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[Music]
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when crafting a story one of the first
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things a filmmaker has to decide is what
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genre does their story fit into
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[Music]
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genre is an important aspect of
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Storytelling
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the way to let your audience know what
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to expect and sometimes surprise them
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okay did not see that coming today we
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will explore many kinds of genres
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what sets them apart and how are they
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similar
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[Music]
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this is what is genre
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[Music]
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before we get started subscribe and
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click the bell for more filmmaking
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videos
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spoiler alert for the following movies
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ready
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teach me
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in film a genre is a category based on
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similarities either in the plot
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Aesthetics or the intended emotional
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response
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the word genre comes from the French
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which means kind or sort the concept of
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genre can be traced back to Greek
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philosopher Plato who believed there to
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be only two genres poetry and drama
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since then a multitude of genres have
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emerged including horror Thriller
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romance and comedy
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in fact most genres can be further
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divided into more specific categories
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called sub-genres
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for example sub-genres within the action
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genre include martial arts adventure and
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of course superhero films
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so now that we know what genre is let's
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explore the purpose of genres and why
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they're so important in storytelling
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genre serves two purposes to set up
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audience expectations and to provide a
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roadmap for storytellers
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first whether they're aware or not
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audiences are well versed in genre rules
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they are uniquely familiar with the
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patterns and characteristics of genre
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through a lifetime of watching movies
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[Music]
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horror movies are expected to frighten
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while a comedy is expected to make the
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audience laugh terrible she has
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beautiful eyes and her hair smells like
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cinnamon
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failing to meet those expectations can
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create unsatisfied customers and
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disappointing box office returns
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the second purpose for genre is to Aid
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storytellers by providing a road map
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through which they can tell their
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stories
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just like a recipe has a list of
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ingredients every genre has its own set
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of story beats tropes and Aesthetics
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if a writer follows the basic recipe
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they will create something that fulfills
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audience expectations
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this roadmap becomes clearer as we move
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from basic genres into more specific
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sub-genres
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our only expectation from a crime film
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is that it will deal with criminal
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activity this tells us very little about
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the characters situations
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themes
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Etc
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but if we go a step down to the murder
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mystery subgenre we have a lot more
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information about what to expect
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we can guess the basic plot a murder
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takes place
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the structure a detective interviews
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suspects and collects Clues until they
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solve the mystery
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we can even expect a specific type of
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scene the big reveal of the murderer in
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the end yeah I killed Fran but I guess I
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didn't so what do you have on me nothing
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what attempted murder I get arson for
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the building and a few other charges
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with a good lawyer which I have I'll be
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out in no time giving the audience
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something familiar and something new at
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the same time is not easy
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but this is the tightrope writers must
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walk while working in genres
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as Robert McKee points out writers must
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not only fulfill audience anticipations
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or risk their confusion and
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disappointment but they must lead their
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expectations to Fresh unexpected moments
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or risk boring them
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in other words to use genre effectively
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writers must know the rules inside and
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out to know where and when to give the
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audience something unexpected
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next day
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you're looking for me
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since genres function with repeated
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elements let's run through them
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individually starting with plot
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the plot thickens
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the plot is how the story is presented
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to the audience
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many genre films follow the same basic
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narrative structure major story beats
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and even specific scenes
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for example in romantic comedy we begin
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with an introduction to the two leaves
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they have an awkward introduction called
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a meat cute hey sugar you looking for a
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date
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no I want to find Beverly Hills can you
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give me directions
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sure
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five bucks
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can't charge me for directions I can do
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anything I want to baby I ain't lost
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they fall in love
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but eventually a big obstacle breaks
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them apart I've never treated you like a
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prostitute
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thank you
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just did
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after some soul searching they are
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reunited often with a grand gesture
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and they live happily ever after
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[Music]
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in slasher films the plot often centers
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on a group of young people
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who are stalked by a killer
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picked up one by one
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thank you
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[Applause]
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until the final girl is finally able to
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stop them
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for now
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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these plots are certainly formulaic but
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eventually they must evolve in some way
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to keep the genre alive and audiences
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entertained
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scream written by Kevin Williamson took
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the slasher film formula and made it
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part of the story
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never say who's there don't you watch
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scary movies it's a death wish
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you might as well just come out here to
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investigate a strange noise or something
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knowing the rules of the self-genre
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means life or death for these characters
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there are certain rules that one must
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abide by in order to successfully
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survive a horror movie for instance
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number one you can never have sex
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Williamson used our familiarity with the
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sub-genre to single-handedly reinvent
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and revive the slasher film look behind
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you turn around
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behind you I'll turn up
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behind you
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behind
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are you ready another common element
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that defines genre a recurring character
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types
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most genres have their own unique
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character tropes characters that we see
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over and over in these films
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in film Noir we often see the
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hard-boiled Detective
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this is a disillusioned character with a
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cynical view of the world it can't be a
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crook anymore because you used up your
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chances and you can't be honest because
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nobody will let you
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they are vulnerable broken and often
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misled into danger by another common
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Noir character
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the fan for Tau
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she is a mysterious alluring and
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ultimately manipulative character who
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draws the detective deep into a web of
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deception
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[Music]
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[Music]
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in superhero movies there's obviously a
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hero but they can be quite variable in
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their characterization
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they could be a refugee from another
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planet
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a teenager gifted powers
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or a vigilante billionaire
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on the other side of the coin the
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antagonists are often super villains set
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in direct opposition to the hero
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these villains may have had similar
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origin stories to gain their special
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powers
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but their motives and values are quite
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different from their heroic counterparts
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people will die
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starting tonight
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I'm a man of my word
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[Applause]
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just like plots these character types
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need to evolve to stay interesting and
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relevant
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when you decide which genre to write in
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consider how to bring a fresh spin to
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familiar characters
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so far we've kept our focus on the genre
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elements that are put on the page
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now let's look at how presentation
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creates genres on the screen
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presentation is how the formal elements
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of a film are put together
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cinematography costumes
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editing music
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setting atmosphere elements like these
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also play a major role in defining film
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genres
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[Music]
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for example from this shot alone we
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automatically know the genre
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vast and expansive Landscapes that evoke
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Notions of natural beauty
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conflict
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or loneliness
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in fact westerns are one of the only
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genres defined by their setting
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for costumes we get cowboy hats
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Sheriff's Badges and Spurs
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props like six shooters and horses
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the shot choice and editing rhythms of
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the main street shootout are themselves
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generic tropes we all recognize
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westerns even have their type of music
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[Music]
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science fiction movies have wider
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Variety in terms of presentation than
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westerns but they too are dependent on
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distinct formal elements
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instead of the vastness of the Prairie
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we get the Stars
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spaceships often have bold designs for
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the interior and exterior foreign
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is often augmented with futuristic sound
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effects
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costumes range from the completely
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normal to otherworldly
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aliens are created with prosthetics
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sci-fi soundtracks used pheromones
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[Music]
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and later synthesizers
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the use of these formal elements is just
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as common and useful when presenting
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genre films to the audience
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now that we know what the basics of
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genre look and sound like let's move on
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to creative exceptions of how filmmakers
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play with genre
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genre is a rule book for both the
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audience and filmmaker
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a tacit agreement that expectations will
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be met but with a new twist
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in this way genre is an ideal Forum to
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subvert and challenge these expectations
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and here are four ways this can be done
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okay I'm listening let me get a pen
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a spoof is a work of humorous fiction
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which focuses on specific genre
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conventions and exaggerates them for
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Comic effect
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Austin Powers takes on the Spy sub-genre
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a Naked Gun sends up police procedurals
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hey
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look at that the missing evidence in the
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Kellner case my God he was innocent
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he went to the chair two years ago Frank
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well
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I like to use
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and Mel Brooks has made a career out of
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spoofs including his takes on the
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western
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Frankenstein
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and Hitchcock movies
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[Music]
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the version is when a filmmaker uses the
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opposite of genre conventions
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it may be with atmosphere
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characters
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Plus
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[Music]
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or any other element that is within a
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genre
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like when Sophia Coppola soundtrack
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Marie Antoinette with modern music
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or subversion like this can breathe new
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life into a well-worn genre
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[Music]
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in Ari asta's mid-summer the film begins
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in a dark and somber manner consistent
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with our expectations from a horror film
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[Music]
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but then the characters traveled to the
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beautiful and pastoral setting of Sweden
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shockingly contrasts the gruesome
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Horrors they encounter
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by subverting the common tropes of the
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horror genre Asda undermines our
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association of daylight with safety to
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create a unique experience of dread and
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Horror in plain sight what's going on
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foreign
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[Music]
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s undergo a complete genre switch at a
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certain point in the story
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in From Dusk Till Dawn screenwriter
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Quentin Tarantino and director Robert
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Rodriguez set up the story as a crime
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film you get us into Mexico you don't
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try to escape and your daughter will be
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safe and in the morning I will let you
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go
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give you my words
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instead Midway through the movie The
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genre shifts completely with the two
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finding themselves in a nest of vampires
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foreign
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[Music]
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by switching a filmmaker can avoid
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cliches and tropes that the audience may
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expect from a given genre
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hybrid genres don't switch they are
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comprised of elements from two or more
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genres from beginning to end
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a prime example of a hybrid genre film
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is Blade Runner blending film Noir and
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science fiction you're reading a
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magazine you come across a full-page
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nude photo of a girl
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is this testing whether I'm a replicant
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or a lesbian Mr Deckard just answer the
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questions please
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Cowboys and Aliens is a Sci-Fi Western
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alien is a sci-fi horror film
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Men In Black is a Sci-Fi comedy
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oh
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wow okay
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hybrid films are becoming more and more
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common as filmmakers explore and
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experiment with what is possible within
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and between different movie genres
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okay I'm waiting for the punchline
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there's no punchline
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it's not a joke
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film genres are constantly evolving and
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the most successful filmmakers Bend or
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break the rules but this can only be
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done with a firm understanding of how
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genres work
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when you sit down to write your next
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genre screenplay try asking yourself
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what elements does it need to fulfill
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and what elements you can make your own
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start your journey into genre filmmaking
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using Studio binder screenwriting and
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storyboard software
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for a complete guide to nearly 100
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genres and subgenres check out our post
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on the studio binder blog linked below
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following the studio binder video essay
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rulebook this is the part where we bid
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farewell and promise to see you in the
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next one
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I guess I guess I'll see you yeah all
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right one more week
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[Music]
