Genre Research

Our main task will be to create the titles and opening sequence to our own fictional film, lasting a maximum duration of two minutes. As a group, we discussed the possible genres that we might consider when making our title sequence.

Initially, we intended to create titles in the style of a mockumentary - similar to that of films such as Shane Meadow's 'Le Donk'. However, we were advised against this, as it would have been highly difficult to achieve in the long run.

Instead, we decided on creating a period piece - a piece which evokes a certain era or time period, choosing to set our film in the 1980's. In order to achieve this feel, we intend to combine multiple areas of cinematography, such as sound, mise-en-scene and editing in such a way that suggests or insinuates a completely different time period to the modern day.

The typical conventions of period films can vary widely, as they are highly dependant on the era in which the film is being set. However, often certain elements of the construction of the film are strongly emphasised. For example, the mise-en-scene of a piece becomes incredibly central to the creation of a period film, whereas other genres could allow for more lenience. If elements of the mise-en-scene were not stressed throughout a period piece, it could result in the time in which the film was supposed to be set becoming almost indeterminable, thus rendering the idea of a clear, distinguishable separation between the era of the film and the modern day as useless. Additionally, the usage of non-diegetic music would also often be decided on this basis, as a modern song may not fit within the era the film was intending to replicate, and could therefore be detrimental to the whole effect.

Films set in the 1980's are often central to, or at least contain some relation to particular themes. Typical themes prominent during the 80's include drug use, racial identity and confrontation, politics and unemployment. During this time period, Margaret Thatcher - the first female Prime Minister was in power, creating much controversy throughout the country with her policies. The UK was in an economical crisis, with unemployment rates rising to over 3 million people throughout the country. Examples of films set around this era include 'This Is England', 'Control' and 'Made In Britain'.

Period films can span multiple film genres, as any film could potentially be a period piece if it was set in a different time. However, the most common sub-genres of period films are drama, crime and romance.