The Action Genre in Films: A Research Study

 What is the Action genre?

Defined as films that are full of risk and stakes. And it usually makes you want to watch it over and over again because you never get bored.

Fun Fact: To make a film that is appropriately categorized as action, it doesn't necessarily need an action sequence, but the content must be action-oriented, meaning it should include chases, danger, and fights.

Why does it appeal to me as the Editor?

As an editor on this production team, this genre appeals to me because it's not just about explosions and fights, but everything has to be appropriately fragmented, meaning the timing creates the story stakes since every minute has a purpose, and depending on how I cut it, or the transitions I implement, I can change not only the viewer's perspective, as I can direct attention to something or someone, or I can leave a void, in addition to controlling the story. For example, if I make a match cut, doubt invades the audience: what happened?

Media Production Example:

Die Hard (1988)- Opening Scene

To test the research, I decided to use this excerpt from the movie Die Hard, which, by the way, was ranked among the greatest action movie villains. In this 1:30m opening scene, we see many things happening and yet nothing at the same time. They begin by establishing "casual" relationships, nothing out of the ordinary, until the weapon is revealed in the pocket. Here begins the real contradiction: Is he the bad guy, or the good guy? Is he lying about being a cop or not? With just the direct cut to the weapon and then to the other character's gaze, we can understand how he feels, and we feel the same way, creating tension, until there's another straight cut to the man picking up a teddy bear, which confuses us but gives us a sense that something is off,  Who is he? Why did he come? Weapon = fight, or not? You see what catches attention is not what's happening, but how is happening, the most "common" environment that most of us can relate to, suddenly transform into a place of increased tension.

Why would I choose to incorporate this genre into our production?

One essential aspect of this genre is that you can start from any part of the story. We can start with the protagonist running away from the villains or vice versa, or a chase that grabs attention. Since our purpose is to create the opening scene, it's important to hook the audience within those two minutes, and one of the best options, in my opinion, is action. Not only do you try to figure out what happened, but it's also an invasion of emotions and thoughts.

It must be said that this genre is generally used with varied sub-genres. I sincerely think that this genre will be a good option for us, I consider this a feasible idea since as a team we can follow an action sequence to start and make sure we are following the conventions of this genre "quest, tension, protagonist, antagonist"- this will help us apply the Structuralism theory by Levi-Strauss since we can make sense of the world not for what is happening but for what is not e.g. there's not peace but rather a fight=something causes the fight, and also points out the theory of Postmodernism by Baudrillar -the reality in the movie is more attractive than our own e.g. most of us have never seen a car chase and we would like to feel the adrenaline but without seeing it in real life because that's too much" plus following the sequence we wouldn't take too much time trying to find how to do it, which can save us time and give us a guide, since we are apprentices.

Takeaways and lesson: I learned that the Action genre is popular, because it never gets bored, plus the production team has the power to control the story and the degree of tension, and as an editor I can direct the audience attention since we as humans are driven to identify motion first, we can make something "normal" or "boring" an action, and the editing will give live or terminate that complete or incomplete action. Furthermore, I found this genre to be an audience engaging (it's appropriate for all types of audiences)