This week, we have to write a small essay on a film genre and the conventions of it. I’ve chosen to write mine about comedy, and the common codes and conventions that you can find in a comedy film.
Many comedies are based in places where there are always a lot of people, like schools, offices or sometimes even generic public places. This allows space for characters to make a fool of themselves or put themselves in an awkward situation, which adds to the comedy of the film. Its also important for there to be many locations because it allows for there to be more characters for the main characters to interact with. For example, in Super Bad, its based in a school, which allows for many different characters to be interacted with. The set is usually a well lit, and bright place, as lighting can show the atmosphere of a film.
Characters are another massive part of comedy. It’s common for comedy films to prey off of offensive stereotypes. Usually including a duo of people who are completely different so that the comedy can bounce off of the other character, making jokes about them. It’s common that one of the characters are a joke within themselves, for example, they are nerdy or stupid, they tend to be “ugly” or out of touch with pop culture. This character tends to build a relationship with someone opposite to them, and their relationship grows to be a joke and in some cases, an actual friendship. This can be seen in 21 Jump Street and The Hangover.
Cinematography in comedy tends to aim towards a naturalistic shot, where all character are shown as equal, no-one is made to appear bigger and better than the another person. Duos in comedies tend to be of similar social status (usually outcasts) so it helps show the audience that they are the same.
Props in comedy films are another important convention of the genre. Commonly, props are often the centre of jokes, the laughs revolving round that certain prop. For example, in Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the prop that the joke revolves around in the slice of cheese and in Bridesmaids, the joke revolves around puppies nearer the end. Props are a starting point for jokes to be made, they keep the viewer engaged through that item.
There are lots of different types of comedy, slapstick, dark, wordplay ect, all of which use aspects of these conventions. Comedy is also interchangeable between regions, American comedy is very different to British comedy. American comedy tends to be more joke based and slapstick whereas British comedy tends to be more sarcastic and awkward. There are also generational differences in comedy, the things I would find funny, my dad may not and visa versa. So there are lots of different types of comedy and it is changing all the time.
