Genre Conventions

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  • Created by: Noxas
  • Created on: 11-12-19 15:38

Sitcom

  • Big gaps between jokes, often with laugh tracks placed to encourage audience to laugh

  • Characters are often extremes of stereotypes - very strong personalities

  • Colourful, homely settings

  • Lots of characters involved

  • Camera shots at eye level with characters

  • Over Exaggerated actions/situations - things going wrong to the extreme

  • Odd situations portrayed as normal or normal situations portrayed as odd
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Horror

  • Dark in colour and lighting

  • Unnatural and odd camera angles

  • Ordinary locations, with one or two unusual things, also bleak surroundings. Not homely or warm

  • Strong character stereotypes. Eg ‘the brave one’, ‘the smart one’

  • Also unusual characters, odd people

  • Weapons are usually inefficient weapons, to get as much gore out of it as possible. Eg. knife

  • Music is tense + unnatural, or completely absent

  • Jumpscares

  • Bittersweet endings, evil/horror is gone but at a price

  • Supernatural creates, zombies, ghosts

  • Storms!

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Romantic Comedy

  • Younger characters, pretty + fashionable

  • Warm, homely settings

  • ‘Best friend’ character who helps out with the lead’s love life

  • Competing for lead’s love

  • Colourful yet softly lit, warm tones

  • Things ‘go wrong’ then get better again

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Drama

  • Bleak settings, bleak situations

  • Lots of conflict with characters

  • Colours are often muted and cold

  • Music is tense

  • Tense moods

  • Often, conflict at the end is resolved - happy endings

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Action

  • Often one character against the world/bad guys

  • Impossible situations 

  • Fast paced, few moments of quiet

  • Colorful and bright

  • Camera tends to follow the good guy

  • Less plot and talking, more action

  • Often fighting

  • Brooding main characters, often male

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Crime

  • Darker colours, shady atmosphere

  • Often sympathetic with criminals

  • Lighting often used to highlight powerful characters and give a place from the criminals to hide

  • Teamwork, character archetypes that clash and create conflict

  • Shadowy locations, indicate criminal activities

  • Mains are usually male, their wives/girlfriends give them humanity

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Period Dramas

  • Main character is often a woman, often romantic

  • Often upper class settings, eg big manors

  • Although can show complete opposite, and show the struggles of poorer people
  • Romance is often a focus, though they also often tell stories of famous figures
  • settings are usually misty, and dull
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Romance

  • warm, homely settings
  • very similar to romcom, though more serious
  • often young characters falling in love for the 1st time
  • can have sad endings
  • darker themes and subplots, eg death and coming to terms with it
  • music used is quite often popular music we already know
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Thriller

  • often borderline horror, without gore aspects
  • very dull, bleak settings
  • tense music
  • unusual main characters
  • often keeps avoiding resolving the issue until the very end
  • lots of suspense and cliffhangers
  • includes themes of conspiriacy, murder, and rarely romance
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Teen

  • coming of age stories
  • younger characters, often in high school settings
  • often shows characters going through daily stuggles
  • romantic subplots
  • friendships and that One Nasty Girl
  • happy, resolved endings
  • very warm and summery, nice feeling
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Comedy

  • extreme situations played off as funny
  • strong character types
  • recurring jokes through the film/series
  • main characters start off downtrodden usually
  • cheesy jokes
  • cringe humour
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Musicals

  • songs
  • usually works towards a happier ending
  • strong emotions
  • often cartoons and aimed at children
  • songs are simple and catchy
  • big shots of scene during songs
  • dancing!
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Sci-Fi

  • odd locations, eg space
  • or a normal location with new science and technology
  • very technology driven
  • creatures like aliens and robots
  • often features war
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Westerns

  • very male dominated
  • often wars between gangs of cowboys
  • character archetypes
  • usually post American Civil war
  • horses, shootouts, and cowboy hats
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War

  • often follow the story of one or two soldiers in the war
  • bleak settings (...it's a war)
  • can end with the soldiers finally returning home
  • very sad, and dark atmosphere
  • usually tell the story of a major war
  • very male dominated
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