Research on Different Genres

The official definition of genres is 'Genre is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or entertainment, e.g. music, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time as new genres are invented and the use of old ones are discontinued. Often, works fit into multiple genres by way of borrowing and recombining these conventions.'

Now according to this definition and to my understanding of this definition I realized that there are more then a hundred categories of genres. Now why is that so? Well it is because every person has their own taste and likes and therefore someone might like action/romance films while the other might like horror/romance films, but then the problem comes of how to differentiate these hundred genres from each other. Well that is why codes and conventions play a major role in defining a genre.The codes and conventions lay down the general pattern that the storyline follows and thus a person can easily categorize the genres following the storyline in the film.

Like I said before there are more than hundred genres but the major genres that start the whole chain reaction are:

• Drama
• Horror
• Thriller
• Comedy
• Romance
• Suspense
• Action
• Adventure
• Biographical 

From these genres onwards there are the sub genres that can consists of two to three genres playing together in a movie.

Following aspects of different genres are supposed to be identified:

• style and forms
• paradigms(key elements)
• icinography
• structure
• theme

Following is my own research and understanding of various genres.
My first research was on the movies 'The notebook' and 'The vow'.
Both films genre are drama and romance.I noticed  considerable similarities between these two films.
Both films featured two lovers who would meet in casual circumstances like 'love at first sight', their love would take them on a journey of unusual happiness where the will find themselves doing those things that they never expected to do before.They express their love in unusual manners like in 'The Vow' he stands in the rain just to see that the girl receives the gifts and opens it and the gift is something that he anticipates will happen in the future but not sure but he still takes the risk. Something of the same sort happens in 'The notebook' where the guy hangs from the Ferris wheel just to get a date with the girl, putting his life to risk yet he does this in his love for her.

In both films the parents disapprove of the relationship and try to end it, in both cases the class plays a major difference. Then the parents own complicated life's interfere with their children lives. Also fate and life plays a part as well where in 'The Notebook' the women has Alzheimer and has forgotten all about her past and her lover and almost similar thing happens in ' The Vow' where an accident wipes 4 years of memory of the girl life which were considered to be the most important years of her life and in both cases the love between the lovers has been shown to be so unique and strong that no matter what happens they always find a way back to each other.

The color used in the movies are soft neutral colors.The locations consist of open wide spaces with laces like the parks, beaches, lakes used. Even their rooms seem to be decorated with lively colors.

Usually high key lighting has been used in order to create hope in the characters of a better outcome.Less grainy pictures with soft contrast.

Their dressing is very casual, however depending on the scenes and places like in a ball they are dressed fancy but in normal days they are dressed in casual clothes that fits the trends of the time period in which the movie is set. Colors like pink, blue, yellow etc. Black is only used for formal meetings usually, like on a funeral etc.Makeup is light and according to the mood.

The next two films that I studied were 'my week with marilyn' and 'the social network' which are biographical drama based genre films.

Again the codes and conventions of these genre play an important part in the film study. biographical films are based on the true life stories of famous personalities that can be political, an adventurer, an artist, an inventor, an entertainer etc. And it usually seems to focus on how they rose to fame and how they met their downfall. It usually focuses on a particular issue that played a very important part in their career went about and effected them. The personality of the characters,the settings, the clothing, the backdrops and the makeup are done following the original environment and the characters and the time period it actually took place in. The film can start at any point. Either showing the down fall of the characters, or their rise. It can go in chronological order or in a set correct order from slums to rise to slums again.

Although many a times many events are changed or alters in order to hide the true faces of the characters and to have the audience sympathies with them. sometimes the order of how the film is shown is changed or another character is added so that the audience can put the blame on someone else and not the main character.

Since biographical accounts of people varies as theirlifestyle varies the lighting and setting varies as well but usually in the case of biographical genre films both high key and low key lighting are used because  a real person has many highs and lows in life.

the third set of film that i studied were 'kill bill' and 'rocknrolla' which are action/crime/thriller/drama genre based films.

Both these films are a blend of three genres . Both these films feature a lot of action and killing and fighting. Also there are more then 4, 5 peoples whose lives are interlinked in one way or another.

The films have elements of thriller in it as well which creates anxiety and terror in the viewers. They begin anticipating what could happen afterwards which is something that can completely blow them away. In a thriller genre the villain sets these difficult obstacles and tasks which the protagonist must overcome like in kill bill she is almost killed but after being in a coma for 4 years she wakes up to find that she lost her child and is paralyzed temporarily from the waist down. but we wills her self to move and sets out to find the 5 people who killed her and her baby.The same pattern follows in the rocknrolla.

In kill bill the women is killed and every one who was attending her wedding rehearsal at that time including her fiance as well, as well as her unborn child.The villain bill is clever enough to find her and plan out of how to kill her. Then the women when she wakes up from the coma sets out to kill bill and solve the mystery of where to find every one else who took part in killing her.In Rocknrolla the master mind mob leader Larry Cole controls the entire real estate business. he is a corrupt leader who is secretly using his arch men and other people like the wild bunch for his own gains and has planned for how to dispose of these characters in a clean manner so that no trace links back to him. he is an untrustworthy just like Bill in kill bill who uses his resources and people to turn against each other.

In the end of both films the villain is killed of by the protagonist after the truth becomes clear to them.There is a lot of action and fighting in both films depending on the types of weapons they carry. the villain is presented in a posh manner or as the leader while the protagonist or the hero is always their servant or assistant or helper in some manner. The clothing varies according to the setting and the task and the type of criminals they represent. the props in the film however where similar. Like for example both characters where skilled in one type of weaponry like sword or gun and where skilled in physical hand to hand fighting showing a general patter that follows in films based on such genres.

scenes light's study

The scenes that i chose to study for my lighting study was taken from the film' My week with Marilyn'. The scene is were Collin is at Marilyn's home to look after her since she had a bad day at studio and was taken home.

As Colin comes into the house and is greeted by the chauffeur, he offers him a drink and they talk for while in the sitting room. The main source of light or the key light are the two lamps that are shown in the frame of the camera as well. A third light though not visible can be guessed as a part of the room as it illuminates the wall where the drawing hangs.the third light also acts somewhat as a back light to colins backs creating a rim light.

The room seems to be well lit because no shadows as such can be seen on either characters face. All the lights are not very bright but have been dialed down to create a neutral and natural feel to the environment and the characters. the lights give a cosy feel to the room.

When there is a close shot of Colin's face, the frame shows part of his face which is lit with the key light that is a side light that comes from the lamp. Over here the light from the lamp plays the major part of adding light to the scene.The other half shows shadows but still lightly illuminated so that at least the feature of the face are not completely lost so there is fill light on part of the face.(the same with the other character.)






In the scene where Collin and the other person is sleeping, the two lights at the back give a soft tungsten light. Notice that when Collin gets up to exist the room a shadow appears on the other persons face, showing that the key light has been placed in the front of the subjects however at a different angle  so that it is not directly in front of the character so the flat light is avoided.





When collin exist the room and  closes the door behind him the window pan acts as the light source but very diffused and less light gives shadows on the other part of colllins face. As he moves forward a small side light just as diffused as the light from the window pan shines on his face from the other direction so giving details to the other part of the face that was in shadows before.


the light that is straight ahead in the hall way plays the key light role from now onwards in the scene but since in this scene marilyn and collin stand at the opposite ends of the corrridor two key lights are used. one on marilyn and the other on colin. in the case of colin the light. the key light that falls on colins face is basically a side light because it illuminates on side of coliins face and leaves the rest in shadows.

in the case of Marilyn it is again a side light but brighter then the ones that is on Colin's. the corridor is not lit up by any lights. the only place that is lit up is where colin stands and where mailyn sits.this helps in building up the mood. the darnkness in between leads the audience to focus only on Marilyn.also enabling the audience to understand that even though both the characters find themselves in the same situation they are unable to help each other .the brighter light on her face helps in her face glistening from all the tears she shed while crying, emphasing on her emotions.

Final synopsis

By Mahnoor Khalid and Aiza Yasir

Short Film

Genre: Drama

Title: In Pursuit of Happiness

The story revolves around a garbage collector's son, (name of the character) who despite his poor financial status is studying for the Matric Board Examination that is held every year in Pakistan. Despite the many problem he has to continuously face, he studies with all his might and will. Problems such as electricity and lack of finanacial resources to purchase books and notebooks- he has to make use of second hand books. Also with little food in the house, he has to share his food with other members of his family and study in congested rooms with his siblings interrupting him on and off.

Short film will show scenes of the son and his father working in the scorching heat collecting garbage and at any time when the boy finds himself free, he immediately  absorbs himself in studying. In another scene, we show him studying in his house when suddenly the electricity supply is cut off and he is unable to study, but he finds the alternate to that and studies under the lamp post light on the main road, studying with such concentration that the noise of the ongoing traffic does not bother him.

Any money he collects for working extra hard overtime he saves to pay for his Matric Examinations.

His efforts are fruitful and in the end he scores the second highest grades in the Matric board Examination all over Pakistan and this stirns an interest in all the educational sectors and the media who broad-cast this event widely. The boy is approached by various schools to become their student on full scholarship.

The short film idea has been inspired by the real life event of a scrap collector Qayanoos Khan, who is a resident of Azaad Kashmir currently.

The story would not just be about the boy and his struggle for studies, but there are a lot of other ways to look at it too; it would also convey the message of not giving up, to keep faith and keep believing that for what one is working so hard will eventually bear fruit.

The target audience for this media product would be the masses and it would reach them through television and internet e.g. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Myspace etc. Local TV channels like GEO, HumTV and PTV etc. can air the video since it ould be something relating to the struggles and problem that the lower socio-economic class of Pakistan is going through. Moreover, the video can be advertised in newspapers as well. The age group would be from 12 onwards.

Teacher's comments: Much improved.

Feild trip to Syed Noor set!

Our sir took us too a well known film director, writer, producer and actor's studi, Syed Noor to see how the film industry works in Pakistan. some of his famous works include 'Jeeva', Choorian', 'Deewan Tere Pyar Ke', 'Ghoongat' and 'Sharika' and many many more. .There we had a full live exposure of the sets used in the films, studio lights, also how do they make rain on the sets, we saw thier dubbing room and their editing room and the room that is used by the internees when they do their internship at Paragon Academy of Performing Art( PAPA).

the set for 'Sharika', a Syed Noor production

the lightings used outside 

the editing room

the dubbing room

Lights are extremely important...

Today we studied lights in class. Lights are a very important aspect of any scene. it helps in creating the mood of the scene. The lights not only helps in explaining the scene to the viewers but also helps them in understanding the emotions of the characters thus instilling feelings in the viewers as well so making it relatable.

There are two type of light:
High Key lighting are considered to be full of light. Usually used in cases to show happiness. The three things to notice in any high key image is that:

• the will always be bright. the exposure settings are set to the very high in order to create a high key images
• the lack contrast.the same color follows throughout the image

• the lack of shadows, because the light is so much, much of the shadows are filled up due to the bright light.

In Low Key lighting the tone is darker, and the controlling color is usually black. There will be lots of dark areas in the picture. It is very common for Low Key images to give special attention to contour lines, emphasizing them with highlights.
Low Key images are also notable for a great deal of contrast that they display. Most notable is the rim light. A light surrounding the subject illuminating only the contour of the shape. So the contrast is between dark shape and bright contour.Low Key images are full of drama and/or tension.

The major lights in any scene consists of three point lighting.
Key lighting
This is the main light used on the subject. The purpose of the key light is to put the light on the subject. You can place it anywhere you want, but a common placement is about 45 degrees to either side of the camera, and about 45 degrees up from the subject.

Usually the key light is not placed at an angel. It can be placed right in front but this light tends to fill in the shadows caused by the wrinkles, make the face appear wider. Its called Flat light but usually it gives a very boring look, making the character appear very flat. In other terms it is also called Glamorous light because when used on models it helps in hiding the wrinkles and bring details such as eyes and lips into focus.

When the key light is placed to the side of the subject,  it illuminates only half of their face and hides the rest in shadows. This type of light is called side light which helps in portraying a conflict that the character is facing.

Placing the key light right above the subjects head, at a higher angle gives an undesirable effect because it creates shadows under the eyes. Also placing the light right below the subject unsettles the viewer about the characters but both these lights help when dealing with scenes and characters that play a negative role for example situation can be like a police investigation under a single light bulb or characters such as murderers etc.

Another way of using key light is by placing the light right behind the subject so that the subject becomes dark but only the outline is visible which creates a silhouette.

our own example of key lights are:

Fill lighting
The main purpose of a Fill light is to fill in the shadows that are created by the Key light in order to prevent the face from looking to dark.The fill light is generally a much softer light. It helps in filling up the shadows but if it is two bright you might end up having two shadows on the face. The intensity of the fill light can be dialed down, either by moving it away from the subject or by putting a diffuser in front of it so that the light becomes softer.sometime if you don't want to use lights use reflectors instead.
 
Also Reflector
                                                         Without Reflector or Fill Light

                                                      
                                                        
                                                         With Reflector or Fill Light

Back light/Rim light
Back light often know as a Rim light creates a very interesting look on the characters. By placing the light right behind the character the characters outline is highlighted.Although the problem with using such type of light is that when there is no light in the front of the character the characters face becomes dark. So by placing a key light low intensity at an angle to the camera and adding back light to it as well, helps in adding a very soft and dreamy look to the character but still defined.

the usage of reflectors and diffuser.
One of the problems that we face when working with lights is that we don't have access to studio lights. Either the lights we use are of very high intensity or very low and the settings of such lights can not be changed such as lamps or LED lights. When wanting to reduce the intensity of lights the usage of a Diffuser seems like the best option. With the help of a diffuser the light can be soften up so that the light on the face does not blow out the details of the characters but diffuses and spreads.

Our own example of image without diffuser and with diffuser
                                                                 Without Diffuser

      
                                                                  
                                                                    With Diffuser

Reflectors on the other hand help in adding more light to the scene. As discussed earlier in the cause of a fill light a reflector can be used as well. It reflects the light of a surface and since light travels in a straight line it bonuses of the reflector and hits the subject(part where we want the light). Type of reflectors are white, black, golden and silver.white and black balances the light on the face. Golden usually is used under the sun light to give it a sunlight feel or under tungsten. Silver where the face is usually very much in the dark and needs to be brighten up but the usage differs from scene to scene.

Also Fill Light