• Guns

• Fighting • Explosions • Cars• Villain • Hero • Fast sound track

(non-diegetic)• Knives/weapons

Action films usually include high energy, big-budget physical stunts and chases, possibly with rescues, battles, fights, escapes, destructive crises (floods, explosions, natural disasters, fires, etc. The rhythm and pacing is usually fast. They are adventurous, often two-dimensional 'good-guy' battling 'bad guys' - all designed for pure audience escapism. Some popular action movies are the James Bond films, Transporter, Fast and Furious, Terminator and Die Hard.

• Blood• Death• Monsters• Vitim • Villain • Dark colours • Creepy

soundtrack (non-diegetic)

• Bad weather• Dark/dull setting.

Horror films are designed to frighten and to invoke our worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while captivating and entertaining us at the same time in a cathartic experience. Horror films feature a wide range of styles, from the earliest silent Nosferatu classic, to today's CGI monsters and deranged humans. They are often combined with Science Fiction when a monster is related to a corruption of technology, or when Earth is threatened and over run by aliens. Some popular horror films are A Nightmare On Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Exorcist, The Hills Have Eyes and Stephen King’s IT.

• Emotions • Main character • Dramatic

events• Soundtrack to

fit the mood/theme

• Love• Upset/crying • Variety of

colours

Dramas are serious, plot-driven presentations, portraying realistic characters, settings, life situations, and stories involving intense character development and interaction. Some drama’s are romantic, others can be biographical. Usually, they are not focused on special-effects, comedy, or action, Dramatic films are probably the largest film genre, with many subsets.

• Action • Abnormal

creatures/aliens • Explosions • Attacks on earth • Space• Planets • Stars• Bright and dark

colours • Mysterious

soundtrack (non-diegetic)

Sci-fi films are often quasi-scientific, visionary and imaginative - complete with heroes, aliens, distant planets, impossible quests, improbable settings, fantastic places, great dark and shadowy villains, futuristic technology, unknown and unknowable forces, and extraordinary. Science fiction often expresses the potential of technology to destroy humankind. They are sometimes an offshoot of fantasy films and they share some similarities with both action and adventure films. Some popular sci-fi films are Alien, Avatar, District 9, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Total Recall and The Planet Of The Apes.

• Dancing • Singing • Laughing • Drama • Bright Lights • Variety of • Sunny/ good

whether• Happy

Musical films are cinematic forms that emphasize full-scale scores or song and dance routines in a significant way (usually with a musical or dance performance integrated as part of the film narrative), or they are films that are centred on combinations of music, dance, song or choreography. Some popular Musicals are Chicago, Hairspray, Mamma Mia, Grease, High School Musical and Fame.

• Happy • Arguments • humour • fast/happy

soundtrack (non-diegetic)

• Main characters • Love/hate

relationships • Emotions • Jokes • Laughing

Comedies are light-hearted plots consistently and deliberately designed to amuse and provoke laughter through jokes and one liners. Also by exaggerating the situation, the language, action, relationships and characters. The story lines/plot are usually formed to be amusing which gives it the right atmosphere when you then add the funny characters. Some popular comedy films are The Hangover, American Pie, Brides Maids, Shaun Of The Dead and Borat.

• Travelling • Fighting • Main character

(good guy) • Varity of settings • Interesting

scenery• motivating/

exciting soundtrack

• Good and bad weather

Adventure films are usually exciting stories, with new experiences and exotic locations, very similar to or often paired with the action film genre. They can include searches or expeditions for lost continents, "jungle" and "desert" epics, treasure hunts, disaster films, or searches for the unknown. Some popular adventure films are Indiana Jones, The Lone Ranger, Lord Of The Rings, The Hunger Games and The Hobbit.