Genre and audience is very important
Attack the Block is a hybrid of action, sci-fi, and horror genres.
The codes and conventions of Attack the Block, starting with Action are; that it has a male protagonist, that the humans triumph, unlikely heroes, and with large explosions. These can be created by the use of male actors throughout and the use of explosives and special effects. The explosions were shot by ariel shots and with slow-motion editing to add emphasis. These tend to feed into the genre of action, however, since the film is not shot in a very large space with fast, expensive car chases, it is not shot in America (where most action films are often) and adding to this, it is in South London which is a rare location for such a film, these subvert the expectations.
Now onto the Sci-Fi conventions, in the film Attack the Block, one of the main genres is of course Sci-Fi. Because of this, there must be obvious codes and conventions. I'll start with the codes, then list the conventions to explain them. There are colour themes of metallics all the way through such as blues, purples, greys and blacks. There is also a smaller group of teenage boys fighting a larger, supernatural force. The conventions that explain the colours are that over the camera lens, coloured gels could be placed and lighting would be placed to create shadows to emphasise the tense atmosphere. The teenage boys aspect conforms to the conventions of the genre whereas the fact that it does not involve robots, spaceships or is set on another planet, these subvert the expectations from the genre.
Finally the Horror conventions of Attack the Block. There is low lighting/ very dark lighting throughout the entire film, as well as close-ups and obvious bloody violence. These are accompanied by the use of jumpscares and themes of isolation, where the characters are split up. The most obvious part is, of course, the monsters themselves. The conventions for these would be to use minimal lighting if any at all, very fast cutting editing techniques in post-production (for the jumpscares) and wide shots to show the characters alone, fighting the monsters by themselves. Most of this fits in with the genre of horror, yet it lacks suspense and doesn't have a singular threat killing them off one by one for their self-gain.
Finally the Horror conventions of Attack the Block. There is low lighting/ very dark lighting throughout the entire film, as well as close-ups and obvious bloody violence. These are accompanied by the use of jumpscares and themes of isolation, where the characters are split up. The most obvious part is, of course, the monsters themselves. The conventions for these would be to use minimal lighting if any at all, very fast cutting editing techniques in post-production (for the jumpscares) and wide shots to show the characters alone, fighting the monsters by themselves. Most of this fits in with the genre of horror, yet it lacks suspense and doesn't have a singular threat killing them off one by one for their self-gain.
The genre has it's own audience
Set of people - see film just because genre that it is in.
Genre has very distinctive features
Some films blur the boundaries - these are called hybrids, where you can’t tell the genre.
The audience will expect these certain features in these films.
CODES AND CONVENTIONS - things you usually find in this genre.
CODES
Codes are like objects (parts of the film)
- Codes can be divided into two categories.
TECHNICAL CODES
-WAY equipment IS USED to tell the story in a film.
Horror - shaky camera, handheld, dolls.
Music has to be made (technical) but it also creates mood (symbolic)
SYMBOLIC CODES - ones that make you feel something, create meaning
Conventions (typical of genre)
Genre specific,
Usually used, expected use.
A convention in horror films would be characters being stupid.
Explain the code with the convention.
ACTION CODES -
SCI-FI CODES -
HORROR CODES -
Attack the block
Does not conform mostly to their genres
Sci-fi (mostly in space, American, robots, future tech) <- doesn't have all this.
Theorists, work in universities by people who just think about films all-day
Look what we humans have done.
Theories behind the genre.
.Daniel chandler
Shared between texts (films). We base genre based on the context and the form (what they are and what they look like)
‘Conventional definitions of genre tend to be on the notion that they constitute particular conventions of content (such as themes and setting) and/or form (including structure and style) which are regarded as belonging to them.
Deborah knight
Satisfaction is guaranteed with genre; the deferral of the inevitable provides the additional pleasure of prolonged anticipation’
The fact that the audience knows how the story is going to end but enjoys the journey on the way there, getting pleasure from knowing the ending.
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