I have made the executive decision to further research tropes within dramedies, as even though I am incredibly familiar with the genre, I thought it to be best to do some research to see if there are any tips I can come away with--and boy, did I ever!
Something I was already familiar with is that character is what ultimately drives a dramedy film, as compared to conflict. That much is true for my opening, focusing more on how the internal conflict Joan has to deal with affects her, rather than the conflict itself. I am showcasing this indirectly with the use of character design.
Character design is absolutely pivotal to understanding a character upon their first introduction. One of my favourite examples of this in a live action film is with the main character M. Gustave in "The Grand Budapest Hotel" (dir. Wes Anderson, 2014). Gustave is first introduced with a voice over describing his nature within the hotel, and little facts about him, such as how even after he leaves a room the smell of his perfume still lingers. However, it's his design that ultimately speaks more volumes about his character.
Gustave wears a lavish purple velvet concierge uniform, his hair slicked back and moustache perfectly groomed. The design purely of his hair speaks volumes about how well-groomed he is; above all else, Gustave values a perfect image not only for decency's sake, but for the sake of the hotel's reputation. It even extends to his uniformed outfit; the colours are extravagant and in any other circumstance, it would make his stick out like a sore thumb. Alas, the purple velvet colour scheme is the chosen design for all of the other hotel staffs' uniforms. As well as it establishes his character, it also showcases how he is simply another cog in the system. Gustave is not an important man, and no matter how much love and care he pours into his career, nothing will change that. Unless, of course, someone writes a book on him.
As my previous blog post outlined, Joan's wardrobe is definitely more relaxed. She wears minimal make-up, if any at all, and doesn't bother to wear anything flashy. She instead settled for a brandless hoodie, and even though her shorts hold at least some sort of brand in the form of the animated class "Akira" (dir. Katsuhiro Otomo, 1988), it's not exactly something people outside of those who either love anime or animated films in general would recognise. Overall, I aim for Joan's design to be incredibly personal. She cares not for the love or adoration of others, only for herself to feel happy and comfortable in her clothes.
Something else essential not only to dramedites, but good films as a whole, are scripts. Upon reading this StudioBinder article on the essentials to a dramedy film, I have decided to make a short script for my short. Of course, there isn't a lot of dialogue attached to my project, but I feel like creating a script will iron out not only character interactions, but shot details as well.
To help with the production of this script, I have decided that I will be reading a dramedy script to prepare myself. I will either read the script for "The Banshees of Inisherin" (dir. Martin McDonagh, 2022) or, yet again, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" (dir. Wes Anderson, 2014). I promise I have seem more dramedy films outside of "The Grand Budapest Hotel".
I will, of course, upload my script here in PDF form as a point of reference for those reading my blogs.
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