{"id":166078,"date":"2022-04-07T12:47:34","date_gmt":"2022-04-07T17:47:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=166078"},"modified":"2022-04-07T16:14:20","modified_gmt":"2022-04-07T21:14:20","slug":"fantasy-film-field-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/fantasy-film-field-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Your Own Fantasy Film: A Field Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

So you want to make a fantasy movie? Here’s what you need to know about working in the genre. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fantasy is old. Very <\/em>old. Our earliest recorded narratives all contain elements of fantasy, and it’s safe to assume that the oral traditions that informed these ancient tales were themselves chock full of fantasy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was a time when the planet was a magical place. Monsters and fairies and capricious beings of all kinds inhabited the forests, caves, and rivers we depended on for food and shelter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mysterious or confusing events often had only one explanation\u2014magic. There were forces at work in the world that shaped how people lived their lives, and there wasn’t much else to do at night except tell ourselves stories about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, this was happening everywhere. Cultures across the planet were explaining photosynthesis and meteorology and medicine and just about everything else with tales of magic\u2014the key element of the fantasy genre. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the Epic of Gilgamesh<\/a><\/em> to the works of Homer<\/a> to the Panchatantra<\/a><\/em>, fantastic stories about good vs. evil have recorded the development of the human story all over the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a>
The <\/em>Epic of Gilgamesh, recorded in ancient cuneiform, is roughly four thousand years old. It’s one of the world’s oldest recorded narratives, prominently featuring an epic battle between good and evil\u2014and plenty of magic. Image via The British Museum<\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So what, technically, is “fantasy?” The term itself can mean anything, so does a fantastic story or movie just need a little razzle-dazzle<\/em>? Not quite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like every other narrative genre, fantasy overlaps with its neighboring categories, so we can split hairs about what is and isn’t fantasy all day. As entertaining as that sounds, we all have work to do, so let’s establish a rough idea of what we mean when talking about “fantasy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Defining the Fantasy Genre<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At its most generic, fantasy involves magic\u2014however it manifests. This might be supernatural, otherworldly, alchemical, divine\u2014you name it. From there, the genre breaks down into many<\/em> sub-genres\u2014we’re only going to cover a few here to help you get your head around your particular project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a genre, fantasy is part of the larger speculative fiction family, where it lives with its cousins, science fiction<\/a> and horror<\/a>. Typically speaking, fantasy also takes the battle between good and evil as a central theme. Protagonists can often be small parts in much larger machines that pit epically powerful forces against each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The earliest fantasy movie is likely Alice Guy<\/a>‘s “The Cabbage Fairy<\/a>,” filmed in 1896. In it, a fairy strolls through a garden and plucks infant babies from cabbages, and presents them to the camera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it wasn’t until the 1960s that fantasy films became more frequent staples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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