Codes and Conventions of Romantic/drama Films

1. Usually aimed towards a female audience.

- Because females are mainly affected by the whole relationship, women would be the target audience because they want to see the emotion as they may have experienced it themselves. The movie may also relate to their relationship story. 

- In relation to our final piece, we could conduct further research on what woman would like to see/experience when watching a romantic/ drama film.

2. Voice overs are used to introduce the theme.

- This is effective because they help the audience follow the story. It could either be about the past, present, or future but it helps give the audience a sense of what might happen next. 

- For our final piece, we can add in voice overs to make the audience listen to the character and how they feel. 

3. Usually involves a lot of emotion. E.g. happiness, heartbreak, or complication. 

- As it is mainly targeted at a female audience, by adding emotion, it can also affect how good they may think the film is. For example, the plot could contain all these elements and it can all make that person smile, cry and feel sympathetic towards some of the characters. This is what makes a great film because it moves the audience and it makes them feel one with the movie. 

4. The main characters are usually one man and one female. The man would most likely be the hero of the movie whilst the woman is the damsel in distress. Each having their own back story and how they eventually met. 

- Dramatic irony could take place because of this. The audience will be able to witness both sides of the story however the characters do not. This can create a sense of relief for the audience because they know what is going on but it can also create more tension between the characters. 

5. Symbolic things that represent love are used. Objects like, rings, or flowers can be used, but the scenario's that are usually in a romantic drama are first dates, or first meetings. 

- These symbols help the audience know the genre. Unlike a rom-com, romantic/drama films tend to be more serious. This means that these objects/ settings, will most likely have a deeper meaning. The type of flowers used in a film also has individual meanings, for example, red roses symbolise love and beauty but this only depends on what colour the rose.