Films are often defined into what are
known as ‘genres’ based on particular characteristics or attributes that means
the film qualifies into fitting the Codes and Conventions that are typically
seen or are otherwise expected to be seen in that ‘genre’ of film. The word
‘genre’ is basically a more sophisticated way of saying ‘group.’ Grouping films
into particular ‘genres’ as such; is another way of grouping a text based on
its defining characteristics. As an example of how this is able to work, below
is an analysis of a film opening fitting the codes and conventions seen in the
Horror genre, The Devil Inside and
how I think it meets the Codes and Conventions of the Horror genre.
The opening of the Horror movie, The Devil Inside conforms to the Codes
and Conventions of the Horror genre by dramatically building up suspense in the
opening sequence of the film. Conforming
to the Codes and Conventions of the Horror film genre, the film opening remains
sparse with regards to the opening credits; naming only the studio responsible
for producing the film and with it the associated production companies. The
opening sequence of the Devil Inside
conforms to the typical codes and conventions of the Horror film genre by
dramatically building suspense and increasing tension levels for the audience
members. This is an attribute of film openings most commonly placed within the
Horror genre. The film opens with a
black screen displaying the transcript of a 911 emergency telephone
conversation between the operator of the 911 call centre and Maria Rossi who
speaks on the phone with a certain assertive, deep masculine undertone, hinting
at the fact that the caller is no longer a woman but has been inhibited and
possessed by a demonic essence turning her mental state towards evil, corrupt and
murderous intentions. This is perhaps done to enlighten the viewer on the
contextual setting that is placed before them at the beginning of the film. It
could also be used in that it may be alluring to the fact that the case is
historic or pivotal in some way. This is supported further in the fact that the
first actual film footage that the viewer sees is handheld camera shots transpiring
to be that of a police archive video to add further weight to the fact that the
case being shown is of significant historical weighting.
The fact that the film’s first few
shots are POV shots gives a personal feel to the piece and a feeling that the
viewer is trapped or confined, a feeling echoed by the police officers before
they are killed. The fact that the
police officers are confined/ trapped gives a feeling to the viewer that
through the POV footage escape is incomprehensible and they will be subjected
to viewing the misfortunate and grim fates bestowed upon the police officers.
The film opening adheres to the
conventions of the Horror movie genre as it builds up tension and suspense in a
steadily increasing way.
Film openings differ in their required
conventions from genre to genre, and at times can take the rule book of Codes
and Conventions and completely invert it. An example of this is the film opening of the
thriller, ‘Enduring Love’ not only is it a strange title for a thriller- as it
would be easy for the unsuspecting viewer to incorrectly assume that the film
was that of a romantic theme, the opening is atypical to the Codes and
Conventions of the thriller genre to say the least. However, the opening of the
movie is quick to discern viewers of the film’s presumed themes. Whilst the
opening shots of the movie connote feelings of serenity, calm and a general
feeling of tranquillity in the green space of the natural countryside, tension
is steadily created, in a not too dissimilar way from that of the Horror film, The Devil Inside, by instilling in the
beginning of the film, only diegetic, natural sound being audible in the
background of the film of birdsong. This puts the viewer on a tentative edge as
it leaves the audience questioning what will happen. The setting of the film
opening, in its tranquil and natural peaceful state of affairs does a lot in
the way of increasing the tension levels for audience members, as the only
noticeable sound is the non-diegetic, although intended to be diegetic, sound
of birdsong filling the air with calm. This creates for the viewer a natural
feeling that dictates the mood of the piece as calm. The non-diegetic sound of
birdsong also foreshadows the tension increasing moments that will undoubtedly
follow in the film opening, such as the balloon crash landing in the field,
this creates a sense of the calm before the storm, with the birdsong acting as
the serene calm, whilst the climactic moment of the film opening, the balloon
crashing to the field floor dictates itself as the ‘storm’ which the characters
must confront and face as they live with the burdening guilt of deciding which
one of them who tried to save the balloon’s infant occupant let their grip
loosen and let go at a premature stage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LOwFOvKBG8
In this trinity of genres, there
remains one more to divulge and explore and that of course is the genre of
which the majority of our focus as a group lies. This genre is that of Social
Realism, a genre that through the self- asserting title aims to replicate the
experience of living, often in poverty stricken and wealth deprived areas, in
modern 21st Century Britain. Notable
examples from this genre of film include the all-time classic Trainspotting as well as the perhaps
less well known This is England,
using these two film openings as guidance towards orienting our own film
opening, we took inspiration from these two films as guidance towards what we
wished our own film opening to connote. But first remains the frivolous task of
identifying what makes these two film openings such perfect examples and
therefore unquestionably fantastic ambassadors for flying the flag of the
‘Social Realism’ film genre as a whole.
Let’s start with Trainspotting, one of
my favourite films and a film opening to increase the heart rate by a mile if
ever there was one. The opening within the first few seconds; is quick to
demonstrate the harsh, urban, gritty reality of living conditions in the
underbelly of Edinburgh. The opening is extremely fast paced, beginning with a
chase scene, with quick cuts in between the shots to demonstrate the frantic
panic that ‘Renton’ the protagonist is enduring in the opening seconds of the
film as he believes that he is being chased. The excitement comes from the fact
that as audience members, we, the collective viewer, are totally unawares as to
why Renton the protagonist is being so ruthlessly pursued in the opening of the
film. The shots used within the opening
of the film feature low angle shots of running feet, which during the first few
shots of the film fills the audience with a sensation of anonymous identity .
These shots then subsequently cut to a
tracking mid shot where we see the main character Mark Renton and his friend
‘Spud’ running from security guards, with a look of panicked fear spread across
their faces which complements the general feeling of excitement that the
audience at this particular moment are probably feeling as immediate questions
are raised about whom and why the protagonists are seen to be running.
The
soundtrack is a humorous commentary from Mark Renton, the protagonist of the
film as he recounts to the viewer the choices made in ‘life’; this enlightens
the viewer on the contextual environment of the piece and also wins over the
audience to Renton’s way of thinking and his fractured mind, impacted from the
heavy use of drugs later explored in the film opening.
The opening combats the effects of drug
use and is quick to demonstrate the harmful effects that taking drugs can have
on the body and the hardships the human body has to endure when having drugs
fuelled into the internal system of the human body.
In contrast to the film opening of Trainspotting, the film, This is England deals with the effects
of poverty within the late 20th Century of Britain, a hard hitting
and grim confrontation for the viewer
The film also incorporates into its opening, a snapshot of the rich history that has adjourned Britain’s political and social scene over the years. This includes technological advancements over the years from early computer games and games consoles, to the division created by Margaret Thatcher’s controversial and divisive political policies. This is displayed and evoked in the opening by the mid shot of Thatcher in a digger showing how she was practical in pushing forward her policies.
The opening also features periods of
historical importance such as the wedding in Westminster Abbey of Prince
Charles and Princess Diana.
As well as these historical scenes
featuring within the opening there is a prominent feature of patriarchal
patronage and homage being paid to Britain’s long established and enduring
history, which perhaps represents a sense of pride that the filmmakers of this
social realism film felt so inclined to replicate to make known their love for
their great country before representing the widely endured and not uncommon dilapidating
and weathered front of middle class households commonly seen within poverty
stricken and economically deprived areas.
Poverty, and its disastrous
effects of a lack of economic and social wellbeing, spreads like an infecting
disease crippling everything in its destructive wake. This is the arduous
message communicated in the opening of This
is England as whilst a snapshot of British history is explored as just
that, a snapshot, the less than desirable living conditions of the hording
masses that make up the majority of the population in the world of the film,
the working class, are areas that are represented and shown to the viewer in an
eye opening way of being extremely volatile and as an area widely disconcerted
from the rest of society, almost as if it has been swept under the rug by those
with self -initiated power turning a blind eye to those in need. This is demonstrated
effectively but simply in the fact that the camera through the tracking shot of
the deprived areas moves at a brisk pace with little or no interruption in its
progression of visually mapping the environment for the viewer.
This works to the films advantage as
the audience already feels an emotional connection to the characters in the
film, even if they have as yet, at this moment in the film’s opening, to be
introduced. A sense of comradeship is
also strongly developed within the film opening as the environment created
within the film opening is one of a violent and sickened area, one where those
who possess the more privileged stature and influence in a diplomatic society
would aim to stray from.
I believe that the reason for the show-
reel, for want of a better word, was intended to be placed at the beginning of
the film as a quick blast and to showcase relatively little screen time for the
rich, influential and powerful in a contrast to news broadcasting seen in
everyday life as all of the focus and media targeting tends to be geared
towards this particular group of people. I believe the film acts as a mouthpiece
for those of a lower social class origin and background as a way of expressing
their views without being oppressed even if the film has been constructed as a permeated,
heavily influenced construction of reality.
Finally, despite the greatness and the
enduring fan-bases that the two films I have just described will always
inevitably possess and hold dear, how do they fit the Codes and Conventions of
the social realism genre? As it turns out, quite well!
Films of the Social Realism genre
typically include:
·
Location Shooting (not studio or
constructed sets.) Both the film Trainspotting
and This is England use natural,
location settings to further enhance the authenticity of the original works,
making both pieces more inspiring in equal measure by using real locations to
further heighten the issues raised within the films, making the aimed
communicative message in the media text more real and apparent to the viewer.
·
Non- Professional Actors or new
comers to the acting ‘scene.’ This is another area of the social realism film
genre in which both films excel and surpass regular expectation levels. Social
Realism films have helped to launch the acting careers of several well- known ‘stars’,
such as Ewan McGregor who, through his appearance in the social realism film Trainspotting, was able to springboard his
acting career and leapfrog other competitors to more name-making roles. His
notable other appearances in film series’ since include that of the famous Star
Wars saga where he appeared as Jedi master Obi- Wan Kenobi in the prequel
trilogy to great critical and public acclaim.
·
Semi- improvised scripts. This
is a fantastic opportunity for actors appearing in Social Realism films as it
allows them to explore in great depth and creativity their performance and
explore more to their characterisation by being allowed the freedom to semi-
improvise portions of the film which can have an extremely positive effect upon
the outcome of a scene that is being filmed. As it is common practice in the
acting profession and the media world at large for that matter to be directed
by the script, freedom within the world of film is a rare yet tantalisingly
exciting opportunity for directors, actors and audience members.
·
Both humour and seriousness,
which provides an obvious contrast. Humour and seriousness provides obvious,
opposing contrasts to one another as they remain on opposite ends of the
spectrum with regards to human emotion. It is often extremely interesting to
explore both sides to individuals within a story as this provides countless new
opportunities for character development to take place as well as the
possibility of allowing the free-flow of the story in an exciting new
direction.
·
The erosion of regional
identities, breaking down of social stereotypes. Interestingly this is one
particular convention which both films consistently fail to follow as regional
identities are represented, and largely stereotypically at that. However, I
feel that, if anything, this all but adds to the overall effectiveness of the
films and further aids to strengthen the messages that through the world of
film they wish to promote.
·
Wider Social issues explored by
emotional and dramatic individual stories. This provides a deeper layer of
contextual meaning and understanding to any film and links to personal
characters in a very individualised way as they try to confront and overcome
personal demons and innocuous hindrances that lead to them being free of
burdens that anchor them to a degrading, pitiful level.
·
Triumph over adversity. This an
area that both films aim to adhere to as a way of making the films more relatable
to audience members and through including this theme within the films aim to
promote the fact that social issues (i.e: drug use in Trainspotting and Renton aiming to overcome his addiction), or
financial issues and depravity (explored effectively in This is England), or any issue for that matter should neither
impede nor disrupt personal development and a quest to happiness. Whilst in the
films of a Social Realism nature, there is no binary opposition, good –v- evil
battle to speak of, there are however personal quests and journeys that the
characters, often a small community, aim to accomplish or overcome.
It is through the multiple ways in which the genre
conventions have been applied and riguourously stuck to; that has, in part,
helped to contribute to the success of the two ideological films of the Social
Realism Genre. I, for one, will be extremely proud if our piece replicates or
immitates if only in part either of these two genre inspiring, game changing films.
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