What is a romantic film?
Definition: Romance films (or romance movies) are
romantic love stories recorded in visual media for
broadcast in theatres and on television that focus
on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic
involvement of the main characters and the
journey that their genuinely strong, true and pure
romantic love takes them through dating,
courtship or marriage
Examples include: When Harry met Sally, Love
Actually, Titanic, Pretty Woman
Typical Conventions
 “Boy meets Girl” scenario
 “Happily ever after”
 Characters end up going separate ways after
argument/disagreement then reunite and spend rest of lives
together
 Story is normally linked to audiences emotions
 Hints throughout film suggesting they are a ‘good match’
 Symbolisation- hearts, wedding bells, flowers, chocolates,
alcohol
 Strong emotionsHappiness, love, lust, sadness,
depression
 Aimed at female audience
Characters
 Males often meet females in this genre
 One or the other character nearly always has
some problem going on in there life such as their
job or a family members death etc.
 The characters are often in their mid-twenties
 Normally a judgmental family member
Mise en scene
Common mise en scene in this type of film tends to be things such as an
everyday house with beds, kitchen etc. This is where a large proportion of
the plot tends to happen. The bedroom seems to be a popular room for the
scene to be set due to the links with bedroom, love and emotions. Often
there is also soft or natural lighting, which is used to achieve the feeling of
it being realistic and making the story as believable as possible. The
costumes of the characters are most always to a bare minimum in a large
proportion of the scenes due to the characters wanting to draw attention to
one another. Where they enter the bedroom, even less will be on. There is
also the tendency to have ‘his’ and ‘her’ things such as dressing gowns,
taps/sinks, cups etc. This keeps it realistic again by having opposing sex
everyday items. More props will include alcohol, for example champagne,
and also special gifts like jewellery for the woman given from the man. This
helps show the typical ‘relationship’ however it will often be shown as
exaggerated compared to couples in real life.
For example, in Bridget Jones,
Daniel takes Bridget on a weekend
away in a very ‘posh’ hotel and
they travel there in an open top car
with their hair blowing in the wind
Here you can see the typical ‘flowers’
associated with the romantic genre.
There is also lots of soft toned colours
such as the blush pink chairs and
carpet.
This
helps
with
the
‘tenderness’ of the story and sets the
scene of their ‘mini-break’, a gift from
Daniel.
Camera/Editing
In romantic films, shots such as shot reverse shot is
used, as well as close ups, extreme close ups, two
shots, mid shots and long shots.
Long shots are used to allow the audience to see the
characters whole body as well as part of the setting.
Long shots can help the viewer distinguish the space
between the two characters which is a good indication
of how both characters are feeling in that moment of
time towards one another. In this scene
A two shot is used to show a particular relationship
between the characters. This is also a mid shot, and
means we are able to see the top half of their bodies. In
this shot taken from Mr and Mrs Smith, played by
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, we can see the expressions
and gestures they show, give off a sense that they just
get on with life and their relationship. They have fun and
don’t take things too seriously. This could suggest that
they are comfortable around each other and have
known/been with each other for quite some time.
Extreme close ups are used to show the strong emotions lying within a
character. For example in the notebook …
We could see the strong
emotional connection between
Noah and Allie in this kissing Scene.
They are showing that they
are really fond of each other.
Panning/tracking shots are often used to show the audience a
characters attachment to the other person whether that is them
following one another. Here in The Notebook, a panning shot is used
to follow the characters into
the bedroom and around to the bed.
The bed again being typical of a
romantic genre.
Close ups are used to allow the audience to see the characters
face and show the emotion painted across them. It allows us to
see what the characters are feeling or thinking. It is common in
romantic films for this shot to be used to show a character in
love, hurt or rejected. Here, Jane has a look that her craving of
love towards her husband John, has been satisfied and the same
can be said for him. It looks as if although they are married, they
are playing hard to get and flirting with one another during the
romantic dance scene.
Sound
Sound plays a large part in romantic films and helps to set the mood and
tone as well as the atmosphere. In this genre, a soft gentle soundtrack
would be used. This helps to show the sensitivity of the relationship and the
feelings of the characters involved. The music creates the mood and
suspense and is often created with violins, pianos etc. These instruments
can be used effectively through diegetic and non diegetic sound editing.
Typically in a romantic film opening, the music doesn’t become noticeable
till after the characters have said their dialogue during the first few minutes
this is so the audience can hear what the characters are saying, which is
often very important in the first few minutes so the viewer can get a rough
picture of what’s going on. Both non diegetic and diegetic sound has to
balanced effectively so one doesn't’ overdo the other. For example, in
Silver linings playbook, when Pat says ‘Happy Halloween 'and Tiffany says
‘HI 'in a flirty way with the non diegetic music playing in the background.