Generic Conventions- How are they shown in different genres of film openings?

Genre is a way of putting media texts into categories which share similar characteristics. Different film genres therefore use different generic conventions, which help the audience categorise what genre that particular film is in. Films of the same genres will therefore, usually, have similar generic conventions. For instance, one of the most popular generic conventions that we associate with a horror would be audio of screaming. This is also known as iconography.


Scream (1996)

 One of the films I looked at was Scream. The genre of this film is horror. At the very beginning we see a black screen, then red titles come up on the screen, this initial title comes up with the name of the film 'Scream'. It is red in colour which has connotations too blood and death, which are generic conventions of horror films. In the background we can hear audio of screaming sounds, and also we get the sound of a phone ringing. These aren't so conventional but all add to the effect of a horror film. From the off the film has low key lighting, this means that there are lots of shadows and the film looks very suspicious and scary from the off. We then hear the phone ring and the girl who is portrayed to be a 'dumb blonde' then answers the phone.

Answering the phone.

When she answers the phone we hear a creepy voice answer, again another stereotypical generic convention of horrors. At this point the camera is on a canted angle otherwise known as a Dutch tilt. This connotes unease and things not being quite right. This gives the audience a sense of tension and 'what's going to happen next, feeling. Next we hear audio of her being in the phone talking to the man, the conversation sounds awkward and she, at this point, has no real concerns and instead is quite intrigued as to who the man on the phone is. In the next two minutes we hear various different noises which are put in to build tension, these range from dogs barking to wind. When the man is on the phone, he start to worry the girl. He is also self referential of the genre by discussing the genre within. He repeatedly calls the woman back, whenever she answers, it appears as though she is in the shadows. This makes everything seem strange and worrying. At 2.18 a bombshell is dropped when the man on the phone says 'you never told me your name'. She replies saying 'Why'd you want to know my name?' He then replies saying 'because I want to know who I'm looking at'.

She turns the light on and looks outside after the man on the phone says 'because I want to know who I'm looking at'.

At this point, the whole situation becomes a lot more dramatic and we can see her emotions change completely. This is effectively portrayed by a zoom onto the face, which gives us a close up of the woman's face, allowing us to understand her emotions at this moment in time.  She is then very panicked by this and we see her pacing it around her house locking all of her doors. The use of expletives, body language and tone show us she is not only obviously very worries by now at every time the phone rings, but also annoyed that he keeps ringing her back. Her tone implies she is upset, her voice turns croaky and sounds as though getting words out is hard. Whenever something dramatic happens, non dietetic background noises are always introduced. This helps dramatize the situation and build tension. By doing this it gets the audience on the edge of their seats and makes them intently watch. Speech is used 'Who's there? Who's there?' This repetition enables the audience to understand exactly how worried and upset she is at this point. It also shows us the unease she is at with not knowing who it is ringing her door bell, especially after the phone conversation she just had. Self referential 'You should never say who's there, don't you watch scary movies? Its a death wish'. This sort of comment is backing up the idea of it being a horror film. This opening scene basically gives the audience a taster of exactly what's going to happen in the rest of the film. After the opening, the genre is very clear too.

Kidulthood (2006)

Kidulthood is a drama. As an audience we can immediately understand where the film is set because within the first 23 seconds, although the screen is black, we can hear lots of voices and shouting which is typical audio of a playground environment. Its a drama throughout, this is connoted by 27 seconds when we have a very regular setting of a playground. This shows us that there is going to be quite a complex storyline which means the audience will be glued to the screen. The genre goes hand in hand with the setting too. Low key naturalistic light connotes the drama genre too.

Naturalistic setting and lighting.

When moving images finally appear on the screen, we see kids in a playground. This allows us to understand that it is going to be a kids drama, to associate this we then get some background music which is known as 'grime'. This type of music is mainly associated or has been mainly stereotyped too be listen too by London gangs. We then see two girls, probably aged between 14-18. These girls have a very poor dialect and this lack of diction connotes underage stereotypes and race. These two girls are dressed very scruffy too. They have there top button undone, with their ties loosely strung around their necks. Big gold ear rings, chains and messy hairstyles can all be seen too. All of these are iconography and are things you expect to see in that particular genre.

Summing up the above. Top buttons undone, ties loose etc.
 

Also from what we can see of the girls and from the dialogue that we hear about the party one of the males of the school is having, we immediately stereotype them to be doing things such as underage drinking, underage sex and smoking. Woman are almost seen to be 'side-lined' as the opening scene continues. Males dominate the camera and appear to 'use' the girls only. Woman are not part of the action and this could also be seen to be stereotypical. Unsteady camera shots also help to add to the verisimilitude of the film. It adds to the real world, naturalistic feel that enhances the documentary drama, 'kitchen sink' dramas that Ken Loach is known for. 'Kitchen Sink' is a term associated with social realism. It came about during the 1950's. The idea is that it depicts the working class to be stuck in very tight and small areas. Therefore a school playground fits into this perfectly.

Stereotypical Kitchen Sink Drama.

Dead Mans Shoes (2004)

This film is a thriller/drama. At the very start, the screen is red. This immediately to an audience connotes pain, blood and hurt. We also have diegetic dialogue which says 'God will forgive them, I can't live with that'. This statement right at the beginning suggests to the audience that perhaps someone has committed a crime and this man can't let him get away with it. It could also suggest the man could have some sort of religious paths, meaning he knows that God will forgive people for their sins, but he can't let someone get away with something that easily. This phrase alone will get the audience thinking and engaging with the film and trying to work out what's going to happen next. Slow pace music can be heard in the background, this suggests a journey within a song, and that maybe the man goes on a journey. It also connotes sadness and death as the song and its lyrics are quite deep. Before the film has really started, we have a hear a whole track of music. This frames the opening and again adds to the 'journey' effect. Also because we see the two men walking throughout the opening, this signifies a journey too and the camera just follows them, using simple movements such as gentle pans from left to right following the protagonist. This all connotes time passing and is almost a story of the journey they endure. The camera throughout this part is handheld, it helps the scene feel realistic. The audience is watching this with an omnipotent viewpoint of the protagonist. The film has been set up North, I can see this from the stereotypical classic stone walls, hilly climate, narrow roads and wide expanses of open fields. The lighting is very naturalistic adding to the verisimilitude of it all. Its is quite a bright day which acts like high key lighting. This makes everything around very easy to identify. This film was directed by Shane Meadows.

Overview

Some directors of particular genres of films are known as auteurs. These are directors that are renowned for the type of film they produce, they usually also use similar generic conventions in all their films too. Generic conventions help different genres of film fit into there particular genres which allow audiences to understand and know what to roughly expect  before actually watching it.