1. Analysis of Genre: Lacey’s Repertoire of Elements
Emma Upton
In hisbook Narrative andGenre: Key Conceptsin MediaStudies,(Palgrave,Macmillan),NickLacey
definesgenre elementsasconstitutingthe 5keyareasbelow:
 setting
 character
 narrative
 iconography
 style
Whenanalysingtexts,use Lacey’srepertoire of genre elementsasa guide.Fill inthe boxesbelow,
makingnotesonthe genre conventionsthatyousee
Genre elements Conventions
Setting- mise enscene/
location
Establishinglongwideshotof New Yorkcityskyline,aconventionof
actionthrillersistheyare setinlarge cities,verycommonlyNew York
City.
Firstshot of maincharacter involveshimbeingsatat bar, drinkingalone,
thenactionbeginsimmediatelywithshotsbeingfiredandcarcrash. This
isanotherconventionof actionthrillerfilms,because there isclearaction
goingon that startsveryquickly,the conventionbeingthe filmisfast
pacedaction.
Car crash in the firstfew secondsof the trailer,againshowingfastpaced
action,whichisagain a conventionof anactionthrillerfilm.
Characters –
representations,
stereotypes,behaviour,
bodylanguage,specific
actors/stars
Protagonist– the hero(LiamNeeson)
Antagonist–the villain
A commonconventionof actionthrillerfilmsistheymostalwaysinclude
a protagonistandone or more antagonist.Withthisfilmwe see Liam
Neesonstaringasthe protagonist,thisactoris an extremelywell known
actionthrillerfilmstar,andisverywell knownforhisrole inTaken,and
Taken2. Because he isso well knownforthese previousfilms,italready
suggestshe isthe protagonistinthisfilmashe hasbeenwiththe others.
Narrative events–how
isthe narrative ordered
and structured?
Is itelliptical/enigmatic
(elementsleftoutto
intrigue/entice the
audience)
The narration tothis trailerbeginswiththe protagonistexplaininghis
past career,and how he movedontohiscurrentoccupation,froma
regularpolice officertoa private,unlicensed‘detective’,basicallyahit
man.
A conventionof ausual detective storyline involvesavoice over,which
theyinvolve inthe trailer.
The trailergivesenoughinformationtomake itclearwhatthisfilmwill
involve byusingthe typical conventions,howeverthe use of the fast
editingandshortclipsputtogetherstill leavethe audienceintriguedand
wantingtosee more.

2. Analysis of Genre: Lacey’s Repertoire of Elements
Emma Upton
Name of text:A Walk Among The Tombstones Genre:Action Thriller
Target Audience:I thinkthe targetaudience forthisfilmislowertomiddle classmalesaroundthe
age of 15-35, because itis an actionthrillerfilm,whichismore appealingtomales.The producer
probablylookedatthe targetaudience forthe filmsTakenandTaken2, whichhas quite a similar
plotalongwithusingthe same mainactor as the protagonist.
Iconography –Well
knownor recognisable
people/objects/buildings
mise enscene/props,
costume,setting,
symboliccodes
The firstclipwas the skyline of New YorkCity, averywell knownand
recognizable city.
Throughoutthe trailertoprotagonistiswearingthe same or verysimilar
longbrowncoat he waswearingwhenhe wasa police officertowhenhe
isa hitman, thiscouldbe a reference tothe fact he still wantstodo
‘good’bykillingthe antagonistswhokidnapandkillthe girls.
The young girl whoisbeingwatchedbythe antagonists,iswearinga
brightredcoat, thiscouldbe a reference tothe childhoodtale of ‘little
redridinghood’showingherinnocence.
There are a few scenesincludedwhere itisraining orfoggy,used
typicallytorepresentmiseryandsadness.Forexample its veryfoggyand
mistywhentheywalkthrough the graveyard.
The sceneswhere the narrationbeginsare drainedof colour,almost
blackand white,thiscouldbe a reference tothe factthese sceneshave
happenedinthe past,like lookingata memoryof a past experience.
STYLE: Technical and
audio codes– camera
use,editing,
diegetic/nondiegetic
sound,sfx.Mise en
scene/lighting,colour
The non diegeticsoundsthatare playedthroughoutthe trailerare used
to buildsuspensebybecomingmore andmore intense whenaformof
actionis aboutto happen.Usuallyfollowedbyaloudbang (non diegetic)
or shot,whenthe actionhappens.
The editof the trailerisfastpaced,usingshort,mostlyactionfilledclips
editedtogetherveryquickly,thisisanotherconventionof actionthriller
films,tobuildsuspense.
Summarise how the above helpsto define genre inthe text
The trailerfor thisfilmisveryconventional tothe actionthrillergenre,andfollowsmanyaction
thrillerconventions.ItincludesLiamNeesonasthe maincharacterand protagonist,whohasstarred
inotherwell knownactionthriller,kidnappingfilmslike TakenandTaken2,whichhe is extremely
well knownfor.Manyactionthrillerstake place ina large busycity,verycommonlyNew YorkCity,
whichisfeaturedinthistrailer,anotherconventionof anactionthrillerfilm.Anothercommon
conventionof actionthrillerfilmsisthatmost,if notall,actionthrillerfilmsthere isaprotagonist
and one or more antagonists,whichthisfilmfeatures.The use of fastpacededitingwithshortcut
clips,alongwiththe loud,non diegeticsoundswhichbuildsupsuspensetointrigue the audience isa
commonconventionwithactionthrillerfilms,thistrailerfollowsthatconvention.

3. Analysis of Genre: Lacey’s Repertoire of Elements
Emma Upton
A lotof typical conventions of anaction
thrillerfilmisusedthroughoutthistrailer.
The use of the long,wide,establishingshot
of the New YorkCityskyline, isdefinitelya
conventionusedasmanyactionthriller
filmstake place withinlarge busypopular
cities,mostcommonlyused,NewYork
City. Thisalso a use of iconographywiththe iconicNew YorkCityskyline.
Momentsintothe trailerwe see a shot of
Liam Neesonsatdrinkingata bar alone.A
lotof actionscenesinactionthrillerfilms
involve ortake place withinabar,another
actionthrillerconventionused.Quickly
afterthisshot we see a gunsbeingfired
and a car crash. These actionfilled scenes
are verycommonwithinactionthriller
films,andare veryiconicfor actionthrillerfilms.Sothe use of the quicklystartingactionandthe set itsin
isdefinitelyaconventionof actionthrillerfilms. The factthese scenesare filmedwithouthardlyany
colour,almostblackand white,showsusthatit’sa memory,somethingthat’shappenedinthe past.
From the narrationusedbythe
protagonist,itinformsusof hishistory
and helpsthe audience understandwhy
he is doingwhathe currentlyis.This
definitelyhelpsappeal tothe audience
as it helpsthe audience understandthe
backgroundstoryprettyquicklyandit
helpsthe audience understandthe rest
of the trailermore clearly.

4. Analysis of Genre: Lacey’s Repertoire of Elements
Emma Upton
The use of these shortclipsbeingeditedtogether veryquicklyatnearthe endof the trailerandthe non-
diegeticsoundthatgetslouderwhenanactionhappens,buildsupsuspense.Thishelpsmake the
audience more andmore intriguedandmake themwhattofindout whathappensbygoingand watching
the film.