What is Genre?

As apart of my research to plan for my short-film, I must expand my knowledge and understanding of media studies. An area which my knowledge must be broadened is in the concept of genre and the theory behind the idea.

This is a theory that refers to how in which products of film are constructed based on particular narrative elements, these particular elements are what then define a genre.Audiences can refer any given film product and classify it under a genre based on it's codes and conventions. Ultimately meaning that within every genre there are conventional aspects of a film's theme,setting or structure that are shared within every other film belonging to the same genre; which is why they fall under the same category.Never the less, genre is a very important factor to both film-makers and audiences. 

Why is genre important to film-makers?

During the process of creating a story, genre is a essential tool throughout this entire process as genre provides them the fundamental parts to producing a story; as genre will offer a structure in which film-makers can apply and manipulate to the own intentions whilst incorporating characters that must participate in the fixed narrative in order to follow with the outlines cast for them. This is ultimately why genre is important to film-makers as it fundamentally offers them a guide to produce a story that incorporates all of the factors such as themes,style and structure to create a story of a particular genre.

Every film-maker would use genre within their development of a story; an example of this can be recognised with the comedy film "Due Date" .What film-maker Todd Philips infused into his take on the comedy genre is by constructing his story around the cliché conventions of a road trip story. With a story led by a character whom is a educated and organised individual that must travel an extensive distance to reach their goal ;this is where the director 'Todd Philips' recognises that in order to allow comedic timing, the story requires the inclusion of a character opposite to the lead to not only offer the story comedic timing through their interaction but as the story forces their paths to cross; forcing one another to embark on this journey together, further ensuring that the story has opportunities to fill comedic relief as they attempt to deal with one another. This example is ultimately what film-makers use genre for their creative process in order to ensure that they incorporate conventions that are relevant to the genre but also to help cater to the expectations of their target audience.

Why is genre important to the audience?

When it comes to the audience, genre is a tool that the viewer can use to determine whether or not to watch a particular film based their interests and what they find visually appealing. This is where the concept of audience expectation comes in; this idea that revolves around the audience have already got assumptions on what they expect to see within any given genre. This idea is to help them decide whether or not to see this film based on their assumptions on what the story is like but also the sense of pleasure when expectations are met when time have been invested to view the product. 

Final Verdict

This media theory of genre is a vital part of the development of my short-film as this will shape how I must approach my story in relation to what I must include regarding characters and structure, in order to achieve the intended style and theme.This all with help my media product meet the expectations of it's audience in order to lure their attention.