Comparing Film Theories and Conventions (unit 4- task 1)

Strengths & Weaknesses of Genre Conventions

• The first strength of genre conventions is that they tell the audience whether they will like it or not, all depending on the genre of the film. 
• Another strength of genre conventions is that they can show stereotyped characters. However, this could be a weakness as audiences, such as myself, my not agree with the stereotypes seen in films. For example in horror films, there is usually a weak, blonde female character and they are most likely to be the first one to be murdered by a masked killer due to falling over whilst running away. I personally don't believe this stereotype most commonly found in horror films.
• In addition, genre conventions may also allow the audience to see who might be in a particular genre and who the director may be.
• One weakness of genre conventions is if an actress or actor is playing a character with a mental illness such as depression m find that they get too involved with their character, and this may resulting in the actor or actress developing a mental illness.

Strengths & Weaknesses of The Auteur Theory

• It's really quite difficult to completely fit directors into this category as directors such as Tim Burton and Martin Scorsese have based their career around one genre in particular, however they have done other projects were they have ventured into other genres and completed books.
• A strength of the auteur theory is that the audience knows who the director is just from the style of film, the genre, and maybe from the cast.
• However a weakness of the auteur theory is that a lot of people either don't fully understand it, don't know what it is at all, or don't believe in it. 

Strengths & Weaknesses of Micro-Features

• Micro-features allow the audience to guess or state the genre of the film.
• They are the main part of a film and as micro-features include, cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound, editing and performance, and together they make up the production of a film.
• They also set the atmosphere, and helps the plot line to be understood by the audience.
• However, micro-features could give away the plot and possibly ruin it for the audience as they may feel the film is predictable.
• New genres could be created if the micro-features are used in different ways.