Conventions of an action film.

Conventions.

·         Low lighting on villains face and shadows to show mysteriousness.

·         Fast paced cuts between shots to keep viewer engaged

·         Extreme close up shots of characters faces to show expression and emotion during action

·         12/15 certificate, maximising youth audience

·         Often hybrids with sci-fi/romance/adventure

·         Major Hollywood studio produced and distributed

·         High production values including CGI

·         Fast paced editing

·         Predictable chain of events – cause and effect

·         Dramatic Non-diegetic sound

Technical.

·         More narrative action codes than enigma codes, clear binary oppositions

·         Star marketing: Audience identification/expectations (cruise/Pitt/Willis/Stallone/Craig)

·         Romantic sub plot, humorous dialogue

·         Relationships with new technology (youth audience)

·         Use of close up

Symbolic.

·         Characters often have blood on their clothes to show that they have been closed to the action.

·         Characters often start with clean clothes and then end up with them scruffy and torn.

Written and audio.

·         Action thrillers have fast paced and dramatic music to help emphasise the tense moments to create suspense and to match the action.

·         Action thrillers often have music to suit the characters personality eg. When a villain enters the frame the viewer would hear dark music symbolising the character is evil

·         Non-diegetic sound is when actors cannot hear the sound whilst it is being filmed

·         Diegetic sound is when the actors can hear the sound when filming. This would often be soft music/explosions.