Media research liberal arts analysis

Media ResearchA2 various other genres

Liberal ArtsRomance/Comedy

The opening shot is an establishing shot of an urban city, this sets the scene for the film. It also portrays what genre the film is; as with every film trailer the genre should be absolutely apparent. For example a horror movie might open the trailer with a long shot of a dimly lit hallway with blood stains on the wall etc. The genre of this film is a romance, this isn’t blaringly obvious from the opening shot but the audience can see that it isn’t, for example, a science-fiction due to the lack of spacecraft and/or aliens.

In this shot, the audience is introduced to the protagonist of the film. It can be presumed that this character is the protagonist as it is the first character to be introduced and the general rule of film trailers is that the protagonist is the first character to be introduced. Romance films typically involve very realistic scenarios as this allows the audience to relate to the characters on-screen. This scene here is very realistic as it features a mundane setting in which the character follows a mundane lifestyle.

Here, in this wide shot, the audience can see the protagonist looking very isolated and alone; the sense of loneliness being a key motif in romance films. Using this shot in the trailer allows the audience to acknowledge the trailer as one of romance.

This scene really helps the audience identify and relate with the protagonist with the use of a close up to show his facial expressions in more detail. The comedy aspect of the “rom com” (romantic comedy) genre is shown here with the use of dramatic irony; him saying he’s checking his schedule to “shift some things around” yet he makes no attempt to move. Also it is typical of comedy film trailers to suddenly stop the background music right before the punch-line or otherwise funny comment is made.

Here in these two shots, the audience is introduced to the love interest; love being the a key theme in ALL romance films.

The close up shot here shows the significance of this scene. The first physical contact between the two main characters. Close ups of physical contact, even if not sexual, are common in romance films.

The high angle of this shot, captures the moment of which the two romantics bond. There is fixed eye-contact and laughing. The sound bridge: “We connect really well, don’t you think?” emphasizes this moment well.

As with all romance film trailers, there is a moment which threatens the relationship of the two romantics. This is shown here in this over-the-shoulder shot whereby one of the characters is crying and thus questions are asked of the conclusiveness of this relationship.

“My advice to you is, put some armour around that gooey little heart of yours”. The dialogue in this scene is significant as it demonstrates the conventions of a romance film; the convention being that there is always a character of which the audience is meant to dislike, the reason for this is typically because he/she is aiming to break the relationship of the romantic couple.

The integrity of the relationship is always challenged in romance films and is done so here, the sense of loneliness returns to the protagonist, emphasized by the miserable facial expression.

The film title is revealed and it could be suggested that the red font in the word “Arts” could represent love as it is a typical connotation of this colour. It would be a symbol to represent the romantic aspect of this genre.