Romance & How Film School Students Should Approach It

By Katie Onson


How should students in film school approach the romance genre? After all, it's one of the more popular genres in various forms of media, ranging from the books we read to the movies we watch. Of course, not every creation has to be rooted in romance and I am sure that others would agree. Nonetheless, it's important to understand how the aforementioned students can tackle this genre and ensure that the best results are shown through the films they create.

Good writing is the first step towards an effective romantic plot being composed. Of course, a story can be something as simple as a boy and a girl locking eyes in some crowded environment. It's just a matter of how this is followed up that will matter the most. This can only be achieved through the best writing, which is one of the many vital components of film and what students should focus on to create the best movies that they can.

Let's say that you would like to incorporate romance into your action film; the element of action shouldn't suffer because of it. To illustrate this point, look at "Guardians of the Galaxy," which had two of the main characters teasing at a romance of their own. However, it was kept subtle while combat and comedy alike were more focused on. What this did was that it allowed the film itself to be more free, as it wasn't exactly confined to specific genres.

The avoidance of tropes is another point that film students should keep in the back of their minds. In romance, there are quite a few tropes that have been used to the point of exhaustion, one of them being the break-up of a relationship before it is rekindled at the end of the film. It stands the case of having audience members roll their eyes, since they've seen it so many times before. As a film student, this is yet another aspect of romance that should not be overlooked.

When romance is approached, with these methods set in place, it's easy to see that it can add something unique to just about any film. I am sure that most others would agree with this point, especially when you consider that just about any other genre can incorporate romance. Of course, you have to consider ideas like acting and writing as well. Nonetheless, to say that romance is unable to be incorporated into any film would be nothing short of a lie.




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