How to avoid Valentine’s Day film clichés

Early spring is the ideal time for romance projects – not only are we still riding the Valentine’s Day waves, but the fresh spring air brings a sense of romantic optimism. Over the years, we’ve seen a downturn in the number of rom-com-style films being released by studios, and long gone are the days of massive hits like Sleepless in Seattle. Unfortunately, romantic movies are often labeled cheesy, so today, we will explain why that is and how to avoid the cliche pitfalls of rom-coms.

What’s a romantic film?

Romance films don’t exist as a genre. Instead, romance finds its way into mixed genres such as rom-coms, romantic drama, or romantic action. 

Audiences automatically understand the difference between an action movie such as Mission Impossible and a romantic action such as Knight and Day. Both films star Tom Cruise with some death-defying action sequences, but adding “rom” to the description gives us immediate insight into what we’re about to see.

What we mean by romance film is that the storyline sees two characters fall in love. A good love story can be shown through many lenses, including action, drama, horror, thriller, and comedy. While you should always ensure your rom-coms have plenty of comedy and your rom-actions have plenty of action, the romance part is up to you. 

How to avoid romantic cliches

First, you should know what the cliches are and how they happen so you can avoid them. For something to become a cliche, it must first be good and loved by audiences. It then needs to be used again and again by other filmmakers to help tell a story or reinforce an emotional movement. The final step in becoming a cliche is the parody, where filmmakers call upon the cliche to joke about it.

A fantastic example is the famous kissing in the rain scene from Four Weddings And A Funeral. Audiences loved this scene, and over the years, other filmmakers have used a rain-drench setting to heighten the romance in their sequences. It became such a go-to for directors that the idea has been parodied in everything from adverts to comedy sketches.

5 ways to add romance to videos

As a filmmaker, finding new and exciting ways to tell your story without falling back on cliches is essential. Even if you need to use one of these shorthands to tell your story, there are ways you can make it feel fresh and exciting for your viewers.

Sound design

The importance of sound design in film genres such as horror and thrillers is undeniable, and the same is true of the romance genre. Sound design is a fantastic way to add a romantic setting to your scenes.

While characters meeting in the rain has been done to death, the cozy feeling invoked by rain hitting the windows can help create an intimate and romantic vibe. Your sound design can be used to create a warm, intimate space for your characters, keeping them in their romantic bubble.

When creating your romantic scene atmosphere, use soft and warm sounds, avoiding harsh or loud interruptions to your scene. Sound effects like gentle rain, crackling fires, and slow-lapping waves are ideal for your Valentine’s Day projects.

Direction

The direction in romance films is often predictable, safe, and not something that audiences pay much attention to; unlike other film genres, very few filmmakers are known for their romantic style. Richard Curtis, Nora Ephron, and Garry Marshall have produced fantastic rom-coms and have a vast catalog of romance and Valentine’s Day films to their names, but much of this is down to their role as a writer, not the direction.

While it’s not exactly a cliche, a common theme in romance films is that the direction is usually economic and practical. Scenes are often shot for efficiency rather than style. As a romance director, you can use this to your advantage.

Focus on the direction of your scenes to help tell your story – use close-up shots to create a feeling of intimacy or wide shots to create a sense of loneliness. Tilting the camera down onto a character can help an audience understand the powerlessness of a situation. There are only a few rules for romance direction, so you can create your own unique style and shot compositions.

Lighting

Lighting is a fantastic way of building a romantic atmosphere for your movies and films and should go hand-in-hand with your sound design and direction. When you think about the lighting in romantic scenes, you’re probably picturing the warmly lit, soft-focus style many rom-coms conform to, but there are many options for creating that Valentine’s vibe.

Using backlighting and shadow in your shots to create a romantic feeling is a fantastic way of creating privacy for your characters. Most romance scenes require vulnerability from your characters, and through shadow and silhouettes, you can make an intimate, even sexy, scene.

There are many ways to use lighting to set up a romantic scene while avoiding a complicated candle-lit cliche. To learn more, check out these top lighting tips to set a romantic mood.

Color grading

Color grading is an impactful tool for creating a tone and atmosphere for your shots. Often, a film will be graded to match the primary genre – horror films are usually desaturated and cold, while comedies are bright and colorful.

When grading your romantic scenes, you’ll need to highlight the tone while remaining consistent with the rest of your film. Romantic scenes tend to be soft and warm in their grading, creating a cozy and inviting palette.

You can also use subtle changes in your grading to help the viewer follow a shift in tone in the story, such as moving from an action-heavy scene to a romantic one. To learn more about colorgrading, check out this handy Premiere Pro guide.

Music

Music is vital to any film and can be surprisingly challenging when producing a romantic scene. One cliche you’ll find in many romance scenes is the orchestral build toward a significant moment, such as a first kiss. When done well, the swelling strings sweep the audience up with the emotion of a scene, but when done poorly, it can come across as cheesy and unintentionally funny.

Using songs rather than a score is a fantastic way of creating a romantic tone with diegetic and non-diegetic audio. What’s more, the lyrics of your chosen track can help emphasize the emotion when there is no dialogue.

If you’re looking for romantic songs and music for your film project, check out our royalty-free Valentine’s Day collection, available to download today.

When producing your projects, it’s helpful to understand the genre you’re working in. Watch romantic scenes and Valentine’s movies to understand the common themes and structures used and find ways to do it differently. Cliches are not always bad, but you should aim to create something unique that your audience will engage with. If you’re looking for more filmmaking tips, read more on the Arlist Blog.