Film genres

Introduction To Film-Making

In this chapter you will be looking at film-making techniques and exploring the filmmaking process, as well as learning how to view a film with a critical eye by writing a film review blog, how to appreciate a film and how to make your own film. A film that you see in the cinema or at home on TV has gone through a long and arduous journey from the original idea to the finished film you see on the screen. The creative process of film-making moves back and forth between ideas, planning, scripting and editing in a similar way to writing a novel or poem or play. Idea Script Pitch Storyboard Shoot EditingRelease Depending on the size and budget of the film, there can be anything from 50 to 3,000 people working on a film. The record for the highest number of people working on a film is held by Iron Man 3, which had 3,310 people work on it throughout the creative process. Some films also cost an extraordinary amount of money to make, with actors, special effects and crew costing millions of euros. Blockbusters such as the Pirates of the Caribbean, Spider-man and Avengers films can cost above 200 million euros each to make. Film Genres There are many different types of films, including action, comedy, romantic comedy, sci-fi, superhero, thriller, documentary and epic fantasy. These different types of films are called genres. Sometimes people have a favourite genre of film, such as horror or musical. This is similar to the way in which some people have a preference for a particular type of book, such as historical fiction or adventure. Reading infographics An infographic is a visual image used to represent data and information. Usually an infographic uses a minimal amount of words and a large variety of images, icons, charts and graphs to present information. Since the beginning of cinema, there have been times when certain genres have been in and other times when they’ve been out of fashion. Look at the infographics on the©The Educational Company of Ireland following pages. The first three display the standard movie ‘recipes’ for three particular genres. The other infographic charts the rise and fall of several genres.

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READING Look at the infographic above, then answer the questions below. 1 Which film genres have decreased in popularity over time? 2 Which film genres have increased in popularity over time? 3 Which film genres do you find yourself drawn to and why? 4 Are there any film genres that you dislike and would never consider watching? Why? 5 Some people watch film as a way to make sense of what’s going on in their own lives. To what extent do you think this is true? Use the infographic as a source of evidence. Look at the other infographics opposite, then answer the questions below. 6 From your own knowledge of these film genres, are there any corrections you would make to these infographics? 7 What do you notice about the punctation marks? Why are they included in the infographic? 8 In your activity book (see pages 75–76), create your own film genre infographics for a romantic comedy, a fantasy epic and an action movie. Include the four major ingredients of the genre – and don’t forget the punctuation! ACT IVITY ©The Educational Company of Ireland