Coursework Research:Setting

What is setting?
 Setting is defined as 'the place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes place.' It is bascially the backgorund to whatever scene is taking place and supplies the character with the place for the scene to unroll. A good setting can make or break a scene; it has to be suitable for what is taking place otherwise all the rest of the mis-en-scene will be off and thus detract from the overall effect and impact of the film. Setting can almost act as an extension of the character, it should fit their actions and movemnts to add to the impact rather than detract from them.

What are the conventional settings for the following genres?

Comedy:

The setting for comedy is always in a bright and colourful place; stereotypically in social situations such as a night club or party. An example of this would be the Inbetweeners Movie which is set on holiday: a bright place so the audience is put into the mindset of the fact the film is going to be more light-hearted and thus is more likely to find it entertaining compared to if it was set in a gloomy place. 


Horror:
The usual setting for horror films are usually dark, mysterious and isolated. Examples of stereotypical settings wouold be haunted houses, urban environments, dark streets etc. Anywhere that creates a sense of foreboding to allow the audience to acknowledge that if the setting is dark and miserable, the events of the film are most likely to be as well. Most of the settings in horror also have a dark backgorund; somethind dreadful has happened in the past thus foreshadowing events of the future. This can be seen in films like the Woman In Black with Eel Marsh House, within the grounds of which a terrible accident had happenened killing a ladies son. 

Action:
Action usually takes place in busy settings; somewhere which will allow for lots of things to able to take place and aid the unrolling of the plot. For example a lot of action films take place in big cities, where there are lots of things going on so as to add to the hectic impact when the scene takes place. This is because having a charcter run through the city adds to the sense of speed and danger as there are far more obstacles in their way, in comparison to the countryside, foe example. This can be seen in a lot of the James Bond films; where a majority of the big chase scences are set on busy streets. 


Drama:
Drama films can be set in a lot of different places, they are stereotypically based more on the
 life of a character and the emphasis is on provoking emotion in the audience by revealing events of this characters life. Therefore the setting of drama films has to be suitable to make the audience believe in the situation; it has to be realsitic. However it also has to be interesting enough to help captavate the audience, so it isn't too boring. Examples of typical settings of drama films would be schools, neighbourhoods, a work place; anywhere which a realistic situation could take place. This could differ dependant on the time frame of the film. e.g War Horse is set in the war but is still a drama film; but that setting is realstic due to the nature of the stroyline. 

Romance:
Romance films are usually set in an environment within which two people would stereotypically meet. For example, places like school, work or at a conference, or at a party would all be suitable settings for romance as they are sitautions within which the audience could imagine meeting people; making the scenrio more relatbale and thus more believable. Futhermore, the audience is more likely to become emotionially invested in the characters and their storyline together if how they came to be together it believable, therfore having the correct setting is crucial. An example of a typical romance film would be 10 things I hate about you, where the two characters meet through high school.