Genre essay - improved

The concept of genre can be defined as the type or style that helps to target an audience. Knight said 'Genre may offer various emotional pleasures such as empathy and escapism', meaning we enjoy imagining ourselves living the characters lives.
My production group created a film opening called 'Impact' of the genre; teen drama. My film opening is centred around a teenage girl called Sophia with depression and how she deals with the struggles she faces in her life. We were inspired by the film Girl,Interrupted directed by James Mangold and Johnathan Kahn as this film begins with a sad beginning, as the main characters are expressing how bad their lives are just like Sophia is.

For our film opening to be classified in the teen drama genre we had to abide by the codes and conventions that a teenage drama films have. It is typical for a teen drama film to be set in a school environment due to the age of the audience being the same. Evidence of this comes from the real life media text 'It's kind of a funny story' which is located at a school. For example, the majority of our film was set at Sophia's school so we could see her relationships with other students and how school life was for her. This element of the film opening hints that it is of the teenage drama genre.
Another example would be the iconography of the text messages coming up on Sophia's phone saying 'Everyone hates you', 'Nobody cares about you' etc. As this is also typical of teenagers to be using their phones as a form of bullying to bring others down which could be one of the issues affecting Sophia or the cause of how she feels. There has to be some kind of problem withing a drama film and this highlights an issue. - Don't know how to develop this?
 Also, the camera work in my film opening 'Impact' consists of about five different long lengthened in time shots, this is also a common feature of a teen drama film due to the simplicity of the editing required. Therefore, my production group conformed to the codes and conventions i.e. the genre of a drama film by using basic editing and a small about of shots. For example, this is evident in  'The Notebook' which has a relatively small number of shots, and slow pace editing. In comparison an action film would have more shots - this is a code of that type of genre film. - Unsure as to what media terminology i should use??

''Genres are instances of repetition and difference'' is a quote by Steve Neale who argues that a film has to have repetition of codes so it meets the genre, as well as differences that make it unique. In relation to my film opening 'Impact' a typical setting as well as a high school is a house/bedroom this setting is repeated throughout the opening as a code of a teen drama film. I also subvert Neale's theory as the main focus of  'Impact' is on the main character suffering from the mental health condition depression. If the film was to continue it would look at this in great depth just like it begins to do. Whereas in other dramas like 'Melancholia' depression is approached in a different way.
      
Another theorist my production group considered when creating our film opening was Rick Altman. He argued three approaches to genre, one being semantic - this is what we expect to see in a film of a certain genre. Another approach is called syntactic this takes the codes of a drama film for example and develops meaning through these. In relation to my film opening, it could be argued that my production conforms to the views held by Altman. As Sophia goes through crisis then develops better mental strength at the end of the film ; this is what we would expect to happen in a teen drama about depression.  Rick Altman later proposed the pragmatic aspect of a film, this is that it must include aspects that determine which genre it is so the audience can identify with this. However, we did not abide by this element of Altman's theory as we couldn't. For example, in 'Impact' we couldn't show scenes of Sophia self harming herself or attempting to commit suicide due to our target audience who may be viewer the film opening. It would be unacceptable to put young teenagers in the position to witness such trauma. This is why there are age ratings on films because they are not suitable for some ages. For example the film Saw would not be appropriate for a 8 year old to watch so it is not rated as PG instead an 18.

The genre of teen drama restricted my production group as having a young target audience means we cannot show certain things that would appear traumatic for the viewers as it wouldn't be suitable eg Sophia dying from suicide. Or scenes of a possible death of her parents, or any form of harm.
We made the teen drama our own by creating new characters and a new story line. Although the setting was the same as many other teen drama films and the ending of most films of this genre are the same. We subverted stereotypes by having a female voice playing the 'hero' role to try and help Sophia, when previously it is common for a male to play this role in helping a girl. - Struggle to know what to say 

Narrative essay - Improved

"Media texts rely on cultural experiences in order for audiences to easily make sense of narratives". Explain how you used conventional and/ or experimental approaches in one of your coursework productions (25 marks)

The concept of narrative can be described as constructing a plot (story line). My production group took this into account when creating a film opening at AS level. Our film opening was called 'Impact' this was of the drama genre and about a female young teenager suffering from depression. It could be argued that media texts rely on cultural experiences for audiences to easily make sense of narratives as it is dependent what type of person you are to what narrative you understand and/ or watch. 

Strauss devised a theory stating that there are binary opposites in media texts that help to convey the narrative (storyline). This can be applied to my production groups film opening 'Impact' about narratives of film openings. In relation to my film opening, there is a binary opposite between the teacher 'Mr Fussey' and 'Sophia' the student suffering from depression. This opposition of adult vs teenager implies that adults may cause mental health due to them not understanding the tough life of a teenager and being too harsh on them. This results in the audience feeling empathy for the teenager. This highlights mental health in adolescents for viewers, a real-life media text example can be seen in the film 'Girl, interrupted' which my production group researched greatly when developing ideas for our film opening. Another example of a binary opposite would be tall and small, in relation to my film opening - the teacher is tall and the student is smaller. It could be argued that this height difference could make the student 'Sophia' feel intimidated resulting in her feeling like she cant take to her teacher about her problems. This could be reflective on how students feel at school nowadays, so this can be relatable to teenagers.

A second theorist we considered when creating our film opening was Todorov, his theory was centred around equilibrium. Stating that in every film there is a equilibrium and then a disruption which causes a new equilibrium to occur at the end of the production. My production group disregarded his theory for our film opening as there is constant disruption mirroring the lives of teenagers with mental illnesses throughout of 'Sophia' having problems at school and struggling at home. The effect of constant disruption shows that life is one continuous struggle for some people - this can be relatable for some of the audience. But it does result in a new equilibrium at the end of the opening of another girl offering her help. This applies to most drama films for example it would apply to the film 'Southpaw', as well as 'Room'. It could be argued that there is continuous disruption in the film 'Room'. - Not sure how to improve this paragraph!!!

We also researched Propp and his approach to narrative. He argued that there are typical characters in a film that help to devise the narrative. These typical characters consist of a hero, villain,  damsel in distress, side kick, dispatcher and many others. In my production 'Impact' we conformed to the damsel in distress character in our main character 'Sophia' the depressed teenager. 'Mr Fussey' the teacher could be seen as the villain in the film opening. We also conformed to the Hero character, however we challenged the stereotype of the hero being a male, by having a female at the end of the film opening offering help to the distressed character 'Sophia'. My production group disregarded Propp's theory as it is typical of Disney films, for example 'Sleeping Beauty', but not necessarily relevant for teen drama films that are more realistic than cartoons. It could be argued that the mean girls picking on main character Sophia in the film opening 'Impact' could symbolise the ugly sisters in Cinderella which is another animated Disney film. But my production group didn't want to create a film opening involving all the typical characters as it wouldn't be original and would be similar to many other films. Can't think of any more examples??

The final theory we researched when devising our film opening 'Impact' was Barthes this focused on the codes, action, symbols and enigma that create the narrative. Also about exploring the way that institutions embed questions into film openings and films. In relation to my film opening there are many questions raised, for example why is Sophia depressed? Why is the teacher, Mr Fussey really angry with her, Why does she not get any support from anyone until the end of the opening? These questions engage the audience to want to continue watching the film, and possible by the sequel. For example the film 'Fifty shades of grey' would have viewers questioning the relationship between the two main characters and engage them to want to know more, so when 'Fifty shades darker' came out the same audience were interested in finding out more. Drama films also raise serious issues, for example my production 'Impact' raises the issue of mental health. My production group wanted to emphasis that teenagers need more support than they get.

To conclude narrative was taken under crucial consideration when constructing my production, as it was a driving force within the film opening. The most influential theorist for my production group was Barthes, as we found it to be true in many films especially dramas that questions are raised, more than the other theorist named above. We thought that it was a more realistic theory and complex theory to follow - but complexity makes for more interesting stories.

Genre Theorists

Steve Neale
'Genres are instances of repetition and difference'. 'Difference is absolutely essential to the economy of genre'. A film and its genre is defined by two things:

1. How much it conforms with genre's stereotypes and conventions, a film must conform to these enough so it can be identified to being that genre. 
2. How much a film subverts the genre's stereotypes and conventions, a film must subvert these conventions enough that it is still viewed as a unique film (not a clone).

Rick Altman
Two approaches to film genre:

1. Semantic- the way media is presented eg the characters through clothing, make up etc, the music through tempo, pitch, as well as setting which adds to the story line.
2. Syntactic- describing the relationship between the character and the setting, also the structure of narrative in genres. 

Genre Plan

Plan
P1- Introduction - state production, define the concept genre and own genre for your film opening -'Impact'- teen drama, mention a few inspirations - 'Girl,interrupted' (same genre).

P2- 3 examples from film opening - that show they fit the drama genre, why are they there? PEE for each. First example- typical setting of teen drama at a school, home (bedroom). Second example- iconography of the phone text message is typical of teenagers 'You're so ugly', 'You,re a bitch', 'Everyone hates you', 'Nobody likes you', 'You,re a loner', and 'You,re worthless'. Third example- School (teens), different pop groups. Fourth example- little amount of shots of long time length - typical of a drama.

P3- Steve Neale theory - ''Difference is absolutely essential to the economy of genre'', ''Genres are instances of repetition and difference''. Film has to have repetition of codes so it meets the genre, as well as differences that make it unique. Applied- typical of genres as it is set in a school. Subverts due to the serious mental health issues that haven't been taken into account by other dramas.

P4- Rick Altman theory- 2 approaches = semantic (distinct) - which was what we expect to see in a drama genre. Syntactic - takes codes and develops meaning through this. Applied- film goes through crisis and then develops better mental strength. Pragmatic - have to include aspects for the audience - match genre. Applied- can't show self-harm, suicide - due to ages applied to a teen drama.

P5- Conclusion - How this genre restricted you? - as it is a young target audience certain things can't be shown. How did you make it your own? - characters & what happens.

Media Language

Plan
Introduction- State productions, describe media language (textual analysis) - what meaning is created by these?
P1- CAMERA (music video) - 4 examples, how is media created by these?
P2- EDITING (music video) - 4 examples, how is media created by these?
P3- MISE EN SCENE (music video) - 4 examples, how is media created by these?
P4- SOUND (music video) - 4 examples, how is media created by these?
P5- TEXTUAL ANALYSIS (Digipak) - Print (layout, font, main images, colour scheme), with examples from each textual analysis- what meaning is created?
P6- TEXTUAL ANALYSIS (Website) - Print (layout, font, main images, colour scheme), with examples from each textual analysis- what meaning is created?

Narrative plan

Plan

1. Describe the concept of narrative how it applied to your production (film opening).
2. Strauss - applied to film opening
3. Todorov- applied to film opening 
4. Propp- applied to film opening
5. Barthes- applied to film opening 

Narrative theorists

Theorists:

• Levi Strauss - Binary opposites (old/young, love/hate). Film- Normal student/mental illness.

• Todorov- equilibrium - disruption - new equilibrium. Film- problems at school (disruption) resulting in a new equilibrium. 

• Propp- typical characters - hero,villain, damsel, sidekick, dispatcher. Film-Only one woman (empowered). 

• Barthes- codes - action- what are they doing & why? , symbolic- what do the props/icons mean? , enigma- must create to keep attention, how did you do that?

• How does your film subvert/conform to theorists.  

Ideology

Ideology 
An ideology is a world view, a system of values, attitudes and beliefs which an individual, group or society holds to be true or important; these are shared by a culture or society about how that society should function. Dominant ideologies.

Media Language

Media Language 
Media language is how you create meaning through Camera, Mise en scene, Editing and Sound.
Here are some acronyms that will help you write about the following subjects.

Camera F.A.M. - Frame, Angel and Movement 
Mise en scene C.L.A.M.P.S.- Costume, Lighting, Actors, Make up, Props and Setting
Editing S.T.O.P.S. - SFX, Transitions, Order of Narrative, Pace and Screen time.
Sound M.C.D.O.V.E.D. - Music, Contrapuntal/Parallel, Dialogue, Off screen and On screen, Voiceover, Emotion and Diegetic/ Non diegetic.   
  

Audience

Audience 
Audience is about users and gratification. This is the way in which users consume your product. for example you can watch a film at the cinema, at home on DVD, online stream (Netflix) and so on.
an Acronym to help with audience is P.I.E.S. 

Personally identify with a character or situation
Entertainment 
Information 
social Interaction

Primary audiences are those who receive the communication directly. ... The primary audience is the decision-maker and/or decision-making body.
Secondary audience is the group(s) of people that you identify, educate and activate to influence the primary audience.

Representation

Representation 
Representation is how media texts deal with and present gender, age, ethnicity, national and regional identity, social issues and events to an audience. Media texts have the power to shape an audience’s knowledge and understanding about these important topics. Stereotypes are a simplified representation of a person, groups of people or a place, through basic or obvious characteristics - which are often exaggerated. For example, Vicky Pollard from Little Britain is a stereotypical example of a working class teenage girl. They can be used to describe characters quickly, relying on existing audience recognition. Stereotypes are dangerous as they can lead audiences to generalise about people or places.

Narrative

Narrative
- Tzvetan Todorov's narrative theory suggests that all narratives follow a three part structure where they begin with equilibrium, where everything is balanced, progress as something comes along to disrupt that equilibrium, and finally reach a resolution, when equilibrium is restored. Think about 
your AS storyline and what's happening. How did you create the enigma code in your storyline? How did you introduce your characters to the storyline? Was your storyline a linear narrative? was the storyline all in order? Was there any flash backs? so if I want to talk about my as storyline I could talk about how Megan had an evil twin sister and that was the enigma code and that's the part of the storyline which will hook the user in and want them to carry on watching.

Genre

Genre 
- Genre, which comes from the French word for 'type', is important for both consumers and media producers. Consumers can make choices about media texts they wish to consume and media producers can create a media text for a specific audience.

If a media producer wants to gain an audience for a particular genre, then they have to understand the genre codes and conventions - and include them in the media text they are creating.

For example, a producer of a TV crime drama will likely feature police characters, crime scenes, suspects, victims and violence. Audiences will also expect certain audio codes such as tense, dramatic music. Genres can be Action, Comedy, Romance, Si-Fi, Period, thriller, crime an so on. This is the different types of genres that can feature in a film. To create these genres you have to make sure the stereotypes are exaggerated. so if its a comedy the characters have to be funny, if its a thriller the characters have to be serious and if its a romance the characters have to be in love.

Section A: Theoretical evaluation Q1b

Worth 25/100
Have 30 mins to complete.

Could be about the following:

• Genre
• Narrative
• Representation
• Audience
• Media language

Requires description and evaluation of ONE of your productions, evaluating in relation to the theorists.Should include examples and be reflective/evaluative of this product.

Chosen product - Drama Film opening from AS level (year 12).

Genre

• DI(describe in detail) S(setting) T(themes) I(icon) N(narrative) C(character) T(text) + research.

Narrative

• ENIGMA (structure) + research.

Representation

• D(disability)R(regional identity) C(class)A(age)G(gender)E(ethnicity)S(setting) + research.

Audience

• P(personally identify with a character/situation)I(information)E(entertainment who & how)S(social interaction) , primary & secondary, uses & gratification (theories)+ research.

Media language

• FAM(camera) CLAMPS(mise en scene) STOPS(editing) MCDOVED(sound), how was meaning created? + research.

Key tips:

1. Define key concepts given in the question.
2. Outline production (film opening).
3. Tell examiner what you are going to discuss (which theories).
4. Theory.
5. Apply the theory.
6. Show ways in which ideas work in relation to 3 areas of your product.
7. Conclusion- summarising points.

Forms and conventions

Refers to the ingredients for my genre.

Year 12- film opening - we researched genre and title orders.
Year 13- music video, website, digipak - adverts for artist (progressed & developed to this).

Used, developed and challenged when making our music video.

Conventions:

• Institutional conventions.
• Format conventions.
• Genre conventions.

Plan:

• Genre
• Talk about the importance of genre for both audiences.
• Talk about research into 'real' media texts.