Genre Analysis
Pre-Production

Genre Analysis - Action
Action is a genre that is in film and literature. It consist of fast
paced scenes, gun fights and well thought out plot scenes. Most of
the action films I have watched all use the same key elements like:
A technically advanced enemy being defeated by the ‘Hero’, chase
scenes, fast cars, guns and raids. These elements make an action
film; however you can get action films that haven’t gone over the
top with expenses however the plot has to be written well. Some
common plot devices include: heists, robbery, police, terrorism,
heroism, kidnapping etc.
Where Action originated from:
The genre action has been one of the longest genres in the film
industry as the first ever action film “The great train robbery” was
created in 1903, well over 100 years ago. Even in this
film, elements from today’s modern action films are
used. Edwin S. Porter was the director of ‘The Great
Train Robbery’, the first action film. Although the
running time was only 12 minutes long, it
revolutionised the film industry and more films began
to use this great genre.
Edwin S Porter:
The famous producer, director, studio manager and cinematographer,
Edwin S Porter revolutionised the film industry with over 250 films
to his name. His most important pieces of work include “Jack and the
Beanstalk” and “Life on an American Fireman etc. His education was
far from extraordinary as he attended public schools in
Connellsville and worked in a number of jobs like a telegraph
operator and sign painter. His interest in technology began as he
worked in a ship and building company inventing devices to improve
communications. He entered motion picture work during 1896 and his
first year movies were commercially projected on large screens in
the US. 1899 was the year he joined the Edison Manufacturing Company
and soon after he took charge of motion picture productions at
Edison’s Ney York studios. Thanks to this man, iconic action films
like “Life of a cowboy” and “the great train robbery” were allowed
to make their impact on the film industry and action genre.
IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0692105/
Main Aspects of Research:
From the research of the action genre I have found the editing is a
main aspect of achieving a good action film. This is because I will

need to keep speed in the transition of my clips, and the use of
non-diegetic sound effects are important.
Typical conventions used in the Action genre:
- Fast paced shots
- Following the action with the camera
- Depending on whether or not the person does his often, the
camera shot could all be done without cuts and with panning.
- Good Guys and Bad Guys (Bad Guys are often kept in the dark)
- Fast cars
- Lots of chasing
- Explosions
- The hero is normally quite well kept
Top grossing Action Films recently produced:
- Jurassic World Directed by Colin Trevorrow. This came to no
surprise due to the immense use of CGI and the professional
acting which lines the entire film, especially Chris Pratt and
his superb performance.
- Fast and Furious 7 directed by James Wan. The fast and furious
franchise has always been a good seller in the actin genre and
to no surprise the 7th instalment kept up with the expectations
of the quality films. The unfortunate events of Paul Walkers
death gave a sad and emotional feel to the movie as a tribute
to his death was played as the final scene with the sound
track “See you again” which hit number 1 in the charts. The
song gave a lot of advertisement for the film and this is why
Fast and furious 7 over took all the other films in the
franchise.
- American Sniper Directed by Clint Eastwood. This true storied
film was, although seen as American propagandist from some,
historically correct (even though some sections were
exaggerated)and produced to a high standard.
- Spectre Directed by Sam Mendes. James Bond is the biggest
selling Spy action franchise of its time and the new film
“Spectre” didn’t let us down with the brilliant directing from
Sam Mendes
- Common actors that are in Action Films:
- Daniel Craig (James Bond – Educated,
sophisticated, license to kill)
- Mark Wahlberg (Films - Pain & Gain, Lone
survivor etc.)
- Mark Sinclair – Vin Diesel (Fast and Furious)
All of these actors are well known ‘Tuff Guys’ however they are
all of different standards. Daniel Craig is a ‘posh’ Spy, mark
Wahlberg is more of a hard hitting man and Vin Diesel takes more
of the thug approach.

Genre Analysis - Comedy
I might want to include an aspect of Comedy into this action film.
The film “Let’s be cops”, is a good example of what I want to
achieve, however I want to focus on the action rather than the
comedy. With a comedy, the camera shots are not conventional and are
decided by the plot of the comedy. If the film is fast paced, then
fast paced shots are used, and if it is more of a romance, longer
shots are used etc. I however want to achieve an action-comedy so I
want to use the conventions of a stereotypical action film with
aspects of funny dialogue and action. So fast paced shots with quick
transitions will be used.
Where Comedy came from:
Comedy began during Shakespearian times within his plays which
were presented to huge audiences, hundreds of times. These
plays were the standing ground for comedy and it has been
developed for this to what we see today in many films. The
first films to use comedic values were known as slapsticks,
also known as silent films. One of the most iconic comedy Duo
were Laurel and Hardy, who appeared in 25 silent short films
and 45 sound shorts (with 27 full-length sound films). These
“Slapsticks” used actions and expressions for comedy and not
‘puns’ which assures me the actors do not need funny lines or
jokes to make the audience laugh.
Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin was an English comic actor and
filmmaker born in 1889 and died in 1977. His rise
to fame was during the silent era as he became a
worldwide icon through his screen person as “the
tramp”. He is considered one of the most
important figures in the history of the film
industry and especially comedy. He had a hard
upbringing surrounded by poverty and hardship in
London. Charlie’s career began very early when he
started touring music halls and later working as
a stage actor and comedian. His career took off
at the age of 19 when he was signed to a company
called “Fred Karno” which took him to America.
This is where he developed the tramp persona and
formed his large fan base. Thanks to Charlie
Chaplin, Comedy continues to exist.

Top Grossing Comedy Films:
- Number top grossing comedy of 2015 is “Inside Out” with $356M.
This is a Disney film which gives reason for their success due
to the amazing animations and experience in the distribution
sector.
- The top grossing comedy of all time is “Shrek 2” 2004 with
$436M. There is a pattern to the top grossing comedies during
recent times which is animation. Due to the relatively new
technology constantly advancing, animated movies have taken
the comedy market by storm and now the top 10 grossing
comedies are all animations.
- Toy Story 3 and their franchise come in second with $415M. Toy
story 3 is probably one of the most well-known animated comedy
and have a franchise ranging from toys to clothes etc.
Props and Costumes
This genre is so wide that any prop can be used in
a comedic way. In the silent era, top hats and
suits were commonly used to portray a man’s
excessive gentlemen trait and a walking stick to
further emphasise this point. Bow ties and unusual
facial hair was also very common in “Slapsticks” as
they together looked amusing and encouraged the audience to
laugh. With my film as it is not silent “Slapstick” but a more
modern film, I will contrast the two characters appearances to
try help the audience see what a bad team the two characters are
together.
Research relative to my film introduction:
Police Academy – Hugh Wilson
My film introduction will be an Action-comedy and there are many
films in the industry already doing this genre. The film “Police
Academy” is a great example of this. It perfectly balances comedy
and action to create an easy flowing, action packed funny film.
This is what I want to achieve in my film introduction. Hugh
Wilson, the director of police academy also directed other films
like “Blast from the past” a romantic-comedy. This shows he is
able to match 0ocmedy with other genres in a perfect equilibrium
to achieve to rating films.
Beverly Hill Cop – Martin Brest
Beverly Hill Cop is another example of an action comedy and this
film’s success came with the casting of the actors. Eddie Murphy
played the Beverly Hill Cop brilliantly in this film with his
actions and expressions along with his believable acting as a
cop.

I would like to include in my film introduction these
expressions, movements and unusual aspects to try and portray an
aspect of comedy in my action film “Fat-MATT-Slim”. Finally I
will need a cast that can get on well so they can work together
in this genre.