Initial Film Ideas for Coursework

1. Initial Film Ideas
Charlotte Gray

2. Genre
• My first thoughts are that I might do a trailer of
the romance genre.
• Last year I focused solely on the thriller genre and
I think it would be good to have a change and
look at something different and this is one of the
reasons why the romance genre appealed to me.
• Also, the genre is very diverse with films
stretching from the rom-com sub genre to the
romance/drama sub genre.

3. Conventions of the Romance Genre
• Romance films usually have two main characters
(protagonists) often one male and one female.
• Often either there is an antagonist who is trying
to or responsible for ruining the couples
relationship or a third character in some kind of
love triangle.
• The location is usually a high school, some kind of
work environment or a social place such as a bar
or a club.

4. Conventions of the Romance Genre
• Sometimes fade to black shots are used often
cutting from a character to a different location or
a different character.
• Close up shots are often used to show the
narrative.
• Shot reverse shot is often used to show the
relationship between main characters (romantic
relationship often shown in this way.)
• Two shots used to show protagonists together.

5. Conventions of the Romance Genre
• Voiceovers are often used to narrate the
trailer and explain a bit of background about
the main characters.
• The Voiceover can sometimes be one of the
main characters narrating their side of the
story.
• The non diegetic soundtrack is usually quite
slow, often a love song played over the top.

6. Exemplar Shots from Romance Trailers
Medium Two Shot
CU with conventional titles
Conventional titles linking to narrative CU of holding hands connotes romance

7. Exemplar Shots from Romance Trailers
Medium Shot XLS/two shot of protagonists
Foreground Blurred Group Shot LS

8. Exemplar Shots from Romance Trailers
Establishing Shot showing location