*The lights dim and a presenter walks onto stage*
Presenter
Good Evening.
Before we start tonight I would like to inform you all of the genre conventions typically associated with the fantasy adventure genre. To start with, there are usually long journeys that make up the premise of the film, usually to find an artifact or save someones life. Another convention used in this genre is that there is often a character that seems to be helpful for the majority of the film, but has an ulterior motive towards the end of it. This convention can usually be used to show the antagonist of the film or to just present an extra problem to the protagonists. Usually the films will have a twist at some point usually around the middle or near the end of the film, which may cause characters to rethink former plans or just change the film ending altogether. Usually at some point in the film there will be a form of confrontation, where it be a huge fight scene or just some characters encountering the antagonist and possibly overcoming them for the final time. (Item 13)
During the following presentation we will look at a small group of three films and see how they have changed from the typical fantasy film over the past 10 years.
It should be noted that all films featured tonight are adaptations from either video games or books.
*The presenter crosses the stage to a flip chart which is illuminated by his spotlight*
Flip chart
On this flip chart are certain topics that i feel has influenced how the fantasy adventure films are portrayed.
Money
Franchises
Technology and Special Effects
As the presentation progresses I will refer back to these points in greater detail, however right now I will talk about the money influences. Money has been known to influence film greatly due to the more of it you have, the better stars and sets and effects you can have, which in most cases makes for a blockbuster film. However given the conventions of fantasy that I previously discussed (Item 13) we can see that usually some form of magical aspect or even other worlds are common in this genre. Therefore the more money, that a director is able to gain for his film, the more convincing his film should become. If this film is part of a series of films, like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, then the box office takings for the first film in this series may influence the decision to make a sequel or in this case two sequels. Box office takings (Item 12) reveal how much interest the public has shown towards this film following it's reviews by critics and others. However even if the box office takings aren't all that successful, there are still merchandise sales and DVD releases to make up for any loss in profit. All these factors can then influence the director to make another (possibly better) film.
To start with we shall look at the oldest of the films which is Lara Croft Tomb Raider, although this is not our focus film, we shall be using it as a reference later on.
*The presenter steps aside and the trailer for Tomb Raider is played (Item 10)*
Video Clip
*After the trailer is finished the presenter returns to centre stage with the IMDB page for the film shown behind him (item 11)*
Presenter/Screenshot
Just a small note before we continue, this page of information behind me is the popularity of the film and the cast and other information we thought relevant. Anyway, this film fits into a lot of the fantasy genres conventions. As you may have seen from the trailer there were scenes showing long treks across foreign lands, it combines them neatly with scenes of action as well.
This is a common feature in fantasy films as we can show when we come to the focus film of the night. The IMDB page behind me shows a brief synopsis of the film (item 11). It gives insight into what the film is about without actually giving the full film away. One of the things we can see from this is that the main adventure is set around a mystical artifact, this is shared in another of the films that we will look at later.
A general theme within fantasy films is that they seem to be beyond the realms of normality, as in the case of Tomb Raider where it shows the old temples and artifacts. Although these can be found in real life they are rarities, also if we compare that to the films they don't have the powers that the films ones have. Films like Tomb Raider test out myths and stories that we all know or have heard at some point. It takes cults and old artifacts that we wondered ever existed and show us them in such a convincing light that for a short time, we actually believe they're real.
*The presenter steps aside again and the screen shows a review for Tomb Raider shown in a larger font and scrolling so the audience can read it*
This is a review taken from Empire Magazine and we shall examine it to see how well received the film was.
Website
*The presenter uses a laser pointer and picks certain points out of the review*
Presenter
Here we can see that although there were nice scenes filled with action we can see that a film runs the danger of becoming predictable should it keep it up for so long. It also talks about many of the other factors in the film such as the locations and other sub plots that. if executed correctly, can make a decent change from the norm.
This is a prime example of a film from the fantasy adventure genre and makes an excellent comparison for the remaining films that are left to show.
The next film is the focus film of the night and is The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King (item 1). The film was released in 2003 and is the most successful of the three films we are showing tonight.
*The presenter steps aside and lets the trailer for the film play on the screen behind him (item 8)*
Video Clip
*The presenter moves back over the flip chart and points to the "Special Effects" subheading after the trailer has been played*
Flip chart
I bring your attention to this subheading due to the trailer you have just watched. The Lord of the Rings is a prime example of Special Effects *the projector shows screenshots of the trailer going through them in a slideshow like format.* These are a few scenes from the trailer that show spectacular use of special effects. Special effects are especially useful in making people see a film, due to them making action scenes more interesting and making fantasy lands come to life. It's makes shots of places like Mordor for instance in the Lord of the Rings, seem real when we know that it's just either a green screen or a little model with some small use of special effects. Another interesting use of special effects is that they can create mystical creatures that do not exist in reality. These appeal to the audience because it is something new that they may have been interested in for a while (i.e. Dragons). Usually big budget special effects are reserved for the big blockbusters, but the fantasy genre (whether it be blockbuster or not) will always have good, convincing special effects, due to it being a convention of it.
*The presenter steps back out onto the center of the stage whilst the review of the film is shown behind him (item 5)*
Screenshot
We've brought the review up first to change things around from the last film. If we just look at this review in general we can see that it was well received by critics and movie lovers alike.
*Points to user reviews and the final part of the main review "the resounding climax to a landmark in cinema history"* (item 5) This film is mainly based around the fantasy with a great deal of action and horror scenes that would be unsuitable for child audiences.
*Points to the section of the review that says "the film pushes the boundaries of it's 12a certificate" (item 5).
*The presenter brings up the IMDB page for the film (item 11)*
This page can be used to verify the publics opinion via the popularity section and gives other peoples thoughts on the film.
Screenshot
*The IMDB page disappears from view and a spotlight appears over the presenter*
Now that we have two films reviewed we can look at the third and final of the films before giving a final comparison on all three and answering the question "How has the fantasy film genre changed over the last 10 years?"
The next film is the city of ember, a children's adventure film based upon the book by Jeanne Duprau.
*The presenter steps aside once more as the film trailer is played*
Video Clip
*After the trailer has finished the presenter returns to centre stage*
This film is aimed towards the more older children, particularly the teen variety. It combines action with scenes that are to induce fear and panic to create a tense adventure film. It takes place in a fictional underground city of Ember, which is rendered by special effects combined with shots taken on a studio set to give it that sense of realism. The action within the film is paced and keeps the viewer entertained by spacing them between scenes of puzzle solving and other things.
I feel that now would be a good time to go back to the flip chart again.
*The presenter moves back towards the flip chart as he talks to show the franchise heading*
Flip Chart
As I have previously mentioned all of our films are taken from books and video games which are equally successful franchises. A franchise is a good thing to make a film from as if it is popular to start with, then a film made from this franchise should be popular as well. Franchises also help to boost income from films as usually shortly or after a films release numerous things come out based on it, for example DVD's and games. These all add to income, even comics/books such as "comics/books of the film" amongst others. Sometimes however the content within these things are terrible and poorly made as a way of making quick money off the fans.
Presenter
Finally we come to the final part of our evening, a look back over tonight's films and create an answer to our question.
Our first film was Lara Croft Tomb Raider, we found that this film sticks to mainly the adventure side of the fantasy adventure genre. Combining trekking over distant lands and recovering lost artifacts.
Next up was The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. We found that this film combines the adventure with fantasy to create a near perfect fantasy adventure film. It has the main quest of destroying The One Ring but set it in a medieval land and created many mystical and far off lands.
Finally we had The City of Ember. We found that this film fell into the same spot as Tomb Raider, it seemed to focus mainly on the adventure side of the genre more than fantasy. It also threw in a fairly new element, puzzle solving. Although Tomb Raider had this, however it wasn't used in all that great detail.
That was the quick recap, now we come to the answer to our question:
"How has the fantasy adventure genre changed over the last 10 years."
The fantasy adventure genre has had a sort of roller coaster effect. It started out in year 2001 with Tomb Raider. This film relied more on the adventure side of the genre as we previously mentioned. However it did stick to the conventions of the genre and as such allowed it to be in the category. If we then move on too 2003 we find that the final part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy was released. This film stayed true to all conventions of the genre, it kept a balance between the two halves of the mixed genre and provided an excellent end to the series. Finally we come to 2008 and The City of Ember, this film seemed to go back to the Tomb Raider days, sticking more to adventure than fantasy. Overall we can see that not all fantasy adventure films stick to the conventions of the mixed genre. However a film like The Lord of the Rings:The Return of the King, redeems all this and sets the bar for the next great fantasy adventure film. Overall this genre has changed in different ways such as which conventions they have used or didn't use, but it always seems to return back to the norm before changing again, this time for another reason. It seems that it will continue like this due to peoples varying ideas for how this genre should be represented.
I hope you have enjoyed this presentation.
Good Night.
*The presenter leaves and the light come back on*
