By Tayla Debenham-Scott

CONVENTIONS OF GENRE AND FORM

Conventions of Horror:

Blood

Weapons

Isolated Setting

Low Key Lighting

Tense Non-Diegetic Music

Casual Clothing

Make-up (blood, bruises, scars)

Children

Conventions of Trailer:

Writing on the Screen

Shows the Narrative of the Story

Name and Date of the Film at the end of the trailer

Around 2 Minutes Long

USE OF TECHNICAL ELEMENTSMise-en-scene:

Setti ng – Isolated/ everyday setti ng to show that nobody is around to hear when something bad happens in the disequilibrium and an everyday house to make it realistic to the audience.

Lighting – Low key lighting creates mystery and makes the characters anonymous to the audience; making them want to go and watch the film.

Props – Weapons (axes, baseball bat, knives, chainsaws) creates a sense of danger which is conventional for a horror film and masks create a sense of mystery as the audience can’t see their face.

Make-Up – Blood, scars and bruises create a shock for the audience and pale face (white make-up) makes the characters look ill and scary.

Costumes – Casual everyday clothing makes the audience relate to the characters which will intrigue them and make them want to watch the film.

Camerawork:Close-up: A close-up is conventional for horror as the audience are clearly able to see the emotion and expression on the characters face. This is effective because the audience then know what is going on during the scene. Establishing Shot: This shot allows the audience to see the location in which the film is set which is important for the audience to know as they will start to understand what genre it is.

Long Shot: This allows the audience to see what the characters are wearing and be able to relate to them. It is also conventional in a horror film because it means that some characters can be anonymous as the audience cannot see their face from a distance.

Wide Shot: This is conventional in a horror trailer as it is usually used to show when someone is standing behind a character. This allows the audience to understand what is happening.

Sound:Non-Diegetic Music: This music is conventional during a horror trailer because it creates tension for the audience during the disequilibrium of the film and the fast paced editing of the trailer.

Sound effects: Sound effects are very conventional for the sound in a horror trailer because it catches the audience’s attention. Some well known sound effects in horror film is screaming, doors banging, phone ringing and police sirens.

Dialogue: Dialogue is conventional for a horror film trailer because it gives the audience an insight to what is happening in the film. It is important that the audience understand what is happening but they aren’t giving too much away.

Editing:Fast Paced Editing: This is conventional for a trailer of a horror film because it usually happens towards the end of the trailer which is the disequilibrium in the film. This happens because it is when all the bad stuff starts to happen; so they show mini clips of it all fast paced to create tension.

Cross-Cutting: This is conventional for a trailer because it creates tension for the audience as the scenes are cutting back and forth through the action.

Eye line Match: This is conventional for a horror trailer because it allows the audience to understand what is happening because they can see what the character is looking at and why they are reacting the way they are.

WHO ARE YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

Demographic –Gender: Males

Age: 15-25; Teenagers Status: In a relationship

Class: Middle

Psychographic -Reasons why they are the target

audience: They are curious and daring &

enjoy risk taking.

Demographic - Gender: Males

Age: 16-20; teenagers/young adultsStatus: In a relationship

Class: Middle

Psychographic -Enjoying watching films

Hanging out with friendsShopping

Reasons why they are the target audience:

This age group are curious and want to see what their limits are.

Factual: My Research:

HOW TO APPEAL TO THE TARGET AUDIENCEFrom my questionnaire this is what the majority of the audience enjoy in a horror film trailer:

They find sound the most effective in a film trailer and they mostly enjoy tense music

They also enjoy the low key lighting and the isolated setting

If they enjoy the trailer they are most likely going to watch the film

It is important for me to understand what the audience enjoy in a film trailer because I am then able to include this in my own trailer to ensure that the target audience will enjoy my horror trailer.

What they don’t enjoy:

• The gore

• Too scary

• The unsettled feeling after watching a horror trailer

• Puts images in your head that puts you off doing things rather than trying things

What they enjoy in horror films:

Being scared

The suspense

The tension

The narrative (realistic)

Unpredictable twists

Favourite Horror Films:

• Insidious

• Hills Have Eyes

• Paranormal Activity 3

• Sinister

• Saw

• Scream

To appeal to the target audience I have used my questionnaire results to find what they enjoy. This is effective because I now know what to include in my trailer to ensure that is appeals to my target audience and I also now what to avoid as I know what they don’t enjoy. Knowing the audience’s favourite horror films is important because I can research the films, take notes and see what I could make similar.