Film Plot Developed

Shot 1 - Black Screen - Studio Credits
Soft music - typical love song.

Shot 2 - Montage of Boy 1 and Girl in love - Holding Hands, Kissing, Hugging, Laughing, etc.
Soft music - typical love song.

Shot 3 - Cut to - Boy 1 breaking up with Girl.
Sudden end of music.

Shot 4 - Cut to - Girl out jogging.
Upbeat song in time with her running.

Shot 5 - Cut to - Girl falling over.
Upbeat song.
 
Shot 6 - Cut to - Boy 2 and Girl meeting for the first time.
Upbeat song.

Shot 7 - Cut to - Boy 2 and girl walking of to get coffee.
Upbeat song.

Shot 8 - As they walk away camera pans to reveal the title of the film.
Music gentley fades out.

*Opening credits fade in and out around the action from shots 2 - 7.

Film Plot Ideas

Plot - Idea One
·       A woman (18-25) is jogging, but having a really bad day as she has broken up with her boyfriend.
·       A man (18-25) is walking his dog across the downs.
·       They both have depression/are depressed/upset.
·       Monologue at beginning of the woman talking about bad days/love. While she is jogging shows her   misfortune.
·       Man + woman meet at the downs – winter – after the man’s dog trips the woman over – woman reacts badly.
·       Man offers to buy her a coffee as a ‘sorry’.
·       He finds her phone – puts his number in/reminder/calls her.

Characters
·        Paul – 22 – Photographer
·        Rachel – 20 – Waitress
·        Kevin – 21 – Unemployed

 

Crisis Point

·       Trips over and drops her phone.
·       Run into someone.
·       Someone runs into her.
·       Gets chased by a dog.
·       Falls down a hill.
·       Loses her money or keys.

 

Montage of girl and boy in love/cut to boy breaking up with her and she goes for a run.

 

Plot - Idea Two

Girl has just come out of a two year relationship and is depressed and lonely.  She befriends a boy who becomes her best friend. He tells her he loves her but she doesn’t feel the same. The friendship ends and he doesn’t speak to her. She gets back with her original boyfriend and after a couple of month realises she doesn’t love him. Goes looking for her best friends and they get together. Happy Ending.

• Montage of girl and boy in love. (holding hands, hugging, kissing etc.)
• Boy breaks up with girl, girl left heart broken.
• When out running she starts talking to boy 2 and they become close.
• Girl and boy 2 become really close friends.
• Boy 2 tells girl that he really loves her and girl says she doesnt feel the same.
• Boy 2 ends the friendship with girl after girl tells him that she is getting back with boy 1.
• After a couble of weeks/months girl realises that she doesnt love boy 1.
• She goes looking for boy 2 and they get together.

Characters

• Paul – 22 – Photographer
• Rachel – 20 –Waitress
• Kevin – 21 –Unemployed

 

Opening credits are gently and fade in around the action.

Survey Results Analysis

 

Below are my results for the two surveys I did relating to Films in General and Romantic Comedies. The first 10 results are answers to film in general and the second 10 are the answers to Romantic Comedies.



 

 

The majority of people to answer my film survey were female, 9 (69%). The number of males to answer my survey was 4 (31%). This is quite a large gap between the results. Which is surprising as you tend to think of men watching more film than woman.

 

The age range I got the most response on was 16-20 (76%) with 10-15, 25-30 and 40+ all getting 1 vote each (7%). This is most likley due to the fact that teenages have more time to watch films than adults.

Weekly : 9 (69%)

Fortnightly: 2 (15%)

Monthy: 1 (7%)

Every 2-3 Months: 1 (7%)

 

Fortnightly: 1 (7%)

Monthy: 3 ((23%)

Every 2-3 Months: 7 (53%) 

Yearly: 2 (15%)

Comedy won with 11 votes (84%), followed by romance with 9 votes (69%). This is most likely due to females being the majority of the people that took part in this survey. Westerns had 0 votes.

 

 

 

The second part of this post is the results of the Romantic Comedy Survey.

 

 

8 People (66%) watch a RomCom monthly, 2 weekly (16%) and 1 (8%) each for fortnightly and yearly. Everyone how took this survey has watched a RomCom atleast once.  

7 (58%) would rather watch another genre.

10 people (83%)  who took the survey are between the ages of 0-17

6 people (50%) said that the Narrative gives away that a RomCom is a RomCom, while 4 people (33%) said that it is the setting.

8 people (66%) prefer the focus of the realtionship to be on the woman.

 

5 people (41%) voted for intorduction to characters, and another 5 people (41%) said meeting the main characters is what they expect to see at the start of a RomCom.

 

What is your favorite romantic comedy film?

 

Friends With Benefits got the most votes for favorite film 4 (33%) this could be as it is a succesful RomCom and newer than the others.

Romantic Comedies Film Studios

British romantic comedies are often made by Working Title. Working Title is a British film production company, based in London owned by Universal Studios. The company was founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1983. It produces feature films and several television productions.

Some of its most notable films include Notting Hill (1999), Billy Elliot (2000), Johnny English (2003), Love Actually (2003), Nanny McPhee (2006), The Three Flavours Cornetto Triology (2004 - 2013) and About Time (2013).

The film are then commonly distributed by Universal Pictures as they own Working Title Films.

 

 

 

http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/

Surveys

To do my market research I used Survey Monkey which allowed me to create a free digital survey online and post the link to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

My surveys are linked below:

General Film Survery:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Q3WZ7QP

RomCom Film Survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/H9TNJNX

Romantic Comedy Opening Analysis

Love Actually:

·         Title is used as a slogan

·         Monologue about love

·         Opening credits gently fade in

·         Hugging and kissing (affection)

·         Real people (not actors)

·         All types of love are shown (boyfriend and girlfriend, mother and daughter etc.)

·         Last 1:12 Seconds

Notting Hill:

·         People meet in a normal or everyday situation (book shop)

·         The person finds a love interest in that situation

You’ve Got Mail:

·         Business Rivals

·         Online relationship

When Harry Met Sally…:

·         Interviews old couples who have been together for most of their life

·         Love song

·         At school…young love

·         Introduced to Harry and Sally straight away, but they are not a couple

·         Driving for a long period of time together

Brief Encounter (Romance):

·         Main dialogue shared between two central characters

·         Character saying goodbye

·         Narrator

Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging:

·         Very/Typically British

·         Don’t see the whole body main character

·         Funny as soon as the film starts

·         Embarrassing to the main character

·         Playful title font

·         Travelling shot

·         Awkward situation

·         Upbeat love song

·         Turn of events

·         Misfortune

P.S. I Love You:

·         Arguments over love and having children

·         The audience see both the man and woman on screen at the same time.

The Last Song:

·         Dramatic

·         Didn’t see actors face

Letters To Juliet:

·         Golden/Posh Font

·         Pictures of love through different periods of time

·         Romantic Music

·         Pictures of animals in love (kissing)

·         Different style to other RomComs

Juno:

·         Music Video (Love Song)

·         Cartoon

·         Different Style

·         Follow the main character on a “journey” in the style of a music video

Remember Me:

·         Sad

·         Slow dramatic music

A Walk To Remember:

·         Upbeat music changes to increase tension

·         Typically American

·         Opening Credits Explode

A Cinderella Story:

·         Follows the classic story with a modern day twist

·         Turn of events (happy story turns to misery and then ends with a happy ending)

All of these opening sequences reflect the genre, however they are in different styles. Juno is set out like a music video and is upbeat and fun, however P.S. I Love You starts of in a very real situation of people arguing. Furthermore all of the openings I analyised had a love song or romantic music in them.

Generic Coventions of a RomCom