Codes and conventions of the drama genre and how they fit into my imagined film

Conventions of the Drama genre and how they fit into my imagined film:

·         Focus on real life situations: Many drama films are focused on telling the story of real-life situations and things which happen in our everyday lives. They usually follow normal people, and their problems, highlighting what things affect our lives and the way in which we live.

·         The theme of character development: Often, the main character will go through a transition, or will change dramatically throughout the film, for example, in my imagined film ‘Naomi’s Choice’, the main character Naomi goes through a transition, and overtime, matures into a young woman raising her child in the best way that she can. This shows a dramatic change to the person she used to be before having Bethany in her life.

·         Emotionally affect the audience: Because of the truthfulness of many drama films, the spectator is often left feeling emotional at various points of the film, whether this is sadness or happiness, as seen in ‘Stand By Me’(Rob Reiner, 1986).

·         Particular themes explored: There are a variety of themes which are often explored in drama films, including: drug and alcohol abuse; growing up, bullying; class division, and religion.

Codes:

·         Characters must be easily accessible for the audience-this means that they are easy to relate to.

·         A form of realisation towards the end of the film

·         The character has a clear relationship with people and to themselves.

·         Use of realistic storylines

·         Usually some form of a journey

·         Use of realistic settings

·         Guidelines

·         Verisimilitude within the storyline-There is truth within the story.

·         Paradigmatic: Social issues involved, such as Naomi wanting to be accepted by people and wanting to have friends supporting her.