Notting Hill

Notting Hill:

From the trailer of the film ‘Notting Hill’ you are able to work out that the genre of the film will be a romantic comedy. We are able to work this out because of the different conventions they use during the trailer which stand out to the audience. One of the conventions they use is the voice over when they are introducing the main characters. The first thing that the narrator says is “A very ordinary boy bumps into a girl” and its the part where Hugh Grant spills his drink over his love interest in the film, Julia Roberts. They emphasise the word “bump” because he quite literally bumps into her in the street. This also shows the audience that the film will also be a comedy.

In the trailer the audience are able to get the gist of what the story line will be because of what the narrator is saying. They are able to see that Hugh Grant’s character coincidentally meets a famous person in the street and they fall in love but will it be that easy?

You then get introduced to Hugh Grant’s funny best friend in the film which is another convention of a romantic comedy because there is always the comical best friend who makes the film funny to go along with the serious love story.

They have added in a part where you see the two love interests fall apart but because it is a romantic comedy you know that they will find a way to get back together because if it is meant to be then love always finds a way. 

Another convention that is used is the typical urban city setting and they have made the story realistic so that the target audience which tends to be teenage girls or young women can relate to it and fit their needs. By doing this, it also makes it feel as if it was real life. In the next scene they have shown the audience that the two love interests get back together to keep the audience appealed. This is another convention of a romantic comedy because there is always a happy ending.

They have used happy love song in the background of thee trailer to set the mood and let the audience know that the film is about love. The person doing the voice over mentions other films that have been made by the same director of Notting Hill to get the attention of the fans of the other films such as ‘Four weddings and a funeral” to encourage them and make the want to come and see this film. They have used a lot of close up camera shots on the main three characters faces so that the audience can see who they are and because the actors such as Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts are in the film this is a good way to advertise that they are in it.