ACTION ADVENTURE

Lo: To understand the requirements of the new exam topicTo define action adventure as a genreTo explore the conventions of action adventure

TASK:Look at the film posters – which films are Action Adventure?Ext: How are you deciding? What do you denote? What do you connote?

ACTION ADVENTURENEW EXAM TOPIC

1.5 hours exam

Pre released brief (4 weeks prior to exam)

Monday June 13th 2011

Unseen tasks

Simulation in role / production skills

What will I be tested on:

Knowledge and UnderstandingTextual AnalysisProduction Skills

The good and bad news

This exam used to be 3 hours and is now one and a half!!

You have a month longer to revise than last year

You have a choice of two design tasks-so no storyboarding if you hate it!

You can write your responses in a wide variety of ways-spider diagrams/annotations etc

We have a brief but will not know the exact questions till the day of the exam

You must prepare and plan out several answers before hand and get in lots of practice

You must come to and work hard in all your lessons as we only have 6 weeks to prepare

Which of these films are Action Adventure?

What elements helped you decide? Choose 2 posters to analyse

What is representing action or adventure?

What elements helped you decide? Choose 2 posters to analyse

What is representing action or adventure?

Consider colours, mise

en scene, characters, setting…

Watch this scene

• On separate post its – write down anything that you think is ACTION and anything you think is ADVENTURE

• Keep them in two piles

ACTION ADVENTURE

So what are the CONVENTIONS of Action Adventure:

What are the conventions of the action/adventure genre?

Try and group them under the following headings:

Setting:

Narrative:

Mise-en-scene/props/iconography

Characters:

So what are the CONVENTIONS of Action Adventure:

SETTING:

Isolated, Mysterious, Dark, Exotic, Dangerous, Vast. Natural, Caves, The sea, The jungle.

Allows for danger, fights, chases, questExample:

NARRATIVE:

A single hero on a journey or quest in search of something or someone. Has tasks and challenges to complete that move the story forward. In the end they are usually victorious.Example

So what are the CONVENTIONS of Action Adventure:

Characters/Representation: Typical characters such as the hero/villain and the side kick/love interest.Usually follows a single hero and must have a good and bad conflict to drive the quest forward.

Example:

Iconography/mise en scene:

Props that we associate with the genre- swords, guns, bows and arrows, torches, mines, natures.

Do you still class all these films as Action Adventure?

• There are many hybrids of the action adventure genre:

ThrillerDisasterFantasyHistoricalQuest

Do you still class all these films as Action Adventure?

Plenary?

Fill in your progress tracker sheet:

What was the learning objective?What did you learn?What would you like to know more about?

ACTION ADVENTUREWhich of the following conventions fall under the action adventure ‘quest’ hybrid of the genre?

ThemesRevengeWarRomanceSolve a MysterySearch for an artefactDefeating a villain

PropsGunsBombsCar ChaseExplosions

CharactersExplorerPrincessPolice officerChild

LocationJungleCaveShipDesertMountainsPyramidsCity

Representation in Action Adventure Films

In most action adventure films the narrative is driven by a single ‘hero’ who is in conflict and opposition to a villian

This is also known as binary opposites where opposing influences create drama and conflict- eg. Good VS Evil, Man Vs Woman, Rich Vs

Poor, Man Vs nature, Water Vs Land

What do all these Heros and Villains have in common?

Representation of Masculinity

What stereotypes of men and women in action adventure films do

we have?

MALE FEMALE

On your post its – write stereotypical words associated with the 2 genders…at least 3 for each and come and stick them up…e.g. strong, caring…

How is masculinity represented in these films?

Vladimir ProppClaims that all storys have the following character types they help to move the narrative forward

The Protagonist

The Antagonist

The Helper

The Donor

The Princess

The False Hero

Can you identify the following on this poster?

Design an action adventure character in threes

Use one of Propps character types and create a new character for an action film, you may conform to stereotypes or may choose to challenge them.

The Protagonist

The Antagonist

The Helper

The Donor

The Princess

The False Hero

Consider:

CostumePropsPhysical appearanceGenderand ethnicity in your sketches

ACTION ADVENTURETextual analysis skills are important when discussing character types.

Watch this clip and write 200 words to analyse the two character types

Watch the clip –

Who is the hero? – Give evidenceWho is the villain? – Give evidenceHow are binary opposites used?

Link to mise en scene, sound, cinematography…

Ext: Do either challenge conventions?

How has the role of the ‘princess’Changed in action adventure films?

Representation of Women

How do they still have conventional aspects of a female character?

Design a HEROINEfor either kids, teens or adults

Lo: To analyse the representation of women in action adventure films

Fill out your profile sheet

Name:Age:Gender: FEMALE

Target audience:

Character qualities:

Catchphrase:

And DESIGNED character

How is gender represented in this scene?

Lo: To analyse the representation of women in action adventure films

EXT: Link to media terminology: Mise en Scene, sound, cinematography…

ACTION ADVENTURE

Lo: To analyse the representation of women in action adventure films

Answer the following:

Who is the main character? How do you know?

Ext: How is the composition within the shot helping to represent the main character?