A level Media studies genre conventions

1. Sport-Drama Conventions

2.  A Sports Drama incorporates dramatic elements into a
sports storyline. These films tend to examine the more
gritty and intense aspects of the sporting world. With
more dramatic elements, Sports Drama tends to appeal
to a more mature audience. Sports Drama will often
examine not only the rise, but the fall of the particular
subject as well.
 Examples of such films are:
 Rocky
 Seabiscuit
 Cinderella Man.

3.  One of the most memorable Sport Dram film is
Miracle, it is a 2004 American sports docudrama about
the United States men's hockey team, led by head
coach Herb Brooks, that won the gold medal in the
1980 Winter Olympics. The American team's victory
over the heavily favored Soviet professionals in the
medal round was dubbed the Miracle on Ice.
 It was released on February 6, 2004.
 Miracle won the Best Sports Movie ESPY Award for
2004.In 2006, the American Film Institute nominated
this film for AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers.

4.  Drama conventions mean that there is a specific action or technique that the actor or
director has employed:
 Resolution
 Climactic
 Tension
 Emotions
 Internal or External conflict
 Exploring relationship
 Characterization – this is the way that the characters are portrayed – how has the
playwright created a believable character? Has the writer included monologues or
soliloquies to allow you to hear the character’s thoughts and feelings? It is also
important to look at the relationships between characters – how are these depicted?
What do they reveal about the
 characters? You also need to think about the way that an actor or actress has represented
the character. Different actors may play the same part in very different ways.

 Plot and structure – how have the events been organised? What techniques have been
used to shape the action? How have the themes and ideas developed during the action?

5.  Sports Films are those that have a sports setting (football or baseball
stadium, arena, or the Olympics, etc.), competitive event (the 'big game,'
'fight,' or 'competition'), and/or athlete (boxer, racer, surfer, etc.) that are
central and predominant in the story.
 Dramatic sports films or biographies have created memorable portraits of
all-American sports heroes, individual athletes, or teams who are faced
with tough odds in a championship match, race or large-scale sporting
event, soul-searching or physical/psychological injuries, or romantic sub-
plot distractions.
 Fictional sports films normally present a single sport (the most common
being baseball, football, basketball, and boxing), and include the training
and rise (and/or fall) of the underdog or champion in the world of sports.
 Sports films may be fictional or non-fictional; and they are a hybrid sub-
genre category

6.  Contain sporting event
 Contain sporting athlete
 Contain sporting narrative
 Constant state of emotion
 Disruption
 Resolution
 Success
 Failure
 Relationships between characters
 Equilibrium

7.  The Setting varies on the type of sport that is being
focused on, such as football, basketball or baseball. If
the film is about football we need access to a football
stadium or court ( training complex), while if its for
Boxing then we need a ring.

8.  Training
 Injuries
 Competition
 Mental and Physical strength
 Money
 Rise and Fall of the status

9.  Main Protagonist- can be an individual athlete, or an
individual in a team
 Teammates- colleagues and friends focused on the
main storyline
 Support- Friends and family of the individual or the
team members
 Sponsors- Appearance to promote the athlete or the
team by praising him or them

10.  Lighting: This needs to focus on the athlete. In case of
the sport, lets say basketball, the lighting has to have
full focus on the athlete and his or her surroundings
 Props: This includes the equipment( shoes, gear) The
visual effect of lets say the basketball gear, like the logo
or the style
 Iconography of an athlete helps to understand the
sport in more detail
 Visual Style: Athlete needs to looks like they are doing
everything they can ( maximum effort and dedication)