‘Investigate how far the trailer for Dark Shadows

conforms to genre conventions’

By Deebiga Kana

Why is Horror so popular?Usually horror movies are created to frighten people with evil characters and plots from realism to supernatural that gives you a rush and evokes emotions. Some scenes gives an adrenalin rush in responding to the horror which is why generally people love horror because of the tension and nerve. One popular theory is that horror films touch on emotions that other films don't.Horror movies are so popular because it allows the reader to be in a different world – explore in their own fantasy so they get to feel the same emotion, experience as the character is feeling in the movie . Because of that feeling, you tend to want to feel more of that emotion. The genre horror, is unique. It always has a twist (normally in the climax point) where It gives you the fright & suspense which other genres generally don’t do. Normally horror movies start off calmly ,tranquil and family warming and suddenly starts off with dramatic high pitched music and you see death. Horror movies are usually popular in Halloween because horror links to the theme of Halloween e.g. fright, darkness, demons etc. which is the most reason why people love to watch horror in Halloween. There are many types of horror films e.g. monster, gore, supernatural, romance etc. which appeals to the audience.

Conventions of Horror Dark corridors/hallways Ghosts Gloomy forests Death Blood Supernatural events Dark sky Suspense and Adeline Pale faces Old fashioned clothes Old architecture Shadows Mist/fog Staring eyes Femme fatale Black, purple, red colours Camera angles/movement: Low angle,

High angle, Extreme close up, Extreme long shot, Point of view shots, tilt, pan, arc, push in pull out, close up.

Eerie, sinister music Long takes to build up

frights/suspense

Why are Sub-genres necessary?Sub-genres: a version of the main genre and may contain new elements. They are often used to prevent a feeling of the act of blending components together thoroughly and loss of identity.

Some audiences get bored of the same the genre and might want something new in that genre to gain their interests.

1922 2012How Vampires have changed from the

past to now

The main things have changed are appearance, technology, realism and audience’s expectations.Appearance of this vampire from 1922: Old, old-Fashioned and black. The face is plain yet frightening. No bright horror colours added just pure white. No jewellery or accessories worn to show his abundance. The picture is black and white which shows how old and less exciting the technology was because It was still Developing around the1920s. Back then, this

Appearance of this vampire, 2012: new, modern 21st century clothes worn. No bright horror colours however it’s not black and white but in colour. His appear- ance doesn’t look fright- ening instead he looks ap- pealing and good looking.

Might have been what the audience expect because they didn’t/wouldn’t know that technology can be developed. Obviously people were fascinated watching something on a TV which they didn’t get to watch before.

Normal teenage clothes worn that doesn’t look gothic to scare the audience. The picture is in colour therefore shows good technology used and shows that this is a modern

vampire used nowadays.Because this vampire looks attractive, it will engage to the audience more. Stereotypically vampires are seen as something terrifying but this vampire portrays another different version of a vampire (sub genre).

Conventions of a movie trailer:What are movie trailers suppose to do? Trailers inform potential audiences about a film with the purpose of engaging to the audience to go to the cinema.

The conventions of a movie trailer: Showing bits of clips of the actually movie to inform the audience what’s it’s about

and mostly what genre it is. Big bold title usually shown in the end to not only it’s big enough to remember and

it’s shown at the end so that you can remember it better but to also tell you what’s the whole movie is called.

A male narrator narrates the trailer because they tend to have deep voices than women.

The appropriate colours used to relate to the genre to detonate about the genre explicitly.

Trailers last for at least 2 mins so that the audience might find it less boring and easier to remember the whole trailer & if it’s a really good trailer that lasts 2 min, it leaves the audience determined to watch the movie e.g. action ( what happens to the main characters etc.).

Has appropriate music linking to the mood, scene, genre to engage to the audience e.g. happy cheery music in a romantic fantasy scene or fast dramatic music in action/horror.

Dark Shadow’s TrailerIntroduces with a voiceover (credits and intertitles) as Johnny Depp, which many people love, therefore meets the audience’s expectations because they may think Johnny Depp is an inspiration or aspiration to them.At the beginning of a trailer show’s the main character’s past, informing the audience what’s happening and what may happen next in link to it.Music starts to be gothic/dramatic along with dark gloomy scenes & starts to get upbeat as soon as comedy is shown that gives the audience pleasure because it makes you want to get involved and see more of the scenes shown.Lots of close up shots and fast pace which engages the audience because it makes them feel part of the scene.The start of the pace begins to be slow and then fast in the end which relates the mix of genres that gives the audience please by revealing different genres put together in one trailer.Dialogue of the character is old which intrigues the audience because you wouldn’t think an old dialogue would be used in a modern movie.Special effects used e.g. explosions, fire, to emphasis the movement and action that allows the audience to loose track of their reality and make them feel involved in the scene.

Dark Shadows is a hybrid of gothic, comedy and fantasy.This meets the audience’s expectation and also engages their attention because the more genres used, the better it is and also shows the intertextuality between the genres. Directors and Producers use hybrid genres to create a more commercially successful film that will appeal to a wider audience and in result produce a larger profit. Hybrid genre films are also important because the majority of people that go to cinemas are usually in a group of individuals with different tastes, so watching a film that contains different elements may suit many diverse people which would be more successful in the film industry. E.g. an action movie aimed at men will increase its audience but by also including elements of romantic drama within the plot also appeals to women therefore gains more audiences.The idea of Genre can be described in the following ways to d

Hybrids help to develop genres and keep it fresh because the more genres used the more plots in a scene can happen. Hybrids are there to make the audience feel less bored of one genre itself. By involving 2 more genres allows a combination of different feelings towards each genres shown. E.g. Gothic romance and comedy: Gothic: You might feel the adrenaline and tense as something reaches to the climax, Romance : You would feel pleasure or enjoy the romance between a couple, Comedy: You would laugh at something funny that’s in the scene.Also another purpose of hybrids, even if it retains an existing audience by accompanying them, it can also attract a new one by identifying their tastes of what genres they may like.

Twilight Breaking Dawn 2 TrailerIt connects to the audience by:The narrator is Bella (Kirsten Stewart) which will gain many audience’s attention because it involves a celebrity endorsement. Dramatic music with fast scenes make them as if they are part of the fantasy/ in another world .Different actors and actresses (Robert Pattinson, Kirsten Stewart) play their role in the trailer therefore it attracts the audience especially those who are big fans of twilight.Different scenes showing different problems that allows the audience to question about it and figure the answer for themselves when they are actually watching the movie. Also leaves the audience the urge to watch it.

Black san serif title spaced out on the top of the poster to show the name of the film

Blonde girl dressed in whiteLeaving blood on the wall. Blood represents horror, death etc. which could suggest the girl could be evil. Also the blood is in shape of a demon/Satan which explicitly shows the genre is horror/thriller and tells the audience, that’s the culprit/villan.

Sub heading is in a small font that gives you a hint what the film is about.Cracked walls indicated heavy action is involved or can indicate something caused the cracks on the wall which is mysterious.

Bright lighting near the title and the blood to show the main parts of the poster. Dark lighting around the border of the poster and near the girl which indicates the girl is mysterious and could be evil.The background shows a room (maybe the girl’s room) which also may leave the audience thinking to why or what’s happening in a small room.

Background colour is gray and white maybe to imply something good may turn into something evil .

Trailer Dark Shadows WebsiteShows action and movement which engages to the audience as it makes them want to feel apart of the adventure. Shows different bits of scenes.Informs the audience about the celebrities taking part in the actual film. E.g. Johnny Depp Tells you the date at when the film will realised at the cinemas.

Shows the Synopsis which tells the audience the past of the character, which may interest the audience and leaving them unquestioned and more curious. Shows the gallery of the film (different images of the film).Informs the audience about the cast and filmmakers. E.g. Tim BurtonShows different links to where you can by the DVD or which cinema the film is shown at.Shows downloads of posters

How the audience have changed since early days of cinema:From before to now, the audience’s taste in genres still change depending on how good it’s made.Because the audience’s tastes changes, so does the expectations change too. This means the demographic changes too because a portion of the population may like a genre that another portion of a population might not like.

Demographic groups tended to be conceived along lines of age and gender rather than class. By 1922, 40 million film tickets were sold per week. By 1929 this number had increased to 90 million tickets per week. However, historical events were a huge impact on film industries. E.g. the economic state of the Great Depression demolished into film industry profits. Because of this theatre admissions dropped off by 12 percent to 70 million per week and one year later to 55 million per week. Over the two years - 4,000 theatres went out of business due to the depression. And with the onset of World War II, audience composition changed dramatically and with a lot of male population gone off at war, Hollywood films targeted female audience instead. This contributed to the rise in the 1940s of female film genres such as woman's photography, which appealed to the female audience e.g. wives.