The document discusses the conventions of the sci-fi and drama genres and how they combine in a sci-fi drama genre. For sci-fi, conventions include unknown technology, anti-government narratives, quick cuts for intensity, characters as plot devices, and pacing linked to action. For drama, conventions are narratives based on social events, climaxes and anti-climaxes to trigger emotion, emotional rather than physical disequilibrium, and using realistic dramatic events. By combining believable sci-fi aspects with drama's realism, the document argues a sci-fi drama can create tension from audience support for relatable protagonists facing social problems.

1. Conventions of a Genre
In this presentation I will be looking at the conventions of the genres that we will using in
our production. Our production’s genre is a Sci-Fi Drama and we have therefore looked into
the separate genres of Sci-Fi and Drama. We also looked into how these two genres fit
together to hybridize into their own genre.

2. Conventions of the Sci-Fi Genre
The Sci-Fi genre has many attributes which add up to create a correct and professional
production. Sci-Fi is often built upon the audience not understanding certain aspects such as
technology, but the idea of the technology existing still being plausible. Here are several
other conventions of the sci-fi genre.
•They often include unknown elements such as technology, creatures or weapons
•The narrative is often anti-government, and the government is usually the antagonist
•Quick cuts are used to amplify the intensity of a given situation
•Characters are often secondary to the plot, and even then are usually seen as pawns
•The pacing is directly linked to the action in the narrative
All these attributes give Sci-Fi its futuristic and tense style which keep the audience on the
edge of their seats. We will incorporate several of these elements, mainly those to do with
pacing and cutting in our production to create the same tense atmosphere for our own
work. We will also create an unknown element, in our case being our antagonist which is an
unknown corporation, in order to stick to these conventions.

3. Conventions of the Drama Genre
The drama genre, whilst being very different to the Sci-Fi genre, links in very well with the
Sci-Fi genre as it focuses on realism. The characters are also easy to relate to and therefore
cause the audience to feel empathy towards the main characters as they can relate to the
situations that they are in. They also use:
•Narratives that are often based around social events
•Climaxes and anti-climaxes to trigger emotion within the audience
•The disequilibrium may not always be physical, and is mostly emotional
•It uses realistic yet dramatic events to emotionally effect the audience
These conventions help to create tension and make the audience feel empathetic towards
the characters within a narrative. This is key for our production, as we want the audience to
not just watch the journey our protagonist goes on, but go on the journey with him. We will
use sufficient character development to make our protagonist easy to relate to and use
common social predicaments to make the audience understand the difficulty associated
with problems that the protagonist encounters.

4. Conclusion
•We believe that a Sci-Fi Drama would be a good hybrid genre due to the genres making it
up going well together. Because good Sci-Fi is based on believability, and Drama is based on
realism, the two go hand in hand when creating an excellent narrative. We can use the
realism of the Drama genre to create believability within our Sci-Fi aspects, and can make a
very alien scenario of a post-apocalyptic world seem familiar based on the problems the
protagonist encounters within it.
The tension required in a Sci-Fi film can be heightened by the audience’s support for the
character, as they don’t want them to fail. If we can correctly portray our protagonist,
tension and suspense will be a lot more effective to the audience. Our disequilibrium should
also be on a social level to some degree, whether it be emotional consequences due to
choices the protagonist has to make, or the way their choices affect other people.
All this information is extremely helpful in finding links between the two genres and also in
planning how we can use those links in our production.