Genre Conventions

 

Film Studies - Creative Project

Genre Conventions

My film follows a horror narrative but is filmed in the style of a romance film. I want to include some horror conventions to suggest that things are not what they seem about the protagonist ‘James’. Usually in a romance film, the couple meet and fall in love but there is often an obstacle stopping them living happily ever after. However, in my film, James, who is the main protagonist, is not what he seems. The obstacle is in fact James who is a rich, cannibalistic entrepreneur that lures his victims into a false sense of security by pretending to be their lover.

James resides in his stately home which supports the idea of wealth, but also obeys typical horror film conventions, concerning location, as it is completely isolated and in the right lighting looks daunting.  




Burton Agnes Hall - Horror Conventions

Burton Agnes Hall - Romance Conventions










I wanted to use Burton Agnes Hall because I make the audience believe that it is beautiful location, typical of a romance film. After the audience realise that things are not as they seem I can use lighting, sound, cinematography, mise-en-scene and editing to create a horror film atmosphere. Just by softening the picture on the right and increasing brightness and contrast I have made the Hall look beautiful, inviting and almost like a dream. The image on the left has been desaturated, sharpened and the brightness has been decreased to make the hall look mysterious, fearsome and unnerving. 

Themes: In a typical romance film, the main theme is love. In my film I not only want to portray this theme at first but I also want to show themes of a horror film for example morality over lust/greed. James is an exceedingly wealthy character and his staff are prepared to cook a human at his will for money. This shows how a human’s lust for money is more important than their own morals. I also wanted to make the meat coming out on the platter look incredibly appetising so that when the necklace is noticed the audience are shocked by their own gluttony after eyeing up the food.   
 
Settings: Romantic areas like the beach, the park, a river, a stream, a flower garden with high-key lighting when Mary and James appear to be ‘in love’ but when James is at his mansion the mise-en-scene is pleasant at first (for example high -key lighting)  but after he has eaten Mary the setting starts to turn sinister with low-key lighting (creating shadows and unfamiliar shapes)  and the Dutch angles are more evident which contradicts the romantic music that will slowly turns sour.

Burton Agnes Hall and Gardens

Bridlington Beach









Iconography: Of a typical romance film the iconography consists of beautiful dresses, streams, birds, flowers, relaxing music. In my film I will also incorporate subtle iconography of a villain/killer. For example: snakes (on a ring for example) or a carcass like at the beginning of natural born killers.



Natural Born Killers, Oliver Stone, 1994

Filmography Techniques: I want to use a Vaseline filter on the lense of the camera to create a hazy effect like in Casablanca which gives a romantic appearance to the shot. I will also increase the contrast to make it look warmer and happier along with high-key lighting which belong to the conventions of a romance film.

Casablanca, Michael Curtiz, 1942









 

I want to use close-ups of the James and Mary’s faces to show their happy facial expressions and their intimacy. I also want to use copious amounts of Dutch angles interlinked within the romantic part of the film as they don’t conform to the typical conventions of a romance film and suggest that something isn’t right about James.

When James is seasoning his lunch I want to make the shot black and white but the dressing he is decorating the meal with in red showing that it is blood just to confirm to the audience that he is a cannibal. I want James to have a sinister look on his face while he does this, completely non-naturalistic, so he has this comic book villain persona in the only part of the short film, accompanied by a low-angle. Like in natural born killers when the camera changes to black and white to show the frenzy of the violence. I want to do this in my film to break down all expectations of James’ normality and show that he is a killer. I also want to show the romantic music linking the two conventions. The cinematography and mise-en-scene reflect a horror genre and do not match the romantic music.