instantly. This genre also tends to feature blood, car chases and stolen goods (e.g. jewellery) as they all link to criminal activity.
6. Iconography
Iconography is where particular images or symbols are associated with particular genres. This is often portrayed through the use of props, but can also be done through the location. For example, a drug dealer may be pictured in a rough estate with lots of graffiti and litter.
7. Lighting
Gangster crime films are often filmed during the night as this is when gang activity is typically at its peak as illegal activity can often be more easily disguised by the darkness. However, even when scenes are filmed during the day, it is rare that it is bright and colourful as that would not match the serious crimes and dark plot of the story, therefore low level lighting is used. This can be seen particularly throughout the film Se7en, up until the final scene.
8. Sound
Action crime often uses fast paced music to give a feeling of movement, in order to keep audiences entertained. However, crime films in general use a combination of low tense music for serious scenes, loud rap music blasting out of cars, down beat soundtracks often in a minor key, and sometimes exciting music in happier scenes. In addition to this, there are often back ground noises of sirens, tire screeches, general hustle and bustle of busy streets and shouting.
9. Cinematography
The majority of these films are shot in a way to create verisimilitude. This can often be done through using SCAL (setting, costume, actors and lighting), however realism can also be created by using a range of different camera shots, often including lots of establishing shots to convey different locations. Contrasts of simple shots, and more confusing hand held shots are used to emphasise more chaotic scenes and create different tones.
10. Narrative
Crime films do not always use Todorov's narrative theory, as the story does not begin peacefully as the main characters often victims of hard upbringings. Other common themes used within crime films include police struggles in controlling the streets and drug activity, family loyalty and arising questions on innocence/guilt and blurred lines between good an evil, which can often be linked to characters being victims of circumstance, rather than being a 'true' criminal.
1. Setting
Pathetic fallacy is technique commonly used in crime films as the dull and dreary weather often reflects the seriousness of the story line. This can be seen in the TV series Sherlock, as it is set in London, where the weather is often overcast or raining. There are also several locations where crime films are often shot. They include busy cities and large offices, deserted factories, dirty/empty houses, off licences, night clubs and back street alleys.
2. Costume
Dark coloured clothing is used again to reinforce how the atmosphere is not happy or upbeat. In gangster crime films, costumes are often very casual, but in line with the current social trends. Murder crime typically features detectives and undercover cops that wear smart casual clothing, as they do not want to give away their cover. Action crime usually has squadrons of police in their uniforms, and villains often dressed in sleek black clothing to reinforce stealth.
3. Actors
It is uncommon to see a female actor take a lead role in a crime film, as steriotypically, women do not meet the strong and violent characteristics of a criminal. This is evident in The Wolf of Wall Street, as all of the wealthy bankers are played by men. It is also rare to see women in positions of power within the police force, as they are often perceived as being weaker than men, making a less exciting story.
4. Character types
Crime films typically follow Propp's theory on character types, with few exceptions. The common characters often featured in this genre would include police, detectives, drug dealers, business CEO's and gangs.
5. Props
The most common props used in crime films are drugs, money and guns, no matter what the story line or sub genre, it would be unusual to not see this. The frequent use of weapons helps to add to the fear and danger of certain situations to reinforce how serious it is as a gun shot can kill instantly. This genre also tends to feature blood, car chases and stolen goods (e.g. jewellery) as they all link to criminal activity.
6. Iconography
Iconography is where particular images or symbols are associated with particular genres. This is often portrayed through the use of props, but can also be done through the location. For example, a drug dealer may be pictured in a rough estate with lots of graffiti and litter.
7. Lighting
Gangster crime films are often filmed during the night as this is when gang activity is typically at its peak as illegal activity can often be more easily disguised by the darkness. However, even when scenes are filmed during the day, it is rare that it is bright and colourful as that would not match the serious crimes and dark plot of the story, therefore low level lighting is used. This can be seen particularly throughout the film Se7en, up until the final scene.
8. Sound
Action crime often uses fast paced music to give a feeling of movement, in order to keep audiences entertained. However, crime films in general use a combination of low tense music for serious scenes, loud rap music blasting out of cars, down beat soundtracks often in a minor key, and sometimes exciting music in happier scenes. In addition to this, there are often back ground noises of sirens, tire screeches, general hustle and bustle of busy streets and shouting.
9. Cinematography
The majority of these films are shot in a way to create verisimilitude. This can often be done through using SCAL (setting, costume, actors and lighting), however realism can also be created by using a range of different camera shots, often including lots of establishing shots to convey different locations. Contrasts of simple shots, and more confusing hand held shots are used to emphasise more chaotic scenes and create different tones.
10. Narrative
Crime films do not always use Todorov's narrative theory, as the story does not begin peacefully as the main characters often victims of hard upbringings. Other common themes used within crime films include police struggles in controlling the streets and drug activity, family loyalty and arising questions on innocence/guilt and blurred lines between good an evil, which can often be linked to characters being victims of circumstance, rather than being a 'true' criminal.
This is superbly thorough Emma. Do you think that crime dramas involving women are less exciting? Do women necessarily make weak characters? Are weak characters less exciting? I guess audiences like to watch strong characters because they provide a more enjoyable means of escape. It's more comfortable to transfer ourselves onto a strong, heroic character than to imagine we're a bit pathetic!
ReplyDeleteCrime drama has begun to play with the binary opposites of heroes and villains. Programmes like 'The Wire' have demonstrated that we can play around with Propp a little and have more nuanced characters that don't necessarily conform to traditional audience expectations. That's probably easier to achieve in TV drama than it is in film though as there is a longer time to develop more nuanced characters. Do you think audience expectation limits what you can do with film characters?
I think people often make the mistake with Todorov that the equilibrium that starts and ends stories has to be positive. Characters can start in a tough place and end up in a worse one. Se7en, for example, conforms to Todorov's theory. It's probably easier to discuss it in person but John Doe's introduction into the lives of Mills and Somerset follows Todorov.
I certainly agree that it is easier to challenge Propp's character types in a TV drama, however as they are becoming increasingly popular, I think audiences are becoming more open to the idea that characters are not simply good or evil, as complex characters can often create a more interesting story line due to it being less predictable. Despite this, I still think audiences need some familiarity, which I think is mostly done through a male actor playing the lead role, as this confirms the strong hero stereotype that the audience want to see themselves as being.
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