Genre Research

Action Film Genre Research

Mise-en-scene

The mise en scene of films are the typical aspects you would expect to find, for example where the films are set, the props they use and the costumes they wear.

The typical settings of action films are in quite highly populated and popular travel destinations such as London and New York, so that people can easily relate to where the action is taking place.

The costumes in action films do vary depending on the sub genre of the film for example in an adventure based action film such as Indiana Jones the character wears explorer outfits almost to give a western effect, whereas in a film such as James Bond the characters are smartly dressed, the audience would always expect the characters to look smart.

In action films the props typically used are weapons, mainly the use of guns are to be expected In a war film, whereas an action western would use a different style of gun or even a bow and arrow depending on the time in which the film was set.

Not all action films use props in the fight scenes however; a lot of films use simple fistfights to get a more dynamic view of the action and a more close up view of the characters. The uses of cars are also very popular in action films, as they normally feature a car chase.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfOqLDhGtVk

Makeup is used extensively in filmmaking especially action films. Makeup is used to make injuries like bullet wounds, scars and bruises look real. This makes an action film look more realistic as there is lots of combat in action films. Makeup could also be used to change the complexion of someone’s skin. For example you could make a characters skin paler which would make them look like they are dead/dying or just different which could define the character.

The music in action films tends to differ depending on the scenario and the plot which the film is following. In an action chase or fight scene the music would be quite fast paced to create an exciting and thrilling feel to the scene. But in a scene with more dialog than action the music would tend to be lower in tone and slower to create suspense and keep the audience wanting to watch more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JZKEN_vpzY

The characters in action films tend to be very similar. In action films you generally have a male main character, the protagonist, the character who the film is more or less based on. Then in most action films there is the bad guy, the antagonist. This is the person that has a plan to cause distress to the world or take over the world.

Finally then other characters you would expect to see in an action film is the support characters, these are usually women who helps the protagonist in some way. This character generally ends up in an on screen romance with the main character. This is essentially like a ‘Bond Girl’.

After this in most action films the other characters are just support roles. Not all action films follow this setup depending on the story line and the sub-genre.