1. Evaluating my Film Trailer Q1: In what ways did your media project develop, challenge or use constructions of real media products?

4. How I used, challenged and developed these conventions I followed this convention in that I only used titles, and no voiceover, in my trailer. However, I challenged this convention by extending it, by removing almost all natural sound from the trailer. The only natural sound used was the sound of the playground used at the very beginning, which was subverted by the harp-strings and the way we cannot see the children making the noise. This makes the audience question whether the sound is natural, which created the creepy and unnatural effect I was looking for. Use of titles/voiceover: (In horror trailers, titles are typically favoured over voiceovers). How I used/challenged/developed it Convention

5. How I used, challenged and developed these conventions My trailer placed great emphasis on the music, using it as cues for visual ‘tricks’ by combining it with particular footage. (e.g. The ‘siren’ in the music was coupled with the sped-up clip of the circling pan of the girl.) This was influenced by the use of the record jumping in the ‘Strangers’ trailer. The music was intended to make the genre of the trailer (horror, with elements of psychological) very clear, through the subversion of childlike innocence (via the music box style of the track). However, I challenged this convention by relying solely on the music for this, as the footage itself did not contain anything intrinsically ‘horror’. (This itself helped contribute to the psychological theme of the trailer.) The use of music. The music often links to the genre, and may be linked to visual effects of some kind.

6. How I used, challenged and developed these conventions As noted in much of my audience feedback (see Question 3) my trailer did not reveal the plot very clearly. While it introduced the main character (the girl with the dark hair) and implied that she is important, due to her prominence in the trailer (we don’t see anyone else) it is not implicitly stated, which challenges the conventional introduction of the characters. However, I also subverted the introduction of the characters as we do not hear the girl speak, and learn nothing of her personality (we don’t even know her name). This links to Joss Whedon’s observation that in horror films, victims become ‘disposable’, and that their names and personalities are irrelevant to the audience. However, the subversion may also make her less effective as an audience surrogate, as we have no Traditional trailers introduce parts of the plot (but not the ending – it often cuts off after revealing the ‘climax’ of the film). In horror trailers, this includes introducing the characters (or victims) and implying the presence of a villain (but not necessarily showing them to the audience).

7. How I used, challenged and developed these conventions information about her, and cannot ‘get to know her’ as a result. I wanted to make the girl a nameless, ‘blank canvas character’, to try emphasise the psychological elements of the trailer. Traditional horror trailers combine scary themes (e.g. darkness, blood, death) and footage of people appearing scared or upset (or triumphant in the case of some villains) to create an effect on the audience. I completely subverted this in my trailer, removing any explicit images of horror, and having the actress give very little emotional response during filming (e.g. in the circular pan shots). As a result, the psychological and horror aspects rely completely on editing of clips and the music, particularly the combination of the two.