Genre: Musicals
Target Audience: Females, 18-30, Stable
Genre Conventions - Content:
- Flashy sets and costumes
- Plot advances and is conveyed through songs
- Usually set in the past
- Breaking into dance for utter entertainment
Genre Conventions - Production Techniques:
- Wide and long shots in order to capture a full image of choreography and performance elements.
- A lot of "unrealistic" elements build a sense of fantasy and enhance emotional connections.
- Lightning and Mise-en-scene are used dramatically to further portray theatrical aspects.
Institutional Conventions:
- Upbeat and attractive trailers with music from the musical.
- Bright, and big thumbnails that stand out and are visually pleasing to the eye.
- Advertisement that is aesthetic and conveys the idea of a "perfect world" where people sing in harmony.
Film Sample #1:
La La Land - This film embodies my genre because the love story of Sebastian and Mia progresses and unfolds through the use of music. The costumes and the Mise-en-scene of this film are all very aesthetically pleasing to the eye and many aspects of the scene create a theatrical essence to the film. Throughout the musical film, there are a variety of scenes (like the planetarium ballroom) where the actions are very unrealistic but enhance and further develop the emotional connections of the characters. The bursting of dancing, dramatic costumes, and singing dialogue all construct and convey La La Lands' message/plot to the audience, perfectly fitting the musical genre.
Film Sample #2:
High School Musical - This film embodies my genre because we follow the story of high school teenagers as they go through their milestones while being portrayed through song and dance. During the duration of the film, we get placed into some of the characters' "dream sequences" and get to know their emotional values and goals for the future. The film embodies the idea of a "perfect world" where the characters sing in harmony. Therefore, High School Musical correctly falls under the musical genre.
Musical Films:
- West Side Story
- Teen Beach Movie
- Descendants
- 13
- Camp Rock
