Genre - Comedy

Comedy 
Comedy is a genre of film in which humour is the most accentuated feature. The purpose of a comedy film is to amuse or make the audience laugh and this generally is more important than the plot itself. However, in modern films, this isn't always the case. Comedy is often of light-hearted nature and traditionally finish with a happy ending, however, some variants of comedy, such as Black Comedy, do not adhere to this custom.

There are several forms of humour featured in comedy, which often defines what form of comedy film it may be. Here are several basic examples:

• Slapstick Humour - Slapstick humour involves over exaggerated physical movements for comedic effect. This can include actors hitting one another - most commonly with props to make a loud and amusing noise. Slapstick humour was most common in old silent movies because no speech is needed in order to attain a comedic effect - the audience found it funny watching the actors run around fruitlessly, often getting hurt.

• Deadpan Humour - Often referred to as 'dry' humour, deadpan relies on the delivery of the joke as opposed to the actual content. Deadpan is delivered as very flat, monotonous and boring sounding tone; there is no emotional change in a character's voice. Deadpan humour is most effective when paired with something emotional and contrasting to the tone in which it is recited in, it works well in black comedies because it mimics the sound of being serious. It also pairs well with self-deprecating humour (humour in which the person telling the joke is belittling oneself) for this reason.

• Topical Humour - Topical humour is when the comedian mocks current events. It involves making references to modern culture.This is most common on late night talk shows.

• Satire Humour - This is similar to topical humour in the way that it mocks current events or makes references to modern culture. It usually targets politicians however the main factor separating satire from topical is the fact that it's witty and smart. Sarcasm, irony, caricature and hyperboles can be paired with satire to achieve its full humourous effect.

• Parody - Parody is heavily featured in spoof films, and involves mocking something through imitation. They can be used to highlight distaste towards the thing being mocked or could be a humorous tribute. Mockumentaries are a common form of parody, as well as famous spoof films including 'Scary Movie'. 

• Black Comedy - Black comedy involves humour about dark or morbid subject matters and can often be controversial. It can be used as a shock-based humour in order to offend the audience, or it could be a method of making light of a bad situation. Black comedies often have bad endings.

• Adult - Adult comedies generally contain more explicit content, including sexual humour.

Conventions of Comedy 

The conventions of comedy generally depend on what type of comedy is involved, however, they will most often involve similar conventions that connote light-hearted themes. The conventions of comedy are listed below:

• Setting - the setting of a comedy is stereotypically situated in a well-populated area, for example, a city or a town. They're often set in places that are known for social events taking place - for example a pub or a bar. The setting may vary depending on the type of comedy or even if it is a hybrid comedy. For example, a teen comedy would typically be set at a high school (most commonly in a small, sleepy town - a more appropriate place for a young person compared to a large city) as this is where a generic teen's social life will be based. Another reason well-populated areas are appropriate for comedies because the characters can publicly embarrass themselves which the audience will find amusing.

• Technical Codes - Cameraworks and shots for comedy tend to be natural and neutral so characters aren't seen as better than the other, however, there are exceptions to this. Using natural shots is better because it doesn't change how the audience interprets the film. Moreover, if an interesting camera angle or shot is used then the audience would be less inclined to pay attention to the speech and jokes in the film. Mid shots, close-ups and two shots are best used to show the character's reactions and demonstrate the character's relationships within the film. On the other hand, this may vary depending on the type of humour being conveyed, for example, long shots would be more appropriate in slapstick humour in order to capture all of the physical movements within the film. 

• Sound - Sounds that can be heard by the character's (Diegetic) such as dialogue is important within a comedy as this is generally how jokes are told. This, therefore, needs to be loud and coherent so the audience can hear, understand and laugh at what's been said. Furthermore, sounds such as sound effects (particularly ones edited in post-production) are vital in order to add emphasis onto something and make it more humorous - this is particularly common in slapstick. Another use of sound in comedy is generated or 'canned' studio laughter, in which fake audience laughter is played over the top. This is particularly common in television sitcoms though and not film. The use of this tactic makes the audience more inclined to laugh because in general, people feel more comfortable to laugh when other people are laughing as opposed to laughing alone. Moreover, it can be used to highlight when something is funny that the audience might not understand, so then they'll know to reflect on it if they realise its meant to be funny because of the studio laughter. 

• Lighting - In comedies, the lighting is typically bright and natural. This creates a more realistic and therefore relatable environment in which the audience will feel more comfortable watching because the lighting is not too intense and the audience is also used to natural lighting. If the audience is comfortable then they're more inclined to enjoy the film and find it funny. Bright lighting is also used to connote happiness and a light-hearted atmosphere, therefore setting the typical mood of a comedy film: happy. Bright lighting is generally associated with happiness which is why this is an appropriate use of lighting. Comedies will generally be set during the daytime as daytime is associated with light and happiness which reinforces the theme. On the contrary, although night time is often associated with darkness and fear, it can be associated with nightlife - particularly in an urban area. This is an appropriate setting for an adult film as more 'adult' situations take place at night - especially in large, well-populated areas.

• Props - Props can be used in comedy to develop the plot, set the scene etc just like any other film. However, they are most prominently used in a comedy featuring slapstick humour as actors often use props to inflict pain on another actor for comedic effect, particularly large objects that will make a humorous noise. Inappropriate-to-children props are often used in adult comedies, including phalluses etc. to get laughs from adults.

• Characters - In comedies, there is usually a contrast between idiotic characters, 'normal' characters and intelligent characters. It shows the contrast and therefore emphasises the stupidity or intelligence of certain characters. Intelligent characters often subtly belittle the idiotic characters for comedic effect to the audience, often sarcasm is used. In general, the idiotic character wouldn't react to the comments from the other character because they are too stupid to understand, making it funny for the audience. Generally, likeable characters are used (ones that the audience will become emotionally invested in, these characters often display signs of emotion themselves, making them relatable. They are often the protagonist), however, dislikable characters may be used to irritate the audience. Insecure or miserable characters can be used, especially to belittle themselves for comedic effect. Serious characters are often introduced in comedies - particularly when there is a wild character that they'll contrast with. Very contrasting characters are used to emphasise the comedic values of each 'type' of person - it is extremely common to include stereotypes in a comedy, particularly for the purpose of pointing fun at them.

Target Audience 

Comedies, particularly family comedies, are generally all-age appropriate. This is because no matter what age you are, it is enjoyable to laugh. On the other hand, the target audience of comedies may vary depending on the type of humour and content included in the film. For example, adult comedies will include explicit content that will definitely not be appropriate for children, restricting the target audience of these types of comedies to older people (especially young adults, as elderly or middle age people may find the content immature). The target audience will also depend on people's acquired tastes, as depending on what humour is involved people may like or dislike the type of comedy. People's tastes are typically defined by their age group, culture etc. (however this isn't always the case) which is why it is best to market the film at certain categories of people based on the humour involved. 

Essentially, comedy as a genre in whole is all-age, cultures etc appropriate, however, particular types of comedy depends wholly on what sort of humour or content is involved etc. Furthermore, things like romantic comedies may not be aimed at men as this particularly appeals to women etc. These are all just examples of how the content or type of a comedy can affect the specific target audience, however I believe there's a type of comedy aimed at almost every type of person in the world. Comedy would not be targeted at 'serious' people who have no sense of humour, as this would not appeal to their personal tastes. 

What do Film Companies Do to Attract these Audiences in Terms of Marketing?

In order to advertise a film, the company must make it clear what genre the film is in order to appeal to the target audience that associates with the type of genre it is, in this case: comedy. To do this many methods are used. 

• Aesthetic of Posters etc. -  When it comes to certain genres, many posters are designed in a specific way based on what genre it is. There are many examples within the film industry of certain film genres designing very samey posters so that the viewers will realise what genre the film comes under. Comedy film posters have variant designs - but generally, the main focus of a comedy film is showing off the stars in it. There are generally comedy-specific actors that star in mostly comedy films, if they're starring in a particular film the marketers will utilise them on the film posters in order to attract the target audience associated with comedy films. Furthermore, if the audience is fond of that particular actor because they're often a fan of comedy, they will be inclined to watch it based on the actors in it. Moreover, the aesthetic of posters is designed to connote a light-hearted appeal because a comedy is generally light hearted. If the designers were to create a dark, scary looking poster then viewers would interpret it as a horror movie poster and wouldn't feel compelled to watch it if they were not into horror films. This may not apply to spoofs, however, because if a spoof is parodying a horror then there would be an element of horror - however, typically it would show a fairly obvious element of humour that would instantly define it as a comedy so the audience understands. A typical poster for a generic comedy would include lighter, more neutral colours to convey a sense of realism as well as keeping it light-hearted. They may also be bold colours and include bold fonts with basic colours. Below are a couple of examples of a generic, contemporary comedy poster.  The posters will be carefully placed in areas where a. people who enjoy watching films will be eg. a cinema, and b. places where people who enjoy watching comedies will be. eg advertising on a website that people with similar tastes will typically be on. They'll also be placed in public areas so they'll get more awareness.        

In these images below, we can see that the main subject that stands out on the posters is the actors, who are all very recognised names in the comedy world. This goes to show that the main source of influence the poster has on the audience is because of the actors included. The overall colouring of the images is a blueish colour, however not too bright and tacky looking, it has a professional

   

• Trailer - The trailer is one of the most important marketing tactics in order to draw the audience's attention. In typical comedy films, trailers don't tell the audience much about what the plot is about, however, they do include many jokes featured in the film. These are carefully placed into the trailer to make the audience laugh. This method is effective because the audience will think that if the trailer makes them laugh then the film will be even better and therefore will feel more drawn to watching the film. The trailer will be aired before similar films in cinemas because that way they're addressing the typical target audience of a comedy film. Including jokes into the trailer will allow the viewers to realise it is a comedy film and therefore attract the target audience associated with comedies. They need to set the mood of the film - lighthearted and humorous.

Example of a Comedy Film Opening

We're the Millers (2013, Rawson Marshall Thurber)

In the film opening to We're the Millers, the setting has immediately been established through the use of a long shot. The audience can see that it's in an urban area based on the city/town like features such as buildings, roads and plenty of people. Two characters are seen outside of a bustling restaurant which indicates that it is not only in a well-populated area (a typical convention of comedy) but in or around a common place for social events to take place: a restaurant. The audience can also see that it's set at night which correlates well with the adult humour being used (jokes about drugs etc.) as it's a film of adult nature. A dark setting wouldn't connote a lighthearted feel necessary for a comedy film for children as the dark is strongly associated with fear among younger people which may imply that this film challenges its genre's conventions. However, the pairing of dark lighting and a busy, urban setting suggests that it is for adults because this is the typical setting for social events to take place for adults eg. going out drinking etc. Despite being set at night with no natural lighting, the set is still very well lit with artificial lighting. Not only being aesthetically appealing with the bokeh effect when the camera is out of focus of the lighting and the contrast of light and dark, it further reinforces the idea of a nightlife being associated with adult comedies. This is because when people think of nightlife the first image to come to mind would be of bright, vivid, neon lights in a club or on the city streets. The general implication nightlife creates is fun, which is fitting for a comedy film attempting to create a lighthearted theme. Observing the characters just in this scene, you can point out the protagonist (the man played by Jason Sudeikis, who was approached by the man coming out of the shop) without knowing anything about the film. This is because of his display of emotion when addressed about his lifestyle (drug dealing). This particular occupation wouldn't be deemed as 'good' or sensible, this shows to the audience that he isn't entirely an 'idiot' because he is fully aware that he has no direction in life per se and therefore makes him more likeable. Moreover, it gives a sense of inevitability for the audience when he expresses a sense of regret or sadness when discussing family life - the audience can sense a redemption for the character, a basic movie structure. This makes the character more relatable and therefore more likeable. Despite this subtle display of emotion, the character seems to conform to the stereotype associated with his occupation: he doesn't seem to have direction, he dresses in a very unkempt manner and his general disposition is very aloof. On the other hand, he mentions going to 'college' suggesting that he is university educated and therefore implies that he's fairly smart, which doesn't entirely conform to the stereotype, however I think this is to make the character unique and likeable, as its a very desirable feature. The protagonist strongly contrasts with the other character, who comes across as a bit of a loser, therefore defining him as a stereotype too, another convention of comedy. He's in a constant state of awe of the protagonist, despite the protagonist's undesirable qualities - suggesting that he too hasn't got much going for him in life because he thinks the protagonist is 'cool' etc. He obviously is quite socially awkward as a character. Furthermore, he conforms to the contemporary dad stereotype, in which a father is in a dead end job and dislikes his family life and is tied down by his family, this is suggested by his display of envy of the protagonists free lifestyle. In terms of sound, it conforms to the conventions of comedy because the speech is very audible and clear so that the character's can tell their jokes and the audience can understand and laugh. Overall, this comedy contains the typical conventions of comedy.