INTRODUCING MEDIA AUDIENCES & PRODUCTS WEEK 3 - THE PRODUCT'S GENRE

OKAY - so far you should have told me about

. . . a MEDIA COMPANY in terms of its ownership, products and competitors.
. . . a MEDIA PRODUCT in terms of IT'S PURPOSE i.e WHY it was made.

As you can see you've now started addressing the 2nd criteria of the Audiences/Products unit.

Today I want you to add to your analysis of the product by looking at its GENRE. Genre is the term used for classifying media products into groups with similar characteristics. Some popular media genres include horror, comedy, First person shooters, thrillers, RPGs, sandbox games, superhero movies. Genre is not about format (film/tv/radio/magazine/games) it's more about the TYPE of that product something is (horror film/ cooking show/ games magazine/ FPS game).

Whatever product you've chosen to write about it will fit, neatly or otherwise, into a particular GENRE.  The other term I want you to get your head round today is CODES and CONVENTIONS.
Conventions are those particular signs that we associate with particular genres. Today I want you to tell me what genre your product is and what kind of conventions you could expect to see in any example of that genre, in other words what defines the genre.

Genre is important for both punters and producers. We the audience take COMFORT in genre as we know that what we’re being offered is something we’ve previously enjoyed elsewhere. The more we experience a genre, the more we enjoy things in that genre, as we’re more able to recognise particular elements we recognise. So the more you listen to, say, metal music, or hip hop music, the more you build up a kind of internal mindmap of what to expect with those genres. Media producers love the concept of genre because they can exploit a winning formula and minimise taking risks. When a formula has been proved popular with audiences it makes sense for the producer to use that formula again and create a new product that contains similar recognisable features. They will conform to that genre throughout the marketing and promotion of a product. How much they conform or don't conform to the expectations of the genre will determine how cliched/predictable or unconventional/unpredictable the product will be.

Genres change over time as technology changes but the iconography/conventions of them may stay the same. They can change over time as attitudes change but again the iconography stays the same eg. Cop shows have been around forever and feature alot of the same elements but have different storylines reflecting the times we're living in. Genres that won’t change with the time tend to become marginalised and look out of date. 

Genre is such a useful tool that many channels/stations/labels  EXCLUSIVELY cater to small niche audiences carrying content of just one genre - eg. Kerrang Radio, The Horror Channel etc. 

It's surprising how much you already know about genre - it's been building up in your head all your life. For instance. Look at this image. 

Straight away you can tell me what kind of genre of film this still is from. It's a Horror film. You will probably also be able to tell me the following . . . . 

what are the dominant colours going to be? 

Mainly dark colours, contrasting with some day scenes. Red, black, and dark colours. Gloomy lighting in some scenes so you can’t see exactly what’s going on. 

what will the camera-work be like?

Until the action gets going the camera will be fairly still, although in ‘Paranormal Activity’-style ‘found footage’ movies it will be shaky to give it that ‘hand-held’ documentary vibe. 

where will it be set? 

Set in a location that is in someway lonely, abandoned or isolated, whether in the city (in a family home) or out in the countryside (woods, isolated cabins). 

what will the music be like?

The music will be doomy and droney. There will be frequent use of silence with sudden loud noises to keep audience tense and jumpy. 

what kind of scenes would you expect? 

typical scenes will include scenes of supernatural activity (ghost movies) , violence (slasher movies), cannibalism (zombie movies), torture maybe, a few grisly deaths, a ‘revelation’ scene where the mystery/ghost/monster is revealed, often with a ‘fake’ ending. There will usually be a scene where someone, alone, confronts or explores a terrifying environment (woods, rooms). 

what kind of characters might feature? 

Typical characters might be a hero/heroine i.e the main protaganist, children, their friends (who will usually end up dead), an evil character whether supernatural or just sadistic, also usually an ‘expert’ about the occult/supernatural. 

what kind of ‘cliches’ would you expect in the script/story? 

Typical cliches of horror movies are the fake ending (to set up the sequels), the ‘hello, is there anyone there’ scene, the use of knives and other weapons, and the appearance of things like Ouija boards, exorcisms and a back-story involving childhood/mental health. 

EVERY genre for every media product has a set of codes or conventions or cliches attached to it i.e THINGS YOU WOULD EXPECT TO SEE. 

Thnking about the product you're analyzing I'd like you have a deep look into the GENRE of it and establish whether it's conventional (i.e contains all of the cliches and things you'd expect to see) or unconventional (i.e has a few surprises/different things that DON'T totally conform to the expectations of the genre). 

To do this . . . . 

1. Start a new post called 'Audiences & Products - GENRE - Learning Outcome 1' 

2. Define what genre means. Using what I've written above, but putting it in your own words tell me why GENRE is important for us as punters, and also important for the audience. 

3. Tell me what genre your product is considered to be in. Simply a line like 'Blair Witch Project is a movie in the HORROR genre'. 

4. Then put a subheading in - 'CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF [insert the genre you're going to be writing about]. 

5. This is the biggest part. Compile a list of the all the cliches/conventions you would expect to see in that genre. Illustrate this list if you want to. For films/TV shows tell me what are the typical settings, characters, actors, directors associated with the genre - what will the look, colours, music, dialogue, trailers, posters be like? For games tell me what do you expect to see on the cover, what's the typical setting, cut-scene, perspective, characters ,screen-info, music/sound-fx/dialogue, menus, control system, graphics, backgrounds? 

6. Finally add a paragraph saying whether you think your product totally fits within that genre - does it stick rigidly to those codes/conventions you've established or does it play with some of them (or SUBVERT them)? Does your product actually cross over into OTHER genres? What codes/cliches of those other genres does it contain. This paragraph is evaluative/critical and would go some way to developing merit/distinction indicators for this criteria. 

Where will you find this info? 

Google will be a goldmine - once you've established the genre of your product (and if you get stuck/don't know what genre or subgenre it is gissashout) simply search for 'CLICHES IN . . . ' or 'THINGS YOU'D SEE IN . . . . '. Buzzfeed and other sites have plenty of listicles about these cliches/codes/conventions. Also use your own media use - if you've watched a lot of horrors or played alot of FPS give me your own list of things you would expect to see in any example of that genre. 

How can I improve my mark? 

Go into detail with each cliche/convention you talk about. Can you bring in screenshots/gameplay footage that illustrates the convention/cliche you're talking about? Can you give examples for each cliche? Serious Distinction level work might be able to establish whether the codes/conventions you're looking at are TECHNICAL or SYMBOLIC. 

Don't forget to label your post. 

Label it 'Industry', 'Products & Audiences' and 'Genre'. 

What you should end up with. 

A new blogpost on your media blog that tells me what genre means, what genre your product is, what the codes/conventions/cliches are attached to that genre, and discusses whether your product neatly fits into that genre or not.