Genre: Research

Academic Research:

The PowerPoint below contains a number of slides containing academic research into my chosen genre of comedy. It is about comedy as it is what I have planned my movie openin to be, therefore I have explored the different sub-genres of comedy, the most famous comedy movies in history and the ways that comedy movies are protrayed.





As a result of my research, I have found that a comedy movie contains bright colours such as yellow or light blue. This is because these colours are known to epresent fairly happy moods and therefore they fit with the comedy genre due to the laughter and happiness that a comedy media piece provides. Also from my research I have found out the most popular techniques used in comedy media. For example, I researched movies similar to my plot and looked up reviews to find out what techniques are effective and how they are used. I found that in 'The Change-Up' the use of adult humour and the occasional offensive joke was a big hit. This may because in our current day, we rely on offensive jokes and insults to gain happiness and laughter.

Codes & Conventions

Comedy movies often use a mixture between adult and simple humour to gain different audiences. By this I mean that a film may be a certificate U, PG or 12 but still contain humour that only adults would understand. A great example of this is Grown Ups starring Adam Sandler. Adam Sandler tends to create a variety of movies, some aimed at kids, some at adults, but he mainly tries to blend the two together. In Grown Ups there are plently of childish jokes and silly things that amuse children, however there are also plently of adult jokes due to the fact it's a family movie. Most family movies tend to add sly adult humour to give them something to get entertained with instead of sitting and watching a childish film with their kids.

The setting of comedy films often depend of the certificate. For example, if a comedy is a 15, you could expect to see a bar/pub or some form of party depending on the narrative. The same goes for a comedy certified 12 and you could expect to see some sort family home or supermarket as comedies that are 12's are usually aimed at families and therefore have them involved in the storyline. A good example of a 15 with these settings is The Sitter starring Jonah Hill. The movie is about a guy wanting to earn a little cash so he babysits for his mum's friend and ends up getting into trouble with gangs and going to a bar and a party, like mentioned earlier. An example of a 12 with these settings is yet again Grown Ups. In my opinion, Grown Ups is an excellent example of a comedy/family movie as it includes so many codes and conventions that you would expect.

Props are a big tool in comedy films due to the fact they sometimes make up the narrative. For example, in Keith Lemon's movie, the narrative is based around his invention and therefore it is constantly mentioned and related to because it's a good topic for humour, which gets the genre across. Plently of little props in a comedy help to create small jokes and punchlines that keep the audience interested and entertained but mosto f the time, the prop is mentioned briefly and then forgetton about, because the joke is dead. This is why you have to be creative when creating a comedy as you have to create and use humour that last a long time and doesn't die out quickly, it has to be humour that you can comed back to and still find funny.

Sub-genres

As mentioned and listed in my academic research powerpoint above, there are plenty of subgenres in every genre and especially in comedy. The main reason why there are plenty of comedy subgenres is because there are so many different types of humour and they vary between different audiences and age ranges. However, there are a few subgenres that are most popular based on our modern day perception of comedy/humour. There are a few examples listed below.

Black Comedy:
Much like comedy-horror, black comedy, or dark comedy, is a type of comedy film that often uses cruelty as the source of humour. Most black comedies involve crime or other intense moments like average school/workplace bullying. Some examples of these films include The Cable Guy, Ruthless People and Dr. Strangelove.

Parody:
Parody is defined as a work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work, its subject, or author, by means of humorous or satiric imitation. Parody is nothing but a composition that imitates or misrepresents somebody's style in a humorous way.

Action Comedy:
Films in this sub-genre blend comic antics and action where the film stars combine wit and one-liners with a thrilling plot and daring stunts. The genre became a specific draw in North America in the eighties when comedians such as Eddie Murphy started taking more action oriented roles such as in 48 Hrs. and Beverly Hills Cop. These type of films are often buddy films, with mismatched partners such as in Midnight Run, Rush Hour, Bad Boys, and Hot Fuzz. Slapstick martial arts films became a mainstay of Hong Kong action cinema through the work of Jackie Chan among others. It may also focus on superheroes such as The Incredibles, Hancock or Kick-Ass.