The Craft of Screenwriting: Genres Part 2

Thank you for joining us again in our study of the Screenwriting Craft. Today we have part 2 of out discussion of Movie Genres.

Power of Words

Drama is on the opposite end of the Genre Spectrum from Comedy, but that isn’t to say that they do not have many similar elements. Both genres show characters going through extraordinary circumstances and the main character must over coming ever increasing obstacles to achieve the final goal.
The big difference is that in a Comedy most of the scenes are set up to generate laughs, with a few serious scenes to allow the audience a brief respite but for more funny stuff happen. In a Drama most scenes are serious and played for maximum emotional payoff, but there still should be some light moments to again give the audience some relief and maximize the emotional scenes to follow.

Drama is the genre that most closely mirrors real life, but isn’t an exact copy of reality. Real life can have plot holes, unexplained events and boring people. Dramatic stories must have interesting characters, no plot holes and the audience needs to know what is going on eventually. True life doesn’t have to make sense, but fiction always does. Even movies based on real people and events still take dramatic licences to make characters and events more interesting and logical.

Movies such as Room, Joy, Race, Brooklyn, Remember and Spotlight all fit in the Drama Genre. All feature characters in serious situations, where the main character had to over come and solve may obstacles, while growing as a person.

1 2 3 Next