Genre

In our 1st lessons we have been looking at Genre. Wikipedia describes genre as 'the term for any category of various forms of art or culture' - in the case we are looking at it is used to define the type of a film, for example Star Wars would be mainly classed as been in the Sci-Fi Genre (although it can fit into other genres).

The Genre of a film will often effect the way the film is shot as there are several conventions and technical codes that will most of often be used in one  genre. The Horror genre often uses the same conventions and technical codes. Horror films will very often use the dark and an isolated setting to create the tension that the film makers which the audience to feel. Horror films will also tend to use blood and gore much more then films that are classed as belonging to other genres.

Example of genre in a specific film:


One of the major blockbuster hits of the summer of 2010 was Christopher Nolan's film Inception. The film can actually be classed as several different genres. One of the main genres of the film is Science Fiction, of which there are many elements of that genre throughout the film. One of the main elements of the film that adds towards the science fiction genre is that in the film the characters are able to use technology to infiltrate and explore another persons dreams. This is a science fiction device as it is currently impossible to read another persons dream. Inception can also be classed as an action film as it features high speed chases, gun fights and quite a few explosions all of which are most commonly used in the action genre. The ending of the film however can make the film be classed as a suspense because it leaves the audience of the film wondering and questioning the events of the film.