1. 2. dear john.
At the verybeginningthe productioncompanyIshownthisisto advertise andpromote the
company.Screengemsisan Americanfilmproductioncompanyandispartof a divisioncompanyof
Sonypictures,Sonyisa well known brandsowill give the audience some reassurancethatitisgoing
to be a goodfilm. Theyare alsoare part of otherfamousromance filmssuchas easyA , friendswith
benefitsandthe vow.The coloursusedare redand white these are coloursmostpeople would
assume withromance as redcan connote love asit isa colourof a rose and white canconnote purity
and alsolinktoweddingswhichisasymbol of love whichbotfitintothe romanticgenre.Temple hill
are alsoanother Americanwell knownfilmcompanyandhave done some verypopularmovies
includingtwilightandmore recentfilmsincludingthe faultinourstarts,papertownsand safe haven.
Nondiegeticsoundsare usedtocreate a peaceful atmospherebyusingacalmingsound.Thiscan
relate toromance as itis a positive noiseandmakesthe audience feelrelaxed.Softnoisesare
commonin a romance filmasa positive imageissettoshow love ina relationship.Thiscanalsolink
intothe utopiantheoryas audienceslike enjoyinglookingatperfectlives.
At the beginningaflashbackoccurs, Mise enscene isusedto show the characters bad life.You
can tell itis a flashbackasthe atmosphere issuddenlyjuxtaposedasitisnow a dark serious
scene contrastingwiththe calmand peaceful music.Fromdoingthisthe audience canclearly
see he isthe maincharacter.We can tell he isheroicfrom the war outfitanddark lighting
showinghe istough. A close upof him onthe floorisshown,showing ChanningTatum,he is
popularinromance filmssothe audience will be familiarwithhimandhe isalso a well-known
actor so the audience will have agoodrepresentationof him.He isalsopopularwithyoung
people sothissuitsthe type of filmsaudience. The heroicfeature canrelate topropsnarrative
theory. Thisisalsosignificantasitcan make the audience feel quitesadwhichcanhelpshowthe
romanticgenre as there isalwayssomethingthatwill make the audience sympathise withthe
character. The non-diegeticmusicalsohelpstoenhance thisasitisat a slow pace makingit
peaceful;thisisthenaccompliedbyavoiceoverexplainingwhathashappened.The voice overis
slowandworkswell withthe musicthe musicalsohelpstoheightenthe voice overemphasising
the saddenedatmosphere. Italsohelpstogive aninsightonwhathas happenedinhislife tothe
audience.Inthe voice overone keywordisusedwhentalkingaboutsomeone he saysyou,which
can helpimplythe girl lateroninthe scene. Inthissectionthe narrative isfragmentedasit
featuresflashbacksthisiscommoninromanticgenreswhenneedingtoshow life before orafter
so the audience cangainsadness or happinesswhichare keyfeelingsinaromance genre film.
Thisis thencut to a typical settingfora romance film, the sunsetconnotespeace andgivesacalm
atmosphere,thisisbecause the colourscheme iswarm.A beachandsunsetis alsoknownfor a
romanticsettingsuchas datesas it isa positive settingand the warmcolourscan helptoconnote
love andhappiness.Textisusedtoshow anotherproductioncompanyitisdone ina white font
whichcan alsolinkto love asit showspurity. Lasse hallstromisalsoasuccessful filmdirectorand
screenwriterandhaswonawardsfor the bestdirectoramplifyingthe reassurance forthe
audience. Creditsare alsoshowntoshow the maincharactersto give the audience aninsightof
whomthe characters and give themsome familiarityif theyare usedtocertaincharactersplaying
certainroles.Italsohelpstoadvertise the characters. Nondiegeticviolinsare usedtohelp
increase andsetthe romanticatmosphere astheyare peaceful andthe audience canrelate them
to nice settingssuchas romanticdinners.The maincharacterisalso shownatthe beachgivingthe
audience the realisationof the characterfromthe previousflashback,helpingtoenhance the
flashbackfrom before.Showingaclearfragmentednarrative structure.
2. The camera thenpans andzoomsinto a closersettingof the beach,settingthe scene forthe film. Clearly
placingoutthe genre fromthe beginning.A longshotisusedto clearlyshow the settingitisverypeaceful.
The non diegeticviolinmusicisusedhoweveritstartsto getmore upbeatcreatinga more happyatmosphere,
still calmbutmore excitingwhichcanrelate totypesof relationships.Creatingapositivemoodwhichisa
commonfeature inromance films. Itcan alsorelate tothe utopiantheoryas the audience likestolookat
perfectlivesandthissettingisperfect.A overthe shouldershotisusedtoshow the character lookingoutinto
the water.From thisithelpsto showthe peacefulnessof the wavesandwatercreatingaharmonious
atmosphere thatisrelaxing.The lightcoloursalsohelptoextrapolate the moodandenhance the peacefulness
and lightcoloursare usedinpositive settingsandcanconnote happiness. Fromthe overthe shouldershotit
can alsohelpto showthe characterisationof the character,as from hisstraightfacial expressionsit lookslike
he is thinkingaboutsomethinghe isalsoall alone whichcouldhelptoconnote he islonely.
The openingof the filmisquickto show bothof the characters,highlightingtothe audience thattheyare
goingto be the two maincharacters youget thisfromthe way theykeeplookingat eachother.To showthis
a longshot Is usedthishelpstoclearlyshow theirbodylanguage.Itisalsolike we are lookingthroughhis
eyeshelpingthe audience tounderstandthathe isadmiringher. Thiscan linkto prop’snarrative theory
whichcan laterbe shownabout the characters.The girl can be portrayedas the princess. Fromthe use of
the pierbarriersand the waythe girl ispresentedwiththe boyitcouldimplythatthere isa complication
withthe boyand girl becomingloversinpropsnarrative theorythiscouldrepresentthe othermanasbeing
the villain. Lightcoloursare usedthishelpstoshow the settingbutalsohelpstoshow a positive mood.The
girl alsowearswhite colourswhichcanshow purity. The blue seais alsocalmand relaxing.The audiencefirst
getsintroducedtothe girl character from a voice overearlyon.Fromusinga voice overitcan help
familiarisethe audience withthe character.The voice overisusedwhenthe boyislookingout tothe
audience thiscanhelplinkthe twoof themtogetherinthe audiencesmind,itcanalsohelpto highlightthat
the girl becomesanimportantpersonto him. A cross cut betweenthe twodifferentpeople isusedtoshow
and enhance the connectionbetweenthem.Italsoshowsthe boycloselylookingatthe girl,thisiscommon
ina romance genre as there isalwaysone characterthat admiresthe otherfirst. The same continuous
upbeatviolinmusicisstill playedhelpingtokeepthe scene flowing.Diegeticsoundssuchasthe girl speaking
can be heardof the girl andher friends. Thiscouldshow thatthe boyis listeningInandpayingattentionto
the girl but it alsohelpstohighlighttothe audience the importanceof the character.Anequilibriumis
createdthat bringsbothof the characterstogetherthisisthe fall of herbag, diegeticsoundisalsousedthen
to hearthe devastationof the girlsvoice.Propsnarrative theoryof the heroisthenhighlightedinthispiece
as he rescuesthe bag for the girl by doingsomethingoutrageoustohelpthe girl andgetherattention. This
can make the viewerfeel happyassomethingishappeningtobringthemtogether.Thisisacommon
stereotypical feature foraromance film, asthere isalwaysa problemthatwill bringthe twopeople together
thisiscommon as itsetsa introductionforthe characterwhichcan also linkintopropsnarrative theoryof
the heroas he has some missiontogeta rewardwhichinthiscase isthe girl. Because he rescuesthe bag
before anyone elsecanitcan helpemphasise andheightenthe instantconnectionbetweenthe two
characters.The musicisstill the same upbeatviolinshoweveritstartsto fade outand thiscan start to
representthe newlifestartingforthe characters.Atfirsta shotreverse shotisusedto show howhappythe
girl iswhichthenpans outto see bothof themtogether.Diegeticsoundsvoice are usedtoshowthe girls
admirationtothe boy john.Natural lightingisusedtoenhance the realisationandnormalityof their
relationshiplinkingtothe utopiantheoryasaudienceslike tosee perfectlife’s. makingthe audience feel
happyand overwhelmed.
3. Duringthe conversationshotreverse shotsare usedtoshow the two characterstalkingtoeachother.The
shotreverse shothelpstoshowthe reactionof both the characters andcan alsoshow the close bondthey
have formedinthe firstfewmoments.The cutissmoothand continuousmakingthe audience feel
comfortable emphasisingthe close bondastheyare gettingonwell. There isanunderscore of the same
nondiegeticmusicbut a diegeticvoice isaddedoverthe top. The tone of the voice ishappyand calm
showingagood conversationbetweenthe twocharacters.Thisisa significantpartas It showsthe
relationshipforming.Showingtothe audience thatthe restof the filmisgoingtobe positive andtheyare
goingto be together. The tone of the voice helpstoenhance the romanticgenre as it isa positive
atmosphere because theyare gettingonwhichiscommoninromance genre asthe audience likestolook
at a positive relationshiporlife asitmakesthemfeel better.
The underscore of musicstarts to fade outenhancing whatthe characters are sayingthisis importantasit
can showthe close bondtheyare forming.Italsoclearlyhelpstoshow how bothcharacters feel abouteach
other, the girl has a highpitchedvoice showingshe ishappy.
A longshotis usedtoshowthembondingandbecomingfamiliarwitheach other,theywalkthroughabig
openspace which juxtaposeswiththe small crossedbarsat the beginningof the openingscene whichcan
helptoconnote hownow theycan have a bigfuture aheadof themwitheach otherand can alsohelpimply
howtheyhave nowopenedupa newrelationship. A longshotis effectiveasyoucan see the proximityof the
twocharacters but still see the romanticsettingof the beach.Alsosome importanttextisrevealedlettingthe
audience knowitisbasedona book,byNicholassparks,Nicholassparksisawell knownromantic writer
includingthe longestride andthe notebookthese are alsopopularmovies,thiswill create more of a
reputationforthe audience astheymayof readthe bookor be familiarwiththe writer. Dearjohnwas
writtenin2006 andwas a verypopularbook the filmhastakenthe same feature sothe audience willbe
excitedtosee thisinfilmform.
Nondiegeticmusicisaddedinitisupbeatand cheerful creatingajollymooditisfastpacedwhichmakesthe
transitionof themwalkingseemfaster.A keyfeature thatisusedinmostromance filmsthisis the boy
walkingawayfromthe girl and thenturnsback round afterhe realisesitisa mistake.
Overall the restof the openingisa chronological structure asitisusedto show the
developmentof the charactersrelationshipforminganddeveloping.Ithinkthe main
audience forthisfilmisanyage from 13+ and the type of settingandcharacterswill suit
thisas ChanningTatumand Amandaseyfriedactinmanyteenagerfilmssuchas21 jump
streetandmeangirls.The filmcan alsolinkto the usesandgratificationtheoryasit
divertsthe audience awayfromdayto daylife.
