Genre Research

To start off today’s lesson, me and Liam Cairns devised three genre’s for our main task:

1. Horror

(We figured the horror genre would by far be the hardest to nail on both script and camera. Research wise we had watched a clip titled Reaper which, if anything, steered us away from the genre. However, we were inspired by the 1992 horror/drama Ghostwatch. Ghostwatch was, for its time, a relevantly innovative show, broadcasted on BBC on the night of the 31st of October (92). On its first showing, the show attempted to dislodge viewers as to whether or not the footage was streaming live, taking advantage of external factors such as the broadcast date (halloween night) and viewers presumed in-built trust of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It turns out that the apparent on-the-set mise-en scene of the production is pre-devised; it is infact entirely pre-recorded. The show was relatively unconventional for its time and has effectively took on new meanings with the emergence of ‘live’ ghost hunt shows such as Most Haunted. I think it would have worked as an effective spoof if the show was broadcasted after the emergence of these sorts of shows. Ghostwatch, in terms of genre, is pretty unconventional: the ‘ghost’ isn’t directly shown, instead the production relies on tension rather than any form of release. It’s worth noting however that viewers (extremely analytic ones, mind) can spot ghostly outlines during certain parts of the show- devices such as these have given the show (now 17 years old) a strong cult following. 

(Above: The ‘expert’ panel on the set of Ghostwatch)

2. Comedy

(The second genre I focused on was comedy. Towards the end of the initial preliminary project, I had an idea about creating (for the then upcoming main task) a short, comedic film purposefully breaking continuity rules, as well as skewering other accepted filming standards. This idea remained just that though- an idea, and so a script/storyboard wasn’t devised. An off-putting aspect of this genre was the weight of reliance on the audiences reaction: I didn’t especially want to make a video intended to be funny if it wouldn’t go on to achieve that desired effect! Through the use of feedback slips we handed out to the class, we found that comedy was the most requested genre type for our production. 

3. Drama

(We both figured that the drama genre would be the easiest to write and film, further encouraged by the fact that I had devised a short story in my own time which we could simply set to a script. Liam Cairns suggested that the genre would be a popular one, as the highest-figured (in-terms of viewers) TV shows use drama to convey stories (Eastenders, being a prime example).