Do Generic Conventions Help or Restrict Film Makers?

In class we were split into groups of 4 and asked to discuss whether we thought generic conventions helped or restricted film makers. We then presented our ideas to another group and this was our decision. Below is our presentation.



Group 1 2012 AS from Media @ CCC on Vimeo.

Summary of our presentation


Ways in which generic conventions help film makers:

- They act as a guideline and can kick start a film makers ideas by providing a starting point for location, setting, iconography, and themes and issues.
- Generic conventions provide familiarity and comfort for the audience because they know what to expect. 
- Finally they can provide a near guaranteed success because audiences tend to watch similar styled films and the conventions help ensure the film doesn't become too distant. 

Ways in which generic conventions restrict film makers:

- Generic conventions restrict the use of hybrids, and these days you can link so many genres together it could now be argued that genre no longer exists.
- Some generic conventions can restrict what genre you call a film e.g. If you set a film in space you would be restricted to naming your film a Sci-Fi. 


How will this help me with my coursework and understanding of genre?

I know that generic conventions act as a guideline to film makers and provide a familiarity for the audience. This means that in my coursework I will be able to use some generic conventions to kick start my ideas and provide a starting point for location, setting, iconography, and themes and issues. 

I now understand how some generic conventions restrict which genre you call a film. This will help me with my coursework as I will have to make sure I don't chose a location which would not be generally seen in a thriller film. 

Binary Opposites in Titanic

How does Cameron use binary oppositions in Titanic (900-1100 words)

In this extract from Titanic, Cameron uses binary opposition to establish a difference between rich and poor on Rose’s arrival. She arrives in a car plated with gold which is a symbolic sign that denotes wealth. The first part the audience sees of Rose is her hand, it is still and poised, and covered with a white glove. The iconic sign of her hand pausing to allow someone to help her out of the car connotes an upper class citizen, the white glove reinforces this as it is clean and the colour white connotes purity and innocence. In addition to this Rose wears a purple hat signifying wealth reassuring the reader that she is in the upper class of society. Additionally the colour purple is a vibrant colour, this connotes how she may be a strong and bold character later on in the film. This juxtaposes with the use of iconography whereby the first part of Jack the audience sees are his hands. They are dirty and uncovered which is an iconic sign that connotes that he is from the working class. The binary opposition Cameron has used here highlights the difference between each class of that time making the audience understand the social context.

Cameron reinforces the binary opposition of rich and poor as well as black and white when the audience sees the people boarding the ship. The wealthy people board the top of that boat coloured white symbolically showing their upper class. Furthermore the colour white connotes purity and innocence, whereas the poorer people are forced to board the ship at the bottom, coloured black. This connotes their lower class, as well as that black connotes dark and danger. This may make the audience sympathise towards the poorer people due to the fact they are treated unfairly. This idea is reinforced by the fact that poor people must undergo a health check before boarding the ship and rich people don’t.

The Camera then comes through the window to enter a dark saloon. The window connotes a barrier and separation from outside and highlights the binary opposition of light and dark. The location outside in the dock is bright compared to the darkness inside the saloon. The darkness connotes danger which the audience may link to Jacks character because he has a tendency to break the rules. Moreover Cameron uses binary opposition to establish Rose’s reaction to boarding the boat. Meaning is conveyed through the light shining on her face when at the dock, however going into a much darker light walking up to the boat. The audience clearly sees her opinion towards boarding the boat and may make them question why she has such a negative attitude. This gives the effect of making the audience intrigued about her past.

Cameron uses binary opposition of light and dark in the extract from Titanic through colour. In the extract Rose’s fiancé is wearing dark colours, this connotes dullness and perhaps a boring character. Conversely Rose is wearing much brighter colours, this connotes an adventurous character. Furthermore Rose’s mum wears a green dress, the colour green is symbolic to connote jealousy. The audience may believe it to be jealousy of Rose and her youth, the colour green also connotes wealth which ensures that the audience understand that this is a rich family.

In addition to this Cameron uses binary opposition through music to reinforce the opposition of attitudes between Rose and Jack. When rose enters the boat Cameron plays slow, elegant music in the background which contradicts the Irish folk music playing in the background when Jack is running to board the boat in time. The indexical sign of the demur music when Rose boards the boat connotes her character and way of life. Compared to the fast tempo of the background music when Jack boards the boat. This connotes energy and chaos and highlights his adventurous character and risky way of life. This means that the audience can understand how Rose and Jack work in opposition to eachother to create an interesting relationship.

There is a clear sense of structure within this extract from Titanic. There are two scenes in this extract. The first is where the audience meets Rose the female protagonist, the audience understands her class and gets an impression of her character. The second scene then introduces the audience to Jack, the male protagonist. Jack gives the audience the impression that he is an anti-hero due to his gambling in the extract which connotes that he may has a risky personality. The overall opening to this film is very traditional of the Hollywood Studio System (Introducing the male and female protagonist in the first two scenes). It could be argued that there is another sense of structure whereby each time a new location is presented a new character is presented along with it.

Finally in this extract from Titanic, Cameron uses binary opposition to establish the difference between grateful and ungrateful attitudes. When we are introduced to Rose’s fiancé is looks up to the boat and smiles, this denotes his happiness of being able to board this ship. Similarly when Jack wins the tickets to board the boat the audience can clearly see how ecstatic he is due to his reaction. Rose’s facial expressions were completely opposite which shows how from the start of the film Rose as a character works in opposition to many of the other characters.    

Semiotics

Another thing I have learnt in my lessons is semiotics, this is the study of signs and meaning. I already mentioned Iconography in a previous post which is about the symbols and visual images used in a form of art, media etc. and semiotics links to this very well. There are three kinds of signs in semiotics:

- Iconic Signs: These actually look like what they represent
- Symbolic/arbitrary signs: These have a meaning that must be learned because they do not look like what they represent.
- Indexical signs: These have a connection to what they represent and are suggestive instead of directly resembling what they represent.

We have been learning about these signs because understanding them will extend our analytical skills at a later date and aid us when we make our own work.

What is Genre?

What Have I Learnt About Genre?

Throughout my learning I have learnt that genre is a way of categorising films, books, music etc. Audiences recognise genre in films through different conventions such as:
- Visual Imagery
- The Plot
- Character
- Setting
- Music and stars
- Modes of narrative development
-Iconography

Audiences also play a huge part in deciding what genres film makers should create a film about because they are partly open systems which should stay the same to give the audience a sense of familiarity. However must include some form of variation to keep the audience interested. This is where the genre cycle fits in, and it works by adapting films to attract and keep audiences entertained overtime. People like to know what type of film they are going to see as they find a sense of comfort in it and find familiar genres appealing. On the other hand it could be argued that genres are simply just rigid and unchanging stereotypes. I, however have learnt that genre is never static and is continually evolving and overlapping. Hyrbrid genre is an example of how genre has evolved because it allows film producers to mix more than one genre together such as romance and comedy, better known as rom-coms. This allows film producers to adapt genre to create a never-ending list of new genres to keep audiences entertained, due to the fact most genres individually have a limited shelf-life. I also believe that hybrid-genre allows film produces to reach a wider audience attracting people they wouldn't normally, such as by mixing romance and horror to create a romantic horror. You are then reaching out to two different audiences that might both now be interested in seeing your film.

Although films vary individually when you look at them as a whole you will find they tend to all have a similar narrative and structure. Therefore some people argue genre isn't that important and could infact be non-existent completely. From my learning I disagree with this statement, although it is a very strong argument, I believe genre is still surviving due to film producers continually reproducing new experiences for audiences and breaking down genre into sub-genre. For example Science-Fiction can be broken down into:
- Time Travel
- Aliens
- Space
These are all sub-genres because 'science-fiction' is so broad. 

Overall I have learnt that genre is important to the film industry because film making is so expensive, therefore it allows them to provide audiences with novelty as well as new experiences therefore limiting the risk aspect in making a film.

My Main Task

The titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes. All video audio material must be original, produced by the candidates, with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source.