Four FIlms Analyses

Ryan Reynolds
Definitely, Maybe

Steve Carell
40 Year Old Virgin

During the weekend, I did some research and analysed a few rom-com openings. These were;
40 Year Old Virgin
Knocked Up
Definitely, Maybe
What Happens in Vegas

I chose these specific four films because 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up are more comedy and Definitely Maybe and What Happens in Vegas are more romance. I think this is the reason because in 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up the male protagonists are a bit of a nerd or a misfit whereas in Definitely Maybe and What Happens in Vegas the male protagonists are very good looking. All of these rom-coms have famous actors so I know that finding the right people to star in my film opening will be a tough challenge.

I will post more detailed analyses of each individual film in abit.

First 6 Questionnaires

I have managed to get 6 people, 3 boys and 3 girls aged 16-17, to fill in my questionnaire. There are 9 more to give out this is what I have found out so far;

One of the questions in my questionnaire was "What is your favourite rom-com?". The 3 boys said '50 First Dates', 'Crazy, Stupid Love' and Knocked Up. All of these are in the rom-com genre but they all lean more towards the comedy side whereas the girsl said their favourites were 500 Days Of Summer and Love Actually which lean more towards the romance side. I think that girls prefer to watch the romance because that's what they aspire their future boyfriend to be like and the boys prefer the funny films because they aspire to be like the funny guy in the film.

All of the 6 people said that the first 5 minutes of a film is very important because it sets the story, gives the audience and understanding of the characters, and the intro of a film grabs the attention of the audience and if people don't like the forst 5 minutes, they will not continue to watch.

I asked the question "If you were to create the first 5 minutes of a rom-com, what events would you include?". Most people came out with different answers

Lauren said "An awkward situation e.g. wedding proposal gone wrong"

Kelly said "Love, Comedy, Dinner, Proposal"

Lizzie said "The meeting of the 2 main characters"

Alec said "Some exciting parts or something that will set out the story line"

Joe said "Funny sex scene, something shocking and embarrasing. Good use of music, well directed cinematography, originality"

Michael said "The basic story based on main characters and an awkward situation"

I also asked what they WOULDN'T like to see at the beginning of a film and this was the outcome;

Lauren said "Sex"

Kelly said "Too much action"

Lizzie said "Sexual intercourse"
Alec said "Alot of boring scenes"

Joe said "Soppy, cringy crap, cliches, same old story line, bad acting"

Michael said "Sex scene, murder scene"

I will be back with the result of the rest of the questionnaires later on but this is it for now.

Emily

Media Questionnaire

These were the questions I used in my questionnaire

Name:

Age: 

Would you say the first five minutes of a film is important?

If yes, why?

Do you like Rom-Coms?

Describe what you expect to see in a Rom-Com

If you were to create the first 5 minutes of a film in the romantic comedy genre, what events would you include?
What wouldn’t you want to see at the beginning of the film?

What is your favourite Rom-Com?

What is your least favourite Rom-Com?

If chosen, would you like to be part of my focus group?

Rom-Com plots

I also did some research on some film plots of the rom-com genre and this is what I came up with;

1. They meet, either on a drunken night out, at a new school, at work, ect. The characters meet in funny and unusual circumstances.
2. The couple doesn’t usually get along at first
3. They have learned to deal with the other one and the hate between them has vanished. In this stage a 3rd party love interest comes into play to stir things up a bit, but eventually he/she will not play a big part. This is also the longest part of the movie.
4. Everything seems to be working well. The relationship can also involves intercourse.
5. Although they both love each other, they have not yet accepted the feeling of love for each other and therefore cannot communicate their feelings. At this point of the movie it seems like they will never be able to get back together.
6. They make up and become a couple. About 5 minutes before the movie ends, comes the big scene that everybody knew was going to happen. It’s a big make-up scene where one of them realizes that the other one is theone for them and then they live happily ever after.

A good example of a film that follows this plot is knocked up

1. They meet in a night club when they are both completely drunk and spend the night together.
2. When sober, they find out that they don't like eachother and want nothing to do with one another.
3. They decide to resolve their feeling, only because she is pregnant with his child 
4. They become a couple and he falls in love with her and they have intercourse
5. About 6 months in, her hormones take over and she constantly shouts at him and they end up breaking up
6. They have the baby, he gets a job and a house. They get back together and become engaged. They live happily

Conventions of a Rom-Com

 I did some research on the conventions of a Rom-Com. The majority of Rom-Coms have the following conventions;

• Two protagonist’s, A male that falls in love with the female, sometimes there are two male’s and one female that fight for the love of that female.
• Romantic Music/Normal Everyday Music
• Colours: Red/Pink – Represent Love, White represents purity
• Male character is usually clumsy and falls in love, female character is usually good looking and popular and falls for the clumsy guy half way into the film
• This often starts with a voiceover with some music along with it introducing the characters
• Usually based on females point of view
• Set in urban areas in work places, apartments or even schools

New Media Blog

Today I decided that I want to create the opening of a Rom-Com, as that is my favourite genre of film. I have decided to work alone on this project because I am more of an independant worker and I prefer doing my own thing instead having to compromise. I will keep most of the research from my previous group and use that as a foundation for my new idea.

Emily