There are a number of reasons as to why it is important for the genre of a film to be established. In terms of production, generally production companies will be specific to a particular genre. This is beneficial to them for many reasons. Firstly, it means that they will be more experienced in their chosen field as the team such as directors, producers, set designers etc. will be suited to the genre. Due to this, they are able to create a more effective film for their audience as they will already have a strong idea of codes, conventions, methods and techniques in which the most successful films. Also, the companies will often be able to reuse resources, such as props.
Furthermore, due to this experience that the teams will have in their particular genre (in this case distribution companies), they will more likely know the best way in which films should be able to to be marketed, and therefore will be able to reach out the the largest audience possible and generate the most revenue from viewings. Also due to this, companies are more likely to receive finance etc. for their film production process as often they will have proven that they can generate a suitable profit from past creations.
In addition, genre is also importance from an audience point of view. The audience will usually be able to establish the genre of the film that they are seeing being advertised by the conventions that it possesses. For example, in the horror genre, seeing the colour red, which connotes violence and danger. It is imperative that the audience can establish the genre of the film before they partake in viewing it. This is important for many reasons. Firstly, the audience will be able to tell whether the film will be suited to their own preferences, as some people may prefer some genres to others. This means that they can make a decision on whether to view the film or not, and therefore know whether their money is being wasted if they choose to watch it.
What do these conventions mean for my film opening?
Setting: The location that we have chosen for our film is a derelict building within an abandoned redoubt fort. This is typical of the types of settings that would be found in horror movies, as the idea of abandonment is generally associated with isolation and therefore a lack of people (help) present, creating a sense of vulnerability among the victims and making it a more realistic environments for the stereotypical killer/antagonist. Not only this, but the fact that the building is derelict means that the overall aesthetic of the scene is very dingy and dirty, making for a more uncomfortable viewing for the audience.
Sound: In our film opening we will use a variety of sound typical to the horror genre. Firstly, we will choose an eerie, sustained, minor soundtrack to act as background music when the scene is introduced. This will create a sense of apprehension among the viewer and will be unnerving, especially when an unsettling scene is shown on screen. Furthermore, we will use individual sound effects to exaggerate synchronous sounds shown on screen, such as bangs and camera shutters. By using sound effects, we will be able to amplify usually quiet sounds in order to shock the audience.
Props: We will incorporate many typical props of the horror genre into the opening that we are going to create. Firstly, we plan to use old china-style dolls as a significant part of our opening. We will be placing them around the scene and they will be used to represent when the bad is going to take place. This also keeps up with the current trend of using dolls in films, as recently they have been used extensively, in horror films such as Annabelle and The Conjuring. Other props that we will feature will be: a rickety wooden chair, rope, fake blood and a black hood.
Character: Our main protagonist will be a male of around 20 years. We have chosen somebody of this age as it matches the main target audience of the film, and will therefore ensure that the character is related to more. From conducting our own research also, we have found this a very common age/sex of the protagonist. The antagonist will only appear very briefly in the opening. The character will be a young teenage girl, as from our research we have found that our target audience would generally find the most frightening.
Camera Work: In our opening, we will use a variety of shot types and camera movements. Close ups will be the most common shot type, as they are very effective at showing reaction as well as giving indications to the audience whilst creating enigma code. Also, we will often use extreme long shots as well as high angle shots to create a sense of vulnerability upon the character. Finally, there will be a variety of establishing shots throughout to give the viewers a good idea of the surroundings that the protagonist finds himself in.
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