Script on Genre Changing over time SLIDE 1 – Presenter: Hi, I’m going to talk about how film genres are categorized into different elements and ill also being talking to you about how genres changes over time due to the development of technology, producers and audiences. SLIDE 2-‐ Presenter: Firstly, What is genre? Genre is a particular style in which its elements are categorized. In this sense such as film genres they are categorized according to settings, moods and themes. They are classified in several ways, such as romance, action, horror, thriller, and comedy. How genre has changed over time I believe is because the growth of audiences, society has changed massively causing debate weather a genre is what its known to be and not what it has been changed to be. This now has given a big impact on the film industry and for them to up their game and to be level with what audiences and society thoughts are towards a particular genre and to keep them interested. The development of technology is also why I believe genre has changed, due to the fact that we now have hi tech equipment, technology now has more ability to produce a particular genre movie with more unusual shots and soundings that may not have been produced or allowed to produce 40 – 50 years ago. SLIDE 3 -‐ Presenter: how do audiences and producers use genre? Firstly, with audiences, they can quickly identify types of film genres they may watch and like; they then have expectations of the producers to produce what they want to see, which then gives an advantage to the producers as they are creating what there audience want to see and making tons of money from it. However a disadvantage is that after a while audiences may get bored and when seeing a similar film over and over again, the audience know what to expect. Producers use genre to their advantage by knowing and seeing which genres are profitable and invest in those genres to be made. They also know what a particular genre target audience should be and what that particular genres expectations should be targeting. Continue of 3rd Slide – Let me introduce to you to two men Branston and Stafford, there say ‘’genres depends heavily on formula and expectation, genre describes the ways that companies producing and trading in media goods try to minimize risk by grouping and selling their products through established expectations” They also say “part of your pleasure is that you both sort-‐of-‐know and don’t-‐quite-‐know what to expect from it.’’ With these quotes I suggest that these two men are given evidence of how genre is towards producers and audiences and how they deal with the whole concept of the way genre is seen upon. SLIDE 5 – Presenter: I’d like to introduce Christian Metz who argues that genre passes through 4 steps in its cinematic life besides the different genres that are introduced. He categorized these steps as, Experimental, Classic, Parody, and Deconstruction. I think that he is correct in some sense that genres go through there cinema years and change over time, but what I don’t understand is that some genres doing categorize in those 4
steps, for example the genres that aren’t comical they only go through half the process, so its confusing to me what he actually means. SLIDE 6 – Presenter: How is genre identified? Genre is identified because of there own personal conventions, let me introduce Romantic Comedy films, this particular genres conventions that make it a RomCom are two characters preferably a man and a women and there relationship towards each other and how they deal with that relationship with a pinch of comical circumstances that may occur throughout the film. SLIDE 7 Presenter: Starting with a Romantic Comedy, I am going to show you a number of romantic comedy movies that I have watched and researched from different times, and how they have changed due to production conditions, context, financial changes -‐ CLIP PLAYING –2 minutes 44 seconds – ‘’The shop around the corner’’ Presenter: That clip was from the film ‘The shop around the corner’’ This story is about a man and a woman who dislike each other but they are secretly writing love letters to each other, neither of them realizing that they are pen – pals. The content in this film is very juvenile and based on relationships with the opposite sex and how back then they dealt with those sorts of issues. The commercial side of the film is that more then half way through the audience know that they are both writing to each dedicating there love and they don’t know anything about it. So it brings humor with what they audience know instead of what the characters know. SLIDE 8 – PLAY CLIP Presenter: The clip of film I’m going to show is from 1989 called ‘When Harry met Sally.’’ This story is about a man (Harry) and a women (Sally) who have different opinions on how male and female should be when they are around each other, sally thinks that male and females can be friends without having a romantic spark, however harry thinks that being friends with a female can not happen because the sex parts get in the way, by the end of the film those opinions go and they end up together and married. The comical side of the film is ways in being sexually towards each other and trying to make one another feel awkward. SLIDE 9 -‐ These two films, the production conditions, firstly with ‘’The shop around the corner,’’ its basic, only set in a shop, there is very little space for actors to move around in, its also acted as if there were on stage, looking at the cameras and talking to the cameras. This is due to the fact that it was low budget, it was the start of developing film so producers didn’t have the technology to make it as good as it could have been. However with ‘When Harry Met Sally’ it was in colour, it was high budget; there were loads of settings in which it was filmed, the technology increased and there were a good use of technology used to be able to gain more exciting and unusual shots in the film. The context in ‘The shop around the corner’ compared to ‘When Harry Met Sally’ there outlook on relationship with female and male bonding is different in the sense that the 1940s was more innocent and unaware of what a friendship could possible change into and be more romantic. However in the late 1900s people were confused in how to act and what to do when a female and male interact. However these two
films are similar because both films are unaware of what a relationship is and how to be around a relationship that is getting serious. Finical changes, you can tell that ‘The shop around the corner’ is a low budget, as if it filmed literally in a corner shop with actors that have come in to make the film. However with ‘When Harry met Sally’ there is a massive difference, there more production with the actors and the producers, the producers have massively improved equipment that they can be supported throughout the film, and the actors have the different settings in which they can settle down being there character. SLIDE 10 – The next two-‐film clips I’m going to show you are from recent years. ‘’Bridget Jones Dairy’s’’ in 2001 and ‘’Friends with Benefits’’ in 2011. First Clip is Bridget Jones Dairy’s CLIP PLAYING – 1 minute 43 seconds. Presenter – The story of this film is about a women (Bridget Jones) in her early thirties and annoyed that she is still single, so she decides to write a dairy about the men she meets and what they are like and what she wants from her ‘perfect’ man, which in her case is her boss, she manages to start dating her boss but then comes across Mark Dancy who is an old friend of hers, throughout the film she realizes that her boss isn’t the guy for her and starts liking Mark Darcy, by the end they end up together. The comically side of this film is that its openly sexually, the sexually reference that the characters say and how they show aswell brings the humor out. It’s very much a teenages/womens film, with the being single and finding ‘Mr Right’ SLIDE 11 – Presenter: The next clip is ‘’Friends With Benefits’’ CLIP PLAYING – 1 minute 44 seconds. Presenter: The story of this film is about a women and a man that become good friends when the man offers a job to the women, the friendship then is taken to the next step when they both have physical connection with each other but they don’t want a relationship, so they just decide to have a physical relationship. Then later on the woman decides not to have this type of relationship anymore and they stop. A couple of months down the line, they both been dating different people but it isn’t same, by the end they fall for each other and they are a couple. The comical side to this film is that it’s taking the mick out of different kind of relationships and taking it to the next level that maybe people shouldn’t go there. SLIDE 12 – Presenter: These two films, the production conditions, as they are both 10 years apart, there are differences and similarities. ‘Bridget Jones’ the production is smaller just because it’s a British made film, the conditions are limited because they haven’t got enough many and are not as wealthy as the American Hollywood film ‘Friends With Benefits’ there production conditions are endless because they are able to produce and afford better equipment, settings and ideas. The context of ‘Bridget Jones Dairy’ its setting are Christmas themed, so there is a lot of love and happiness which is known for bring that feeling out. The relationship to find ‘Mr Right’ with a comical side, it has if it’s someone living real life; to pursue it has if it happens to every women. However with ‘Friends With Benefits’ its context is what society can do now if they want. Its viewed to the audience as a new method within a friendship, that
shouldn’t be taken seriously, however it may come to consequences. The financial changes in ‘Bridget Jones’ it’s a high budget until you compare it to Friends With Benefits.’ Bridget Jones financially, they use good equipment and technology to be able to produce the humor within the film. ‘Friends with Benefits’ finically is a very high budget as now days films can be watched in HD or 3D unlike what ‘Bridget Jones’ which you could only which in 2D. Also ‘Friends with Benefits’ use expensive props like cars, suits etc to be able to make the film as modern as they can. SLIDE 13 Presenter: Decade after Decade, RomComs have massively changed the outlooks of relationships, the people its affect the most is the audience. I think people still enjoy and look forward to seeing RomCom movies because firstly, whoever is starring a RomCom movie, fans of that star are bound to go see the film just because of the actor. Also girl teenagers/women still love to see soppy ends, just because I think they wish it were they and there story to find love. I think throughout the years RomCom has got more popular due to the fact people now know what it means and what type of film they are watching, and the fact that it bring humor pursues it to be a real life couple dealing with there problems and sharing to the audience how they do it. However audiences may get confused in losing the meaning of what a relationship is for example Friends with benefits, audiences may get lost in what they are experimenting and why they are doing such a unusual thing. Presenter: Society has changed the way RomComs come across due to the fact that many people have different opinions on a relationship because if there own personal experiences, which has changed the way producers now think of ideas to match what society believe are RomComs. RomComs now have become more sexual then they were before and its changed how a male and female may come across with each. Also with the humor its got more funnier because when the audience are watching the humor side of the film they can relate and agree that that experience may of happened to them, its not as if a girl falls over a banana skin on a date, no one can relate and find it that funny because they don’t get it. SLIDE 14 – RomComs I think do have specific Classification, which are normally 12,12A or 15. They have these 3 specific Classification because they may have sexually scenes/ references, also some RomComs have swearing in them and may not be appropriate for younger viewers.