Romantic Comedy and Horror Films: A Study of What Makes a Genre

Abstract

Genre films are films that adhere to a specific set of rules in order to successfully represent a particular genre. These rules—formally known as film conventions—are patterns shared among each film within its genre. Through the production of two short films, I will be exploring the ways in which directors manipulate cameras, lights, dialogue, etc, in order to create films that belong to the horror and romantic comedy genres. A comparison and contrast between the two films’ genres will also be included for heightened understanding of the differences between the conventions that each film employs.