Portfolio Project Genre #1

Drama

Debating on what genre to research was not easy! Drama ended up being one of my top choices because there is a lot you can do with it and many different approaches to take! So here is what I researched about drama!

What is Drama?

Dramas feature a main character who undergoes an obstacle. These obstacles can range from emotional to social challenges and are centered around real-life situations. Once overcome, the character usually has experienced a transformation. This genre conveys a strong message too.

Who Enjoys Drama?

Dramas are intriguing and suspenseful to keep audiences engaged. The typical target audience includes people who love the suspense and feeling emotion. Audiences who enjoy thought-provoking stories and ones with a strong message are also attracted o genres. Dramas are favored mostly by females. As for age, all age groups enjoy dramas. However, people ages 40 and older are seen to take up a majority of their target audience. Depending on what kind of drama it is indicates what ages are more attracted to it. Teens enjoy teen dramas with young characters they can relate to or that focus on identity while adults enjoy ones about relationships and career struggles.

Drama Conventions

Content

Dramas have complex characters with a protagonist who is flawed in some way and will undergo a transformation by the end of the film. These characters are dealing with struggles of daily life and have a group of people they spend time with day-to-day. There is always some conflict. It can be internal or external conflict, and usually both. Internal conflicts can be about morality and internal emotions while external conflict is about societal pressures and outside cicumstances. Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin claims that the obstacle a character faces helps develop them and that usually "somebody wants something, something's standing in their way of getting it." Tension and emotional stakes are also key conventions.

Technique

Dramas tend to have static camera movement, with some subtle movement as they avoid use of pans and tilts as they make use of the shot composition. They feature many close-ups, shallow depth of field, and tight aspect ratios that focus on characters' emotions. Dramas have muted palettes and low-key lighting. They also manipulate pacing and rhythm to build tension.

                                                     From Small Things Like These drama movie

Institutional Conventions

Narrative Image

Dramas are expected to follow character development after overcoming emotional obstacles. They are also expected to include intense social interaction and a strong message that moves audiences. This genre is heavily seen to have a "happily ever after" rather than a tragic ending.

Marketing

Drama posters feauture the main character or main group of characters. Most of the time the poster has a close-up of the character's face to highlight an intense facial expression. The setting of the film is shown in the background and usually features a muted or high-contrast color palette. Trailers include dramatic music in the background and include many emotional scenes. The trailers start with the exposition of the plot then is quickly disrupted at the beginning of the trailer to show the climax of the plot. They also post a central question that forces audiences to watch the film to get the answer.

<- F1 movie poster. Sports Drama/Action

Drama Films

Hidden Figures (2017)

This drama is a true story about three African American women who made significant contributions at NASA during the 1960s Space Race. Following conventions of a drama, they faced the external conflict of racial and gender discrimination as their worth and hardwork was undermined. The movie also followed a strong message of overcoming discrimination with perserverance and did have a happily ever after when discrimination in their workplace was cancelled.

Titanic (1997)

This drama is about a romance between 2 passengers aboard the Titanic. There is some internal conflict as Rose, who comes from a rich family, feels trapped with societal expectations and Jack, who is poor, feels free. This is balanced with external conflict as the lovers risk separation when the ship crashes. The central message was that life can be unpredicatable. This drama managed to go against institutional conventions and did not have a happy ending.

Drama is definetly a potenial genre for my portfolio project! I love how there is a lot of storylines I can brainstorm before deciding on the official one. Before choosing drama, I still want to explore another genre. Talk to you soon!

Sources:

- Robinson, J. (2025, July 21). A guide to the drama genre in film and TV. Mandy Magazine.

https://www.mandy.com/magazine/article/a-guide-to-the-drama-genre-79021/

- AMPLIFY XL. (n.d.). The target audience for drama films: Who loves drama? AMPLIFY XL Marketing.

https://amplifyxl.com/target-audience-for-drama-films/

- Paolo. (2023, December 21). *Cinematic consumers: A study of movie audience demographics*. Gruvi. https://gruvi.tv/post/movie-audience-demographics/

- Backstage. (2021, August 23). *Drama: A complete guide to the genre*. Backstage Magazine. https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/drama-genre-guide-78027/

- CrashCourse. (2014, October 15). *Film history: Drama* [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-ETDTXUnB0

- Fiveable. (n.d.). *Cinematography: Genres and styles*. Fiveable. https://fiveable.me/production-ii/unit-1/cinematography-genres-styles/study-guide/DbTIyB1mfovgQXsc

- FarjanaTahmin. (n.d.). *Conventions of drama films* [SlideShare presentation]. SlideShare. https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/conventions-of-drama-films/9837149

- Cooper, M. (n.d.). *Codes and conventions of drama* [SlideShare presentation]. SlideShare. https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/codes-and-conventions-of-drama/15481222

- Ask The Man. (2021). *Kitchen faucet features – Which type of kitchen faucet is right for you?* AskTheMan.xyz. https://asktheman.xyz/

- The Movie Database. (n.d.). *Hidden Figures (2016) – Posters*. TMDB. https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/381284-hidden-figures/images/posters

- MSN Entertainment. (n.d.). *Brad Pitt stars in trailer for F1 movie produced by Lewis Hamilton*. MSN. https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/movies/brad-pitt-stars-in-trailer-for-f1-movie-produced-by-lewis-hamilton/ar-AA1ASjVW

- O’Malley, S. (2024, November 8). *Small Things Like These: Film review*. RogerEbert.com. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/small-things-like-these-film-review