2. IDEAS FOR MY PRODUCTION…
Our film is going to include teenagers as this is a
relatable age to our target audience. Another film that
uses teenagers as the main characters is Carrie, this
ensures that my production will be successful and
conventional for the horror genre due to previous films
success.
The use of a normal family home in the film Carrie shows that our
production will be successful due to previous use of this location being
conventional for the horror film. Other films that use a family home
are; MAMA, The Conjuring and Annabelle. This is a conventional
setting for horror films as although they don’t look typically scary from
the outside, horrifying things always go on inside, suggesting to the
target audience that these events could happen to them too. Different
lightings could be used to represent the house in different
conventional ways, we will use natural day light when the house is first
shown but once the trailer progresses low key lighting will be used as
this is more conventional for horror films.
3. IDEAS FOR MY PRODUCTION…
This image from The Conjuring shows one
of the younger characters screaming due
to her fear of the house being haunted,
this tells me that screaming involved as
diegetic sound in our production is
effective and conventional for the horror
genre. Screaming tells the target audience
that the character is in danger which
connotes negativity and violence,
conventional for the horror genre. We will
also be using crying in our production, this
signifies that character is vulnerable and
danger is soon to come.
Paranormal Activity is a successful horror
film that uses the idea of doors slamming
when no one is actually moving them
(this is scary and conventional for horror
films as it suggests that there’s a
ghostly/demonic presence). We have
included this feature in our production too
as it is a previous successful and
conventional scene/sound in horror films,
ensuring our product is appealing to the
target audience.
4. IDEAS FOR MY PRODUCTION…
This image of the school location from Carrie tells us that our
production will be conventional and successful due to previous
success. A school setting is appealing to our target audience as several
of them are teenagers, who would then identify with the characters in
the film and their social environment.
Paranormal activity is a previous successful horror film similar to ours that
uses low key lighting and cameras as a prop. Camera’s are conventional for
psychological/found footage horror films as it offers a scare factor of
previous demonic events that have happened. We are using this feature in
our production as our target audience said that they found this appealing.
Previous success of this also tells us that we are following the conventions
of the horror genre, helping to build up suspense within the trailer.
There has been a use of rocking
chairs in previous films such as The
Conjuring, which was conventional for
the horror genre due to its slow
rocking movement, especially when no
one can be seen sitting on the chair.
This tells me that our product will offer
scare factor to the target audience.
5. IDEAS FOR MY PRODUCTION…
Establishing shots are used in
several horror films. These two
images from the
psychological/demonic horror
The Devil Inside show a use of
establishing shots, which tells
me that the use of the
camerawork in my production
will be conventional for the
gene and appealing.
Establishing shots enable the
audience to see the whole
setting of the scene and
gather some idea of the
significance it has during the
trailer. My target audience also
said they’d expect to see this
shot used in a horror trailer.
This image of a close-up from the MAMA trailer tells me that by using
this camera shot I am enabling the use of conventions within my product.
This camera shot is conventional and appealing to my target audience
as it shows the emotion of the character (antagonist = anger and
demonic, protagonist = worry and upset) when a close-up is used on a
protagonist then this is normally paired with crying or screaming (such as
the image from MAMA) conveying that the character is vulnerable and in
distress, conventional for a horror film which we will include in our
production.
High/low angles are shown in several horror films,
such as MAMA, which tells me that including them in
my production will ensure I have followed
conventions of the horror genre. This angles are so
effective because they allow the characters to be
seen in different ways. We will use a high angle like
MAMA does in the image to show the vulnerability of
a distressed and panicked character, which is
conventional for a horror film due to its high use and
appealing to the target audience.
6. IDEAS FOR MY PRODUCTION…
Dark clothing is often
used in horror films
to convey death and
negativity, often
associated with the
antagonist. One of
these characters is
Jason from The
Friday The 13th
franchise, which
makes him look
scary and
dangerous. This tells
me that the use of
dark clothing in our
production will be
conventional and
appealing to our
target audience.
Old wooden furniture such as rocking chairs, fireplaces
and mirrors are often used in horror films, this is
because it makes the atmosphere scarier and often
makes creepy sounds such as creaking and banging. A
mirror can be seen in the image from Paranormal
Activity 3 which tells me that this is a conventional and
appealing feature, ensuring success for my production.
A character, such as the antagonist, could also be seen
standing in the mirror making the target audience
wonder what’s going to happen next.
Normal clothing is used for
several teenagers in horror
films, such as Carrie, as it
helps the target audience to
relate to the characters they
are watching. This tells me
that my use of costume will
be successful to the target
audience and suitable for the
horror genre. Blood may also
be used when they are in
distress.
7. SCRIPT…
From researching into other
successful film scripts such
as Paranormal Activity and
The Conjuring I can see that
I have followed the
conventions of a horror film
trailer script. We have used
limited dialogue due to the
amount of characters in our
production and also due to
the fact that we will use
sound and camerawork to
build up tension instead,
which the target audience
finds appealing (such as
close-ups to show emotion,
screaming to stress that a
certain character is in danger
and fast paced non-diegetic
sound which will help build
up suspense for the
audience and can all be
found in various successful
horror films such as The
Conjuring, MAMA and
Carrie.. Similar to other film
trailers like The Happening,
we have used a smaller
amount of scenes, using
short takes and different shot
types instead, another
conventional element.
Sound within our script/production will consist of screaming, crying, demonic laughter, clocks ticking, floor
boards creaking and doors slamming. There will also be a strong use of non-diegetic sound which builds up as
the trailer progresses. These are all conventional sounds to find in horror film trailers, which I have found from
previous research (MAMA, Paranormal Activity) ensuring me that my product will follow the conventions of
horror and remain appealing to the target audience.
8. CASTING…
Teenage characters within horror films is widely
conventional and appealing with the target audience
(Carrie). This is because the age of the characters they
are watching is similar to themselves, offering the chance
for the target audience to relate to them. (this also gives
a sense of realism). This is a technique that we have
used in our production, with the four main characters
being teenagers aged seventeen-eighteen, which allows
us to know that we’ve followed the conventions of a
horror film and listened to our target audience and made
the film appealing to them through the use of our casting.
Our antagonist, James, is also a protagonist to start off
with which offers a twist to the storyline, this is also
reflected in the film Carrie which sees her eventually
grasp her supernatural powers and take revenge
(several other films see this happen too, such as The
Conjuring and the Paranormal Activity franchise). This
once again ensures that conventions have been met for
a horror based production, enabling success for my
product.
9. SHOT LIST….
From looking at our shot list it is clear to see that we’ve followed
the conventions of previous other horror films such as Carrie
and The Devil Inside due to similarities. The opening scene for
the trailer of Carrie is an establishing shot of her house, a main
location within the film. As it can been seen from my shot list,
our group have also decided to use an establishing shot of the
films main location which is a house too, this sets the scene and
storyline for the target audience whilst also continuing previous
conventions within the genre. We have a number of title
sequences in our trailer, styled with a black background and
white text which is found appealing to the target audience. The
Devil Inside uses the same technique as this, with several title
sequences breaking up the scenes within the trailer (this is also
used in several others such as Carrie and MAMA) this shows
me that I am following conventions of horror films, assuring that
my product will be professional and suitable for the genre. Fast
paced editing has been used at the end of the trailer for Carrie
to build up tension for the target audience and a scare factor,
this is something that we have decided to include in our
production with several short takes, fast paced editing and fade
to blacks paired with very loud and dramatic non-diegetic sound.
Our production plan Carrie location Our production plan The Devil Inside title scene
10. FONTS… When deciding on fonts that would feature within my ancillary products I
conducted research into previous successful horror film posters and
magazines such as MAMA, The Conjuring and Sinister, to assure that I used
a continuation of conventions throughout all of my production pieces whilst
also remaining appealing to my target audience. I also want to make sure that
my ancillary products are original and eye catching to create interest for my
film. Several horror posters and magazines for films such as One Missed Call
and MAMA are rather simplistic but also bold with block capitals, which is why
I made sure that all of my font options were styled like this too. The bold font
style connotes danger and violence which are conventional connotations for
the horror genre, due to this atmosphere being portrayed within the trailer too.
The colour of the font differs depending on the background used on the
poster/magazine, a dark black/brown background often sees white be used
as this offers a strong conventional contrast, whereas black or red font would
be used on a lighter background. This is something that I have also
considered for my ancillary products and an important feature in also
appealing to my target audience, ensuring that my ancillary products are
effective, conventional and professional. I have chosen to use two different
fonts on my ancillary products as there is often this technique featured, for
two different headings/titles. Some text such as the style used for Sinister is
messy and looks like blood is dripping, just like the second font on my ideas.
However, others look bolder and this is why I have decided on two separate
fonts, to offer both conventions. I will also be using the font styles that my
target audience found the most appealing; Crimes Times and SF Gushing
Meadow.
11. ANCILLARY PRODUCTS…
From research into horror
magazines I can see that my
detailed draft does not follow all
of the conventions and some
further improvements are
needed, such as more
headlines, images and a better
layout (such as route of the
eye). However, there are some
conventions followed such as
the title of the promoted film
and the information being
placed at the bottom of my
magazine cover, which tells me
this is appropriate placing.
There is also a mixture of font
colours and styles which can be
seen on Fangoria magazine
too.
Poster draft Magazine draft Sinister poster Fangoria magazine featuring
Insidious
Before completing a rough and then detailed draft for my ancillary products I did some genre research to make sure that I was using all of the appropriate
conventions for form and genre and include appealing elements to my target audience. There are clear similarities between my poster draft and the
poster for Sinister, such as a character from the film featured as the main image covered in blood (the red person on my draft is to suggest that in the
final ancillary product they will be covered in blood instead) this tells me that I am following correct conventions that make the target audience interest in
the film by suggesting that there is danger and violence amongst the characters, the title of the film also gives off this impression by the font style chosen.
There is also text on the top of both posters, which allows the route of the eye layout to be used, highly conventional for form of all posters. I have also
included my billing block at the bottom of my poster draft along with the release date as I found that this is conventional for all posters including those of
the horror genre. For my final poster production I will probably use a blank background or different location.
