The Codes and Conventions of Film Genres

Different movie genres have different codes and conventions, an example being that there are certain sounds and visuals that are shown in genres such as action that are unlikely to be shown in a genre such as romance. I have chosen to analyse the genres of horror and comedy because I find them the most interesting and since they are very different, they are good genres to analyse. 

The first film that I have chosen to analyse is Ouija: Origin of Evil. This film is a horror that was released in 2016 and it shows some stereotypical codes and conventions of the horror genre. Low-key lighting is used throughout this movie which is a significant factor of this particular genre. Darker lighting connotes mystery and gives a shadowing effect which can give a scarier aesthetic, making it perfect for horror films. In Ouija: Origin of Evil, a lot of shadows are used to indicate an evil presence. This will have been done build suspense. A small amount of light is only really featured on the actors in the movie, this fits in with the genre as horror movies are usually very dark to create the feeling of danger. On the clip that I have chosen to analyse there is a very brief flash of light before the darkness. This could be a continuation of the previous scene and could've been used to add more intensity to it. This movie was set in the 1960's. The costumes worn in the clip and throughout represent that time period due to these costumes being accurate to what would have been worn 50 years ago. The youngest character who is known in the film as Doris (portrayed by Lulu Wilson) is shown in this clip wearing a white dress. In this film Doris becomes possessed by some sort of demon who wants to take the voices of the family who are living in the house that the movie is set in. White will have been specifically chosen for this costume as it is a colour that represents death. Paired with this dress are tights, shoes and a belt which are all black which is connoting the haunting experience that the character is facing. The black shoes look like the kind of footwear that a young girl would wear in primary school, connoting innocence and vulnerability since Doris is only a child. That particular part of the costume gives a sense that the demon who possessed her in the film chose her instead of her mother or older sister because of those connotations. This is different to the costume chosen for her older sister Paulina (played by Annalise Basso). She is dressed more brightly, to show the difference between her and her sister when her sister became possessed. In this clip, red pants were chosen for Paulina. Red is a color that is usually associated with danger and the color connotes that alongside her body language in the scene. She is also wearing a yellow blouse, this is the bright item of clothing that shows the difference between her and her sister. White shoes have also been chosen for her to wear, likely meaning the same as the dress which Doris is wearing. However, there is a small difference. The white dress symbolizes death in the form of a killer whereas the white shoes symbolise death only as a possibility of being murdered. The male character is dressed in dark colours because he is a priest, but the mother of the two girls (played by Elizabeth Reaser) is wearing a light blue top and green trousers with dark blue shoes. The contrast of light and dark colours in her costume connote the good and bad things that she does throughout the film. This clip shows her doing a good thing in a time of need, offering to give her voice to the demon terrorising the family in order to save her daughters which is what the light colours connote. The dark colours connote the bad choice she made at the very beginning of the movie, using a ouija board to scam innocent people who had just lost loved ones. This film is set in a haunted house, this is a very large indication of the horror genre. Horror films are meant to feel creepy and give a small sense of fear to the viewer, meaning that anything with a sense of haunting fits perfectly within the genre. Like this clip from Ouija, haunted houses usually have a lot of stairs and are normally quite old buildings. Older buildings give a scarier feeling due to the possibility of its older residents haunting it. The darker colours and lighting that are usually associated with this setting give the same affect and the stairs always seem to make it a little bit harder for the victim to escape. A prop is used in this film and the rest in its series that isn’t really used in many other films of this genre, a ouija board. In the film this is used throughout but in the short clip the camera focuses on it for a few seconds. The camera focuses on this prop because it is the main cause of everything that goes wrong in this movie, giving it significance. Seconds later, a rope is seen being used, hanging the priest who is shown at the very beginning of the clip. The priest is used in this part of the storyline to get Paulina to the top of the stairs where the demon is waiting for her. A rope is used in homage to the first film which was simply titled “Ouija” and it is an ongoing theme throughout the film series. They will have chosen to do this simply to show the viewers what the demon is capable of. Within the first couple of seconds, both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds are used. The priest can be heard breathing heavily. This is an example of diegetic sound that is very commonly used in the horror genre. In reality, when people are in fear, worry or even exhaustion. The breaths of the characters in the clip can clearly be heard throughout, showing their level of panic. The use of this increases tension and can give a feeling that something bad is about to happen. A shortness of breath is also a cause of breathing heavily which implies that a character has been running from someone or something, also giving a sense of fear to the viewer, making them instantly realise that there is something wrong. In the first second, a brief use of non-diegetic sound is used in the form of music. It can only be faintly heard for the second that it is played, giving more attention to the breathing of the priest. This will have been done to create suspense due to knowing that something is going to happen when initially watching it but not being sure of what. The music that is played is, however, a code of the genre as well because it is a sound that is heard within many different horror films. A convention of the horror genre is used seconds later, with what is commonly known as a “jump scare”. Though it is only a small one, the loud scream of the demon can be heard before they take the voice of the priest. This genre of film is meant to catch people off guard and show them something that they were unlikely to expect. Sound is one of the most important features to achieve that affect. Abrupt sounds such as that “jump scare” can sometimes be unexpected but also expected without the knowledge of when they will actually take place, instilling a feeling of shock in the audience. The next sound that can be heard is the noise of the priest hitting the stairs after being attacked and thrown backwards by the demon. This is a diegetic sound as it will have been heard by the characters, however, it may have been created in the post production process using a technique called folly so that it is audible to the audience. Hearing this sound shows the audience the impact of the fall that the priest has just faced. It sounds like a crunch, simulating bones being broken, insinuating the damage being done to the priest. Sounds are also used to transition to the next scene which also shows the impact of what had happened in the scene before. More diegetic can be heard throughout this such as the rattling of a locked door, screams, dialogue the sound of a little girl laughing. The laughter of the girl is used to taunt the characters in the movie by making them believe that she has the upper hand at holds the audience in suspense. The scene opens with a medium shot of the priest that slowly zooms in further which has been done to show the intensity that he is feeling. This changes to a worms-eye view shot of Doris (the demon) as she screams and attacks the priest which has been done to show his viewpoint before going to a birds-eye view shot of him to show the viewpoint of the demon. It goes to a medium shot to see the view from behind the priest before swiftly changing to another medium of him crashing into the wall and falling to the ground. The shots change very quickly to show the level of panic in the characters. The editing used is continuous but is also very quick as the shots are changed rapidly. The story of this film begins with a widow raising her two daughters and trying to figure out a way to increase the sales of her business in which she scams innocent people by pretending that she can contact loved ones who have passed away. A Ouija Board is bought to help increase the sales, unaware that purchasing it was a mistake. The youngest daughter attempts to contact someone, just to see if the board works. During this, a demon is released and takes the girl’s soul before living inside of her. The rest of the film shows the struggles that the family face trying to save the youngest member as well as themselves. This follows Todorov’s narrative film theory as during the beginning of the movie everything is fine until something bad happens. The characters do attempt to repair the damage however they do not fully succeed, giving them a new reality. However, this new reality does not come out completely balanced, leading to the original Ouija movie. This film however does not seem to have more than one thing happening at once, meaning that it does not really follow the theory of binary oppositions by Claude Levi-Strauss. 

The second film that I have chosen to analyse from the horror genre is Annabelle: Creation. The lighting is the film is also shot in low-key, the same as Ouija: Origin of Evil. This shows that low-key lighting is a convention of the horror genre because it gives a creepy aesthetic. The costumes are again very old-fashioned due to the time period in which it is set. The main character in this clip is named Janice (played by Talitha Bateman) and similarly to one character from the other horror film which I have analysed, she is wearing blue. This light blue colour could have simply been chosen so that the costume is noticeable. The villains in both movies are both little girls in white dresses, connoting the same thing: death. In Annabelle: Creation, parents lose their only child, a daughter named Annabelle, in a car accident. She was wearing a white dress during her last moments of life. Both horror films have chosen this colour for the costumes to symbolise what has happened to a character or what another character would like to happen. White seems to be a convention of this genre due to most if not all of them having to do with death. And also similarly to Ouija, the characters appear to all be children. This is to show that the demonic presences in both movies choose the weaker candidates to possess as they will be easier to control. Children give a sense of innocence and curiosity and their costumes, hairstyles and body language show that to more of an extent. This makes them perfect for the demons inside of them. Both are set in haunted houses which is a very common setting for any horror movie. But this clip from Annabelle is set in the bedroom of the young girl who was killed instead of the hallway like the clip from Ouija. This is because the films focus on different things. Annabelle: Creation follows the story a demonic presence within a doll that the parents of the little girl wanted to use to keep a connection with their daughter whilst Ouija: Origin of Evil shows the flaws of a Ouija board from the very beginning. The bedroom is where young Annabelle spent most of her time playing with her toys, making it only fitting to make that the room the most dangerous place to be. Props such as a doll house and puppets are used to show Janice and the audience that an evil presence is there without her appearing on screen, whereas sound (the girl’s laugh) was used in the other movie to show the same thing. The first film uses audio to explain the audience what is happening whilst the second takes a more visual approach which also includes a diary that Janice picks up. It shows a page reading “Dear diary, today I came home”. In the clip from Annabelle minimal sound is used with no use of non-diegetic sound. What is heard is simply dialogue and actions such as pages turning and a door slamming. The silent moment before Annabelle makes herself known is used to build tension and gives a sense of uncertainty, enticing the viewer and making them want to continue watching to find out exactly what will happen. The door slamming is the only sound that is used in this clip to show that there is an evil presence lurking. At the start of the clip, a medium shot of Janice is shown followed by an over-the-shoulder shot to show Annabelle’s diary. This is because this prop is valuable to the scene. It then moves to a panning close up of the doll, again using a visual to insinuate a demonic presence before going back to the over-the-shoulder shot to see the clues hidden in the diary that she is there. Establishing shots of the room take place to show the haunting happening in the bedroom, before zooming in onto the toys that she has chosen to use to make herself known. A close up of Annabelle is also used to ask for help though she is facing away from the camera showing her reflection as an innocent child through the window. Her demonic state only shows in another close up when she demands the soul from Janice. This is different to Ouija: Origin of Evil as the demonic state is shown throughout the clip and not just for a moment. The editing in this movie is also different as it is a lot slower, building more suspense. The narrative for this film is similar to the other horror movie, however a doll is used instead of a demon. Annabelle: Creation also follows the film theory by Todorov but not completely as everything was fine until the evil presence within the doll was released. The story behind the movie is that an unfortunate event happens where a young girl named Annabelle gets hit by a car and sadly does not survive it. Her parents want to continue being with her so at the time they thought it was a good idea to put the spirit of their daughter into a doll. This was a huge mistake as the spirit that entered the doll during the ritual was not their daughter but in fact an evil spirit. That part however is the story behind the main narrative as it explains why a certain door must never be opened. The house of which Annabelle’s parents live is opened for young girls from an orphanage to stay in and one girl by the name of Janice has a very curious mind. Janice is warned not to open the door, yet she still does later in the film, causing a disruption due to this meaning that the evil spirit is now haunting the house the way that they used to do. The extent to which this movie follows the theory of Todorov ends here as the characters only really try to get themselves to safety and they only try to fix the problem a little. This film follows a different narrative theory more closely and that is the theory invented by a man named Claude Levi-Strauss. His film theory states that narrative structures depend on binary oppositions and within this horror movie two storylines are explained. The main narrative is the story of the orphaned girls moving into a house for a while and awakening evil by disobeying what is said by the home owner. However, a second story takes place which explains the death of young Annabelle many years prior to the orphans moving in and it shows her parents’ way of dealing with their tragic loss. A third story is also mentioned at the very end of the film as it is a prequel to the movie titled Annabelle. Having these two stories shown on screen helps with the understanding of how the doll came to be as well as keeps the story going. Without the storyline entailing how the doll became evil this film would be a lot more difficult to follow as there would be no understanding of how Annabelle came to be. This will also be why the original film would have been given this prequel so that the viewers have the knowledge of how Annabelle came to be. 

The first film that I have chosen to analyse for the comedy genre is the 2011 version of Arthur. In the clip that I have chosen a lot is happening. It is the moment set shortly after Arthur meets the love of his life and it is set on a very busy street with crowds of people walking around them. The car that Arthur’s assistant Bitterman and nanny Hobson arrive in becomes a running joke as Arthur is repeatedly told to get inside of it so that they can go home. This car and the replica of the suit commonly worn by American President Abraham Lincoln initially shows that he is a man with a lot of wealth. This is very different in comparison to the costume that his love interest Naomi is wearing. However, both Naomi and Hobson both appear to wear very plain clothes though they are both of different social grades. This shows that they are very similar in the sense that they appear to like to keep things simple. Although, the costume that Hobson is wearing plain and simple it is also quite smart and sophisticated, showing her wealth but not exploiting it like Arthur appears to be. Bitterman is wearing a suit. He will be wearing this because of his profession in which his appearance must be smart. As Naomi exits the scene, she walks into the car that Arthur is supposed to get in. This piece of body language can suggest that she is awkward and clumsy but also that enforces the thought that she is stepping out of her comfort zone by agreeing to go out on a date with Arthur. Arthur appears to be very confident. This could have something to do with his wealth or he may feel this way due to the costume. High-key lighting is used for this scene, showing that it is set in the middle of the day. The background is filled with people walking in and out of the shots, setting the scene that it is set during a busy time of day. Mostly dialogue is heard, with what sounds like the wind in the background. Though throughout the scene other noises can be heard such as the screeching of car tyres, the clicking and slamming of car doors opening and closing and car horns being pressed. The wind will have been added as a way to distinguish the weather that had been written in. A sunny day was chosen to imply positivity due to a good turn of events happening for Arthur in the scene and to showcase the light-hearted comedy said throughout. Wind will have been chosen to add a small amount of action to the scene visually due to hair lightly blowing around. The noise of the car horns reinforce the fact that it is a busy street. They show that although the pedestrians are moving the traffic is stood at a little bit of a stand still. Having a rush such as this diverts the attention to the main characters and storyline, giving more of an understanding as to what is happening in the movie. The sounds of tyres screeching and the car door opening and closing will have been added to show the importance of the car in the scene. The camera begins with a medium shot of Naomi as she asks who Arthur is before changing to a two shot for Arthur’s reply. This shows the confusion that Naomi is facing and the initial chemistry between the two characters. The car pulling up in front of the characters during the two shot increases the confusion she carries. This continues on to a medium shot of Hobson getting out of the car to tell Arthur that it is time to go. But as she tells him this, the medium shot cuts back to Naomi so that the audience can see her reaction. A two shot of Arthur and Hobson then takes place to see Arthur’s response to what Hobson is saying. She is in this shot as she is looking over her shoulder to Arthur as she tells him to get in the car. This then cuts to another medium shot of Naomi fo a second of her reaction before going back to the two shot of Arthur and Hobson so that we can see him tell her no. However, this two shot is at a different angle with Arthur more in the foreground. This will have been done to show that staying with Naomi is important to him and that he doesn’t want to be told what to do in front of her. Naomi’s reactions are normally shown in medium shots but after the two shot I have just mentioned an over the shoulder shot is used, again showing the importance of Arthur staying with her as it shows that he has moved closer to her. A medium shot of all the characters is used to show the running joke of getting into the car, this also shows the car to make it more of a visual joke. This joke continues with a medium shot of Bitterman attempting to get into the car before being told not to by Hobson. Extras walk through this shot to show the busyness around then as well. Medium shots, over the shoulder shots and two shots are continuously used throughout the scene to make the comedy the centre of it and to repeatedly show Naomi’s reactions. The editing in this scene is very continuous and the cuts aren’t really noticed. The narrative for this film shows a rich man named Arthur who is a very reckless and careless individual. The clip added shows the moment where he gets the contact details of the love of his life, however he is forced to marry another woman in order to keep the wealth that he has. Arthur has to deal with a lot of heartbreak throughout this film such as nearly losing his love Naomi due to not telling her that he is engaged to somebody else, making the difficult decision of choosing between love and wealth and facing the tragic death of his beloved nanny Hobson. This film is written with binary oppositions and it is shown by the different lives that Arthur and Naomi lead. Whilst Arthur is very rich and lives in a huge house with magnetic beds, a cinema, many expensive decorations and cars and he has help from Hobson and Bitterman, Naomi lives the opposite life. She does not have as much money as Arthur has and tries to work as a tour guide in order to earn some cash. These two parts of the story are vital two the film as the two characters help keep the story going by using their opposites to help each other. Another story that happens alongside the narratives of Arthur and Naomi is the story of Hobson. Throughout this film she becomes very ill and sadly dies surrounded by Arthur. This is also quite an important storyline as her illness is used as a way to help Arthur become more domesticated. Todorov’s film theory is also followed in this movie. This is shown by Arthur’s life being very reckless and fun in the beginning until he hears about the problem that he could have with his money unless he marries the woman that he doesn’t love. This is the main problem that happens in this film and other problems come his way afterwards. Arthur tries to spend as much time with Naomi as possible because she makes him happy, but how he ends up solving it is by cancelling the engagement and learning to live life without his wealth.  

The second comedy that I have chosen is Crazy Rich Asians. Just like the other comedy film, this movie uses high key lighting. This is a frequent convention of the comedy genre because this form of lighting connotes happiness which is what this genre tries to achieve from the audience. The first two characters shown in the clip are wearing different styles of costumes. The male character is wearing a suit whilst the female character looks more casual. Although in the film they are both quite wealthy, these costumes show that the male is a little bit better off. This is continuously shown with through the rest of the scene by the other characters and the editing as a lot of text conversations are sent from the people which he grew up with, implying his wealth. After this there is a map shown in the scene which leads to an establishing shot of what appears to be an expensive house. In the scene the characters are talking about visiting Singapore for a while and the map shows exactly where in the country that they are travelling to. Throughout this scene there are colourful lines bouncing around. This will have been done for the same reasoning as the costumes: to show their wealth. However, this also shows the connections that all of these people have as they bounce from places and contacts. After this, the camera pans around an expensive room filled with a group of women all dressed to show that they are of a higher class. It looks like a book club is being showcased. This can be a factor of intelligence. Within the clip you can hear the sound of the text messages being typed out. This can show that it is being typed in real time. Sound effects are also used to show messages being sent and delivered between people. This shows that the relationship is very high profile. The music in this scene is very upbeat and sounds like swing. This has been used as a way to show happiness and to get people to look forward to watching the rest of the film. The first shot that is used in this clip is an over the shoulder shot. This focuses on what the male character has to say but shows that he is in conversation. A two shot has been chosen after this to show the reaction to what he has to say before going back to the over the shoulder shot so that he can continue speaking. This shot type is used frequently within this clip to focus on conversations. Two shots are also involved to showcase body language between two characters. A lot of editing has been done to this movie and it can be noticed. Though the editing is continuous, the text conversations and lines have been added. This is so that the audience have an early visual representation of the connections held with the characters that are properly introduced later on. Both comedies appear to be very upbeat and fun but with crazy rich Asians the editing is a lot more complicated. This film does not really have any binary oppositions, meaning that it does not follow the theory by Levi-Strauss, making it appear different to Arthur. However, Crazy Rich Asians does follow Todorov’s film theory. This movie begins with a man named Nick Young and a woman named Rachel Chu having dinner. Nick decides to invite Rachel to Singapore to meet his family, meaning that everything is fine. But things drastically change when they get to Singapore. Rachel does not get along with Nick’s mother and this causes a huge problem. Rachel tries to change herself in the hope to get her partner’s mother to like her but when that doesn’t work she feels like she has no choice but to leave the man who makes her happy. These events are the disruption and the acknowledgement of the equilibrium. The ending of the movie shows the new equilibrium, Rachel and Nick being able to be together as the blessing is given by Nick’s mother.