How is it Sci- Fi?
The genre of Sci-Fi shows us through film, television and literature where our society might have ended up, for better and for worse, had things been different. Science fiction, abbreviated SF or sci-fi, is a form of fiction that deals principally with the impact of actual or imagined science upon society or individuals.
The target audience for sci-fi films includes people who love high tech, people who love imaginary worlds, and those who enjoy futuristic stories. People who like adventure stories are also drawn to sci-fi films as such films often have plots full of suspense, mystery, and excitement.
Content:
Now that you know what the term means, some characteristics of the genre are high-tech gear, utopias or dystopias of the future, robot characters, alien life forms, interstellar travel, and extensive worldbuilding. Another thing you can expect is the incorporation of other genres. Sci-fi goes well with horror, fantasy, adventure, action, drama, and many more. There are lots of ways to prompt your storytelling capabilities.
Utopias/ Dystopias:
A utopia typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island society in the New World. Dystopias is an imagined state or society in which there is great suffering or injustice, typically one that is totalitarian or post-apocalyptic.
EX: Equilibrium is a great example of dystopias because of the unwanted rules created and how Preston wants to change all of that.
Interstellar Traveling:
Interstellar travel is the hypothetical travel of spacecraft from one star system, solitary star, or planetary system to another. Interstellar travel is expected to prove much more difficult than interplanetary spaceflight due to the vast difference in the scale of the involved distances. It plays a big part in sci fi since it is also a basic story line in most films created within this genre, it is also important to know the common types of life that live within this worlds like aliens, magic creatures, alternate species of some kind, etc.
EX: The Star Wars series is a really great example because of the amount of different universes they come across in all movies and the different types of new characters and species represented in the films
Extensive Worldbuilding:
Worldbuilding: is the process of constructing a world, originally an imaginary one, sometimes associated with a fictional universe. Developing an imaginary setting with coherent qualities such as a history, geography, and ecology is a key task for many science fiction or fantasy writers. Most sci fi films writers, take a good amount of time thinking of all specific details of this imaginary world in order for the world to be really connected to the story that it is being applied too, it also gives the writers a clear understanding of what the world should look and feel like in the film.
EX: The Hunger Game Worldbuilding is very well thought to the point where it gives the viewer the best understanding of how the world is like.
Production Techniques:
Every genre calls for its own unique approach when it comes to lighting, camera settings, editing, and color correction — and sci-fi is certainly no exception. It’s hard to argue with the fact that sci-fi films often feature some of the most stylized footage of any genre, and as such, a lot of work needs to go into executing that perfect look. For most sci-fi there are specific techniques directors use in order to make a successful and great sci-fi film that others will enjoy.
Mis-en-scene:
The Mis-en-scene or art direction, used in a sci-fi film can make or break the opinions of the viewer watching. Sci-fi is all about creating a new world for your audience to immerse themselves in, and the art direction plays a massive part in delivering on that front. Choices with regards to location, props, set dec, and other elements will play a vital role in whether or not the world of your film is believable, so having the right production designer on board will be immensely helpful in getting the best final result.
Utilize Simple VFX:
In filmmaking, visual effects (VFX) is the creation or manipulation of any on-screen imagery that does not physically exist in real life. VFX allows filmmakers to create environments, objects, creatures, and even people that would otherwise be impractical or impossible to film in the context of a live-action shot. Most sci-fi films call for some degree of VFX work, but unless you’re a VFX artist yourself, be very careful about how and where you choose to incorporate VFX in your film. Nine times out of ten, less is more when it comes to VFX.
Change Shutter Speed:
There is no specific type of lighting technique required when it comes to Sci-Fi films. Sci-Fi films are special and unique in their own way, and there are many other films that require those films to be in specific lighting formats. However, there is a specific camera- technique that is universally used for Sci-Fi productions and that would be to shoot the film with an increased shutter speed.
You have the 180-degree rule where you are required to set the shutter speed at twice the rate of the frame rate. For instance, if your frame rate is 24fps, then your shutter speed should be around 1/48. If it’s a sub-genre, such as sci-fi action, the shutter speed should be much higher. A higher shutter speed helps create more intensity in movement.
Cooler Tones:
At least 50% of the sci-fi look is created in post — more specifically, in the color suite. There isn’t a single approach that’s going to work for all sci-fi films, but there are some general principles that seem to work in the majority of films in this genre. One of which is the use of cooler tones. When deciding the type of color palette that is being used in the film, warm tones in sci-fi are not really the best choice of the narrative. In most sci-fi films the narrative of the story usually are not positive subjects so when using warm tones it can mislead the audience. Choosing to use cooler tones can create an unsettling atmosphere which will make the story flow together.
Marketing:
Many genres of film offer fantastic artwork, but in many ways the science fiction genre has the capacity to create some of the most memorable images of all. It is the job of a sci-fi poster to immediately encapsulate the tone of the film's universe. One glance at the poster for a science fiction film should open you up to a world of possibilities for what may lie in store. Common themes shared in these types of posters is the worldbuilding that is created for a specific story being told, and to show the uncommon species that were also created for this specific film.
Sample:
The Giver directed by Phillip Noyce, released in 2014, is also an amazing example of a Sci-Fi film. The film starts with the character Jason, who lives in an unusual town where there are no emotions allowed. At Jason graduation he is told that he is The Giver, the only person allowed to break the rules of society, and starts to learn lessons about the past with old Giver. As the movie progresses, Jason begins to learn that emotion is actually a beautiful thing and people should not hide from them, if anything they should express them. So in order to make society change, he must travel to the end points of his world and past those points in order for others to finally feel emotions. In this film, common conventions are used to fully develop the story, they use extensive worldbuilding as their strong suit to really develop the story and create an interesting plot line. While they don't use forms of alien life, they use high tech gear to demonstrate the dystopia created for this specific film. While this movie may be disturbing to some viewers because of the context given in the film, it talks about real life experiences someone could've experience which is the main definition of Sci-Fi. As a result, The Giver is also a great example of Sci-Fi not only because of the elements included but the message and meaning behind the story.
Other examples of Sci- Fi:
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