The document discusses the 1999 romantic comedy film Notting Hill. It focuses on how the opening scene establishes the film's real world setting by showing the main character Will walking down a London street. Romantic comedies aim to relate to audiences by using realistic elements like locations, music, and people. They set the tone for the rest of the film to make audiences feel an immediate connection. The document also compares its author's own short romantic comedy film to Notting Hill, noting it uses similar real-world elements, situations, culture, and music to engage audiences and make them comfortable through relatable experiences.

1. Notting Hill
Roger Michell (1999) – Romantic Comedy Film

2. What is a Romantic Comedy?
Romantic Comedy films (also known as Rom-
Coms), are comedy films based around the
theme of two people falling in love which is
caused by their relationship.

3. Notting Hill is a popular UK rom-com about a
recently divorced man called Will Thacker
(Hugh Grant) who owns a travel bookshop in
London. One day, Anna Scott (Julia Roberts)
walks into Will’s bookshop and this is the
woman he meets and falls in love with.

4. Opening Scene
The first scene of Notting Hill shows Will walking down the road as the
camera also pans alongside the street to show him in the centre of the
shot; This allows the surroundings behind Will to be relevant to what Will
is talking about at the time, which helps set the scene.

5. How to try to relate to the audience?
Romantic Comedic films usually try to relate to their
audience in the real world by giving the film a real
world feel, e.g. Real locations, real songs, real
people. The use of mise-en-scene help to reflect this
real world feel. So the opening scene of a Rom-Com
is important for setting the theme for the rest of the
film so the audience feel like they already have a
strong relation to the film

6. Comparison with my film to Notting
Hill
My short rom-com film is has similar elements
like Notting Hill. My short film allows the
audience to relate to the film with real songs,
the same or similar culture and real, real life
situations that occur in reality. This will keep my
audience engaged in the film as they have a
strong relation to the film. As they’re engaged
with the film, they are more comfortable than at
the start because of experiencing similar
elements of the film in reality.