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Chosen Still. Genre: rom-com

Our task was to create film stills that reflected specific genres. To do this we were given a DSLR camera, a portable light and the school. With these limitations we found that using camera angles and the actors' posture and facial expressions were also very helpful ways to connote genre.

Representation of Genre

Characters
The genre is rom com so the focus is on the main two characters, a boy and a girl. Their facial expressions; smiling and eye contact suggest attraction towards each other, which is key feature of the genre. The girls positioning suggests that she is perhaps shy whereas the boys pose appears more confident and out going. These differentiating characters could create drama and struggle in the plot, where being together isn't possible, also a key aspect of rom com genre.

Mise en scene
The shot is set out doors on a field. In the foreground is a tree in which the characters are leaning on, nature is often symbolic of romance as it represents freedom and seclusion from the outer world. The background is bright and the green grass looks vibrant, this suggests a light hearted movie.

How did we achieve this

Initially our idea for the shot was to do a long shot, however when we did that there were too many distractions in the back ground, so we tried a mid-shot. This made it easier to control variables such as lighting, and instantly the shot became more intimate. Using the tree for the characters to lean on makes it seem more natural, adding to the realism on the image.

What is successful

I think the composition of the picture is successful; the tree, the lighting, the character pose, all help it to represent genre. We were very lucky with lighting- it was shady under the tree where we were shooting, but bright in the back ground in the rest of the field.

What could be improved

The costumes could be more representative of character traits, but we were limited with resources and time so we just shot it in what the group members were wearing already. For this we would have to think about the characters personalities and the narrative of the film in more detail, which we didn't as this was not one of the shots we planned in detail, it was a spur of the moment idea.