Researching the Genre

 The genre of our film is a Sci-Fi dystopian text. This genre was not deliberately chosen but automatically formed from the 'Space' brief we were set. As a result, I believe it is important to research the genre and decide which conventions I want to subvert and adhere to and why. 

According to the website Masterclass, Sci-Fi conventions include ideas such as: 

• Time travel
• Teleportation
• Mind control
• Space travel
• Fictional worlds

Although the article referring to novels, I believe the genre transfers very well to film and the conventions are mostly the same. Our film does not include many of these elements, which leads me to believe our film is more dystopian than Sci-Fi. Ultimately, I feel the only Sci-Fi element of our story is the space theme and world-ending meteor. As this is a core part of the plot and visual elements of the story I believe it has enough influence to describe the film as Sci-Fi. 

Following this more dystopian approach, some of the conventions outlined by Masterclass, include: 

• Government control
• Environmental destruction
• Technological control
• Survival 
• Loss of individualism 

These are all elements which, had the film been longer, would have been fleshed out in the story. When writing the script I had my own theories on why the meteor in the story hadn't been announced to the public, however, due to the time limitations of our brief this is not something I felt could be explored well enough in the story. 

The main dystopian element within the story is the idea of survival. The plot follows four individuals in their last minute on earth. It explores morals and reflecting on how you've spent your life. Although they do not fight for survival, the story shows this continuous comfort ripped from them in a moment of panic and fear. 

The element of technological control is not something I included as the story takes place only a few years from now, I wanted it to feel as though the story could be taking place now. Therefore, the use of advanced technology would diminish this. 

Similarly, with the other elements, the story does not take place in an advanced dystopian society like many popular dystopian stories do; such as The Platform (2019) or The Hunger Games (2012). This led me to decide not to write in these elements. 

On a practical note, often Sci-Fi dystopian texts include many special effects, due to our lack of budget and time-frame, this was something I chose not to include. 

Ultimately, considering these genre conventions helped me shape my story and write it in a way that was visually interesting and practical.