It was written and directed by first-time filmmaker François Chang, who has taken the essence of the song to create a story focussing on seven lonely individuals whose lives could be transformed after experiencing love at first sight.
The story follows seven young men and women and their love lives: heterosexual, homosexual and bisexual, across the city of Beijing.
[4][5] Bad Romance was filmed on location in Beijing, and was written, filmed and edited by debut Chinese filmmaker François Chang, with a largely unknown cast, an original music score combined with the popularly known music of singer/songwriter Lady Gaga, and a limited budget.
The French singers are contrasted with Chinese opera where there is substantial variation in the timbre, tone and texture, but with similar messages.
The early-scene sun umbrella is intended to remind the viewer of Georges Seurat's "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte," while the minimalist string-rich score provides an accompaniment to the principal characters' contrasting lives.