Genre Research: Action

Action movies. You know them, you love them... They're everywhere! The second highest-grossing film of all time, Avengers Endgame, is... You guessed it, an action movie! So... You know what an action movie is. But what makes a movie an action movie? What are an action movie's characteristics? In todays blog, we will analyze that.

Action movies are defined by key genre conventions that explain the general content of such movies. The heroic protagonist should be involved with a high-stakes conflict-for example, foiling a villainous plot or trying to save hostages. Secondly, action movies are not complete without action scenes; explosions, stunt performances, and even car chases are characteristic features. In order to make the scenes look more striking, film directors often enhance the visual scenes through motion effects and a fast-paced nature. Conflict is provided through the strong antagonists, while depth and humor are provided by the supporting characters. From the various settings ranging from those aside of the urban environment to more exotic locales, these elements all come together to create an adrenaline-filled experience for the capture of audiences' attention.

Action movies utilizes a variety of production techniques, including the choreography for real and authentic fights, professional stunt coordination for safety, dynamic camerawork with fast cuts, which could enhance tension, and slow motion for dramatic emphasis. Sound design is an essential component to make impactful effects engaging with a score; post-production editing refines the pacing and visual effects into a cohesive experience.

Action movies are promoted through traditional and digital means in a manner that shows there is much action involved. Trailers will include exciting sequences, while eye-catching posters and social media interactions will show off interactive pieces. Merchandising nurtures the fan base, and the press tours with the cast keep the visibility high. Influencer partnerships and brand tie-ins broaden reach and buzz, thereby driving ticket sales and viewer interest.

EXAMPLES:

"John Wick" (2014): From its dynamic choreography to unprecedented fight scenes, this movie renews the action genre. It follows Keanu Reeves playing a retired hitman whose dog-a reminder of his late wife-is killed. High-stakes confrontation, deep world-building, and an enormous moral code are at play in this movie, all set against breathtaking visuals and an engrossing score. Focusing on hand-to-hand combat and gun-fu, it has created a new benchmark for action choreography.

"Top Gun: Maverick" (2022): Sequel to the classic film from 1986, this comes fully imbued with a good dose of nostalgia, wrapped in modern action. Tom Cruise is back as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, now charged with training a detachment of younger pilots for a hazardous mission. Triumphing in breathtaking aerial shots, intense dogfighting, and well-etched character development, here is a movie that satisfies. It truly embodies the genre, deploying high-stakes scenarios, emotional depth, a touch of teamwork and sacrifice, but with that signature explosion of action that keeps audiences on the edge of their seats.

Other examples:

Representation: 21 Jump Street

For today's blog post, I will analyze representation in the movie 21 Jump Street. 

21 Jump Street is a movie that is humorous and based on a buddy cop formula that sets two young underachievers thrust back into high school. The film sees police officers Schmidt and Jenko go undercover as high school students. Schmidt: Schmidt is the typical nerd at first—awkward and just trying to make it through school — while Jenko on the other hand, was a cool jock. But in the process of telling this story, both characters are liberated from their reductive stereotypes. Schmidt becomes more confident and begins to accept himself for who he is, Jenko learns that one does not have to be an athlete in order to appreciate intelligence. This change goes to show that people are more than just labels.

The movie also showcases various high school groups like the goths and popular kids, revealing that everyone has a tale to tell. It pushes the boundaries of these stereotypes for comedic effect, which is a classic portrayal in this series but demonstrates that people are more complicated than they appear. As they explore around the school, Schimidt and Jenko learn that their classmates are not just types of people you pick out in movies or TV, but have real lives and feelings — blowing up any preconceived notion about highschool ideals.

This movie is a great example of representation in media. Many stereotypes are used, which shows how the media perceives certain groups of people. For example, jocks are portrayed as dumb, strong, and mean by the media. But, in reality, this isn't always true. This movie also does a great job in showing its audience again that people are just more than the identities we choose for them. Jenko, a typical jock, breaks his stereotype and turns out to be a very different person than described before.

Sound Project

          

         

          The sound lesson was very interesting and it introduced me to new ways to help make my films better by utilizing sound techniques. This lesson also explained to me why and how sound is used in media in order to enhance the meaning of a film. I can use this new knowledge in order to help communicate a message in my films or to help create reactions from the audience. For example, the use of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds in a film can help create specific reactions from the audience.

           For the sound project, we were directed to create a 1-2 minute scene using ONLY sound. We would have to rely on the new techniques we learned during the sound lesson in order to create a scene. We were only allowed to use a total of 7 words during the scene. We were allowed to use sounds from online databases, but we also had to create at least 4 sounds; just like a foley artist would. We also had to make an outline of our project, so we could plan what we were going to make.

          Before doing anything, me and my partner brainstormed and thought of scenarios we could use for this project. After some consideration, we decided that we would make a scene of a soccer player scoring a goal while playing in a stadium. We picked this because we were familiar with the topic and because there were many sounds that we could use. After picking our scene, we made an outline. This outline was the building block of our project, as it helped us greatly in many ways. Firstly, it helped us pick sounds so that we could create the scene only using sound. Then, it helped us organize those sounds. This allowed us to download the right sounds from the data bases and create our own sounds. The outline also helped us imagine what the project would look like when finished, and if we needed to make any changes. Lastly, the outline helped us organize our editing, because we had an idea of what sounds needed to be used and where they should go. I edited using the Movavi Video Editor as I am familiar with it and it had great tools that allowed me to edit the film and make it as good as possible.

                                                        ^Making the project^

        Overall, I am quite satisfied with our project. There are many positives, and of course some areas where we could improve in the future. I am really happy with the editing and think it was very well-done. The editing helped make the sounds work together to create a scene where video wasn't necessary in order to tell it's story. One thing I would like to improve for my next project is the sounds used. I think some of the sounds didn't completely fit their roles and could've been better. Other than that, I think the rest was really good.

LINK TO THE PROJECT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJzWfnP4Mpk