Mind Map for the Romantic Genre.

Target audiences for the Action genres.

The action genre is mainly aimed at a Male audience, aged between 12 and 25, as the activities in action films tend to attract male viewers, and however most movies in that genre have a love interest, allowing females to relate to the viewing, providing another side of possible audience. Action/Adventure films also tend to attract families as well, as it brings people together because of the wide possible audience range, perfect for families of all ages.

Indiana Jones and The Raiders of The Lost Ark

Indiana Jones and The Raiders Of The Lost Ark.

In the opening two minutes of Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first show is an establishing one, by the silhouette of who we believe is Indiana Jones. The footage is quite dark giving a spooky effect to the location; this is accompanied by a misty haze, probably caused on purpose toad effect. Indiana Jones’ clothes look cleaner than those following him; this gives us the impression that he’s the hierarchy. We also notice all the actors looking behind them constantly, this makes the audience begin to connote what could possibly be out there.   

The audio used is interesting as it starts off quite calm, but also has a spooky hint to it, fitting the audio codes that most Action films follow. The soundtracks pace increases as the you near to the end of their journey, it then increases dramatically as a man uncovers a stone statue, giving the audience the impression that something exciting was about to happen.

The producers used a range of different shot types to emphasise how deep in the Jungle the actors were, no close-ups were used to identify any characters, although there was one cut where the focus was on an arrow stuck in a tree in front of the Jungle Explorers. Most of the shots involve panning or tracking following the characters through the Jungle.

Action Mind Map

The Codes and Conventions of the action genre.

Camera shots and Techniques.

       -     Might have low lighting on the villain, or including shadows on their faces.

       -     Normally have fast paced cuts to keep the audience engaged during action scenes.

       -     Action Thrillers also have extreme close up of the characters faces to show expressions.

Symbolic Codes.

-        The characters might have blood on their body, which shows they have been close to the action and the drama.

-        The characters often start with clean clothes, and finish with their clothes being scruffy and torn, which is a symbol for their situation.

 

Written and Audio codes.

-        Action thrillers have fast paced and dramatic music to help emphasise the tense movements to create suspense and to match the action.

-        Action Thrillers often have music to suit the characters personality, e.g. when a villain enters the frame the viewer would hear dark music symbolising the characters ‘evil’

Overall Codes.

     -        More narrative action codes than enigma codes, clear binary oppositions.

     -        Star Marketing: audience identification/expressions (Cruise/Pitt/Willis/Jolie/Craig/Stallone)

     -        Romantic Sub-Plot, humorous dialogue.