1. Conventions
of a
Teen Rom-Com

2. Audience
Romantic Comedies are very often
classified as being Chick Flicks. This
is because they tend to be aimed at
a female audience.
Our film has a more specific
audience as we are aiming it at
teenagers. To do this we will follow
the conventional patterns of a typical
rom com, however make it more
relevant to teenagers by using a
younger cast and more familiar
setting e.g. school.

3. Plot
BASIC STORYLINE
The basic format of a rom com was used a long time ago in Shakespeare plays e.g. Much ado about nothing and
A Midsummers Nights Dream
•Two people (usually a man and a woman) meet
•They part due to an obstacle (usually an argument)
•At first they aren’t romantic as they don’t believe they are right for each other (one person has a partner already/
social pressures)
•Obvious clues are given to show that they do like each other or would be a good match
•While they’re apart, one person realises they are good together
•They make a lot of effort to find the other person to declare their love (called the grand gesture)
•Coincidentally they meet again (usually comedy or friction involved)
•They declare their love for one another
In the end, if the romance doesn’t happen the film is called a Platonic Comedy
The initial encounter of the two potential partners is usually under unusual or comic circumstances. Critics Roger
Ebert and Christy Lemine call this the ‘meet cute’ situation. Examples of the ‘meet cute’ situation are:
•Notting Hill - Hugh Grant spills orange juice on Juila Roberts
•Serendipity - The characters played by John Cusack and Kate Bekinsale grab the same pair of gloves in the
shop

4. Characters
The characters in a rom com often follow the rules of the Vladimir Propp theory. He said
that all characters can be concluded into 8 character types. These were:
1.The Villain - struggles against the hero
2.The Dispatcher - informs the hero and sends them off to their task
3.The (magical) Helper - helps the hero in the quest
4.The Princess or Prize - the person they hero wants but cannot reach due to an unfair evil
(usually the villain)
5.Her Father - gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero
6.The Doner - prepares the hero or gives the hero a magical object
7.The Hero - reacts to the doner, weds the princess
8.False Hero - takes credit for the heros actions, tries to marry the princess

5. Characters in a modern teen rom com conventionally follow a similar pattern:
The Prize The Helper
The Hero
In conventional American teen
movies the typical characters are:
•The Jock/ Cheerleader
•The Princess
•The Geek/ Nerd
•The Rebel
The Villain •The Misfit
•The Average Boy/ Girl
•The New Boy/ Girl
•The Loner
•The Band Geek

6. Mise en Scene
Location
In a teen rom com, the set and location is usually based around areas that teenagers tend to be such as:
•High school
•Homes (especially bedrooms)
•Party - either at someones house or a school prom
You would never find a rom com set in an unusual or fictional place
Costume
The costumes are very prejudice towards certain character groups. For example we can clearly identify “jocks”
from “geeks” , “rebels”, etc.

7. Camera,Editing and Sound
Camera
•The final shot is usually of the couple in the centre
•The opening of films usually involves close up shots of different elements related to the character so the
audience get and idea about the person before they are known to the audience
Editing
•The editing usually favours the woman and the film is seen through her point of view
•The film is usually a slow place (uses lots of dissolves), this gives the effect of turning a page in a fairy tale
•In makeover scenes the pace is usually fast
Sound
• Often starts with a voice over explaining the characters and the situation
•The script usually involves sexual innuendoes
•There is normally non digetic music in rom coms. Many of the songs are current and in the charts, soundtracks
are often available. The music tends to be fitting with the characters