Conventions of a Drama

What makes a film a drama?

The purpose of a dramatic storyline is to move the audience emotionally. Drama films depend mostly on the in- deph development of realistic characters dealing with emotional issues and themes.

In most cases the film concentrates on normal character(s) that is dealing with a conflict or dilemma.

Dramas often give actors a chance to stretch into a role that other genres wouldn’t allow them to do. This is because drama films focus on building up characters that the audience can engage with.

Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, sexuality, poverty, class divisions, violence against women and curruption put the characters in conflict with themselves, others, society and even natural phenomena.

Common Characters in a Drama

The Protagonist - He/she is the generally the main character in the film. The audience feels sympathy towards this character that always triumphs over the villain. This character also has such as bravery, determination and a desire to overcome evil. This character is often put under trails so that these characteristics can be exposed to the audience. The protagonist us most commonly played by a male character put the use of female characters acting this role in films has increased in the past few years. The protagonist brings a certain presence when entering and leaving the scene and always attempts to solve the problems that occur. Example:

The Antagonist -The antagonist goes to extreme length to get exactly what he/she wants this could include breaking the law, hurting someone or potentially killing someone. This character primarily looks out for themself and seems to posse little empathy towards any character. There is always a feud between the protagonist and antagonist which makes the antagonist determind to ruin the life of the protagonist. Example:

The helper/best friend - this character displays the characteristics of loyalty and trust. The helper always manages to be there for the protagonist and usually aids them throughout the whole film. This character often has moral codes which might have to be broken in order to help the protagonist achieve victory over the antagonist. The helper acts as a best friend to the protagonist and try’s to help as much as possible. If this character is a female and the protagonist is a male then it’s likely they will fall in love by the end of the movie. Example:

Sub-genres of Drama

Sub genres of drama Drama is a very broad genre and sub-genres of drama often overlap.

Because of the large number of drama films, these movies have been sub-categorized into sub genres:

Crime drama and Legal drama - Character development based on themes involving criminals, law enforcement and the justice/leagal system.For example: 'The Godfather'.
Historical drama - Films that focus on dramatic events in history,particularly war films. For example: 'Roots' and 'Titanic'.
Comedy drama - A drama film that uses an equal, or nearly equal balance of humour and serious content.For example:'Yonung Adult'.
Melodrama (a sub-type of drama) - That uses plots that appeal to the heightened emotions of the audience. These films often put the character in danger to appeal to the emotions of the audience. Melodramatic plots often deal with "crises of human emotion, failed romance or friendship, strained familial situations, tragedy, illness, neuroses, or emotional and physical hardship." (often including a central female character) that would directly appeal to feminine audiences. Also called tearjerkers, or "chick flicks". If they are targeted to a male audience, they can be nicknamed "guy cry" films. For example: ''Oliver Twist', 'Lesson before Dying' and 'Message in a Bottle'.
Romantic drama Drama film which dwells on the elements of romantic love. For exapmle: ''Notebook', 'The Vow' and 'Dear John'.
Period Piece These drama films focus on a specific time era. The era in which the film is set adds not only to the plot, but to the characters and costumes as well. A Period Piece films are often based on a novel. These films tend to have a longer run time than traditional Dramas. For example: 'Ballet Shoes','Becoming Jane', 'Amazing Grace' and 'Pride and Prejudice'.
Tragedy: a drama in which a character's downfall is caused by a flaw in their character or by a major error in judgment.For example: 'Blood Diamond' and 'Titanic'.

Conventions of a Drama

Exhibits real life situations with realistic characters, settings, and stories
Portrays journeys of character development
Intense social interaction
Purpose of a dramatic story line is to move the audience emotionally
Heart of drama is the conflict
Conflicts include inner/outer realistic struggles depicting hardships, difficulty, and pain
Audience can relate to the Characters
Structured with climaxes and anti climaxes to keep the audience emotionally attached and the tension ongoing
A form of realisation at the end/happily ending
Drama can be interlaced with other genres such as comedy, tragedy, etc. It does not have to be complete drama.

Examples of film drama's:

Drama Films That Break Conventions

Titanic breaks the conventions as all does not end happily for the protagonists, but has a rather tragic ending.
'A Serious Man' - a comedey drama. It broke the convention of a typical ending, where the audience knew what wa gong to happen to Larry. The film tried something new that the audience would not predict.

Purpose of this research

This research was very important as I would want my audience to be able to identify the genre I am trying to portray within my film especially as I will be crossing to genres within eachother.

My audience for the film i will be creating, will only be able to identify this through the conventions of both genres I will be including within the film.

By completeing this research it has helped me consider how I was going to communicate certain things and aspects with each genre to the audience so that they understand and can identify the style and genres of my short film.