This document outlines the key elements and characteristics of different film genres including action, horror, drama, sci-fi, musical, comedy and adventure films. It lists common tropes found in each genre such as fights and explosions in action films, monsters and death in horror films, emotions and character development in dramas, aliens and futuristic technology in sci-fi films, singing and dancing in musicals, humor and jokes in comedies, and exotic locations and battles in adventure films. Examples of popular movies in each genre are also provided.

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Guns
Fighting
Explosions
Cars
Villain
Hero
Fast sound track
(non-diegetic)
• Knives/weapons
Action films usually include high energy, big-budget physical stunts and chases,
possibly with rescues, battles, fights, escapes, destructive crises (floods, explosions,
natural disasters, fires, etc. The rhythm and pacing is usually fast. They are
adventurous, often two-dimensional 'good-guy' battling 'bad guys' - all designed for
pure audience escapism. Some popular action movies are the James Bond films,
Transporter, Fast and Furious, Terminator and Die Hard.

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Blood
Death
Monsters
Vitim
Villain
Dark colours
Creepy
soundtrack (nondiegetic)
• Bad weather
• Dark/dull setting.
Horror films are designed to frighten and to invoke our worst fears, often in a
terrifying, shocking finale, while captivating and entertaining us at the same
time in a cathartic experience. Horror films feature a wide range of styles, from
the earliest silent Nosferatu classic, to today's CGI monsters and deranged
humans. They are often combined with Science Fiction when a monster is
related to a corruption of technology, or when Earth is threatened and over
run by aliens. Some popular horror films are A Nightmare On Elm Street, Texas
Chainsaw Massacre, The Exorcist, The Hills Have Eyes and Stephen King’s IT.

4. • Emotions
• Main character
• Dramatic
events
• Soundtrack to
fit the
mood/theme
• Love
• Upset/crying
• Variety of
colours
Dramas are serious, plot-driven presentations, portraying realistic characters,
settings, life situations, and stories involving intense character development
and interaction. Some drama’s are romantic, others can be biographical.
Usually, they are not focused on special-effects, comedy, or action, Dramatic
films are probably the largest film genre, with many subsets.

5. • Action
• Abnormal
creatures/aliens
• Explosions
• Attacks on earth
• Space
• Planets
• Stars
• Bright and dark
colours
• Mysterious
soundtrack
(non-diegetic)
Sci-fi films are often quasi-scientific, visionary and imaginative - complete with
heroes, aliens, distant planets, impossible quests, improbable settings, fantastic
places, great dark and shadowy villains, futuristic technology, unknown and
unknowable forces, and extraordinary. Science fiction often expresses the potential of
technology to destroy humankind. They are sometimes an offshoot of fantasy films
and they share some similarities with both action and adventure films. Some popular
sci-fi films are Alien, Avatar, District 9, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Total Recall and
The Planet Of The Apes.

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Dancing
Singing
Laughing
Drama
Bright Lights
Variety of
Sunny/ good
whether
• Happy
Musical films are cinematic forms that emphasize full-scale scores or song and
dance routines in a significant way (usually with a musical or dance performance
integrated as part of the film narrative), or they are films that are centred on
combinations of music, dance, song or choreography. Some popular Musicals are
Chicago, Hairspray, Mamma Mia, Grease, High School Musical and Fame.

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Happy
Arguments
humour
fast/happy
soundtrack (nondiegetic)
Main characters
Love/hate
relationships
Emotions
Jokes
Laughing
Comedies are light-hearted plots consistently and deliberately designed to amuse and
provoke laughter through jokes and one liners. Also by exaggerating the situation, the
language, action, relationships and characters. The story lines/plot are usually formed
to be amusing which gives it the right atmosphere when you then add the funny
characters. Some popular comedy films are The Hangover, American Pie, Brides Maids,
Shaun Of The Dead and Borat.

8. • Travelling
• Fighting
• Main character
(good guy)
• Varity of
settings
• Interesting
scenery
• motivating/excit
ing soundtrack
• Good and bad
weather
Adventure films are usually exciting stories, with new experiences and exotic
locations, very similar to or often paired with the action film genre. They can include
searches or expeditions for lost continents, "jungle" and "desert" epics, treasure
hunts, disaster films, or searches for the unknown. Some popular adventure films
are Indiana Jones, The Lone Ranger, Lord Of The Rings, The Hunger Games and The
Hobbit.