Genre research: Romance

             When I got this assignment to make a 5 minute film, I immediately thought of a teenage coming of age movie. I did not picture it to be a romance but the more I think about it, the more I see potential for a beautiful story. The summary of my story is a girl who is tired of quarantine and longs for one normal night again. By adding a love interest, the story is about a forbidden love that has been building up for months. I have seen multiple movies quite similar to this such as Romeo and Juliet, Everything Everything, Midnight Sun and Five Feet Apart. In all these films, whether its a medical condition or a family rivalry, the two teens cannot be together. Romantic movies follow certain guidelines through filming and editing that enhance the romance in the film and establishes an emotional connection between the couple and the audience. The first example of shots used are two shots which usually show the couple next to each other; I feel they do this to emphasize to the audience what a beautiful couple they are. Producers also choose to have zoom ins a lot; I see this especially during that kiss scene towards the end of most romantic movies. The mis-en-scene is quite common as they usually wear casual attire but I notice that the women are wearing dresses a lot which I think further emphasizes the femininity in her role. The lighting is usually warm or dim as it creates a sense of tranquility, also street lights are usually blurred which again adds a soft tone to the scene. This brings me to editing. I see split screens a lot during phone calls in romance films. Fade ins and outs further amplify that soft effect I was talking about earlier. Some things I love about romance films are how the full story is shown, the happily ever after if you will. On the other hand, romance films are so predictable. You know in the beginning when she meets the one guy that they are going to end up together and in love, happily ever after and what not. I can never watch romance movies twice if they are strictly romance movies, because I know exactly what is going to happen. The story I have would be beautiful as a romance film but i think it wont focus on the mental health aspect as much as I would like to in the 5 minutes I have, because the story would be too focused on romance and getting the guy.