Genre!

The genre of my short film extract which I have chosen is  'Coming-of-age'/Drama. I will base my own work, including planning and ideas from the research of other 'Coming-of-age' films, both American and British ones. This genre focuses primarily on the psychological growth of the younger generation on their path from childhood to adulthood. One of the main features is the emotional responses seen within these films, which help the audience to understand the characters and their situations. Flashbacks are often used in 'coming-of-age' films, and I have decided that I will use some in my creative piece.
This genre of film can be seen through short budget British films to High grossing American and British films, showing their diversity within the genre across the world. The genre allows a wide ranged audience, particularly teenagers being increasingly interested in them.
Genre conventions:

• Teenager in the midst of the 'growing up' stages of life

• Believable characters and story lines

• Truthful stories-there's always an element of truth in the films, things that the audience may easily relate to.

• Usually has an unpopular character, who changes or the opposite- a popular character, who changes for the better.

• Simple filming: Normal locations are often used, such as quieter areas or city centres-There may sometimes be imaginary places, but this is often seen in fantasy films which focus on characters growing up.

• Use of flashbacks and flash forwards-this is to emphasize how the character has changed over time and helps to tell the audience the story.

• Often themes of developing sexuality, growing up and the transformation between teenage life and adult life.