Conventions of a DRAMA

History of Drama 

The 1950s, began a rise in well-known dramatic actors, such as Marylin Monroe. Drama films were generally focused on relationships and emotions. Since the 20th century to present day there has been a major increase in amount of films based on the genre of Drama. 

 

Dramas tend to have:

• real life people and situations

• realistic settings

• builds an emotional connection with the audience

• uses plots that the audience can relate to 

 

 

Narrative

Drama is a genre that relies on the emotional and mutual development of realistic characters. Usually drama themes are taken from intense, real life issues that happen in the everyday lives of some people. The aim of most dramas are  to tell an honest story of human struggles.(http://thescriptlab.com/screenplay/genre/drama#) 

Dramas plan to engange the audience and take them into the world of the film, eventually causing the audience to forget they are watching a film. This is done by making the narrative as realistic as possible. The narrative usually revolves around personal emotive themes that the viewer can emphasise with. In most dramas the film focuses on normal a character or characters who are going through emotional issues such as heartache, depression, jealousy etc.  

 

Characters

The characters in dramas are normal, realistic and believable. They have to be average or normal people that would fit into our reality so that it is possible for the audience to relate to them. A common character in most dramas is a protagonaist which is the leading character of the film who the audience usually feel sympathy towards. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camera & Editing

The way the camera moves and focuses in dramas tends to depend on the mood of the scene.  Camera shots such as a slow pan or track tend to be used a lot in dramas, also fast handheld camera movements to represent nervousness or anxiety. There tends to be less of a range of camera shots in dramas as this can look unrealistic to the audience.

The editing of dramas also depends on the mood of the particular scene. Editing usually has continuity to make it look as realistic as possible. If the editing in a drama is not realistic and does not flow properly then it will take the audience out of the reality of the film and remind them that they are watching a film.

 

Sub-genres

 

There are many different sub-genres to the drama genre. So it is important to recognize sub-genres of particular films as it can give us a deeper insight into what the film is about. 

 

• crime drama: based on characters involved in criminal activity or involved in the justice system. Example: Shankshaw Redemption

• historical drama: focuses on events that have occured in history or war films. Example: The Titanic

• comedy drama: a drama that uses comdey elements, but has an equal balance of humour and a seriou narrative. Example: Forrest Gump

• romantic drama: a drama that is relatively based on a romantic/love story. Example: The Notebook

• psychodrama: a drama where psychological elements are the main plot of the film. Example: The Butterfly Effect