Genres- the art of a romantic film

   The romance genre has, for as long as I can remember, captivated audiences worldwide. As it evolved with the times, it still managed to maintain its core themes of love, connection, and emotional struggle. Directors like Nora Ephron, Richard Curtis, and Greta Gerwig continue to create films that resonate with viewers, making romance a beloved, and extremely popular genre.

   Romantic films are typically centered around the relationship between the two main characters, who often have to navigate obstacles that challenge their love. These challenges range anywhere from societal expectations, to misunderstandings, and ultimately, personal growth. For example, in films like Pride and Prejudice, the tension between the two main characters, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy is mostly driven by class differences and misunderstandings, showing the films overall theme of overcoming prejudice for love.

   Production techniques in romance films can often focus on dialogue heavy scenes that develop an emotional connections between the characters. Cinematography also often plays a crucial role, with close-ups capturing the chemistry between the leads. The use of warm lighting, and a romantic setting, such as a beautiful landscape, enhances the emotional tone in the film. Soundtracks which feature popular love songs are commonly used for important moments, creating an emotional response within the audience.

   Romantic films are typically marketed through trailers that highlight the chemistry between the leads, often using scenes from the movies most emotional moments. Posters usually feature the main couple in some sort of an intimate pose, showing romance and connection. More modernly, there has been a ride in social media campaigns, which often engage audiences by sharing relatable quotes or clips that showcase the film's emotional depth, appealing to a younger demographic of fans of the genre.

   The Notebook, directed by Nick Cassavetes, is a classic romance film that embodies the genre through its portrayal of a passionate, yet rocky relationship. The films protagonists are Noah, who is played by Ryan Gosling, and Allie, who is played by Rachel McAdams, as they navigate having major class differences, combined with family expectations, and finally, the test of time. The use of flashbacks from when the couple first dated enhances the narrative, as it allows viewers to see their love story unfold from more than just youthful passion, evolving to a more mature, lifelong commitment. The film's aesthetics, its lush, romantic settings and a heartbreaking soundtrack amplifies the emotional reaction in the audience, making it a beloved cult classic.

   Further, La La Land, which was directed by Damien Chazelle, blends romance with a musical element. It exploring the relationship between an aspiring actress, Mia, who is played by Emma Stone, and jazz musician Sebastian, who is played by Ryan Gosling. The film closely examines the tension that can be caused by an overlap in love, and ambition, showing how personal dreams can impact romantic relationships. The vibrant cinematography that is used in the film, combined with the enchanting musical numbers, helps to enhance the romantic atmosphere that is meant to be portrayed in the movie, while the bittersweet ending emphasizes the complexity of love, when faced with individual aspirations.

Some more examples of romantic films:

• Pride and Prejudice (2005)-

• When Harry Met Sally (1989)-

• 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)-

• Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) - 

• Titanic (1997) -

Through their engaging story lines and narratives, the emotional depth, and relatable characters, romance films will forever be a classic as they never fail to continue to resonate with audiences, making this genre a timeless one.

Representation

 The show Gossip Girl explores a great amount of themes relating to diversity, specifically when it comes to class and sex.

  Blair Waldorf, the shows protagonist, is a perfect embodiment of how class and gender interact to form power dynamics. Blairs ambition and desire for control are closely linked to her family's wealth and social status. In terms of gender, Blair's struggles parallel the expectations placed on many women for success and recognition. She also defines herself very much by the people around, her-most notably, her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Chuck Bass. The determination with which Blair pursues power in her romance echoes her social ambitions in the form of a growing conflict between the desire for freedom and the fulfillment of more traditional gender positions. It is in her iconic fashion choices, perfectly styled, that a visual representation of the desire for control and perfection often conceals internal vulnerabilities.

  By comparison, Serena van der Woodsen is typically portrayed as a free spirit, effortlessly glamorous, and always at the center of attention. Although Blair is calculated and ambitious, Serena represents the carefree and desirable woman who receives praise without ever trying. Serenas beauty and charm give her a leg up, socially, in ways that Blair's planning cannot. On the other hand, Serenas status as the last "it-girl" also raises questions with respect to women's objectification, and the value of beauty and desirability. Throughout the series, Serena struggles with how others perceive her-often, if not always, through a man's gaze. Her relationships with men, such as Dan Humphrey and Nate Archibald, more often than not create tension between being adored for her appearance versus valued for her intellect or depth. Class and gender pressures often suppress personal growth, and Serena's battles with substance abuse, her family's troubled past, and attempts at reinvention form part of the greater subject of identity in Gossip Girl.

  This dynamic also speaks to a broader theme in female competition, as society often pits women against each other, especially where issues of wealth and power are involved. This tension is undermined by their needs, which are wildly different: Blair's need for control and Serena's effortless popularity. Yet, despite their major differences, the two also depend on one another -a complexity that makes their female friendship have an interesting dynamic.

 More significantly, Gossip Girl shows time, and time again, how class defines the opportunities and relationships to which the characters are exposed. Characters such as Dan Humphrey, a "loner" from Brooklyn, struggle for acceptance within the elite world of the Upper East Siders which shows precisely how class divisions create barriers to social acceptance. He was smart, however, his lack of money was used as a defining characteristic for how others looked upon him. Gossip Girl, in that sense, becomes a demonstration on how gender, and class are still connected in producing individual character and social status. 

  In conclusion, Gossip Girl offers an inside look at how gender and class join to shape individual identity and social power. Through characters like Blair and Serena, the show explores the pressures of maintaining status, and the limitations placed on women by society, particularly within the glamorous, but unforgiving world of high society. The visual, and narrative cues throughout the show—luxurious fashion, wealth, and dramatic power plays—serve as a constant reminder of the high stakes at play in this elite universe.

Sound Project

In order to help us learn more about sound, and the importance it holds in media pieces, our teacher had us create a project using only elements of sound in order to convey a story to our listeners. Prior to starting this project, my teacher gave us a lesson on the elements of sound and what they can be used to create. For example, we learned about diegetic, and non- diegetic sound, and voiceovers, and sound perspective, and how all of these "ingredients" come together to make a well rounded "cake". 

As per the instructions, we were told to create a 1-2 minute soundscape, using all of the elements of sound that we learned to aid us, and using both sounds that can be found online, as well as a required 4 sounds that had to be made by us, using a foley stage. But, before we could begin this project, we had to plan what we were going to do, in which we came up with the idea to do a boat tour gone wrong. After creating an outline, we began to research different ways in which we could create our required foley sounds.

In getting creative, we found that the best ways to make a sound such as water when a boat is treading on it, is by using a cup and moving it through water, and we found that the best way to imitate the strong winds that are felt when on a boat, is by blowing directly into our microphones, and so our process began...

We found that the editing platform Adobe Premier Pro worked best for us, and we began to combine all of our sounds. See below for what our screens began to look like

As we began to layer on all of the sounds we made, as well as the base sounds, our screen began to look more like this:

The final product was about 1 minute, and 11 seconds long, and included all of the elements we had originally wished to incorporate, as well as the foley sound we created.

In hindsight, I believe there were better ways to go about making the wind noises, as I felt they were a bit aggressive, but overall I am content with the outcome of my project, and I feel that I used a combination of all of my given knowledge in order to successfully create a soundscape that brought across the intended story, and I hope to continue with fun projects like this in the future.

If you wish to hear my project, here is the link for it:
https://1drv.ms/v/c/a29c8b6e88d55990/EY3fAPfCQ85GtEW78Rq6xh4BH1OZju_LmidcX_E7w2GA5w?e=xilRY9