Research into similar genre conventions and films to the title sequence we plan to make

Genre Conventions and Similar Films

The film we want to make is a romance drama so it will of course have conventions of both genres woven through it. Concentions of films cover a large variety of different things from camera, editing, sound and mise en scene such as costume, lighting, casting/character etc

Most romance dramas follow the same layout of the following stages:

• The opening where characters and their day to day lives are introduced
• A disruption for example a character not being accepting of other characters (our film), conflict of interest, a disaster or something out of control happening.
• The realisation that there is a problem 
• The resolution - this doesn't mean that the disruption gets mended but it is how the main characters have dealt with the problem and usually ends in a way that suggests their lives will never be the same but they will carry on.

The film we plan to make pretty much adheres entirely to the conventions above, which is good because otherwise it wouldn't be an imediatley obvious romance drama. The opening of our film woluld consist of scenes of each girls individual lives and then scenes of their relationship forming. The disruption is their parents not accepting them. The realisation is when the confrontation between the parents and the girls happen because they realise they can't hide anymore and they will have to face the problem. The resolution is the girls deciding to run away so that they can live their lives the way thay they want to. 

Conventions with camera technique mainly includes a lot of close up and mid-shots of characters so the audience can see their emotions clearly and the relationship between the characters can be established. The most common convention is the camera position leading up to characters kissing. First there tends to be two over-the-shoulder shots of each charcter looking at each other which builds tension in anticipation for the kiss and then a mid shot that usually move in closer when they actually kiss. . An example of this is in The Notebook where they kiss in the rain. 

Editing in romance dramas tends to be slow paced so there is time to build relationships between characters and build tension and suspense at different points in the film. The only time fast paced editing may be used is in either a very tense moment of action or at a reunion scene when characters are getting closer and closer to seeing each other again. 

Sound in this genre tends to be songs from the period that the fim is set and can cover a wide genre of songs depending on the context of the scene. Quite often songs with lyrics are used but equally dramatic soundtracks are used throughout. An example of this is in the last scene of A Fault in our Stars. In this scene there is also a voice over of the letter being read. This is common in romance dramas because love letters are often involved and having the sound of the other persons voice as the letter is read makes the scene more emotional because most of the time it will be because that character is distant from their love interest.

The mise en scene in romance dramas covers a very wide range of aspects. The lighting used is usually naturalistic and it combines the use of low-key lighting associated with dramas for the tense, sad, angry or grief stricken scenes (however it can equally be used to show the intensity of love)  and the use of high-key lighting associated with romance films for the joyful moments, early stages of a relationship, love in general throughout the film. For example the low-key lighting in Age of Adeline is showing the intensity of their feelings for each other but because of the darkness you get the sense that something isn't right which is where the tension is created. The other shot is from when he first saw her and it uses a more naturalistic lighting it is high-key but it isn't warm so you get the sense that perhaps it was a time where there was less troubles but the coldness of the image suggests they wouldn't be happy until they met each other.

When it comes to the casting and character types for romance dramas the commonly used convention is to have a contrast between the two love interests which often ends up leading to dramatic arguments but also a very intense passionate love. This is shown in looks, costume and the personality and background of the character. For example in the Titanic Jack is from a lower class as shown by his simple brown top and suspenders while Rose is high class in a variety of gorgeous silky dresses. Jack has a carefree personality whereas Rose is careful and reserved until she meets Jack and loosens up. We want our film to follow this convention partially becuase we want to have contrasting characters in the way of looks by having one blonde more shelterd girl and one dark haired girl who also comes from a homophobic family but has had more freedom in her life that the other girl.