Market Research Results

Results from the market research suggest that most people enjoy a good American romantic comedy. However, there were also a few British romantic comedies which were suggested and I would personally prefer to create a new independent romantic comedy as there is a space in the market for one.

Everyone suggested that a romantic comedy should be no more than a 15. This is due to the fact that a director can still incorporate the innuendo and taboo language without it being over the top. Also romantic comedies appeal more to a teenage girl so making it a 12 or 15 will still generate and bring in a big audience.

The choice of a lead character was split half and half with half the people wanting a male lead and others wanting a female lead. In a British comedy you tend to see a quirky female lead e.g Bridget Jones, I would like to re-create this type of character so that it fits with the conventions of a British rom com.

Using a female lead will also bring in a wider audience, for example males and this was suggested in my market research. I would like to use a stereotypical character of a 'girl next door' look with the female lead. Even though the girl wouldn't have the stereotypical look of a protagonist, it would bring in a male audience and maybe have older generations of men watch because she isn't some 'sex symbol.' More girls will be able to relate to her which will still generate the audience you need for a profitable film.

Another suggestion to make my film appeal more to wider audience was to focus on the comedy more rather than the romantic side. Men prefer comedy to romance so it would create a twist on the conventional plot of a rom com.

The final suggestion was to create stereotypes for characters. I have taken this on board and want to create two comedic male characters. One being an over the top, attractive, business man and the other a geek that the girl knows from her school days. Both men will fight for the girls affection throughout the film. The girl will have a best friend character and the geek will have a lot of other 'nerdy' friends and his dad will be another version of his geeky son. These types of character will add to the comedy of the film therefore appealing to the male audience which is what I wish to achieve.

Mood Board

Whilst the questions for my market research are being carried out I found it necessary to create a mood board for the genre of my film. This has given me plenty of ideas when creating a poster and the general story like which happens in a romantic comedy film. The mood board also gives a general idea to the genre of the film and shows some typical conventions of posters. This mood board shows the romantic side to films as well as the classic comedy moments in a good Rom -com. I have identified the key conventions and can now start to plan the story behind my trailer.

At a first glance the colours appear pastel and all the actors are young and fresh faced. I would like to stick with conventions of a typical rom com film so will consider these colours when thinking of costume and look for young actors.

Market Research

The definition of market research is: the systematic collection and evaluation of data regarding customers' preferences for actual and potential products and services.

I believe this will be benefitial to my product before I start storyboarding and creating final ideas as I would like to see if I can bring something new to the genre of romantic comedy and finding out what the consumer wants. I shall do this by filming select few people to answer the questions truthfully so that I can begin to storyboard a new romantic comedy trailer.

The market research shall have the following questions:

• What is your favourite romantic comedy film
• What's the best age restriction to be on a romantic comedy film.
• Would you like to see a male or female lead...
• How could the romantic comedy genre appeal to a wider audience, for instance males...

These questions will help me decide on cast and the content of the trailer.

Film posters

The key conventions of a romantic comedy poster are:

The use of a comedic pose to show instantly the genre of the film. In this poster an audience can spot the genre through the pose of the man and woman.

The two lead characters are instantly spotted on the poster and even though they aren't central an audience's eye is drawn to them.

The film title is comically positioned and the 'tag line' gives the audience an instant hint about what the films about. It is not a complicated poster and gets straight to the point.

Another good example of a simple yet conventional poster is Bridget Jones' Diary. The three leads are clearly indicated along with their names above. The comedic aspect is in the tag lines above their heads and through Renee Zelweggers face. The poster is eye catching as its bold which will bring in an audience. It doesn't give the story line away so uses the enigma code..."What's going to happen?" which will make an audience want to watch the film.

On my poster I will use the key conventions of the main characters being on the poster with a tag line and the name of the film in bold. I will use the typical comedic pose between the three main characters and have the pictures set out like the one for Bridget Jones Diary.

Bridget Jones - THE EDGE OF REASON - Trailer

The key conventions of a romantic comedy can be seen throughout this trailer;

• American voice over
• Music begins mid way through the trailer
• Music cuts on key comedic lines
• The film name is revealed at the end of the trailer, then there is a cut to a comedy clip, then 'COMING SOON'
• Actors names come up on the screen or the voice over says who is in the film to entice an audience in.
• Music can change in the trailer.

The conventions that I have noticed are all immediate conventions I will aim to use when creating my film. If I keep it simple and don't over complicate scenes, then it should be okay.

Trailer prelim tasks

The 3 tasks I need to create for my media coursework are:

• A promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer, together with these two options
• a poster for the film
• a film magazine front cover, featuring the film

Over the weekend I have brain stormed many ideas that could be included within the trailer. My final story for my trailer came about watching many different rom-com trailers; e.g "Love Actually", "She's out of my League" and "Bridget Jones' Diary." I have decided to make the trailer for a new British film, about a normal girl having two love interests...one is a rich, attractive business men and the other is a geek who fell for the girl during their time at school. Both of them attempt to fight to gain her love...but who will she choose?

Summer into September

I have realised that the story and complexity of my music video would not work with the amount of time and the equipment that I have to use. The storyline of my music video didnt work as a traditional music video. It worked well in the film due to the fact that the audience already knew the storyline. However in a 3 minute music video I would have have had to cram all the story in, making it confusing for the audience.

Therefore I have had to reconsider the brief I am about to do and I have chosen to do a trailer. This is my final decision as I have been changing my mind continuously through the summer.

The reason I chose a romantic comedy trailer was because I enjoy a good rom-com. Consequently I can recognise the key conventions of a romantic comedy easily and use them in my own work.