RESEARCH - Genre & Subgenre

Genre is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or entertainment based on some set of stylistic criteria. Each genre has it's own conventions unique to that genre such as action films tend to contain weapons, car chases and explosions.

Examples of film genres are:

• Action (Weapons, explosions, car chases)
• Adventure (Journey, outlaw fighting for justice, dangerous situations)
• Comedy (Stupid character, sarcasm, irony)
• Documentary (Voiceover, 'real' footage, interviews)
• Horror (Gore, darkness, trademark villain weapon)
• Romance (Bright colours, licensed soundtrack, break up)
• Thriller (Suspense, close-ups, intense music)

A subgenre is a subcategory within a particular genre such as a mystery thriller. More examples of thriller sub genres are:

• Conspiracy Thrillers: Often consists of a hero/heroine unravelling a conspiracy theory often contained by a large company or government. E.g. North by Northwest
• Crime Thrillers: Often follows the criminals and their activities leading up to the crime, usually emphasising on the action rather than psychological parts. E.g. Reservoir Dogs
• Disaster Thrillers: Often consists of a group of survivors fighting against natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and volcanoes. E.g. 2012
• Mystery Thrillers: Often focuses on a detective/private investigator trying to solve a the mystery of a crime, usually ending in a twist. E.g. Shutter Island 
• Political Thrillers: Often focuses on a hero/heroine who must ensure the stability of the government in order to prevent a bad thing from happening. E.g. State of Play
• Physchological Thrillers: Often shows the protaginists mental and emotional being hindered which in turn plays with the audiences' mind. E.g. Cape Fear

I am largely interested in crime thrillers and I believe it will inspire our thriller. Crime thrillers allow the audience to view crime from a different perspective and also allows for a variety of action scenes to grip the audience. One of my faviourite thrillers is Reservoir Dogs which is a crime thriller and has inspired a few ideas for our thriller film.