My film

My film and genre:- It’s mainly about war- I wouldn’t class it as a ‘one’ genre type film. Genre lines are now blurred and

hard to establish what film would fit into one specific genre. Sub genres allow films to slip into all these fuzzy lines.

- I would class my short as a drama/war film, emphasis on the drama genre.

Displays real life characters and stories, emphasising the emotional element of the story.

Draws from realismShows character development and a journey

of the charactersThe intention Is to move the audience

emotionally

Conventions of a drama film

Half of the drama revolves around conflict and then then the resolution of the conflict. – Equilibrium – disequilibrium – resolved problem.

Often the audience can relate to the characters and make personal connections to them

To keep the audience engaged there are lots of climaxes and anti-climaxes which keep the emotionallu attached audience on the edge of their seat.

Unlike the ‘normal’ drama film, some of them actually do break conventions.

For example: ‘Titanic’ (1997) directed by James Cameron doesn’t actually end in a happy ending. A lot of people are dead and the main protagonist loses her love and is left to live her life without him. Like this film, my film breaks the convention of normal drama films because for starters it is interlaced with war genre elements, and it doesn’t end with a traditional ‘happy ending’. It doesn’t end in a cliff hanger but it suggests the situation hasn’t been resolved leaving the audience in an emotional limbo, unsure of what to feel.

On the last slide I introduced the idea that we have stepped away from the traditional conventions of drama films because we haven’t ended with a happy resolution.

I have used a problematic storyline that some viewers can relate to as PTSD is now becoming a more commonly known disorder.

I have used climaxes throughout. The flashbacks allow the tension to increase as it isn’t evident what is wrong with this man. It’s like a wave; sometimes some information will pop out of the water but a lot of the time you have to think about what you’re seeing on the screen and make a link between it all.

Conventions I have used:

I have challenged the happy ending ideal of drama films.

Due to my film is a mix between the two (war and drama), I have been able to create a film that challenges these forms of conventions.

It ends with an unclear idea of if he survived his tormented past, and if he ever recovered from ptsd?

Although I wouldn’t class it as a cliff hanger type ending, but it’s complicated for the audience to understand emotionally because there are so many unanswered questions.

This is excellent when trying to engage the audience as it leaves them talking and questioning the film.