British and Hollywood Comedy Films

Codes and Conventions:

1.   Settings – bright, sunny, social places

2.   Bright colours – emit happiness and positivity, blue and yellow

3.   Sarcasm

4.   Camerawork –

                               i.     Naturalistic, none of the characters are shown to be better

                              ii.     Medium shots – emphasise character expressions

5.   Diegetic sound – dialogue

6.   Non-diegetic sound – emphasise certain scenes or moments

7.   Lighting – bright and natural (daylight)

8.   Props – objects that can cause pain, sometimes footballs, golf clubs etc.

9.   Characters -

                               i.     Idiotic people (accident prone) are used in contrast to the ‘normal’ group, showing the contrast of personalities and emphasises the stupidity.

                              ii.     People with above average intelligence – socially awkward and unaware of social boundaries.

                 iii.     Regular people – accidents occur around them

British Comedy	Hollywood Comedy
·      Shaun of the Dead	·      Frances Ha
·      Four Lions	·      The Hangover
·      The Inbetweeners	·      Superbad

Shaun of the Dead 

This trailer shows a very conventional comedy film; with the use of bright colours, sarcasm and props this film seems to follow each convention.  The protagonist, Shaun is having a bad day and thus decides to turn his life around by attempting to get his ex to take him back. However, his timing is unfortunate as they are right in the middle of what could be a zombie apocalypse. With this, he decides that it is an opportunity to show everyone his use by saving them all, so all he has to do is survive and get his ex back. Although predominantly bright, Shaun of the Dead does include some dark scenes. Use of both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds are used to emphasise the comedic moments, e.g. when Shaun is brushing his teeth the sound is accentuated to add humour.

Frances Ha

This trailer is immediately breaking the convection of a modern comedy, as the film is black and white, meaning the use of daylight and bright colours is non-existent. Following the life of Frances, a woman living in New York but without an apartment, she apprentices for a dance company although she is not a dancer and throws herself headlong into her dreams, even as their possibility dwindles. This film does include sarcastic and socially awkward people, it is set in social and populated places and shows the idiotic characters alongside the ‘normal’ characters to emphasise their stupidity. The film also uses the use of non-diegetic sound (music) that sets a happy and positive mood.

Comedy is a feel good genre and the main reason why people watch it is because they want to be entertained. The positivity and joy shown on screen is often transferred to the person behind the screen, which leaves them feeling upbeat and positive. Also, this genre helps provide escapism for the viewer as whilst they are laughing at other people’s pain they often forget their own suffering. Furthermore, comedy is something that is universally enjoyed because anyone can find it funny, whereas a biopic film that discuss’ the issue of 3^rd world poverty cannot equally be enjoyed by everyone. Also, comedy is not something that needs prior knowledge and understanding before you can enjoy it.