Genre research homework for A2 media

1. FILM GENRE RESEARCH
BY CALLUM MCDONNELL

2. GENRE
The genre in which we will be doing will be a teen thriller movie. This
means that the actual genre of the movie will be a thriller movies as
it will contain a very tense storyline throughout the movie but will
also feature a lot of teens and the main characters will all be teens
meaning that the movie will be a mix of the two genres, teen and
thriller and will be the subgenre of teen thriller movies. An example
of another teen thriller movies would be the scream movies, but our
movies would be less horror and more thriller. You could also relate
the film to the movie the girl on the train. This is because it has a
similar storyline as well as it also being a thriller. It is similar within
the story line as both our film and the girl on the train film contains
a girl going missing.

3. SETTING
Typically in teen films and teen thriller movies the typical setting for these types of movies would
be set around school or around typical teenager areas such as parties, there homes or parks.
Whereas to contradict it thriller movies can be set anywhere and have no particular location or
setting. Typically though in thriller movies the location or setting tends to have a strong
atmosphere of tension and usually has a place of danger or fear within the film.
On the left shows a scene from the movie, the girl on the
train. A typical convention of thriller movies is included in
this from showing a setting related to danger and fear. A
tunnel is typically a scary place for a lot of people as it is
dark and secretive.

4. SETTING
This is the setting for the movie scream set at
a school. This is a typical convention of teen
movies and school areas featured in the
majority of teen movies.
This is another scene from the girl
on the train. This is a setting that
tends to be typically associated
with thriller movies as the setting
has a lot of tension and fear. Crime
scenes portray that something bad
has happened and have negative
connotations. Also the tension
usually is built up to this point as
no body knows what has gone on.

5. CHARACTER
Typically in teen horror/ thriller movies there a similar characters
within each film and tend to have typical characters within each
genre of these films. From the genre being teen thrillers then the
majority of the main characters tend to be teenagers. This typically
means that the protagonist is almost always a teenager but isn't
always the same for the antagonist. Typically in teen horrors the
main characters and the protagonist tend to be relatable nice
characters. This is so that you can root for them and support
them like your meant to, within the film.
In teen horror/thrillers the same type of characters tend to show
up with one of the main characters always being a female victim.
They tend to be portrayed in these films as vulnerable, and
attractive to apply to create a male gaze and apply to a wider
male audience. On the left shows the female which is used in
the teen horror film Final Destination 5.

6. CHARACTER
In teen thrillers and horror there is always a hero who is typically
a strong male character which shows little fear or emotion within
the film. Although occasionally they have changed the protagonist
to a female to mix it up. They are often the one in which tries
to save the rest of the group from trouble or danger and often
goes after the antagonist of the movie. On the right shows the
male hero in the movie scream 3 when he attempts to kill the
antagonist of the movie. He also follows stereotypes as he is
shown to be strong and muscular.
I would say that the particular representations of this genre, teen
horror/thriller, would tend to be that females are mostly presented as
being weak and vulnerable whereas males are shown to be strong and the
hero in most cases. This was previously the main stereotype and is still is in
some of these types of films but recently there has been more changes to
make the film more unpredictable where a female has been the hero etc.

7. NARRATIVE
• Typical in thriller movies the storyline is usually based around a mystery and
typically within the film the main characters and the protagonist will attempt to
unravel the mystery. This is what we will attempt to do in our film where we will
try and discover a mystery.
• Some narrative devices that might be followed during thriller/horror movies will
most likely be tension carried out throughout the whole film. This means that
during the film tension will raised so that the audience feel constantly on edge
and are often waiting for the end to reveal the mystery.

8. NARRATIVE
Here shows the narrative from the thriller/horror movie
shutter island. In this we can see two detectives coming into
an prison to try and reveal a mystery
The genre in which we are doing is a mix
of thriller horror and teen. This means that
typically films within the thriller genre tend
to follow sometimes follow the particular
narrative structure of having mystery and
trying to solve it. This being said
occasionally thriller movies tend to change
it up and are usually fairly unpredictable.

9. ICONOGRAPHY
• Many elements are iconic with teen
thriller/horror movies and when noticed can
be easily recognizable to the audience and
portray the genre clearly. A main visual
element which could be considered as iconic
within thriller movies would be shadows. This
is because typically shadows portray mystery,
fear and danger and is often linked to this
genre of films as well as horror because of
this. This is also a mystery as when a shadow
is shown it shows someone is there but you
don’t know who it is.
Nosferatu is the horror film which
used a shadow and is shown above
where it has been used to create
fear, mystery and suspense within
the movie.

10. ICONOGRAPHY
• An iconic diegetic sound that might be linked to thriller movies
could be a gunshot. This is because typically a gunshot
indicates death and danger and thee things are typically
included within thriller movies. Also in thriller movies there is
often a gun shot used but without any visuals to create the
mystery of who's has been shot or who was shooting the gun.
• Another iconic sound which could link to thrillers and horror
could be whispering. This is because it indicated and connotes
secrets and a mystery and is often the reason in which it is
linked to thriller movies.

11. STYLE
Camerawork
- High angle shots are often used within thriller movies. This is
because they make the person within the shot look weak and
vulnerable and is often used for the victim of the thriller movies.
- the next camera shot which is often used within thriller movies
would be over the shoulder shot. These are used a lot in thriller
movies as they allow the audience to experience what the character is
seeing and from that it creates tension and suspense through this.
This can be illustarted in the thriller movie, Shutter island, where we
can see a over the shoulder shot being used to experience the
characters point of view.

12. STYLE
• Within thriller movies lighting tends to be fairly dark with using low key lighting a
lot. Low key lighting is mostly used within the tense and dramatic scenes to make
the audience more weary of the situation. It is commonly used in thriller and
horror movies as sometimes it can hide the identity of the characters making a
mysterious feeling within the film.
• For thrillers/horror movies the common sounds which are used within the film
would most likely be dramatic and tense non diegetic music to build up tension
within the movie and often leads up to something.