Treatment of the Opening Scenes

The first thing we see is a black screen and the only thing we can hear are diegetic footsteps. The production/distribution company titles fade in and out and then the black screen fades into a mid shot of a pair of female legs. A girl walks up a school drive, approximately 80 meters in length. On the left side there is a white stone fence, separating the drive from a street of houses, and on the right side a row of high bushes keeping the students away from the cars driving in and out of the car park. The drive eases left; the girl makes her way through some tall green gates and enters the school. On her left is a large building, in the rough shape of an octagon, seemingly very modern. In front of her, slightly on her left is a long translucent tunnel, in the style of a bus shelter. The girl makes her way up a couple of steps and gradually starts to get into the heart of the school. Finally, she stops and the camera tilts up to reveal a sign that says ‘RECEPTION’. She walks in and is faced by a pond with fish swimming around, and foliage surrounding it. On the walls are pictures of students, past and present engaging in activities that the school has to offer. In the top right hand corner of the room there is a set of double doors, which lead into the school hall. The girl walks up the stairway, which is in the middle of the room; the camera is positioned at the top of the stairs, so the audience can see her progressing upwards. Finally, as she makes it to the top, the girl trips and the glasses she is wearing fall off. A close up of them reveal that they are not broken and two hands reach out to pick them up. Slowly the camera zooms out to show who’s the other pair of hands belong to, a male teacher's. The girl and man are looking in surprise at each other, both still holding the pair of glasses. The man is the first to take control and break the silence,
‘Here-’
He hands her, her glasses and they both straighten up. Again he speaks,
‘Are you the new student here?’
The girl nods and then looks down, apparently too embarrassed to speak to him.
‘Follow me.’
The man turns and walks past the reception and down a corridor. The screen fades to black as the movie title appears.

The Break-Up Analysis

The first thing we see is an establishing shot of a cityscape. The audience could guess from this shot that the film they are watching is a romance movie because many films of this genre are set in the city. We then see inside a stadium, packed full of people watching a baseball game. This again furthers the audience’s suspicion that it a romance movie because a baseball game would be quite circumstantial for two people to meet. It then cuts to a mid shot of two men sat down; displaying to the audience that it is very likely that these two will be main characters and one of them will be the protagonist male character. One of the males stands up and claps when a team makes a mistake, thus embarrassing the other person he is with. This could show that he is the ‘best friend’ that always gets in the way of the focus relationship. After, we see a shot of a line of males sat down, with one female; thus making her stand out. We can guess from this that she will be the protagonist female as the camera focuses on her. When the leading male looks around and sees her, he holds his glance; incorporating an element of traditional romance narratives – ‘love at first sight’. He then asks her if she would like one of the hot dogs that he has just bought, which again introduces another typical factor of the romance genre – male helping a ‘damsel in distress’ (even though the female in question is not exactly in distress). When the game finishes the man asks the woman if she would like to go for a drink, showing that he clearly likes her. When she refuses he keeps asking her to meet up with him and cracking jokes to ease the atmosphere.

During the titles there are snapshots of the two as a couple showing that they finally made it into a relationship.

Typical Structures of Romance Movies

Narratives:
Forbidden love
Unrequited love
Tragic love

Settings:
Cities
Romantic destinations e.g. Streets of Paris
Rural locations, countryside, mountains etc.
By the sea

Stock Characters:
Two protagonists
Vulnerable female OR strong minded female
Stereotypical male OR unlikely ‘stud’
The friend
The ‘problem’ character e.g. an ex, domineering parent(s), coworkers

Iconography:
Flowers
Presents
HeartsThe colour red is predominant
Chocolates
Romantic music

Audience:
*STEREOTYPICALLY*
Females
Homosexual men

Opening Narrative Synopsis

Since being given the coursework task for my AS Media course, i have begun researching and analysing films of the genre that me and Stevie have chosen. Below is a analysis of the opening scenes of 50 First Dates.


50 First Dates

The very first thing we see is a black screen with a title informing the audience of the distribution company. It is coloured in blue and has the effect of the sea, as if it is swaying. After, there is an establishing shot of a Hawaiian beach at sunset, tying in with the effect of the title. This is a very typical scene for a romantic film and so the audience immediately know what genre of movie they’re watching. The non-diegetic music adds to the atmosphere, relaxing the audience and making them want to sway along to it. The camera pans around and the shot fades into another scene, a kitchen, we then see the name of the film ’50 First Dates’. Each word is in a different colour, showing that they all have equal importance to the narrative.
Two women then enter the kitchen and converse, talking about a man that one of them met on a vacation to Hawaii. The way she talks about it shows that she had a great time, but the scene changes before she can finish her story. The next thing we see is another woman, her dress codes communicating that she is very business-like and high powered, who is talking on her mobile saying ‘It was the best week of my life!’ There are more quick cuts between different women, of all shapes, sizes and social classes, who are all talking about a man, with whom they spent a short time together whilst away. The way that these shots have been edited makes it appear as if the women are finishing off each others’ sentences, which tells the audience that they are all talking about the same man.
By doing this, the women create the character of the unknown man by showing that he is very promiscuous, and uncaring towards the feelings of these females, as he obviously has left them after a short period of time. They all say that he gave them a reason for leaving them e.g. gay, married, entering the priesthood.
We then see this happening for real as he is leaving his new ‘fling’ and giving her the excuse that he is a secret agent. The woman appears to be fairly ditzy as she is gullible enough to believe his story, showing that he picks the kind of females that are easy to leave.

By the introduction of this film, the audience can guess that the man (Henry Roth) will meet a kind of woman that he is not used to, and fall in love with her, as this is hiow traditional romance movies pan out.

Romance Movies

Romance Movies

Titanic

Directed by: James Cameron
Production company: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Distribution company: Paramount Pictures


You’ve Got Mail

Directed by: Nora Ephron
Production company: Warner Bros. Pictures
Distribution company: Warner Bros. Pictures


Sleepless in Seattle

Directed by: Nora Ephron
Production company: Tristar Pictures
Distribution company: Tristar Pictures


When Harry Met Sally

Directed by: Rob Reiner
Production company: Castle Rock Entertainment
Distribution company: Columbia Pictures


Pretty Woman

Directed by: Garry Marshall
Production company: Silver Screen Partners IV
Distribution company: Buena Vista Pictures


The Notebook

Directed by: Nicholas Cassavetes
Production company: New Line Cinema
Distribution company: New Line Cinema


Atonement

Directed by: Joe Wright
Production company: Working Title Films
Distribution company: Universal Pictures International (UPI)


As there are many different production and distribution companies involved in romance movies, we can assume that this particular genre of film is extremely mainstream, as a wide variety of companies aim to be responsible for the making and selling of romance films.

Romance Movies - Generic Plots

Romance

Romance movies are generally focused on two leading characters, usually a man and a woman.
The narrative takes the audience on their journey of how they fall in love if the two characters have never met before, or the trials and tribulations of a relationship if they are already a couple.

Generally, romantic films take on the theory of Tzvetan Todorov; equilibrium, a disruption to the equilibrium, and finally a new equilibrium. This generates the audience to sympathise with the characters and want them to ‘make up’ at the end, and are willing for a fairytale ending, where everything is sorted out.

Love films can take on any aspect of romance, such as, tragic; passionate; obsessive, forbidden, love at first sight, unreciprocated etc.