Pete's final report

In this report I am going to be discussing three elements that are used to produce and make the characteristics of a film, these will consist of genre codes and conventions, interactive-branching narratives and conventions of script writing.

The first element I am going to acknowledge in this report is why a layout of a screenplay is important to the director and actors during pre-production and the production process. A screen play allows the actors who are acting the parts in a film to see when they are meant to be saying their lines in the film. Another benefit of a screenplay is that it also actors to have things clearly broken down. It allows the actors to research the part they are playing, to learn any skills they may need for that part, and to immerse themselves in that character.

The screenplay also includes visual information about the locations and environment  and it has to give an amount of depth of the position of the actor in relation to environment and other actors. So it helps to create a sense of how the actor's character is to be perceived, for instance if the screen play is about a crime drama the typical image that the viewer will expect is that the characters will be wearing hoodies or 'street clothes.'  In another context, screen plays also reference stereotypes. On the other hand, some challenge stereotypes by making characters in the screenplay act unexpectedly.

Comparing a film sequence with a screenplay.

Comparing a film sequence with a screen play, a film sequence will have the sound and the lighting and visual effects added to it whereas a screenplay is purely meant to state the plot, characters, location and costume. The film sequence allows the editors to be able to edit out parts of the sequence that are unnecessary in the film. The film sequence allows the editors to take out any inappropriate or possibly offensive content according to the film regulator British Broadcasting Classification of Film. Whereas a screenplay might state an environment that needs to be filmed for a certain scene, it might not come out on the camera very well. This is where the technical process of green screen can be inserted as a backdrop and enhanced with special effects to make the audience believe that what they are seeing on the screen is real, and to allow them to have the experience of being in the film.

Why is  a screenplay laid out as it is, and why is some of it written in capitals and some in lower case?

So screenplays are typically laid out for the main purpose of allowing the actors to clearly see what is happening next in the script. Some elements of screenplays are written in lowercase and some others in capitals. For instance, the reason why capitals are used in screenplays is to highlight what parts are the most important and what parts need to be drawn to the actors when they first look at it.

What details are included?

The details that are included in a screenplay are the environment and location at the top. This is represented in capitals because this helps to inform the actor on what location they should be in for each scene. Then there is the action which is printed in capitals which helps the actor or the reader to visualise what is happening in that scene and what kind of action the actors should expect to be involved in. The camera angles are also stated in capitals to indicate what angle should be used in each scene. The character's names are in capitals to emphasise what characters should be in each scene.  The dialogue of the characters is typed in lower case but is in a font that is easy for the actors to read and this font is called Courier 12pt.  The parenthetical is used to highlight how the characters should be responding emotionally in certain situations, for example if there was a screenplay in a horror film and someone was being attacked by a vampire, you would expect to associate that scene with the sound of screaming or shouting.  There is also details of what transitions are going to occur at the start and end of a scene, for instance in a horror film in which the main character is attacked by a vampire and the screen fades to black indicating the end of that scene. This can also be used as a ‘cliffhanger’ to create suspense.

Details that are excluded in a screenplay.

Camera shots are not visible in screen plays as they need to be perceived in a visual format, for instance a Storyboard. This helps to inform the cameraman what shots to capture in a particular scene. Also, elements such as visual and sound effects are not included in the screenplay as this is looked at in post-production.

How would you direct the sequence?

From my evidence and research I would conduct the sequence in exactly the same way. This is because in my opinion it is laid out in a clear format for the actors to read and to visualise what is occurring in any particular scene. For instance, I like the fact that the description of the action is laid out in capitals to help the reader to notice what they should be portraying of that character’s personality.  The capitals also make it very easy for an actor to read through the screen play quickly.

Codes and Conventions

The genre of my group’s film is a crime drama. It is primary target audience is fourteen to eighteen year olds but it is primarily targeting the age rating of fifteen. This is because there will be some strong language involved in this film and also my scene, and also some violence and weapons are involved. The reason why this rating has been chosen for this film is because it is a flexible age range allowing fourteen year olds to go and see a fifteen age rated film accompanied by a parent or guardian, and it allows the older target audience to have an interest in the crime drama storyline and it would also meet their expectations.

What are the codes and conventions of your film genre?

The codes and conventions that are associated with my film are weapons such as knives, and also drugs, alcohol bottles and cigarettes. These codes help the audience to have a better understanding of the storyline and the genre as all of these elements that are related to crime represent fear, anger, violence and crime. These codes and conventions help people of that age group to relate to that particular scenario which therefore helps to create audience interest.

How do audiences use genres?

Audiences use genres as a guide to select what interests them the most and also what they feel comfortable with. Genres do not always give a true idea of what a film is about as they tend to be very narrow in definition.  Genres are also linked to the Hypodermic Needle theory where films are categorised according to certain elements  and this may stop people from actually viewing a film which may be wider than the genre it has been rated with.

How do media producers use genres?

Media producers use genres to be able to promote and sell the film to target audiences that will have an interest in that particular genre.  Some genres are always popular and some genres may be fashionably popular one year and not the next. People’s expectations change over time so they may be interested in something different.

Give examples of how your film uses these genres

My film uses these genres as it is a crime drama and this type of genre features violence, weapons, strong language and criminal activity. This would help to generate a mass audience because these topics are popular with young people and some of them could relate to the situation and the stereotypes, for example the way the characters are dressed.