(Post 3c) Genre

(POST THREE C)

GENRE

ACTION 
subgenres : 
EPIC - its protagonist (or multiple protagonists) going to great lengths and over a long period of time in order to achieve a vital objective. (Ben Hur, Gone With the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia)
SPY - a spy or other undercover professional finds themselves on a secret mission, usually behind enemy lines, and armed with an array of special equipment and gadgets. (James Bond, Salt, Mission: Impossible)
DISASTER - center their story around a disaster, usually natural but it can be artificial. The disaster itself can be on a global level or extremely localized, imposing peril on only the central characters. (Poseidon, Towering Inferno)
SUPERHERO - feature one or more characters who have supernatural abilities and do battle with similarly-powered antagonists. The majority of superhero movies are derived from comic book source material. (The Dark Knight Trilogy, Hancock, Superman)
THRILLER - typically involves a race-against-time or similarly high stakes plot device. (Die Hard, Lethal Weapon)
MARTIAL ARTS - the primary focus is the physical fight scenes peppered throughout the film. Actors typically come from a martial arts background, or are highly trained before production. (The Karate Kid)
VIDEO GAMES - Screenplays which have been adapted from popular video games.  (Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, Prince of Persia)

example of action short film - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1g1Z9Da1Vc - Go Bag - 9 mins - Seth Worley

CRIME
subgenres :
WHODUNIT/DETECTIVE - typified by its complex plot as the protagonist (usually a detective) attempts to solve the nature of a particular crime and identify the perpetrator, with the audience learning key plot details and invited to do the same along the way. (Girl on the Train, Zodiac, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
GANGSTER - Anything that covers the activities of gangs – either historic or contemporary. The antagonist of such a movie is often a law enforcement agency or a rival gang. (Reservoir Dogs)


example of crime short film - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84sKjWyMFoE - Roadside - 3 mins - Ryan Alexander

FANTASY
subgenres :
CONTEMPORARY FANTASY -  Set in the real – or slightly modified – world and in a present era but with a fantastical element such as magic or other dimensions acting upon it. (Hellboy, Harry Potter)
URBAN FANTASY -  primarily or wholly set within a city. It’s a sub genre within a sub genre. (Constantine, Ghostbusters)
DARK FANTASY -  A merger between the horror/thriller and fantasy genres, dark fantasy movies are just that – dark in tone and incorporating disturbing imagery and plot lines. (Pan’s Labyrinth)
FAIRY TALE - Taking folkloric fairy tales and adapting them into screenplays is a growing mainstay of Hollywood in recent times. (Maleficent, Into the Woods, Jack the Giant Killer)
EPIC FANTASY - Epic fantasies rarely deviate from a serious tone, and can feature mythical creatures and invented languages. (Lord of the Rings, 300, Chronicles of Narnia)
SWORD AND SORCERY - Comprising of many elements from epic and heroic fantasies, sword and sorcery rose to prominence with pulp fiction magazines of the 20s and 30s. (Conan the Barbarian)

WESTERN 
subgenres :
SPAGHETTI WESTERN -Named so to denote the highly acclaimed movies created during Western’s heyday were produced by Italian filmmakers. (Fistful of Dollars and The Good, The Bad, The Ugly)
OUTLAW WESTERN - Centers around the activities of those opposed to law enforcement characters or bounty hunters, usually portrayed in a likeable, underdog tone. (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 3:10 to Yuma)
EMPIRE WESTERN - Covers the story of a rags-to-riches style story of a lone individual or group setting up an empire (typically oil-based) from scratch, despite opposition from outside agencies. (There Will Be Blood)

example of western short film - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXfltmzRG-g - The Gunfighter - 9 mins - Eric Kissack 

HISTORICAL
subgenres :
BIOPIC -  A movie which charts the life of a compelling individual – either historical or contemporary – or portraying a key event in that person’s life.(Lincoln|)
HISTORICAL DRAMA - Any movie which covers a real-life event and places it central to the story could be considered to be a historical drama, regardless of whether the characters and stories revolving around it are fictionalised. (Titanic, Schindler’s List, Braveheart)
PERIOD - A historical sub genre that takes place in a specific era, usually – but not always – rooted in 19th century aristocracy. Often referred to as ‘costume dramas’, the story covered by the movie may be fictionalized to some degree while being set in an accurate representation of the time or around real events. (Sense and Sensibility)
ALTERNATIVE HISTORY - A highly speculative sub genre of historical movies, alternate history films take on real events but with the addition of a ‘what if’ scenario. (Inglourious Basterds)
example of crime short film - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGujsN01TPg - Wolfe - 14 mins - Juliana Neuhuber

ROMANCE
subgenres :
ROMANTIC DRAMA - The plot of romantic drama typically revolves around two people – to date, predominantly a man and woman – as they overcome obstacles which prevent them finding true love. (Casablanca, The English Patient, A Walk to Remember)
ROM-COM - Traditional romance blended with elements of comedy, often seeing the leading love interests placed in bizarre circumstances or being subjected to gross misunderstandings. (When Harry Met Sally, Clueless, Love Actually)
CHICK FLICK - Often seen as a derogatory term, the phrase ‘chick flick’ denotes any romance movie perceived to be aimed predominantly towards a female audience.(Dirty Dancing, The Notebook, The Fault in our Stars)
ROMANTIC THRILLER - The romantic plot is usually set against high-octane action or adventure – as a result, it can cross over into numerous genres. (Knight and Day, Mr and Mrs Smith)

ANIMATION
subgenres :
TRADITIONAL - It has been used for decades, involving hand-drawn, individual frames which are spliced together to create the illusion of motion. (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Spirited Away, Pinocchio, Akira)
ROTOSCOPING -  is a technique in which an illustrator traces over live-action footage to produce a highly stylised effect. (Lord of the Rings, A Scanner Darkly)
CLAYMATION - using models created out of clay or plasticine moulded around a wire mesh. (Wallace and Grommit, Shawn the Sheep)
CUTOUT -  Rather than using models or drawn frames, cutout animators use pieces of material and paper to create shapes, characters and scenes which are then animated with stop-motion (Fantastic Planet, Tale of Tales)
3D CGI ANIMATION - now typically multi-million dollar productions using cutting edge CGI suites to bring polygonal models to life through rigging and keyframing. (Frozen, Toy Story, Up)


example of animation short film - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T63MCogI4sM - For the Birds - 6 mins - Pixar

HORROR
subgenres :
SLASHER - the one-by-one picking off of main characters, and the last-standing character being female who usually goes on to defeat the killer. (Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream)
SPLATTER -   categorized by having an even greater focus on the graphic portrayals of character deaths and mutilations through the use of special effects. (Braindead, Saw)
PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR -  tend to rely heavily on the threat of impending doom or danger rather than the culmination of said factors (which may ultimately end up being portrayed).(Silence of the Lambs, The Shining, Black Swan)
SURVIVAL - The main protagonist (or group of leading characters) must endure and overcome a potentially fatal threat, which may or may not be featured on-screen. (28 Days Later)
FOUND FOOTAGE - primarily or wholly portrayed with footage literally taken or later found by one of the characters. (Blair Witch Project, As Above, So Below)
PARANORMAL/OCCULT -  main antagonist is a supernatural force or entity. Can sometimes cross over into fantastical, non-horror sub genres. (Paranormal Activity, Poltergeist)
MONSTER - Any horror movie in which the leading characters are pitted against a monstrous being with naturally-explainable (if far-fetched) origins. (Alien, A Quiet Place)

example of horror short film - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21XBrJTpqd0 - The Dorset - 4 mins - Karl Huber

SCI-FI
subgenres :
APOCALYPTIC - Covers the story of a lone protagonist or group of survivors following the downfall of civilization, the cause of which commonly being a nuclear conflict or natural/disease-based disaster which occurred shortly before the start of the storyline. (12 Monkeys, Planet of the Apes)
FUTURE NOIR - deals with future societies (which may or may not be more technologically advanced than our own) but covered with a ‘film noir’ aesthetic. (The Terminator, Blade Runner)
SPACE OPERA - The term ‘space opera’ is used to describe movies that are mostly set in the interstellar medium, numerous planetary systems and over great distances, thanks to advancements in space travel. (Star Wars, Star Trek)
MILITARY - the journey of a soldier (or platoon) that is part of a future military and the battles in which they find themselves. (Aliens, Edge of Tomorrow)
PUNK - set in a dystopian future and features unique technological advances can fall under the ‘punk’ sub genre.  (Metropolis, Altered Carbon, Mute)

example of sci-fi short film - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21XBrJTpqd0 - Final Offer - 11 mins - Mark Slutsky