Genre Study

Drama

Examples:
La Vie en Rose
The Social Network
Warrior

Narrative Conventions:
Dramas usually follow the five-arc structure with an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and a resolution.

Other Defining Conventions:
Typical Wardrobe: Depending on the time period, dramas reflect the culture they are coming from. Costumes aren't fantastical but instead exude realism.
Typical Visual Style: Though they reflect reality, dramas often choose to highlight certain details in the environment that adds to the story.
Typical Setting: Location can play a huge role in dramas because they help to define the characters. For example in La Vie en Rose, the film would be less effective if it wasn't set in France.
Typical Historical Setting: Dramas can take in almost any place in time. However, many choose to highlight past events and provide a dramatized version of certain events by creating sympathetic characters and situations
Typical Situations: These films usually outline a conflict early on in the film. This creates the premise for the rest of the film to build off of. Rising action then ensues in which more problems are introduced.

Action/Adventure

Examples:
Casino Royale
The Dark Knight
True Grit

Narrative Conventions:
Action/Adventure films usually highlight the physical aspects of acting. There needs to be a lot of action going on. This is what action films do to captivate the audience. Audiences go into action films expecting to be entertained by quick and fast paced sequences as opposed to character building scenes. Most scenes don't need to necessarily add to the characters themselves.

Other Defining Conventions:
Typical Wardrobe: Most protagonists wear flashy and distinguishable clothing or very subdued clothing that would be suited for constant activity. Although many costumes may seem natural, designers pay attention to the practicality of fighting in those outfits.
Typical Visual Style: There is usually lot of camera movement. This is used to create a sense of speed in the action. Tight shots may be used to create a sense of disorientation. Because the protagonists are going to need to go from location to location, attention to production design is more concerned about realism as opposed to adding meaning to the film.
Typical Setting: The setting of action films may span several countries and locations. This is done to create a sense of a larger community in which the hero comes from. Because chase sequences are usually employed, sets are usually very large.
Typical Historical Setting: Many action/adventure films take place during the time the film was made. However, there are films that explore different time periods. There may be dramatized versions of heroes battling what society views as bad historical figures such as Hitler.
Typical Situations: Many times, the protagonists are either reluctant to fight or they are natural bad-asses. The heroes are usually thrown into a situation that are can't control and they fight to regain what they loss. This usually ends in defeating a "bad-guy"

Thriller

Examples:
Memento
No Country For Old Men
Fight Club

Narrative Conventions: These are usually plot driven films where it is important to explore the minds of the characters. It is important for there to be a focus on the characters themselves as well as keeping information hidden from the audience.

Other Defining Conventions:
Typical Plot: A typical plot would introduce the conflict at the beginning of the film. The protagonist would then spend the rest of the film trying to resolve the conflict. However, they would be thwarted in their attempts many times during the course of the film.
Typical Look or Style: Many thrillers take advantage of the suspension of belief in the film to highlight the visual style of directors. Whether it be in the lighting of the scenes or the color palette that is used, the art directors have a lot of freedom in designing how the film will look.
Typical Setting: Settings in thriller films focus on neo-realist settings. I say this to describe how many of the scenes take place in locations that highlight a sense of uncertainty and suspense. Therefore many sets are claustrophobic and help to show how the character perceives the space around them.
Typical Characters: Characters usually have a very different way of thinking. It is this difference in thought that helps drive the story. The plot usually focus on how this character is different from others and is done so to explore their characters in the process.

Writing About Film

A Formal Analysis is much like the Oral Commentary that we are expected to give for IB Film. Like the Oral Commentary, the formal analysis requires the commentator to look at all of the different aspects of the film and see how each part contributes to the whole. Some of these aspects include the cinematography, sound design, story, and art direction just to name a few. Looking at these different aspects is important to see how the individual parts of the film adds meaning to the film.

Film papers can also look at the history behind films. This encompasses the history that the actual film reflects, the culture and society that the film was made in, and even factors during the film's production that could have affected the outcome of the film. This is especially with the case with Apocalypse Now where the production of the film was so prolonged that it heavily impacted the film by incorporating a long production period to characterize the film itself. Films like Casablanca also reflects the society that made it because it represents Classic Hollywood film making. When film scholars look at films like Casablanca, they can identify conventions that were prominent in Classical Hollywood film making.

All films reflect some kind of ideology. Ideology papers examine the ideology behind film. Many times the ideology comes from the director or writer of the film. Film can be a medium to express one's views on topics and themes such as family, redemption, or trust. Fight Club works to express how anarchy effects the society around it. This is done through Tyler Durden's refusal to cooperate with the conventions of normalcy.

Like Ideology papers, Cultural Studies and National Cinema focused papers look at the society that made the film. Especially in national cinema, films can show audiences what the culture is like in other countries beside our own. For example, watching a film like Amelie can offer a glimpse into what French society is like at the time.

Finally papers that look at auteurs focus on the body of work that the director has made and how they relate with each other to emphasize certain themes. Many times, directors use similar techniques in making their films such as recurring plot structure, themes, and types of conflicts.

Annotating a film sequence is like taking notes, except with film. It can be a very helpful technique to efficiently articulate your ideas in a film paper. This technique is done by taking notes on individual shots of the film. Expecially when looking at excerpts of film, noting down the time code and adding notes to significant shots is effective in breaking down a sequence.

Thinking beyond the frame is a term to encourage scholars to think about the factors that contribute to the film outside of the visual image. For example, factors like sound, production history, and expert opinions on the film. A film is much more than the film itself. External factors play a big role in defining the film and what it come to represent, outside of the subject matter