Influences

Major Motion Picture influences (Sci-fi) : A Scanner Darkly, Alien, Sleepy Hollow, Total Recall, Donnie Darko, Sin City (Art style), Matrix, Limitless, The Truman Show, 23, The Fountain, The Butterfly effect, 28 Days Later, Prometheus, Minority Report and Inception. These are the major movies that we have chosen to analyse in a larger depth; in relation to both the chosen genre of our film (Sci-fi) and in terms of presentation and the codes and conventions used. While all of these movies are Sci-fi or at least have Sci-fi influences (Sin City) they have been used to greatly inform all our decisions and planning. Below is a quick overview of some of the influences

A Scanner Darkly: The unique colours, the font style and flickering typewriter method of presentation of text and information to the audience (one month earlier), the classic music, the use of a Drug as a critical part of the story. This is our main influence of the drug Elysium, the use of the soundtrack using classical music (Moonlight Sonata) and our replication of the flickering effect. The hallucinations appear almost instantaneously once the movie begins, similarly we want to include our representation of Limbo almost instantaneously. The bitter-sweet ending.

Alien: The use of Dark and Bright contrasting colours, the unique title and well known presentation of the "Alien" font, the mixture of the horror hybrid genre. The use of an Alien or a parasite as the monstrous antagonist. Futuristic technology etc.

Sleepy Hollow: The use of Steampunk, the hybrid horror genre, the classical score, eerie ambient music and atmosphere.

Total Recall: The unique colour and set design which is clearly set in the future, characters costumes and make up distinguish what the time period is and is reflective of the genre. The presentation of adverts to display a companies product i.e Total Recall memories and the drug Elysium. The use of futuristic technology such as the nano-tech in our plot. The use of implantation of memories into a subject. Similar to Inception.

Donnie Darko: A dark mental antagonist, the use of the nightmarish world, "Frank"as a sinister in appearance creature and the presentation of the title in the sky. The eerie narration of the protagonist.

Sin City: The unique art and costume design (monochrome with one colour highlighted - blue eyes).

Memento: the unique presentation of showing the movies time line back to front, as the movie is played almost backwards as earlier events are played in sequence throughout the movie.

Aside from these major influences other media has influenced us greatly such as Greek mythology (Fields of Elysium), Silent Hill (the use of a nightmarish version of the world), Devil May Cry (the use of the world of Limbo). Resident Evil adverts and trailers promoting the fictional umbrella products. Breaking bad is also an influence for the title, using the chemical symbols "Li" of the periodic table.

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Hopefully the use of all these influences such as an early created enigma, various uses of the codes and conventions of the Sci-fi genre, such intricacies as referencing Greek and various other Mythology and creating our own chemical formula which is a play on words, the use of an interesting plot and character the use of playing out the story backwards, the twist at the end, the unique presentation and original creation of the Drug Elysium and the use of: classical music for the unnerving effect while still remaining very Sci-fi influenced, the Sin City art effect shown in Limbo, the colour, costume and set design (all of which have been influenced by other films in which I have analysed).

Elysium Drug Effects - Animation

Background Information & Plot (Initial).

Year: 2019

Setting: -(Near Future Dystopia)

            -(Reality):
                           -Bathroom
                           -Board room
                           -Hospital
                           -Lab
                           -Warehouse
                         
            -(Limbo):
                           -Blissful version.
                           -Nightmarish version
Characters:

Name : 'Dante'
Role : Protagonist
Age    : 18-21
Gender : Male
Attributes: Focused and self contained.
                Calm, collected and independent.
                Strong character and personality.

Name : Atlas
Role : Overseerer of assignment
Age : 46
Gender : Male


Name : Juno
Role : Support
Age : 23
Gender : Female


'Dante' is an undercover agent, apparently sent to infiltrate a drug smuggling ring, in the process he becomes willingly addicted to the drug Elysium. The true nature of his assignment is that he is actually a test subject to test the capabilities and effects of the drug by the very people who assigned him. They intend to use a healthy individual to discover its limits, the only catch is that the drug only exposes its positive effects when a user willingly takes the drug, so he must remain without knowledge of his true assignment. If the user is forced to take it against their will, the parasite can no longer remain hidden within the hosts body an as a result endorphin's in their body attempt to fight the parasite the drug has created which resides within the hosts body, this can cause blackouts, memory loss and even death if the parasite is killed, if the parasite dies the host dies.

As the dosage the user intakes is increased the effects are amplified, from heightened senses to being mentally transported to a blissful, tranquil location. But if an excess of the drug is consumed or the user suffers from withdrawal there are dark and dangerous side effects ranging from nausea to paralysis, nightmarish reincarnation of the blissful world and eventually death. The only action a user can take who is exposed to the drugs effects for a prolonged period is to continue consuming the drug, essentially becoming addicted.

The drug Elysium is presented to the public as a beneficial, legal and effective. It apparently has the ability to cure colds, the flu, other minor sicknesses and even more prevalent or dangerous variations, it can help heal wounds, increase intelligence and improve physical and mental attributes... essentially a wonder drug. If taken in a small enough dose the user can retain its benefits without becoming addicted.

In reality once initially used, a parasite is released into the subject which remains dormant within the user until the host becomes known to its existence in which the already present endorphin's in the hosts body will attempt to remove the parasite, but doing so will kill the host. No scanners or available technology is able to detect this parasite.

But that is not the drugs true purpose (to grant benefits and cures), the parasite may help increase abilities and senses but not to an extreme degree and it still retains the fatal and hallucinogenic negative side effects. It's true purpose is that each parasite is unique and contains a unique genetic coded for accordingly, each individual strain is able to be monitored and the users DNA, blood type, stress levels, hunger levels etc. can all be respectively watched by the creators. Once this initially occurs the parasite temporarily bonds with the host, a small amount of its DNA is permanently left within the host. If the user doesn't continue prolonged use, the parasite will die and decompose, no fatal or damaging consequences will be received. But the small amount of DNA that the parasite leaves will remain, which means the user is able to be permanently monitored. Due to the data transmitted all the users information and vital statistics can be reviewed. An addict who takes the drug for long duration allows the parasite to remain alive and grow, it becomes eventually mature and unable to self-decompose as it would in its youth stage, it will gradually become able to fight of any anti-bodies or anti-biotics, once its mature stage has been reached depending on the subjects DNA code it may bond, slowly diminish in size and intensity or kill the host if they stop taking the drug.

The drugs true purpose is to collect information on all the population. If all information can be controlled, it can be manipulated. The eventually this will lead to memories being able to be implanted into a subject which will allow for further control.

Summary of Planning

Over-arching plot of whole movie, - characters, setting etc.

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What are you going to do to get the audience interested?

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Enigma.

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Establishment of a character, setting or plot.

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How do your titles enhance this.

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Music.

Plot 

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Draft

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Script

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Storyboard

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Animatic

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Redrafts

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Shortlist

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Shooting Script

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Final Script

Alien (Sci-fi - Action Horror)

This film is a hybrid between Sci-fi and Horror, it agrees with both genres codes and conventions, it is set in the futures, has an alien invasion, the alien creatures have almost supernatural abilities, its set in the future, its set on a different planet and also features space travel, it involves advanced technology and equipment and so on. Yet it carries this horror theme throughout as well. The misé en scene is representative of this as the clothing, armour, make up, colour scheme and set design all have deep Sci-fi influences, as well as horror. Its this agreement with the codes and conventions that make this Sci-fi film so noticeable and memorable. The use of simple horror styled cuts and transitions such as jump cuts and cross cutting both show on screen the main subject yet keep the antagonist from bring viewed completely until later, this is both used in Sci-fi and horror films. The use of dark colours such as blacks and the contrasting green, work to great effect especially with the title and credits, we wish to mimic this with our movie and use a similar dark background with vibrant contrasting coloured text. The sound a swell is exaggerated and tense throughout, namely the scores and stings.



As visible above, the opening credits for Alien have a unique design, against a dark blue abstract background with an imposed semi translucent face are various scans of the human brain, they have a light vibrant blue colour scheme which along with the blue mist or smoke and the scan results at the tp right are all in stark contrast to the eerie background. The text also behaves to give a similar effect, the bright white colour and unique elongated font are unmistakably Sci-fi related in their appearance. Then after the abstract method of presenting various opening credits through light flares, cuts and superimposition and various white line structures a sonar stylised 3D line graph of a planets surface is shown once again in contrast to the dark background and further highlights the text. The final presentation of the title "Alien" follows a similar technique, as it 'flickers' into being visible. We wish to do a similar technique to this for the opening title sequence to our movie.



As shown in the video above the mise en scene adheres greatly to the codes and conventions of the Sci-fi genre; such as the futuristic 'space styled' clothing, advanced technology like the laser cutter, the 'face hugger' alien and space ship set design. These are all used to attempt to communicate a more interesting and (relatively) believable story without continuity errors which may diminish the audiences interest at certain points. The scene opens with a long shot of a man opening doors in a space ship, this is used to give a greater visible representation of the set, then it cuts to a mid shot of Ripley in the command room,  this is followed by a cross cut to a medical removal of the alien using various futuristic equipment, this method is used to communicate to the audience the various activities that the characters are doing simultaneously, a common technique used in the Sci-fi genre. The sound as well follows the codes and conventions of the Sci-fi genre as the sound effects are exaggerated and used to give the impression that this alien is alive and that they are actually using a laser cutter.

The age rating for this film is 18, this means that the target audience for this film is teens and adults possibly with an interest in Sci-fi films. They have used many techniques for attracting their audience, such as using an original and unique plot, interesting sets and futuristic technology that appear very aesthetically pleasing to watch, the use of a female lead role is also an attracting feature as is the hybrid  Sc-fi Horror combination. The use of the future, monsters, aliens, fear, and space travel are all methods of attracting an audience, and all tend to follow the codes and conventions of the Sci-fi genre.
The film is distributed by 20th Century Fox, a well renowned distributer, this is to attempt to reach a larger audience often used with the release of Sci-fi films.

Social groups such as, businessmen, workers, men, women, families and the military are represented in this film. While these social groups may not be directly relatable to the audience, its uniqueness and difference to normal life and reality is what makes the movie so attracting.

The audience would expect to see a hybid genre of Sci-fi horror, a futuristic survival film with a female lead, the use of aliens as violent and dangerous antagonists and the use of robots and cyborg, all of which follow the codes and conventions of the Sci-fi genre.

Sleepy Hollow (Sci-fi - Mystery Horror)

Sleepy Hollow is 'retro future' styled; Sci-fi mystery horror film. It correlates with many codes and conventions typical of a Sci-fi movie, such as the 'steampunk' influence for mise en scene and the set, the use of Sci-fi gadgets and tools that appear futuristic especially in contrast to the era the film is set in, the fantasy element of having a mythological headless antagonist, the use of a dark and exaggerated colour design throughout, the use of cuts and transactions such as mid cuts and low angle shots to emphasise characters physiques and to attempt to hide the headless horsemen from the audience from being viewed from a higher angle. This use of the codes and conventions makes this movie very fantasy orientated but at the same time retain a large influence from the hybrid mystery horror genre, it is because of this combination of genres that the film is allowed to reach a larger audience. The use of 'steampunk' fashion and set design is also very aesthetically pleasing and interesting for the audience to watch due to its uniqueness and rarity in (relatively) big budget productions. The mythical and supernatural aspects of this film is also very engaging as its use of fantastical characters who are well renowned (the headless horseman) means the film is more likely to already have a cult fan base which means it has its basis for a target audience.



As shown in the above clip the atmosphere and use of low angle and close up shots appear to challenge the codes and conventions of the Sci-fi genre as they communicate more of a retro, period drama or horror thriller tone. Yet this combined with the use of authentic steampunk misé en scene (clothing/make up and character design for the Hessian) works well as the hybrid genre is mixed. The dark lighting in the indoor scene as well as the chilling and eerie outdoor set also seem to challenge these codes and conventions of the Sci-fi genre.

But this opposition is what makes the movie unique, the dark macabre horror elements are combined with the supernatural (the headless horseman) this gives a very centred Sci-fi movie darker qualities and allows it to use the codes and conventions associated with these genres swell while still retaining agreement with the codes and conventions of the Sci-fi genre.

The movie is set in the past with almost authentic sets and character costumes but with a retro future influence as well, the social groups presented are the rich and wealthy to the middle class as well as law enforcement, the military and mercenaries and outcasts such as the twins. While the majority of social groups presented may not be directly relateable the class divide is, so is the divide between the educated Mr. Crane and the inhabitants of Sleepy Hollow, there is an eeriness about this and the unfamiliarity of this for the audience is what makes this movie so alluring to watch. The wealthy appear to have an excess of power and choose to abuse it similar to how many modern movies present the wealthy.












The opening of sleepy hollow is similar to the overall atmosphere of the movie, in terms of cuts, colour and set design as well as costumes and lighting, it has both Sci-fi and mise en scene influences. Some of these are evident by the above screenshot of the horseman drawing his sword whilst riding horseback.


This film was also distributed by Paramount pictures, a well known company, this was a smart tactic because this allowed the movie to reach a much larger audience while still retaining its fan-base. The age rating for this film varies greatly between countries, ranging from 12A, PG-13 to R. This is due to its fairly graphic use of gore and violence. Yet there is only a minor use of strong language and sexual content, this is possible an attempt to try to reach a younger audience. The use of well renowned actors such as Johnny Depp and Christopher Walken also increases the likelihood of the film reaching a larger audience. The use of great sound design is also a pivotal part in capturing the audiences attention as it makes the film appear more professional and the exaggeration at points namely when the horsemen is drawing his sword seems to be conventionally Sci-fi.

The audience can expect to see a steampunk styled horror Sci-fi movie with supernatural influences. The post production advertising highlighted these factors of the movie for the desired audience.

Total Recall (Sci-fi - Action/Adventure)

Total Recall is a very stereotypical representation of a Sci-fi movie, it adheres to the majority of the genres codes and conventions such as being set in the future, the inclusion of futuristic technology and complex ideas such as a machine that can implant fake memories, creatures, monsters, aliens and mutated humans, space travel, different planets and an apocalyptic theme. The misé en scene as well is very typical with its use of simple robes, vibrant exaggerated colour design, the use of make up and monster masks, all of which are unmistakably Sci-fi orientated. The use of simple cuts and techniques such as jump cuts, panning shots and zooms works to great effect as this simplicity always appears to highlight the main subject(s) on screen, similar to the rule of thirds. This technique is often used in Sci-fi movies. The sound effects used are also very Sci-fi in the method they are presented.


Total Recall (1990) - Watch 50s from Watch 50s on Vimeo.

The movie is set on both earth and mars, both have futuristic set designs, emphasised by the warm colour schemes. While on mars the contrast is clear as there appears to be also an apocalyptic theme, often used in the Sci-fi genre. The opening of this movie shows the warm colour scheme of mars, with the stereotypical space suit concept, as shown above.



The video above shows a scene in which various cuts and panning shots are used, while all the subjects remain centered in the cameras line of perception. The futurist technology is also presented to the audience here in the X-ray machine which highlights objects of danger. We hope that the inclusion of our drug that we may be able to convey a futuristic nature or at-least a slight advancement in technology with it in our movie, we wish to also include the implantation of memories into a subject, similar to Inception.

The film has a designated targeted audience of 15 and above, the use of famous actors such as Arnold Schwarzenegger is also used to attract an audience, the alluring factors of this film is that it was based of a book, fans of the book will be more inclined to watch this movie as a result, the use of a unique plot and futuristic setting as well as the apocalyptic themed mars. Typical of the Sci-fi genre. Post production was also a large factor in attracting an audience similar to the other films I've analysed, the huge sums of money spent in advertisments would have attracted more people.

Total Recall was distributed by TriStar Pictures, a subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, a well renowned company, this means there is a greater likelihood of the film reaching a larger audience.

Groups such as drug attics, upper class, middle class, businessmen  military and aliens are represented in this film, they are used to portray certain elements of the film and at times retain a stereotypical view of certain social groups i.e. businessmen being greedy etc. The audience expects to see an action Sci-fi movie with futuristic elements and a clear link to the book in which it is derived from.

Donnie Darko (Sci-fi - Mystery Drama)

Donnie Darko is a movie about a teenager plagued with Schizophrenia, his second name Darko is a pun as it refers to the dark and eerie atmosphere presented by the film. Similar to Sleepy Hollow it is a Sci-fi movie with deep supernatural and psycho- social and mental influences, but it also has quite strong connections with the horror thriller genre at certain points throughout the movie, in these moments it appears to slightly deviate from the codes and conventions of the Sci-fi genre and become more sinister in these moments. Yet the film does not challenge these conventions it simply at certain points has stronger ties with other genres, as a result the method of delivery and use of the manic hallucinated creature "Frank" (below) only give the movie a more supernatural and eerie nature.

The mise en scene and set design use a dark colour scheme fairly continuously throughout. Unlike other Sci-fi movies, Donnie Darko is set in modern times but also has a sinister supernatural element as well, typical of the Sci-fi genre. The use of the monster "Frank" and the references to time travel and hallucinations and such also continue to adhere to the codes and conventions of the Sci-fi genre. We wish to use a similar scene to the mirror scene with frank later, in our movie.



As shown in the above clip, the title is presented by a contrasting bright font text against a dark background, the font used is also quite unique as it appears to correlate well with the genre and the light flair from the sun has an aesthetically pleasing effect on the introduction of the title. we wish to use a similar technique for our movie as well, this is a common technique used in the Sci-fi genre. Numerous other common techniques are used such as panning shots to give a visible representation of the set to the audience, cuts, tracking shots which may be used to communicate disorientation and so on. The film opens with an (extreme) long shot of the scenery, this is to give a greater representation of the set and surroundings to the audience, typical to the Sci-fi genre.

It is distributed by Pandora Cinema and Newmarket films, two fairly minor distributing companies in relation to the more renowned distributors, this is also very common with Sci-fi movies, they may decided to use smaller companies or multiple to reach its audience. The post production advertising campaign also gained a greater audience as did word of mouth and critics reviews.

The targeted audience for this movie is teens, aged 15 and up, the use of famous actors such as Jake Gyllenhaal is also a method typical to the Sci-fi genre for attracting an audience. The use of time travel, monsters, complex ideas, drugs, schizophrenia and so on, are all very unique and also commonly used in the Sci-fi genre as they correlate with the genres codes and conventions.

The audience expects a complex but interesting plot with heavy influences from mental and social psychology and the resulting effects on the main character, and also the inclusion of supernatural and dark elements such as the hallucinations of "Frank" and the ability to apparently see into the future. This is evident in the numerous trailers for the movie.

A Scanner Darkly (Sci-fi - Animated Mystery Drama)

A Scanner Darkly Opening



A Scanner Darkly is an animated sci-fi mystery drama (Warner Bros), heavily influenced by identity and Drug influences. This is similar to what we wish to achieve with our film, influences of Drugs and its misuse in relation to ones greed. This film is an animation aimed towards adults as evident by its use of drugs, violence, language and sexual content. This is typical of the genre as its "a typical" delivery of content through the mehod of animation is unusual and an interesting idea and as a result allows for the engagement of the audience. The attractive part of this movie for the audience is its uniqueness and use of the future and the possibilities of technology and such (agrees with the codes and conventions of this genre). This movie is distributed by Warner Bros, this is very typical of a Sci-fi movie as it is attempting to reach a larger audience.   Various social groups have been represented here, such as the middle aged, law enforcement officers, drug addicts and suppliers as well as lower to middle class groups, this although may or may not be relate-able to the entire target audience it still makes for an extremely interesting plot as all of these represented social groups interact with each other and anyone who has experienced the effects of hallucinogens etc. this aspect will be relate-able. The use of well renowned actors such as Keanu Reaves and Robert Downey jr. is also a method this film used to target its selected audience.

A Scanner Darkly appears to adhere to the many codes and conventions of the Sci-fi genre: it is set in the near future, its misé en scene is representative of the codes and conventions as well such as the scramble suit and the drug Substance D, both having Sci-fi influences. The bright vibrant colour scheme and detailed animation is also communicative of the Sci-fi genre as it is a representation of technology and its use makes the film very unique and unmistakably Sci-fi. The titles and text style used is also very unique and has a "techy"quality surrounding them. Sound is used to much great effect in this film, ranging from the string introduction to the movie, unique sound effects throughout for emphasise at certain points, exaggerated sounds are also used as well, very typical of Sci-fi as these exaggerated noised are quite engaging due to their uniqueness. The voice acting is outstanding in this movie, as due to the nature of the film (being an animation) this is an extremely effective method of delivery. The various cuts (jump cuts/ shot reverse shot/ two shot) used while being effective and fairly typical of a Sci-fi movie are not strictly Sci-fi genre specific, they appear to be more representative of the action/drama genre, which is reflective in the hybrid nature of this genre and its use of multiple genre codes and conventions.

In this opening to A Scanner Darkly we found the introduction of the title sequence to be very aesthetically pleasing and eye catching as the use of a black background and contrasting luminescent yellow text that is a stark contrast in turn resulting in a more attracting sequence. The camera appears to zoom towards the text as it appears and in turn the text begins to flicker similarly to a computer monitor until it fades to black. This opening sequence has been very influential towards our primary concept for the intro sequence that we hope to achieve.

The typewriter texts style, font, colour and method of presentation to the audience also appears much more appealing and in turn makes the audience more likely to pay attention to the information displayed. We hope to use this style in the future in our film as its attractive style make it a dynamic display of text; as the words are slowly typed onto screen.

At the moment we hope that any text displayed before the opening title such as cast and opening credits will be communicated artistically in an attractive manner, we hope to capture some leaves falling towards the camera and add a slow motion effect at certain points, as it slows down we want the text to flicker on and off screen similar to the text in A Scanner Darkly. We also hope to use a similar effect from the colour scheme of having a black background with a contrasting light coloured font in the foreground.

During this opening scene the character on screen appears to be hallucinating, this is a side effect from the drug Substance D, he is hallucinating that he is plagued by aphids as his mind convinces him that these insects are swarming over him, his home and his dog. This will hopefully further inform the premise of our plot in our film as we hop to include a drug inspired by that of Substance D and that it results in some similar side effects such as hallucinations and so on.

We also hope to take inspiration from the mirror scene in this opening, we wish to communicate a similar atmosphere of panic and uneasiness, at the moment we intend to be influenced by this scene and a similar scene from Donnie Darko, both have the similar action of the character staring into a mirror and the expression on their face is communicative of the scenes atmosphere as a result, this will hopefully inform our final plot.

Codes and Conventions of the Sci-fi genre

The codes and conventions of Science Fiction (Sci-fi) movies are essentially clear narrative themes, often emotive and heavily influenced by fantasy. Mise en scene is a critical part of Sci-fi as it is very often used to communicate the plot or time period in many cases. Props and settings like spaceships, virtual worlds, advanced technology or fantasy inspired resources and such are communicative to the audience of what to expect from the movie. There is often an unrealistic threat or defining characteristic to the plot with often moral ideology as well being reflective of real life issues; such as threat to the human race and the possible use of aliens as either heroes or villains and the moral attitudes and prejudices surrounding them (District 9/Avatar). They often have a very narrative theme which often involves saving the human race or the end of the world (Armageddon/Independence Day), survival (Alien), invasion (Mars Attacks) or the use or development of advanced technology (Minority Report) and the use of space travel or special/super powers (Star Wars). These are very typical to the genre, but Sci-fi movies do not always have to be constricted by all or the majority of these codes and conventions, but many of these characteristics are very definitive of the genre and often what makes a film more noticeably Science Fiction.

Other typical codes and conventions of this genre are:

Time travel (The Time Machine/ Back to the Future). This idea appears very appealing to the audience because it appears to be an interesting concept and captures peoples imaginations and allows the film to show how events could be or could have been by manipulating the past and future, its engaging to think and watch movies with this idea as we are allowed to see various eras and events in one movie while still keeping it canonical and eye-catching. This manipulation allows for the director or screen writers to design almost endless possibilities, this is almost the essence of a Sci-fi movie, expanding the impossible, making complex ideas simple and delivering them to the audience in an engaging way, they don't have to adhere to normal laws of reality most of the time such as gravity etc. it is this idea that anything is possible that attracts viewers to this genre. This is primarily targeted towards those who enjoy a twisting often complex story, usually males, from tamer representations for kids to more explicit content for adults and adolescents.

Futuristic settings (Total Recall/ Demolition Man/ Escape from New York). Likewise a futuristic setting allows for the manipulation of the world around the protagonist(s), worlds can be changed, anything can be altered, this is an appealing concept as well as it grabs our attention and allows our imaginations to flourish. These films are usually targeted at teens and adults who enjoy the concept of a futuristic setting but may also be targeted for (but often tamer) kids.

"Outworldly" planets (Doom/ Ghost in the Shell). Like the previous two ideas, this is used because it is a fascinating postulation, that we could experience life on a different planet and it allows for the world to be crafted in any way they want allowing for endless possibilities. Again usually targeted at people with an interest towards space and other worlds, usually males: teens and adults.

Unrealistic or highly advanced yet apparently simplified technology (Blade Runner/ The Fifth Element). This is also an interesting belief, that in the future we will have interesting, near impossible to contemplate technology... this is the basis for why this is used, we enjoy the idea of having the ability and possibility of creating these devices even if it is impossible in reality, but this never the less is a very engaging method of grabbing the audiences attention. Again this is aimed at a male target audience as technology typically (not always) is considered a to be affiliated with the male gender.

Creatures whether good or bad (Jurassic Park/ Planet of The Apes). Also an interesting concept, that creatures can be given enhanced mental and cognitive abilities, they can be on par or greater than humanity and this competition is an attracting quality for a movie. These are most likely targeted towards those with an interest in creatures, monsters or gene manipulation etc. this is often associated with the younger age group but can be aimed at adults and teens as well.

The use of animation instead of live action (A Scanner Darkly/ Howls Moving Castle/ Dead Space). This is a very unique method of grabbing the audiences attention, it is because of its scarcity and unique nature that these films often appear so interesting, the unique style allows for further manipulation of reality and almost anything on screen really allowing for near endless possibilities to engage the audience. This unique method is targeted towards teens and children usually females but often towards males as well depending on the sub genres and plot.

The recreation of such as novelised etc. characters (Van Helsing/ Hellboy/ Judge Dredd)
and the use of steampunk (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen/ Stardust). This is often used to grab the attention of such "fanboys/girls" and anyone with prior knowledge of the redesigned and re-imagined character and also introduces them as a new character to people with no prior knowledge. This is normally targeted towards a select group of people often with a love of the character, but companies often use big budgets to reach a larger audience.

Deep thought is often involved along with complex theories (2001: A Space Odyssey)
often accompanied by drugs or the equivalent (The Matrix/A Clockwork Orange). Similarly this simplified version of complex ideas allows for anyone to understand the concept and understand its limits and such, this results in a much more interesting and engaging experience. These are typically aimed towards the older more mature nature due to their complex ideas.

Unlike other genres the protagonist is often female and has defined masculine qualities to make for a stronger character (Resident Evil/ The Hunger Games). This unique take on protagonists and antagonists makes for an interesting change to both the pace, appearance and atmosphere of the film, often giving a refreshing take on many sub genres and hybrid genres. This ironically is aimed at the male gender more so than females, due to a female lead attracting a male fan base, but this is also debatable because of the various nature of the films, this can range from children to teens and even adults in many situations.

The inclusion of robots (Terminator/ iRobot). Similar to the inclusion of creatures, this appears very interesting as giving a machine intelligence is a fear for many, and its this manipulation and use of peoples fear that makes an enjoyable film especially for the horror hybrid genre, this goes for many other codes of conventions. They also may be used just for entertainment due to their uniqueness in appearance and design. This is aimed at a broad target audience, from children to adults, but is primarily aimed at males due to the stereotypical male fascination with often war and technology (often combined).

Within the Sci-fi genre there are many sub genres which are in turn hybrids of a mixture of two or more different genres such as: Sci-fi horror, Sci-fi thriller, Sci-fi mystery, Sci-fi action/adventure. There is also the influence of such sub genres involving super heroes (heroes), the past with futuristic influences -steampunk/ retro future - (Wild Wild West).

Sci-fi movies are usually distributed by an extremely large variety of com pines, ranging from indie developers, to big named companies (Warner Brothers), from America and Europe, to Japan and their unique form of animation often adapted by the western world and manipulated for their audience. This is why the genre appears so appealing to such a wide range of people, as it is able to reach views because of its world wide distribution. The audience usually expects to see the abnormal, the supernatural, essentially anything that appears to exaggerate reality and the norm.