1 / 10

Genre - Comedy

A PowerPoint describing the comedy genre.

_catherineharris
Download Presentation

Genre - Comedy

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Comedy CATHERINE HARRIS

  2. Conventions of the genre • The comedy genre humorously exaggerates the situation, the language, the action and the characters. • Comedies mostly occur in bright places creating a realistic environment with naturalistic camera work. Bright and positively connotated colours are used. • Diegetic sound is very important as the dialogue is essential. Non-diegetic sound emphasizes certain scenes, adding comedic elements. • Props are very important, especially in slapstick comedy. This is one of the main types of comedy; slapstick, dark humour and wit or word-play. • Idiotic or more stereotypically stupid characters are used in contrast with groups of ‘normal’ people, emphasizing their personality. This is also used with an above average, intelligent character signifying how socially awkward and unaware of their social boundaries they are. • A common attribute within characters in comedies is sarcasm. • Comedies observe the deficiencies and troubles of life and usually have happy endings although the humour may have a serious or negative side.

  3. Typical narratives Some codes and conventions include: • Nudity/Nudist scenes • Physical issues • Ridiculous scenarios • Domestic Characters • Eccentric Characters • Love Interests • Attractive/Unattractive Females • Attractive/Unattractive Males • Revealing Outfits • Crazy Outfits • Wise Characters • Popular/Unpopular Characters • Sex • Drugs • Violence • Weapons • Money • Swearing

  4. Key Structures The Classical Hollywood Structure Order › Chaos › Order Restored The Three Act Structure (The setup, the confrontation and the resolution.) Comedian led narrative A showcase of individual gags or personal quirks loosely held together by a ‘plot’. E.g. Monty Python or Charlie Chaplin.

  5. Sub-genres • Sex comedy – Humour derived from sexual situations or desire. • Situational comedy – Exposing a stock group of characters to different situations. • Straight comedy – Films that don’t attempt a specific approach to comedy however, use comedy for comedic sake. E.g. ‘Clueless’ • Slapstick – Exaggerated and boisterous action that creates impossible, humorous situations. • Surreal comedy – storytelling that includes behaviour that is illogical; this includes bizarre juxtapositions, absurd situations and unpredictable reactions to normal situations. • Anarchic comedy – a stream-of-consciousness type of humour. • Bathroom/Gross out comedy – vulgar or sexual humour. • Comedy of ideas – Exploring serious issues e.g. religion, sex or politics. • Comedy of manners – Humour around social classes. • Dark/Black comedy – Dealing with a taboo subject in a satirical way. • Farce – Exaggerating situations beyond the point of reality. • Observational humour – Finding humour in everyday life. • Parody/Spoof – Mocking other film genres or classic films. E.g. mockumentaries.

  6. HYBRID SUBGENRES • Life (or ‘day in the life’) comedy • Romantic comedy (or Rom-com) e.g. ‘Love Actually’ • Screwball comedy (when the comedy appears to focus on the story of the male character until a strong female takes centre stage). • Science fiction comedy e.g. ‘Back to the Future’. • Sports comedy (focusing usually on bad athletes and physical humour). • War comedy (when a small group of individuals who – one by one – get killed (literally or metaphorically). • Western comedy e.g. ‘Rango’. • Action comedy • Martial arts films e.g. slapstick martial arts • Superhero films e.g. ‘The Incredibles’ • Buddy films (with mismatched partners) • Comedy thriller • Comedy mystery • Crime comedy • Fantasy comedy e.g. ‘Groundhog Day’ and ‘Shrek’ • Horror comedy e.g. ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ or ‘Braindead’.

  7. Success of the genre • For comedies, it is believed that 31% of the film’s success is derived from its cast. • Comedy films have the second-highest percentage of women in their audiences at 54%. This is compared to all major genres, behind only romance at 59%. • Unfortunately for comedies the budget is not a strong indicator of likely profitability. • There are signs that the comedy industry is struggling to maintain its place as a boom area for the digital era of video broadcasting. ‘Comedy is still about 17% of Netflix’s original content…but there has been a definite uptick on drama and sci-fi/fantasy’ Richard Broughton, Research Director at Ampere Analysis.

  8. COMPANIES RESPONSIBLE FOR PRODUCING COMEDIES Some comedy production companies include: • Entertainment • Big Talk • Tiger Aspect Productions • King Bert Productions • Lark Productions

  9. Highest grossing comedy films (according to IMDB) • Tootsie ($177.20M) • Home Alone 2: Lost in New York ($173.59M) • Elf ($173.40M) • Bridesmaids ($169.11M) • Meet the Parents ($166.24M) • Wild Hogs ($168.27M) • Three Men and a Baby ($167.78M) • Big Daddy ($163.48M) • Grown Ups ($162.00M) • The Waterboy ($161.49M) • Home Alone ($285.76M) • Meet the Fockers ($279.26M) • The Hangover ($277.32M) • The Hangover Part II ($254.46M) • Bruce Almighty ($242.83M) • Mrs. Doubtfire ($219.20M) • Austin Powers in Goldmember ($213.31M) • Wedding Crashers ($209.22M) • Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me ($206.04M) • Liar Liar ($181.41M)

  10. Thank you for Watching

More Related