Fantasy Film Conventions A-Z

Ancient World
This features analogues of Ancient Egypt and the Roman Empire, among others. This links to Medievalism.

Dark Lord
The forces of evil are normally led by a Dark Lord who possesses dark qualities and normally possesses dark magical abilities. Examples of Dark Lord's can bee seen in 'Lord of The Rings' (Sauron) 'The Inheritance Cycle' (Galbatorix), and 'Harry Potter' (Voldemort). They are normally outcast and therefor a lone figure who is typically unmarried although some have been known to marry and even have children (e.g. Valentine in the Mortal Instruments).

Good vs Evil
Good versus evil is one of the most common themes in fantasy films; stereotypically evil characters venture from their own lands to invade and suppress the good characters and their lands. Fantasy author J.R.R.Tolkien can be seen using this idea throughout 'The Lord of The Rings'.

Hero
Another extremely common element of fantasy films is the hero - which can be found in both genres of high fantasy and sword and sorcery. These characters are potentially normal with average backgrounds or perhaps a maltreated person who grow throughout the film to become the hero of the story via the fulfilment of a dream. They occasionally also turn out to be unknown royalty which could arguably be symbolic of the recognition of inner worth amongst the characters and perhaps the audience.

Magic/Magician
Magic normally has an overwhelming presence throughout both the genre in films and literature. It can be portrayed via a magical land such as Middle Earth (Lord of The Rings) or a hidden element within life such as the Shadowhunters (Mortal Instruments).
Someone who can wield magic is also portrayed as uncommon element within a world and so this normally makes them major roles in the fantasy genre. This means that a character such as a magician, wizard, sorcerer, warlock or necromancer are common protagonists or secondary characters within fantasy. Interestingly, the Star Wars franchise is considered part of the fantasy genre as well as science fiction and the Force is essentially a magicl power.
There also magical items within the genre which play a key part in the story such as the One Ring (Lord of The Rings) as the most common are magic swords and rings.

Medievalism
Many creatures from the fantasy genre are drawn from myth, legend and folklore such as dragons, unicorns, griffins, giants and goblins. Interestingly, races of intelligent creatures such as elves, dwarves and gnomes are often drawn from medieval or pre-Christian roots of origin.

Prophecies
These are one of the most common parts and are often used as a plot device. It is extremely rare for a prophecy in a fantasy film to be false.

Quest
These are also very common in fantasy and one of the most stereotypical ideas within the fantasy genre. There are many examples of this which can be seen throughout the genre such as in 'Lord of The Rings' when Frodo leaves to ultimately destroy the One Ring or in the 'Inheritance Cycle' when Eragon leaves to avenge the dragon riders and train as one himself with his dragon, Saphira.

Races
Many fantasy stories involve unique fantasy race instead of humans. An example of this can be seen in J.R.R.Tolkien's series 'Lord of The Rings'. Non-human characters range from dwarves, elves, gnomes, halflings, half-elves and half-orcs. Anthropomorphic animals (humanoid creatures that appear like animals, such as wolves, bears, boars and other animal species) are also common.

Fantasy Short Films

The first film I chose to look at was an Award Winning Fantasy Film about time travel called Paradox. Although it did not follow the idea that I wish to pursue of setting my film in the modern day with more hints to stereotypical fantasy, I thought that this film was very interesting and enjoyed the spin at the end.

I like the idea of twisting the fate of the main character of the short film into doing something or having something done to them which is completely unexpected. I am considering doing something like this at the end of my own short film.

Unlike 'Paradox', the second short film I decided to look at was 'Honourbound' - which is not an Award Winning film. I liked the medieval or viking themes to the film. This film was a zero budget film and I was astounded by the quality and the professional approach to the editing that was used.

I like the idea of the narration at the beginning as well as the whole mystery around the cloaked figure. The editing is extremely well done an am hoping to use a similar technique throughout my own short film. The use of magic in this short film is also very well done and very realistic. This has given me some ideas which I am considering placing in my own film.

Daenerys Targaryen || Throne

Recently I edited this new video and used a completely different type of filter compared to my coursework piece from last year and edited the video in a completely different style as to what I normally use. I prefer the filter I have used in this as it brings out more of the lighter colours in the video itself. This would be far more suited to my short film as I am planning to film in autumn meaning that there will still be a lot of colour about which I would like to attempt to enhance due to some of the natural elements I wish to incorporate into my coursework.

The Comic-Con Experience

© Photography by CP

In May, I and a couple of friends journeyed to the London Excel Centre for the MCM London Comic-Con. I hoped it would help me draw some inspiration for my A2 coursework due to the many stalls, experiences and of course the cosplay.

By 10am we were ready with me and my friends cosplaying as a dark elf, a skeleton and the Wicked Witch of the West. We had some very odd looks in the car on the journey into London and we felt completely out of place until we neared the Excel Centre where we saw a variety of cosplayers walk past.

After having got lost in the car on the way there, we arrived just after midday and the place was already packed. Due to the mass amount of cosplayers we didn't feel out of place and on numerous occasions throughout the day we actually forgot we were wearing makeup that made us look...well...not like ourselves - so it was a bit of shock when you tried something on in the mirror.

When I went to Comic-Con I was hoping to draw some inspiration from some of the stalls and costumes. The top five most common costumes were Deadpool, Spider-Man, Harlequin, The Joker and Poison Ivy and I'm pretty sure we saw at least fifteen of each so I was a little disappointed. However I did decide on my idea for my short film for my coursework (which I will blog about later). Although there were many of the same costumes going about, I did take some inspiration from the trip and I will be blogging my ideas later on.

So it's back to the drawing board for now...