Media studies presentation of initial idea

1. Presentation of initial idea
JAMES THOMPSON

2. What is the premise?
 The trailer will begin with two teenage boys who are walking through some woods, on
their mobile phones. They seem relaxed, and engage in conversation which
immediately portrays them as being rather dim. Everything is going well, until one of
them realizes they are out of mobile reception.
 Darkness is drawing in, and the boys decide to head home. However they suddenly
catch glimpses of a masked man in the woods, watching them. They hear noises
circling them, and freeze in terror, before one of them suggests that they run into the
woods to climb up a tree and hide.
 The trailer suddenly shows glimpses of the boys being chased by the masked man, and
the boys trying to fight the villain. In this section, which will be heavily montage
editing, the main bulk of the action will unfold, and will be heavily horror-based rather
than comedy-based. The trailer will end with one of the boys pulling off the villain’s pig
mask, revealing the man beneath.

3. What is the genre and what conventions
will be used?
 The trailer will belong to the comedy-horror genre. This genre, rather simply, means the
combining of the horror and comedy genres. In theory this is simple to understand, however in
practice a lot needs to be followed in order to make in the genre, as conventions of both the
comedy and horror genres need to be understood, as does how to go about combing the two.
Conventions of the genre itself also need to be understood, with elements such as gallows humor
and spoof/parody elements.
 Conventions of the genre that I will be exploiting in the trailer include gallows humor, parody and
spoof elements, using satire on horror clichés and changing the archetype plot of a horror movie
for comedic effect. This can be seen towards the end, where the boys try and shoot the villains
legs rather than his head. Scenes of this nature would not usually be found in horror movies.
Gallows humor will obviously be used because the trailer will be making light of dark events that
are happening (psycho killer trying to murder people.) Parody and spoof elements will of course
be exploited as well as the trailer is partly parodying how horror movies play out and their
predictable clichés such as cell reception running out and the victims making stupid decisions.

4. What films am I parodying and what films
have I analysed?
 For my research I looked into the comedy-horror genre, to find out about the genre
conventions, the reception that the genre has and of course other films in the genre.
Noticeable films in the genre include Scary Movie, The Cabin in the Woods, Tucker &
Dale vs. Evil, Shaun of the Dead, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. These
films have, on the whole, been received positively by critics and the general public
alike, and have been successful in making people laugh as well as being effective in
building atmosphere and intrigue (I think this especially applies to Shaun of the Dead
and The Cabin in the Woods.)
 I am parodying cliché horror movies, where the plot is fairly predictable and the victims
make stupid decisions. Horror movies which, at least in my opinion, fit this criteria
include “Halloween,” “The Blair Witch Project,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “The
Hills Have Eyes,” “Wrong Turn,” “Wolf Creek,” “The Collector,” and “Paranormal
Activity.”