What to choose??

With open sequence projects we are given some choice of genre these are:

1. A super natural thriller with a strong female lead
2. A British social realist drama
3. Adventure story for a younger audience
4. A teenage romantic comedy
5. Crime Caper with an ensemble cast

As we mentioned in the introduction we have elected to design a crime caper, an example of this would be ocean elevens and their sequels as they are crime capers with an ensemble cast.


Crime capers often have certain conventions, these are usually followed by Hollywood films. These are:
- Characters Commit a crime
- Refers to often being light hearted and comedy
e.g Oceans 11 and the Italian job
- Usually if not always has a male lead
- The crime they commit is often portrayed as glamorous
- The characters are often represented as good at what they do in respects to stealing
- The most famous star of the film is often the leader of the group as well as playing key roles consequently the less famous are less important
- The criminals often get away with the crime they are committing
- The job they do is often quite easily shown for experts

However we had considered the other options:

1. A super natural thriller with a strong female lead
Conventions:
This is a genre in which there is a conflict between the main characters in which one of them will have super natural powers. There is often the stereotypical view of a thriller however it has an extra ingredient such as ghosts, the occult or a psychic phenomenon.
Characteristics:
* Suspense
* Claustrophobic
* Isolation
* Dark Lighting

An example is 'The Others' (2001) Directed by Alejandro Amenábar. With Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston. It is a tale of the afterlife and strange happenings.


2. British social realist drama
(The Kitchen Sink Drama)
These are a representation of 'real life' and all the difficulties included. It tends to focus on the working class.

Conventions tend to follow,
* Natural Lighting
* Hand held cameras, this is a known documentary technique as it gives a hint of realism to the film
* There is always a conflict involved such as a political war or small scale conflict between individuals - this conflict will create drama

An example of this film is 'Kidulthood' (2006) and 'Adulthood'(2008)

3. Adventure story for a younger audience
Family Film which tends to have comical elements, the characters are often trying to find something or someone to restore something. There is also elements of fantasy or the super natural. There is also a heavy reliance on special effects such CGI (Computer Generated Images). Usually orchestral music used on a large scale the shots are usually showing more than one character the setting is often unfamiliar to the characters and audience. It is a fantasy world which places the characters in more danger. There is usually an establishing shot that is very dramatic... For example Harry Potter (2001) or Narnia (2005).


4. Teenage Romantic Comedy
The final example which is possibly the most hysterical genre which tends to follow conventions:
- A humorous style movie about a love story which ends happily
- It reflects characters to be identifiable with the audience
- There is popular and unpopular characters in which the unpopular characters are often looking at the popular characters
- The audience are often encouraged to identify with the unpopular characters
- The popular characters are usually bitchy and overconfident, popular characters are male usually 'cool' and are often attractive
- Popular male characters are usually sporty and have the 'jock' characterist
- They often play on a stereotypical view of a geek, untrendy clothes and thick glasses
- Cheerleaders are often portrayed as being materialist and artificial
- Teachers are often represented as strict and not to be identified with
- There is usually a coming together of the two main characters which often has a problem they need to over come
- The audience expects an emotional payoff from a happy ending
- Secondary characters resolve with the uniting emotion or friendship

A Bold Example of this would be American Pie (1999)