Codes and Conventions of Romantic Comedy

Codes and Conventions of Romantic Comedy

Plot-A rom-com (romantic comedy) is a hybrid of two genres, comedy and romance where a story of romance and love is generally presented in a comical way. They normally follow a strict typical three part structure. Boy meets girl, they fall madly in love, some turmoil break them apart, they then over come this obstacle through realizing throughout the whole film they are meant for each other. Ending with the resolution of them sorting there problems out however this always mean a happy ending but it normally ends with them being together.

Two Main Characters- Desperate boy, the male character that has being missing something all his life ( not always the boy, sometimes the roles between girl and boy are switched) in every rom com the main male character wether he's a classic macho figure or timid and shy they will often act out the the feelings of a 'maternal male' at some points in the film. Unknowing girl, this is the female character who doesnt have much instrest in the male counterpart in the begining but begins to fall for the boy over time.
The main characters have got to be believeable and the audience have got to be able to relate to them somehow, maybe through common problems or certain features of personality, looks, career this is so the audience actually feel for the characters and feel some connection and emotion for the characters.

Mise én scene-Most rom-coms are set in big, well known citys such as london and new york again this is so the audience can relate to whats going on, even if they havent been to new york or london they can picture the what its like because its set in a very well known place where most ppl have seen in other media like news, other films, tv and loads more so they have some idea what its like.

Sound-The music and background music use in rom-coms is generally up beat and happy having a kind of get go about it, it normally involves sweeping chords a piano and string sections of the orchesta. The music most of the time is a refecltion of whats going on in the the film at that certain time.All used to amplify the key romantic moments.

Here is an example of what music in rom-coms are like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzHbW49NcMc

From listening to it you hear the fast, relaxing beat that is use in most rom-coms but something like this would most be used in openings to introduce characters or when a character is in a rush at the start of the film, you woud hear something like this in the first 20 minutes of the film.

Lighting-Most of the film will have a bright, positive, happy atmosphere the lighting is normally used to reflect the mood of the character's tone on screen or reflect on the mise én scene at that point in the film. Its mainly used to increase the entertain the audience and sometimes used to help them relax. Though remember the lighting changes all the time.

Time of the year- Most rom-coms are set or made to release around Valentines day or Christmas time. Most os the time they want to emphasis the message or together-ness and family and friends.