Genre ConventionComedy

What is a genre convention?

A genre convention- A genre convention is something commonly used within films. It is useful to use a genre convention as it gives you as a producer key ideas and instructions you might say, as to

what to include within your film. The genre I have chosen is Comedy. Within this power point I am going to research features comedy and

take from them key aspects.

Mise-En-Scene

Location- The location of a comedy sketch will always be within a bright area, this could be outside or inside and occasionally where social groups form. The location of a sketch is important as it gives the audience key information as to what the character is like and what to expect from the film.

Within my film I have chosen to film in the homes of the characters as they are of a young age. It would not have made sense to film them in a place of work. Secondly due to the story of my film being about the group going on holiday, the use of a car and home environments adds to the comedy that teenagers experience. This makes it more realistic for my audience.

Weather- The weather links to what type of comedy you are watching, within spoofs, bad weather such as thunder and lightning will be common to create the dark humour aspect. Where as in light hearted comedy the weather will often remain sunny and bright as a bright location is key in most films.

Due to the time I will be filming my film, I will be relying on natural light and bright light to create a bleak early morning.

Props- Within slapstick comedy props which may hurt a character are very common as this is what leads to slapstick. However depending on how a prop is used other types of comedy can be created. Flowers create a sense of rom-com, what happens with the flowers is what creates the comedy.

From this I have decided to use a car and mobile phone as my props, my film is not intended as slapstick, it will be the actions of the car and the use of the phones I will create comedy with.

Lighting- To create a realistic environment to a film natural or bright light is used. This plays a huge role within most comedy films as lighting must fit with location.

In my film the lighting will be mainly natural with bright light used when emphasising facial expressions and time of day.

Clothing- The clothing is hugely dependant on the type of film. Within slapstick comedy clothing can be used as a prop (shoelaces) however clothing can actually be something which keeps your film in peoples minds. Clothing has become iconic for many actors and in turn these films are remembered. For example Charlie Chaplin, Dumb and Dumber and the Mask. The make up in the Mask and Dumb and Dumber adds to the effect of the character. The green mask is what cause the comedy to kick into action in The Mask. With out this visual effect the movie would be very different. Dumb and Dumber had to create two grown men to live up to the audiences expectations. By giving them funny haircuts and missing teeth helps create this reality for the audience.Within my film my costumes will resemble my characters personality's. I have used summery clothes on the actors I hope to create a humours vibe because they will stand out.

Music Focus Song: I'm a man child.http://www.what-song.com/Movies/Soundtrack/1675/Focus#This song is played over the course of a city scape and opening credits. This song gives the impression that the main character is a ladies man through the tempo, instruments and name.In my film I hope to create humour through my song choice. From this I will bring to my movie a song that relates to my characters.

Ferris Buellers Day off.Song: DANKE SCHOËNhttp://www.what-song.com/Movies/Soundtrack/413/Ferris-Bueller-s-Day-Off

This song is the highlight of the movie for me. It shows a key example of how comedy works within a social area. When Ferris is on the float singing this song to the crowds being cheered the reactions of the crowd and his friends make the situation even funnier. The song want released at the time of the film, it was released around 1963 and the film was released in 1987 more than 20 years later. Again this plays a huge role to the comedy.

I hope to incorporate an old song into my film to add to the comedy vibe.

Titles

10 Things I hate about you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaIWHB-m_yY

The opening titles to 10 things I hate about you show that the character within this film is feisty. The colours change from bright orange to blue changing shape in a fit of rage, this implies that the character will have anger issues. The titles do not go well against the first set of music however when the character is introduced it makes more sense. Titles within comedy can be more soft and light. In my film I will mimic the usual font to create my titles.

Kingsman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfWRfqbCrZUThe opening to Kingsman the secret service is set within a desert location. Therefore the titles are yellows and gold's to blend with the surrounding. The font is large enough to read which is important as the title in the sequence are animated and fly past the audience who are watching the film through the lenses of a camera.

From this I understand that the colours that I include within my title sequence must mimic or foreshadow the film making reference to what locations will be within my film through colour.

Technical codes.

Natural camera – The camera needs to move naturally to create a realistic effect to the scene the character is in. Within comedy this is vital as things can either be believable or not depending on what type of comedy you are hoping to achieve. Within my film I want to create a scene and story which my audience can relate to and believe. There fore I will be aiming to use mainly natural light unless I need lighting to help and film in movements which relate to my characters actions.

Shot types – Medium shots are great to catch body language and facial expression, within comedy the audience search the characters faces to see how they react to situations, so within my film I will be using mainly medium shots to show how my actors are reacting to scenes. Long shots are also useful as they allow the audience to see everything that is going on. I will try not to use too many long shots though as the focus of my scene may be lost.

Editing, sound and tempo- Editing in a comedy can effect how much the audience find the scene funny. When editing I will use lots of quick shots to show how fast the action is happening. And try cutting from a long shot to a close up so the expression can be properly captured. I can extra sound to add extra comedic value to certain scenes. For example the sound of my character falling with a loud bump. The tempo will speed up depending on the situation as this adds to the cliché of comedy.