Drama Research

Drama research


Antonio Maya


P.7





Drama conventions-content


A serious representation of something that can occur, or has occurred in real life and does not include fantasy


Emphasizes emotions and events, basically dramatizes them. And it also shows emotions at their best and worst


Audience Can easily relate and sympathize with protagonist


Protagonist is going through emotional journey where he/she is unstable and has to make a


Has a complex plot where the protagonist is going on a journey whether emotional and/or physical and often incorporates a twist of some sort


Has emotional peaks and there is truth within the story


Characters develop throughout the film


There is often a realization due to journey


Popular themes are substance abuse, childhood (bullying), being segregated (like religion or class divisions)


Usually follow normal people and their problems


Highlights the things we do and how it affects us


Flashbacks and flash forwards





Drama conventions- production techniques


The characters costume is highly reflective of the characters emotional state


The characters props are also highly reflective of the characters emotional state, a troubled character often is portrayed doing drugs of smoking cigarettes


Non diegetic sound is often emotional music score/soundtrack and often includes voiceover of protagonist


Most important diegetic sound is dialogue


Lighting often includes neutral tones and uses low key lighting


Uses a lot of: handheld camera movement, close ups, fast paced editing, shot reverse shot, POV, eyeline match


Low and high angles to portray strength or weakness within character


Often uses freeze frames


Soundscape is used to enhance action and mood





Drama Conventions-institutional Conventions


Have strong scripts


Usually a big director or awards given to director are emphasized


Don’t typically have huge budgets


Main character is relatable to attract audience


Target audience can vary throughout sub genres


Try to appeal to audiences emotions


Trailers, film poster, talk shows, etc… are popular marketing techniques


Trailer reveals core plot, but doesn’t spoil anything


Big stars often go on talk shows to increase anticipation


Critiques come out before movie is released


Often cross promotion if based off of book





Examples


-A star is born


This is a movie that I believe represents the drama genre very well. It is a realism production that has events that could occur in real life. The protagonist is going through a point in his life where he is being overwhelmed with emotions because he feels that he is bringing down his wife’s career and has childhood trauma that haunts him. He abuses substances, especially alcohol, but is easy to sympathize with given the position he is in. The plot has a lot of emotional peaks where you think he is getting better along his emotional journey through his and his wife’s musical career and relationship but then he relapses and things take a turn for the worst resulting in the plot twist at the end where he kills himself. Overall I believe that this film is a good example of a typical drama.





-Bohemian Rhapsody


Bohemian rhapsody is another drama that has a lot of the typical conventions. The movie is based off the life of Freddie Mercury as he is going on a journey through his musical career while also struggling with his sexuality and relationships. As a character he smoked cigarettes and was often singled out because of his cross dressing and sexuality making him the perfect fit as the protagonist for a drama film. The movie is very emotional, a typical convention of dramas, and you can often relate to him throughout the film. Another thing that the movie does that is typical of a drama is that the protagonist goes from being stable, to unstable, and then has a realization of what's important and he gets himself together again. And at the end (if you don't know Freddie’s story prior to watching the movie) there is a twist where he contracts aids. This film has many of the typical drama conventions making it a perfect fit for the genre.





More examples


Whiplash


Trailer: https://youtu.be/zIP_gtjDtfE





The Shawshank Redemption


Trailer: https://youtu.be/6hB3S9bIaco





Forrest Gump


Trailer: https://youtu.be/bLvqoHBptjg





Life is Beautiful


Trailer: https://youtu.be/pAYEQP8gx3w





Titanic


Trailer: https://youtu.be/zCy5WQ9S4c0

Introduction

Hello my name is Antonio Maya and I am a senior at Cypress Bay High School. I will be using this blog as a means of creating my AICE Media Studies Portfolio. I will be posting some of the work that I create throughout the class here. Hope you enjoy.