genre signifiers, characters, setting and narrative

1. Identifying Genre Signifiers
Ted
Ted Himself: The character himself is a strong signifier because it indicates that
it is going to be a comedy/fantasy type movie.
The Situation: It is also important to try and introduce what the problem might
be early on so that way we can see what is happening, this can open different
ways to put funny situations in.
Humour: One of the simplest things to tell if it is a comedy is when jokes or
adult humour is made, this is normally introduced very early on in the movie to
give the audience a taste of what’s to come and keep them engaged with the
film.
Props: Props are another way to show how a situation is going to play out, and
with comedy it’s normally unusual items which are shown to show the
audience that give them the idea of what will happen. (Like in the trailer it
shows them using a bong which shows straight away that funny things will
start to happen)
Funny Music: in the trailer they use amusing music that adds to the scene to
make it more amusing for the audience; this is very common in comedies and
does add to the scenes humour to make it seem funnier.
Characters: The characters in the trailer are shown off as their younger self’s
for a brief moment but then revealed as their adult self’s (or whatever you call
a grown up teddy) they are right away portrayed as close friends as they are
both seen smoking drugs and talking about johns relationship, you can also see
that john is the one who has a job while ted seems to sit around.
Setting: The setting in the trailer is normally bright open places, these are
normally found in comedies as they are always the best place to film things
happen because they are not going to be full of action and are mainly about
the jokes that are in the scene.
Narrative: The narrative of this trailer clearly builds you the story of what is
going to happen and does so in a comedic way to keep viewers laughing while
also being able to show the main plot of the story

2. 22 Jump Street
Undercover cops: Undercover cop movies can mean anything depending on
the setting they are put in, in this case they are put in a college which from
here you can see that it is going to be a comedy.
Party’s: With parties, they normally mean comedy, and a central theme in this
movie is “Spring Break” which is a huge party and these are normally linked to
comedy movies.
Drug Bust: Drugs are normally assorted into action movies, but when a new
drug is created and put into the move then it can become different, as this can
link to comedy by the drug name or what it can do to a person can make it
easier to see what genre it is.
Characters: you can see right away from the beginning of the trailer that they
are very close friends as they have both previously busted a huge drug case
and are now moving on to a new one, you can see that Jenko is the large
muscular one who is the more active of the two and Schmidt is the smarter
one from this we can understand that it is the brains and the brawn situation
between the two and can also give you a little in sight on how the movie is
going to play out.
Setting: Setting in this movie does vary but not too much, it changes from a
secret cop headquarters to a teenage scene which is a spring break party and
college, these are all well-lit and have lots of things going on around them as
well as themselves to help give the audience a better understanding of what’s
going on.
Narrative: From this trailer, there is not much story building to do, they give
you a good idea already that this another drug bust in another school scene
scenario from here they just give you scenes on the exciting action to come
while just trying to simply find a supplier.
Bad Neighbours
Family: This is based around a generic family who has one daughter; these are
normally what comedies include as this can pave the way for many problems
to occur and thus creating comedy.

3. Pranks: in the trailer they use lots of pranks (one in particular using a car air
bag to shoot a person into the air) pranks are a huge signifier for comedy
because pranks are normally there to make the audience laugh, this is an
obvious signifier for comedy.
Fraternity: an fraternity is a brotherhood, in this case it is literally that, but this
is one made for partying, this can show to the audience that this is a signifies
this is not serious and is a joke, this signifies that this Is a comedy.
Characters: In this movie you can see that the characters oppose each other,
to start there are three main characters, Mac and Kelly Radner and Teddy
Sanders, these are the main 3 in the movie. From seeing Mac and Kelly in the
beginning of the trailer you can see that they have just had a daughter and are
trying to live a quiet happy life, they have good jobs and are trying to god for
their daughter. Teddy you can see that he is part of Fraternity, who want to do
nothing but party and live young, you can see that he does nothing but party,
this conflicts with the two and thus creating a rivalry between them.
Setting: The setting for most of the movie would most likely be based in each
person’s homes which they both live in, there are a few scenes with them
going out of this but the majority of the move will be based in the open spaced
neighbourhood, it is always well lit and is never really dark due to the
fraternity’s parties, this can be good for the camera shots because there is
more detail when it is bright.
Narrative: You can see the movies story right away because it is mentioned as
soon as the fraternity moves in when the worried couple are going over a
cooler way to try and get them to keep the noise down, this implies that they
do not intend for a bad relationship but would like them to be quiet so that
their daughter can sleep.