Drama:
Codes and conventions of dramas:
These are serious plots of serious life and represent a realistic view of life. They focus on serious and complex plots as opposed to eccentric or exaggerated settings or effects. The drama genre includes so many subgenres such as Crime, melo-dramas, romantics and epics.
Dramatic themes often include current issues problems, concerns or injustices including religious intolerance or drug addiction, poverty, the corruption of power, alcoholism, mental illness, domestic violence or other explosive issues of the times. These films have successfully drawn attention to the issues by taking advantage of the topical interest of the subject. Although dramatic films have often deal with realistic social problems, the tendency has been for Hollywood, to excuse society and institutions and to blame problems on an individual, who more often than not, would be punished for their transgressions.
An opening sequence of a Drama (The Shawshank Redemption)
This film directed by Frank Darabont stars Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins and was released in 1994. The opening sequence of this movie begins with a black background with white writing, this represents the hope of the entire film. There is hope throughout as we see as an audience which is reflected in the first few seconds. It begins with an establishing shot of an isolated hut, this isn’t the main setting of the film but begins the plot to come. We know that this is an opening sequence as there are credits throughout the opening. There is music playing from a car radio and it is operatic and serene and sounds very sad and depressing like the mood. There is a range of shots to show the development of the scene and gives the audience hints of what is about to happen. The lighting is dark and it is dark establishing that it is at night and that the people don’t want to be disturbed. The hook of the opening sequence is the murder that takes place, is it who we think? Or is that too obvious for the audience? There is cross cutting between the court room and the event that takes place, it keeps our attention on the sequence and we as an audience do not get bored. The opening continues and is quite dramatic, we are drawn in as an audience.
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