You do not have to be an expert in the particular genre, but you must have an idea of the codes and conventions - so you may need to do some preliminary research before you complete your analysis.
The slide below gives you the details of what you need to look at and below the slide there are some tips on how to complete this to the best of your abilities (and how to make it a bit easier).
Hints:
What trailer to pick?
My honest advice for this is for you to pick a film you have never seen before. It might sound a bit crazy but it will help you be objective about discussing what genre the movie is. If you are over familiar with a film then it is easy to get caught in the trap of only analysing that film and not how it fits into a larger canon of work.
If you anticipate this exercise being difficult then make sure you pick a film that is typical of the genre. Choosing an unusual or even obscure film is not going to do you any favours at all.
Remember we've done all this stuff in lessons so if you are stuck at all then consult your notes or the pages on genre that are on this website:
- Genre case study - the Western
- Hybrid Genres and Binary Oppositions
As should hopefully be apparent, you need to look at the genre of the film from two different perspectives; the functional and the aesthetic.
You can actually start by analysing the aesthetic look of the trailer, maybe pick out some iconic elements of the genre but then use these as a way of talking about the themes and oppositions that are typical of the genre as well.
The work needs to be made as a post on the blog with the trailer that you have selected at the beginning of the post.
Remember how to write paragraphs of analysis from the practice we did in lesson - if in doubt, just make sure that you are not simply describing the trailer again. You must identify what is there and then say WHY!!
Label your blog post with: Your Name and Genre Analysis
