The decision of genre

After a long discussion in class about the possibilities of the genre our film opening could be classified as, Abbie and i decided that due to budget limitations and the difficulty of taking the camera out of school grounds, we have ruled out numerous genres. Although there would be definite visual advantages to some of these.
Listed below are the pros and cons of some possible genres we discussed in class.

War/Anti-war
Pros:

• The potential to use a variety of different shots
• An exciting viewing experience for the audience
• Easy to find a location for

Cons:

• The budget of this would be considerable, as mise-en-scene may cost a great deal (clothing, make-up etc)
• The cost may be even greater when attempting to achieve historical accuracy (this would be a vital element when attempting to create realism, which would be vital in order to create interest)
• The issue of taking the camera off the school premises could cause problems, which may take up a great deal of time. Taking the camera off of the school grounds would be essential in creating a realistic and convincing mise-en-scene

Horror/Thriller
Pros:

• Inexpensive to film, in terms of mise-en-scene, location, as it could be more effective if we used every day props, clothing etc to make the film seem more realistic, the audience could relate to this, and it would be more interesting in that sense.
• There are many horror/thriller films to draw inspiration from
• Filming at school wouldn't necessarily restrict the film in terms of the thrill or horror elements
• The genre does not require particularly good acting skills (good for Abbie and i)
• Dialogue wouldn't be so important, meaning that technical elements and body language could be given more significance in the film. This creates a great deal of tension, if done particularly well, like in Alfred Hickcock's Psycho. In my opinion, what makes Psycho so haunting is not the dialogue, but the body language of the characters, the characters themselves and the suspense created by Hickcock with the highly skilled use of camera shots and angles. Inspiration for camera angles and shots could be drawn from this film, along with Hickcock's The Birds.

Cons:

• If we decide upon tipping the balance of the horror/thriller genre in favour of horror, it would be challenging to create props and injuries to accompany these.
• It may be costly to acquire props and fake blood
• To make the film more realistic, it would be more effective to film in a house, which may cause trouble in terms of taking the camera off site.
• This is a very popular genre, originality may be an issue

Western
Pros:

• An interesting and fun film to make
• Many different plots are possible
• A variety of very interesting shots could be made
• costume is very straight forward and quite easy to create
• The Wild West scenery could be avoided by drawing inspiration from the beginning of a film like Midnight Cowboy.

Cons:

• Possibly the most important aspect of the Western genre is the location - the Wild West. We do not have a sufficient budget to create this mise-en-scene nor can we fly to America and film our 2 minute clip there, as this is off site, and just a bit expensive.
• Good acting is required

Comedy/Romance
Pros:

• Inspiration can be drawn from independent films (such as films exhibited at the Sundance film festival), thus helping to create quite a unique film in the plot lines and shots used
• Mise-en-scene would not be in issue in terms of cost
• Location could be anywhere (even on school grounds) as this would create verisimilitude

Cons:

• Dialogue is a very important factor in the film, which may limit the variation of camera shots
• A plot may be hard to think of
• It would be very difficult to create a film that both members of the group would be satisfied with, in terms of the sense of humour.
• Humour is a vital component of the film which must be done well in order to make the film successful (successful in terms of our satisfaction with it) which i would find very difficult

Adventure/Action
Pros:

• A large number of technical aspects could be used to an impressive effect
• A plot would not be too difficult to create
• An exciting viewing experience could be created for the viewer

Cons:

• Mise-en-scene would be highly expensive
• Any action moves would be very difficult for myself and Abbie to do

By Cat Gough