Analysis of Romantic Comedy

Teaser Trailers
 500 Days of Summer
-A voiceover is used in this trailer which tells the key parts of the narrative which
the shorter length of a teaser trailer isn’t able to show. The viewer is told straight
away that it isn’t a usual romantic film as “it is a story about love” rather than a
“love story”. The voiceover also mentions words such as “promises” “tenderness”
and “fury” which are associated with love and relationships, and the audience can
relate to.
-Music is also used throughout and adds to the romance as the first song played is
slow and has romantic lyrics.
-Part of the trailer contains a spilt-screen effect where the two main characters are
separated by appearing on two sections of a film reel. The female is with other
people at a party whereas the male is own his own looking sad, showing their initial
distance and differences in personality.
-The films logo appears more than once and changes colour which hints at the
changing nature of the couple, perhaps more so of the girl as the title refers to her.
-There is a mixture of long and short length shots which, which are edited in time
with the music and shows the correlation between music and the main characters,
and its importance within the story.
-The opening shows the two sitting together followed by a close up of them holding
hands, suggesting they have a perfect relationship. But, as the voiceover explains
and the next shot which pans from him across to her demonstrates, they maybe
aren’t the perfect couple. This hint to the complexity will draw the target audience
in, as they will wonder why this is so. In this shot she is shown in a high and long
shot implying she is out his reach.
-A handheld camera is used when the two are alone together to show the closeness
they have but is contradicted by several shot-reverse-shots, further indicating their
journey isn’t smooth.
-Although the voiceover gives much of the details of the film, I thought the fact it
doesn’t include any speech from the characters distanced the audience from them
and the story. You aren’t given much information as to their characters and so I feel
this is something to take into consideration when making our trailer.
 Love Hurts
-This trailer starts off with comedy straight away, letting the audience know what
sort of film it is.
-Over the shoulder shots were used frequently to give the impression the viewer is
a part of the action, creating a closeness to the characters also.
-The voiceover describes the perfect situation of the main character e.g. ”a
wonderful son” “a beautiful wife”, as we see scenes which mirror this. Likewise as
it’s explained the circumstances have changed, the shots also relate to this so the
viewer can see and hear the main structure of the story.
-As the change of circumstance is referred to, music begins which is quite fast-
paced to match the action of the main character trying to win back his wife.
-The music then changes to more romantic and slow as his son’s love life is
mentioned and the trailer focuses on the two male’s attempts at love, identifying
how the film then progresses.
-Fast paced editing is used along with a series of shots which slide in and out of
view from different angles accompanied by sound effects. This adds to the comedy
element of the film, in particular the slapstick involved.
-A close-up of the main character and his wife dancing is included to highlight their
closeness and how comfortable they are, whereas a mid-shot of their son and his
girlfriend suggests they are just getting to know each other. These are both
scenarios the target audience can relate to, making them more likely to watch the
film.
 He’s just not that into you

-Similarly to ‘Love Hurts’ this trailer also starts off with comedy in order to set
the tone of the film and hook the target audience in.
-There are a couple of black screens with text to further tell the audience the
narrative of the film. This breaks up the action and the font is the same as
the title, also the words which are in colour flip into view with sound effects
to help maintain the level of light-heartedness.
-First voiceover is one of the characters addressing the audience on her
childhood and other things they can relate to. Another character voices the
next part where the trailer focuses on the more serious side of love,
demonstrating the depth of the film. A non-character voices the next section
to give a broader overview of the film.
-A low shot of two male characters talking to one of the female characters,
along with a high shot of her, suggests she is vulnerable and in need of help
as the voiceover explains.
-Several zooms are included which tend to focus in on what the character is
saying. These start as mid or long shots and zoom in to show to the audience
the importance of what is being said. This develops the relationship between
viewer and character as they can probably relate to the scene.
-Lots of over the shoulder shots are included to make the audience feel
involved with the action, and is used in one scene to show the importance of
a mobile phone to one of the characters. This suggests it is a significant prop
in the story and vital to that character in particular.
-Between two scenes there is a black screen followed by a fade- in of the
next, highlighting the different scenarios the characters are in and the variety
of issues within the film.
-The music used relates to the tone of the action, as quite fast, happy music
is used near the beginning when the comedy is emphasised. Likewise slower,
more romantic music is played in the second half when the tone of the action
changes.
 Codes and Conventions I have found in Romantic
Comedy Trailers

After analysing these three trailers I feel I have a better understanding of what needs to be included in a trailer
of this genre.
Here are some of the codes and conventions I have discovered and will take into consideration when making our
trailer:

 A voiceover was used in all three trailers which suggests this is an effective way of getting information across
to the target audience, especially in a short amount of time. Although in ‘500 Days of Summer’ there was no
character dialogue which I felt resulted in a lack of connection with the characters.
 The music needs to relate to the action on screen, to further demonstrate the tone of the film.
 Editing techniques such as fades and wipes are used to give variety and maintain the light- heartedness of the
narratives, but jump cuts are used the most as it quickly conveys the most important pieces of the film.
 Lots of over the shoulder shots are included as these bring the audience into the action and allows them to
connect with characters, which therefore makes them more likely to watch the film.
 Two of the films’ trailers start with a comic scene to attract the target audience, by setting the tone of the film
right away. This positivity seems to remain throughout the trailer, whereas the happy nature at the start of the
‘500 Days of Summer’ trailer is quickly contradicted, illustrating how the feel of that film isn’t typical of the genre.
 The action in each was in chronological order which makes it easy for the audience to follow.
 The females in ‘He’s just not that into you’ were generally depicted as stereotypical, waiting for love and
being unlucky. However in the other two the males were the focal point and they were the ones seemingly
hopeless and in search of true love, which is a contrast to the stereotypical representations of men and women.

All these things I will consider when planning our own trailer, as I am more aware of what works well and should
be included. But I am also aware of things which I may not want to include, such as having no character
dialogue because this hinders the target audience’s chances of watching the film.