500 Days of Summer

The Tagline for this film is: This is not a love story. This is a story about love.
For me, this pretty much sums up the film as a whole, as it is quite unconventional and not a typical 'romance film'. This links in with short films, which are often rather unconventional, and try to bring forward different views or ideas on a subject. Music is also quite an important part of this film (it is mentioned throughout, e.g. Both characters share a love of The Smiths, they are seen in a record store on one of their dates etc.). It is most definitely a recurring theme, and something that I would like to take through into my own work. Another thing I really admire about this film is the unconventional structure and imaginative use of shots and editing:

In this particular scene, there is a split screen where on the left side, we see Tom's expectations of what is going to happen at the party, and the reality of what actually does. It is through scenes like this that the film establishes itself as a kind of 'Anti-Hollywood' production. It is not displaying a perfect happy ending, but a harsh reality. This makes it more relatable to the audience.


Another unconventional feature of the film, is the fact that it is presented in a nonlinear narrative. It jumps from various days within the 500 day span of Tom and Summer's relationship, indicated by an animation that includes the days number.

The number in the brackets changes for each new scene, and the changes in the background indicate the time of year.


I like this feature because I feel it helps to make the film more interesting as it keeps the audience on their feet as the narrative skips backwards and forwards. It also helps us to gain a greater understanding of the characters as we see them change through the varying stages of their relationship. In the romance genre, the relationships between the characters is the most important thing, and to portray this successfully, I believe you have to explore in some detail, the individual character's themselves. I think this film does that extremely well, and you immediately get a sense of the characters distinguishing features:

Tom, a hopeless romantic, and Summer, a woman who doesn't believe in love. 

Love Actually Film Poster

As my practical includes creating a film poster, I have decided to analyse some film posters from the romance genre. This is the film poster for Love Actually:

• The colour scheme is very simplistic: black, white, and red. This could imply the simplicity of the film - it is not some big 'Hollywood' production with impressive special effects and high speed chases. The film is all about dialogue and the character's story's, and I think this is reflected through the simplicity of the film poster. Red also typically connotes love, so this could reflect the idea that this is a 'typical' romance film
• The snow that has been added to the character's pictures connotes the winter theme of the film, which actually takes place at Christmas. This countdown to Christmas is quite a big part of the film's narrative, so it's not surprising that it is hinted to the audience on the film poster
• The tag that reads 'from the makers of Four Weddings, Bridget Jones, and Notting Hill'       implies that the film is quite personal, as it is almost like a note from the makers to the audience. This is only reiterated by the fact that it is in a font that makes it appear to be hand written. It also fits in with my earlier point about how they are trying to convey the fact that this film is about people that are hopefully relatable to the audience. 
• All of the character's pictures are separate, and also equal size, implying that none is more important than the other one. Their separation could also reflect their individual narratives that we learn about in the film, while the bow around them could represent love - as throughout the film we learn that the characters are all somehow connected to each other, often by love in one of its many shapes and forms
• The character's facial expressions also help to give us an insight into their personalities before we have even seen the film. For example, Colin Firth looks very serious, just as his character is in the film; Keira Knightley looks pretty and innocent; Hugh Grant looks a bit cheeky; and Martine McCutcheon looks very smiley and friendly. 

Love Actually

The film Love Actually begins with a montage sequence of people arriving and being greeted at Heathrow airport. The song 'Glasgow Love Theme' plays in the background, and there is voice over by one of the film's protagonist's. The footage is actually real - Richard Curtis had a team of cameramen film at Heathrow Airport for a week, and whenever they saw something that would fit in, they asked the people involved for permission to use the footage. This makes the film seem much more raw and realistic, and this interlinking of fiction and reality almost makes the rest of the film seem more real - it helps to draw the audience in.

Richard Curtis

Richard Curtis is a british screenwriter and director, known primarily for films in the romantic comedy genre, such as: Four Weddings and A Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones's Diary and Love Actually.
His first film, Four Weddings And A Funeral was made on a very limited budget, which is often true of short films. Despite this, it went onto be the the biggest grossing British film in history at that time. 
All of his films are quite typically 'British', and focus largely on people and relationships, which is something that I would like to apply to my short film. He is personally my favourite director, and probably one of my biggest inspirations in creating this short film. 

Romance

I have chosen the genre of romance for my short film, because as a pretty much die hard romantic all my life, it is the genre I probably have the best prior knowledge and therefore understanding of. Also, I believe to make a successful short film, it has to be about something you are passionate about, and that can be a reflection of your personality, and I feel like for me, the romance genre will be the perfect outlet.


...So What Is A 'Romance Film'?
While most films have some aspect of romance between characters (at least as a subplot) a romance film can be loosely defined as any film in which the central plot (the premise of the story) revolves around the romantic involvement of the story's protagonist. Common themes include the characters making decisions based on a newly-found romantic attraction. The questions, "What am I living for?" or "Why am I with my current partner?" often arise. (Wikipedia definition)


In summation: A romance film will typically have two protagonists, and the film will follow their relationship. There is often some sort of obstacle to overcome, which will stereotypically be resolved, to allow the characters to have their 'happy ending' This is not however always the case, and many directors may deliberately choose to be unconventional, and give their own take on the idea of love.

Welcome

Hello there. My name is Rachel Chadwick, and this is my A2 Media blog. I have chosen brief 10, which is to create a short film and a promotional package to go with it, including a film poster and review from a magazine. My initial idea is to create a short film centred around the theme of love, so to begin my research, I will look into the genre of romance in both films and short films.