Romance Genre
What makes it Romance?
Stories of romantic relationships and love are known to be classified under the romance genre. It usually contains feelings of passion and emotional connections between two people as it features their whole love story from beginning to end.
Content
The most important part when illustrating a romance is the central love story, or how the main characters meet and fall in love. The other big part of a romance is a happy ending. Majority of the romance movies and books have an exciting ending where the main couple officially dates, shares a kiss, or gets married. It is uncommon for a romance to not have an optimistic ending, but some romances may feature the tragic end of a couple. There are also many tropes repeatedly used by the romance world to build a couple's story, such may be: a love triangle, opposites attract, forbidden love, and love at first sight.
Production Techniques
Generally, warm or soft lighting is used to film a romance in order to make a dreamy and warm feel. Many close-ups are used on a character's face to highlight their emotions. Close-ups are also used to emphasize a feature of love; a close-up of holding hands or a kiss is utilized to emphasize this feature of love and depict how a relationship is moving forward. Longer takes are used to convey a slower, more natural path when building the main characters' relationship together. The use of acoustic melodies also brings a dreamy feel to a romance film, enhancing the romantic energy and tension between two characters.
Institutional Conventions
82% of romance readers are women; 18% of that being men. Most of them are aged in their 30s, but the younger population is increasingly showing more interest in the genre. To target the younger audience, sneak peeks are posted on social media. Additionally, trailers would show the emotional tension and drama, while film posters generally have a picture of the two main lovers of the film, along with any others involved in the love triangle. They also usually are marketed with the color red, which is the color of passion and love.
Film Sample #1: She's the Man (2006)
In She's the Man (2006), Viola's girls soccer team at her high school was cut. She really wants to continue playing, and gets the opportunity to by her twin brother, Sebastian, who is skipping his time in college to go to a band contest in London. So, Viola impersonates Sebastian and attends his college. Her experience there includes rooming with Duke and trying out for the soccer team there. Now, she struggles to maintain her real identity as she hangs around college guys. As Viola helps Duke win over Olivia, this all becomes more complicated as Viola realizes she has fallen in love with Duke and Olivia has fallen in love with fake Sebastian. Of course, during the soccer scenes and in school, high-key lighting is used to make the energy feel fun and bright. However, in romantic scenes, soft lighting is used. This pattern is also seen in the choice of music, where pop/rock songs are used in soccer games, but acoustic/orchestra melodies is present during romantic scenes. Close-ups are utilized often to show Viola and other characters' reactions to interesting situations. While two-shots show Viola and Duke's tension and Viola's secret interest in Duke. The red shades in the poster are meant to represent the romance, and the complications of it, as seen in the film. Presenting the characters who fall in love in the film as a faded red in the background introduces the subjects that fall into this complicated love circle.
Film Sample #2: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)
In this film, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Andie, a writer, wants to write an article on how to make a new boyfriend fall out of love within 10 days of the relationship. However, a man, named Benjamin, already made a bet to make any woman fall in love with him in 10 days. Andie and Benjamin end up meeting and use each other for their secret plans. After continuing with their plans, they realize they actually fell in love, and now they need to share their secrets and lies from the beginning of their relationship. Two-shots are used to show Andie and Benjamin's flirtations and chemistry. There are also a few close-ups to signify the character's feelings and reactions. Moreover, the color palette tends to flip in this film. When there are romantic scenes, there are warm colors, of course to develop a sense of passion and love. During more playful, friendly scenes, vibrant colors are used to create a more exciting energy. Similarly, music choice flips based on the scene as well. During romantic moments, acoustic melodies begin to play. This is unlike how more upbeat music is heard during playful scenes. The poster has a yellow background to convey the two main characters' intimacy and closeness while representing their playfulness as well.
More Film Examples...
Love Actually (2003)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
She's All That (1999)
Yours Truly,
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