research for fmp

1. RESEARCH
Millie Southall

2. PRODUCTION
Millie Southall

3. ResearchOverview
• For my production research I want to know more about technical things such as sound, fonts and
colours. I plan on using colours and fonts to make my trailer visually aesthetic. I want to research
more about colour theory in films and what colours mean in films. I want to use colours like reds
and blue but want to understand more about the theory behind those colours. I want to know
about fonts because this will add another layer of meaning to my trailer. In some trailers, the font
changes the entire mood of the trailer.
• I am going to research horror movie trailers instead of the actual horror movie itself. I feel like the
way a movie is portrayed in a trailer can be a lot different to how the movie actually is.

4. Diegetic and Non Diegetic Sounds
• Diegetic sound is sound that comes from the setting of the film. Non-diegetic sound is sound that comes from our world, such as the
soundtrack or scoring. Diegetic sound could include the voices of characters, TV in the background, or music coming from a piano
being played on-screen. Diegetic actually means occurring within the narrative, which is an easy way to distinguish between diegetic
and non-diegetic sound.
• Some examples of diegetic sounds are; Character dialogue. This is the clearest and most used example of diegetic sound. Object
sounds make a film more realistic. For example, if a character walks in the snow, the audience should hear the crunching of their
footsteps. If a character is standing on a busy street, we hear the cars go by and loud talking from all around. Music coming from within
in the film helps the audience become absorbed in a scene. For example, music loudly coming from someone’s headphones. This kind
of diegetic sound is also called “diegetic music” or “source music.”
• Some examples of non-diegetic sounds are;The film’s musical score.This is used to set the film’s tone, change emotions, add drama,
or provide an element of surprise. Sound effects are added for dramatic effect. For example, a record scratch sound added for comic
relief is not heard by the characters in the film. Narration or voice over is used to help explain or reinforce the plot.
• It's important to understand diegetic sound because it's what makes the world of your film feel real. Knowing how to use diegetic and
non-diegetic sound in film will set your film in a specific time and place that the audience can recognize. While non-diegetic sounds can
help stylize your film and help your audience feel the emotion of the scenes you are showing, diegetic sound is what really creates a
film.
• I may also want to consider transdiegetic sound when you're creating a film or a trailer.Transdiegetic sound is sound that switches
from being diegetic to non-diegetic or vice-versa. This sort of sound may be used when transitioning to different locations between
scenes. In my opinion,Transdiegetic sounds make the transitions between scenes a lot smoother and its nice having that link between
scenes.

5. Fonts
• Fonts can be split up into 2 categories; Serif and Sans Serif fonts. Each of
these has their own meaning and can give different meanings to an
audience. “Serif Fonts SayTraditional, Established, andTrustworthy”.We
usually see Serif fonts in more traditional more professional settings such as
newspapers and books.The most notable characteristic of a serif font is the
tail and the decorative strokes, which makes the font distinguishable as a
serif font or not.We would use a serif font if we want our brand to be more
serious and established.
• Sans serif fonts send a completely different message. “Sans Serif Fonts Say
Modern, Approachable, and Clean” The main characteristics of a sans serif
font is the lack of strokes and the clean simple lines. Sans serif fonts give off
a feeling of being casual, informal, friendly, and very approachable.
Companies who want their brands to appear more youthful and relatable
tend to use sans serif fonts.These are usually social medias and clothing
brands I think for my film I am going to use a serif font. I feel
like for what I am creating, I need a serif font because
sans serif creates feelings of approachability and that
is not the feeling I am going for.
MIMIC

6. ColourTheory
• The definition of Film ColourTheory is a theory that states that certain colours in film illicit certain emotions from the audience.
Manipulation of these colours can be used to guide the audience toward the intent of the author, juxtaposed against one another to
send a message, or subverted to create dramatic irony. For example, warm colours in a cold murder scene. This creates a false sense of
warmth. For my film, I am more interested in doing either
complementary colours or triadic colours. In my
opinion these colours are more visually appealing and
will make the viewing experience more pleasant. I
think I can make very contrasting feelings come out
with colour. For example if I use orange and blue.
Orange is a warm colour that brings out feelings of
warmth however it is contrasted by blue which is a
cold colour that shows grief and sadness.

7. Colour Psychology
• Colour Psychology is the study of what complex emotions each hue
can create when mixed with saturation and value. Films use colour to
bring out different emotions in people. For example if the film is
showing a sad scene where the emotion you are meant to feel is
sadness, there will be blue colder undertones. As shown in the
diagram to the right, blue signifies grief and sadness. This scene from
Harry Potter below shows a sad scene and the colours to match.

8. Lighting in Horror Films
• Light from below – this distorts the human face and creates alarming shadows around the eyes and nose. Light from below looks
unnatural because it doesn’t occur in the natural world. Sunlight shines on us from above or the side but never from below. Light from
below has a deeper meaning. It has connotations of light coming from below or coming from hell.
• Other ways of using light are silhouette, spotlighting, underexposure, harsh light (hard light, chiaroscuro), prominent and projected
shadows, shooting through objects (like windows), Shooting through elements ( like a forest)
Lowkey lighting is used throughout the
most horror films. Dark has
connotations of mystery and whats not
there. If the film was light the whole
time you would know exactly whats
there and it would take away all
elements of mystery.
A film that goes against this is
Midsommar. Midsommar uses light in a
clever way because everything is out in
the open, the cult have nothing to hide.
This makes the film a lot scarier because
the villains are in plain sight.

9. SECONDARY AUDIENCE
RESEARCH
Millie Southall

10. ParanormalActivity
From the audience reviews I have read, a problem in this film seems to be
pacing. I think the build up of the film before any sort of climax happens is too
long. I think for a horror film to be effective there needs to be some sort of scary
parts throughout, like small jump scares, hinting towards the main build up of
the film.This film is just a very long build up to a quickly over end.
This movie review makes a comment on how Oren Peli used unknown actors and
had a small budget but that was his vision when making this movie, because for
him both of those things make a better movie.
“I feel like when you do things with such a small budget, it actually makes you be
more creative... and allows you to concentrate more on the story and the
characters. I think that there is something about dirty, gritty and raw filmmaking
that makes it feel a little more natural and makes it easier to connect with the
action.” –Oren Peli
“For a found-footage-style movie, there's a definite advantage in using unknowns,
because it helps sell the illusion that it's real. A known actor would get in the way of
the suspension of disbelief.” –Oren Peli

11. The Conjuring
The reviews for the conjuring were
mainly overwhelmingly good. However a
lot of reviews claimed the film was
predictable. The general public reviews
just say that the film uses the same
conventions as most other horror films an
is nothing different to any other horror
film. Nothing makes it stand out. A lot of
reviews don’t criticise the film like this
and claim it scared them and built up a
good level of suspense.

12. PRIMARY AUDIENCE
RESEARCH
Millie Southall

13. Survey Planning
• For my survey I want to find out peoples opinions on mainly found footage films. I am unsure
weather I want to incorporate elements of found footage into my trailer and I cant decide on my
own so that Is my main focus.
• What is a film trailer you will always remember? I am going to ask this so I can watch film trailers
that people recommend so I can watch them and take notes of memorable things that happen in
trailers.
• Does music strongly change how you feel about a trailer? I want to know how much music effects
the audiences opinions on a trailer.
• What makes you want to watch a film from a trailer? Look for common answers among the
results.
• What makes a horror trailer scary and make you want to watch the film? I am going to make this
a multiple choice question with answers of common things I see in trailers. Such as; Suspense,
silence and jump scares.
• Are found footage films good as horror films? I would like to know the general opinion on found
footage films as a whole.
• What is the scariest type of horror film? I want to know what is the scariest subgenre of horror
film and then I can incorporate some elements of that into it. For example if its slasher, then i can
add knifes and blood to make it scarier.
• A horror film you recommend? I will ask this to expand my knowledge on horror films.

14. Survey - Results From my survey I have come to the conclusion that music is one of the
most important aspects of film trailer.The music can make or break
weather the audience want to watch the movie or not.The music can
change what mood you are feeling about the film. If the music ks happy,
you are very likely not to be feeling scared. If the music is tense then if
there's a jump scare you are more likely to jump.
3. What makes you want to watch a film from its trailer?
The most common answers I got for this question is that that trailer doesn’t give too much away. If the trailer gives too much away then
there is no point in watching the film, because the plot will already be revealed in the trailer. However another common answer was
seeing the storyline. I think you need to have a balance between showing some key parts of the plot versus not giving away too much of
the story line that it ruins the whole film before you even see it.
From this question I got a lot of varied answers. The most
common answer I got was suspense. This will mean lots of
long pauses leading up to something. Jump scares are also
important to lot of people and so is scary music.These three
can all link together and create a great trailer. Scary music
can create tension and music can create a suspenseful build
up which can lead to a jump scare and a climax point in the
trailer.

15. I asked this question because I am not sure if I want to make my
film found footage or not. I originally didn’t want to do found
footage film because I thought they were overdone. However
considering I don’t have access to high quality equipment. Found
footage would be easier to do and will look better.The people who
I asked for my survey said that found footage films are good as
horror films which makes me more likely to film one.
According to my audience, the scariest type of horror film is
psychological.This option got the majority of votes by far.This
means I need to add elements of psychological horror into my
trailer. It doesn’t need to be full of jump scares but needs to be
somethings that gets under your skin. It needs to be more creepy
than scary because that will leave more people remembering my
trailer and want to watch my film.
I asked people to recommend a horror film and the
horror film that was recommended the most was
Blair witch project.This is a trailer I will need to look
into because it is a paranormal film in found footage
style which is something that I want to look into and
probably take inspiration from.

16. Survey Summery
• In conclusion I have learned multiple things from my survey. First of all I have learned what horror fans think of found footage films.
They are not as widely disliked as I first thought. I might incorporate elements of found footage into my trailer but not have the full
thing as found footage. For example I might have someone set up a CCTV camera to ‘catch the ghosts’. I still think the whole thing
being a found footage film might feel lazy as I will not manage to get all horror film conventions in it and it wont feel as scary. I don’t
want my film to feel “overdone” because it is hard to come up with an original concept for a film at the moment.
• I have found that music is a very important aspect of a trailer. I have to carefully pick out a song or multiple songs to fit the tone and set
the mood of the entire trailer. A trailer can make or break a trailer. I do not want to have constant music throughout the trailer but
maybe music building up to a big climax. Lots of horror trailers have orchestral type music or piano music but only one key at a time. I
think if the trailer has piano music it builds up the trailer the most.
• I have also found the most popular subgenre of horror film to be psychological horror.This means I will need to incorporate some
elements of psychological horror into my trailer if I want it to fit the horror my audience find the most scary.

17. Interview
I am going to interview my grandma for my research. She has had multiple paranormal experiences in the house I am basing my film
trailer on.
QUESTIONS
How long did you live on Bishopthorpe Road?
Have you ever had any paranormal experiences in that house?
Have you ever had outside help with what's going on in the house?
Describe something unusual that happened there that you cannot explain.
Was it just you that experienced things or did other people in the house experience it?
Do you believe in spirits?
Did any of this make you want to leave the house?

18. MARKET RESEARCH
Millie Southall

19. Found Footage Films
• A found footage film is a movie where a substantial part of the footage is presented as if it was discovered as video recordings or CCTV
footage.The events on screen are often presented by 1 or more of the characters cameras in real time. For example in Paranormal
activity the footage is CCTV of the home and a hand held camera device. For cinematography, the filming may even be done by the
actors themselves which makes shaky camerawork. This adds realism to the film.
• The most common use of this technique is in horror films, where the footage is usually the ‘last footage’ or the ‘only surviving record’
of the event. The main characters are usually dead or missing by the end of the film.
• Although found footage was originally the name of a different genre, it is now frequently used to describe pseudo-documentaries
made with this narrative technique. Film scholar David Bordwell criticizes this recent usage, arguing that it sows confusion, and
instead prefers the term "discovered footage" for the narrative gimmick.
• Examples of found footage films areThe Blair Witch Project, Cannibal Holocaust, REC, Paranormal Activity, Megan is Missing and
Grave encounters. In filmmaking, the 1980 cult horror feature Cannibal Holocaust is often claimed to be the first example of found
footage.The technique was made popular byThe Blair Witch Project (1999). Found footage has since been used in other successful
films, including Paranormal Activity (2007), REC (2007), Cloverfield (2008) and Chronicle (2012). Reviewing V/H/S forThe A.V. Club,
ScottTobia notes that the genre "has since become to the ’00s and ’10s what slasher movies were to the ’80s."

20. Pseudo-Documentaries
• A pseudo-documentary or fake documentary is a film or video production that takes the form or style of a documentary film but does
not show real events. Instead, scripted and fictional elements are used to tell the story.The pseudo-documentary, unlike the similar
mockumentary, is not always intended as satire or humour.
• Orson Welles gained popularity with his radio show and hoax War of the Worlds which tricked listeners into thinking the Earth was
being invaded by Martians. Film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum says this is Welles' first pseudo-documentary. Pseudo-documentary
elements were subsequently used in his films. For instance, Welles created a pseudo-documentary newsreel which was in his 1941 film
Citizen Kane, and he began his 1955 film, Mr. Arkadin, with a pseudo-documentary prologue.
• Films don’t have to be all Pseudo-Documentary, as exampled above, you can have small snippets of fake events to control your plot
and set a scene.
• Peter Watkins has made several films in the pseudo-documentary style.The War Game (1965), which reported on a fake nuclear
bombing of England, was seen as so disturbingly realistic that the BBC chose not to broadcast it. This could be out of the fear of the
viewer.

21. 1940s-1950s film posters
• Film posters from 1940s-1960s are very distinct with their bright colours and cartoon like drawings.
• The posters from this era all seem to follow a colour scheme of bright yellows, greens and red.This makes them stand out if they were
on show somewhere and will make the audience attracted to the poster so they are more likely to come over and read it. I think these
posters are good for advertisement because the bright colours and the unique style makes them make me want to watch the movie
that they are showing.
• Another thing these posters have in common is that the main characters are always on the front looking up and afraid, all whilst being
very close to each other.This shows that it is a scary film and the feelings you may feel throughout.
• There are some modern day examples of this type of poster for example “Once upon a time in Hollywood”.This is a film released in
2019 but it is set in the 60s so the film poster is fitting to be designed like a vintage poster.

22. Skinwalkers/Mimics
• Animals associated with witchcraft usually include tricksters such as the coyote; however, it may include other creatures, usually those
associated with death or bad omens. They might also possess living animals or people and walk around in their bodies. Skin-walkers
may be male or female. Skin-walker stories told among Navajo children may be complete life and death struggles that end in either
skin-walker or Navajo killing the other, or partial encounter stories that end in a stalemate. Encounter stories may be composed as
Navajo victory stories, with the skin-walkers approaching a hogan and being scared away. Non-Native interpretations of skin-walker
stories typically take the form of partial encounter stories on the road, where the protagonist is temporarily vulnerable, but then
escapes from the skin-walker in a way not traditionally seen in Navajo stories. Sometimes Navajo children take European folk stories
and substitute skin-walkers for generic killers likeThe Hook.
• The skinwalker is ultimately unknowable, because once their true self is revealed, it’s too late for the victims and our only connection to
the truth.That’s what’s so frightening about the skinwalker, our understanding of them and ability to conquer our fear of them will
always be elusive. When you’re alone in the dark in the desert and you hear what sounds like someone calling out for you, it could be a
harmless bird. It could be a vicious mountain lion. It could be an evil witch. It could be anything.

23. Trailers for Paranormal Films
Codes and conventions for horror film trailers;
• A horror film must include tension, if the audience isn’t on the edge of their
seat then the trailer isn’t effective. .The whole point of a horror trailer is to create tension amongst the audience so that they will feel
thrill and excitement as to watching the film.
• The setting in Horror trailers are shown so that the audience can establish it.The setting is normally an isolated location such asThe
woods, abandoned town or haunted empty house.This is a common idea used in Horror films, as the thought of being 'alone' creates
psychological fears amongst people.The thought of being alone can create a feeling that you are actually not alone and makes you
more on edge than before.
• Conventionally, for the soundtrack, horror films will use music that links to the theme of the horror film. For example if it’s a film based
around children and haunted children then nursery rhymes will play.
• The trailer needs to show the best parts. Horror films are meant to scare and thrill the audience so the trailer should be filled with the
most scary scenes and clips from the film.Trailers only last a couple minutes and need to leave the audience with just enough
information to know what the film is about but also leave the audience with questions.
• Horror trailers will have many title cars that appear between shots.This will give information that makes the audience want to watch
more. A common title card to have is “From the director of…”This establishes what other films have been created by the same person.
This could make someone want to watch more if they enjoyed the other films on the title card.The main film title is usually shown at
the end of the trailer when the climax of the trailer is done and the suspense is gone.This is what it was building to.
• Every trailer starts with a disclaimer saying what audience the film is suitable for, this is so if someone isn’t old enough they know its
not appropriate for them so they can stop watching.
Trailers I plan to cover;
Paranormal activity,The Conjuring,The nun ,
Hereditary.

24. ParanormalActivity
The trailer for Paranormal activity is something very different to the usual film trailers.You still see snippets of the film but the majority of
the trailer is watching the audience react to jump scares. I think this is an effective way of doing a trailer because you can see genuine
reactions of normal people and see what you are getting yourself into. I think the way they have done this trailer is very smart.The film is
all CCTV and hand held footage by the family in the film.The trailer is also genuine CCTV footage of people.This kind of makes the trailer
for paranormal activity a found footage film.This is very smart from the director because it all links in together.This trailer is something the
audience will remember and they are more likely to go see it in cinemas with groups of friends because the trailer created some sort of
community.
In colour psychology, green
makes you think of terror, fear
and apprehension. The colour
scheme for this trailer is green
from the night camera and
green tints from the film.This
is a monochromatic colour
scheme and it works very well
for this film.
The title cards for this movie are good because they
link in with the them of the movie also.The font is
glitching and it’s the same font that would say the
date and time in the corner of CCTV footage.This
makes everything in the trailer fit to a theme.

25. ParanormalActivity – Audience Profile
Most people who have watched this film enjoy the film. It is
disliked by 10% which is around 1/5 of the people who have heard
of it.
The majority of people who have watched and enjoyed this film
are millennials. These are people aged between 25 and 40 right
now. So the target audience for paranormal films if you want the
most people to see it will be people aged below 40. Baby boomers
and Gen X still enjoyed the film but their percentage is a lot lower
than millennials.
The amount of men and women that enjoy the film are roughly the
same.There are 4% more men who have heard of this film.This
film was not targeted at a specific gender it was more general.
I think this film has been seen by modern horror fans, which are
more likely to be younger people who weren’t alive to see the
classics. This film takes modern technology and turns it into a scary
concept.The film has adapted to the time and uses CCTV and
cameras in a very smart way and I think the audience that watched
the film match the film profile.

26. The Conjuring
• The trailer for this film is filled with suspense and jump scares. It is a very effective trailer
to put you on the edge of your seat.The colour scheme is dark colours like greys and
black. The trailer sets up the story without giving too much away. I like in the opening
shot you don’t know when the jump scare will be and it establishes a uneasy atmosphere
right form the start.
• The smartest thing about this trailer are the title cards. First of all they give off enough
background information about the film but then they also give information about the
creators of the film and what they have made previously like saw and insidious so you
know what to expect.There is an opening scene which establishes what they do and it
puts you on edge a little bit, however it then skips to another location and they are in a
university teaching.The music turns upbeat and there are title cards in sans serif font.
However, as soon as the location shifts to the house that the film is set in, the music
fades and now every title card that comes up is in a serif font. Every time they are in the
house (The opening scene and when the happy music fades) the atmosphere for the
whole trailer is completely different to any time they are away from the house. It is more
dark and gloomy and full of suspense.You never know when they are safe or when you
are safe from a jump scare.
• This trailer uses music very effectively. The music in the second half starts of quiet and it
uses silence very well. When there is no music the shots are very drawn out and there is
not much going on.This means that even the smallest of sounds will make you jump,
even if it is not something necessarily scary.Then as the music is building you are
waiting for a jump scare and that moment of action at the end of the trailer.This Is a
good use of music because it controls the pace of the trailer.
• Overall I enjoyed this trailer because it established who, what, where and when.These
are all the basic questions I think a trailer needs to answer without giving too much
away.

27. The Conjuring
This is the first font that is shown in the trailer.This creates a
more easy going feeling of approachability. This completely
juxtaposes the first scene where you were being teased with
a jump scare.This font matches the light hearted happy
music in the background. This creates a false sense of safety
within the audience as they will be more relaxed as they
watch and they read these title cards. They remind me of
something from an indie coming of age movie, along with
the music too.
This is a title card that comes up after the happy music fades
out and what is left is slow more eerie music. It is a serif font
which signifies more serious connotations. This could say that
things are getting serious from this point onwards. As soon as
the font changes from a more approachable sans serif font to a
more serious serif font the whole tone of the trailer changes. It
is no longer relaxed and everything is more tense.

28. CENSOR
• I am choosing to study this trailer because of the use of colours used in the film. I wouldn't say it is a classic horror movie but more a
psychological thriller.The trailer isn’t full of jump scares but focuses more on building up a clear story line without giving too much
away and then using colours to make the shots more artistic and have some deeper meaning. The whole film is about a woman who’s
job Is deciding on the level of censorship that horror films have and she gets to decide on what is onTV.There are lots of shots in a
different aspect ratio so you can visualise what it would be like to watch it onTV back in the 90s.
• There are also lots of blue and red scenes in the film.This could be to mimic some sort ofVHS glitch filter.There are only certain scenes
filmed like this and it could be to represent her mind, because she is unsure what is real and what she is imagining, so having these
colours could be just representing her glitching mind.
The contrast in colours here could represent some sort of conflict of interest, which looks like could be happening with the two girls in
white.This is smart because you can visually see what they feel and then wont get to know the entire story line behind it unless you
watch the movie. Also the blue and red make some very beautiful shots and some aesthetic scenes that you don’t usually get in horror
films. However there is still lots of lowkey lighting to make it conform to general horror conventions

29. Horror film logos
A lot of horror film logos from before 2000’s look like they have been
written in blood (font wise).This matches with the theme of the films back
then as a lot of them were slasher films or films that would involve a lot of
blood or a typical murderer. In present time, there is an increase in
psychological horror where the logos look more clean and simple, it is
usually just the movie title in a serif font.
Hereditary is an example of
a simple logo with a sans
serif font. It is an effective
logo because its easy to
look at and it has a good
colour scheme and hints at
the movie.
The logo for split is a very effective logo.The image shows his split personality by having
multiple people coming from his shadow, and the fact that there is one dominant shadow
might signify that there is one dominant personality.You can get all of this just from looking
at the logo.The words themselves are in a serif font but have been split up into different
panels, this is also effective because it shows the word but visually.

30. Horror Film Posters
• Film posters are a form of advertisement used to promote up and coming films, just like a trailer but
a hard copy. Because tis a hard copy it can be put on bus stops, billboards and everywhere online.
This means it needs to catch the audiences attention enough to bring them to the trailer. And then
share the information that they have learned, to get as many people seeing the film as possible.
• Horror posters use a dark and dull colour scheme –This colour scheme reflects the content of the
film, because darkness is linked with fear and the unknown. Lack of colour shows a lack of life which
also links to the film itself as horror films will always have death and decay.
• Red/Black Colour scheme – Horror movie posters also use colour to sometimes show which
subgenre of horror the film is.The red and black colour scheme represents the darkness in the black
and then blood in red.This is usually used for slasher films.
• Main image –There is usually a main image on the poster which is the main characters face very
close up to the screen. This is conventionally the protagonist looking very vulnerable, in low key
lighting with a low angle camera shot.
• An Eye-catching Title – Most posters position their titles at the bottom of the page, usually just with
a few words on a single line for simplicity and easy reading.
• Taglines – While the image and the title usually attract the audiences’ attention, the taglines are
used to sell it and provide context which hopefully will interest the reader into watching the film.
Mostly a short simple sentence or question is used in a creepy style to entice the reader into
watching. For example “Rest in pieces” For final destination. This hints at the death in the film and it
also is a play on words because they won’t rest in peace as it is usually a disturbing death.

31. Psychological Horror Posters
• This subgenre of horror has a completely different take on posters to advertise their movies.
There is a strong theme of red and blue.This goes
against general horror conventions as horror films tend
to go for a dark dull colour scheme. Psychological films
usually have a conflict in your mind so the contrast in
colours might represent the contrast in your mind. I
think the contrast in colours makes the films more
visually aesthetic and good to watch. It doesn’t take
away from the h0rror factor because the horror in the
film is still the same.
Conventions of psychological horrors;
• Red and blue colour scheme. The juxtaposition
between the colours could show conflict of the mind.
Red and blue also stereotypically represent good and
evil. For example in video games blue is your team and
red is the enemy.
• The main character is the main image and the main
focus of the poster.

32. The Conjuring;The Devil made me do it
Religious imagery here is
juxtapositioning the actual contents of
the film. It is a demonic possession so
is far from holy and good. However
this shows there is some hope
because the only thing that is lit up is
the cross.This could show there is
hope in God.
Red and black colour
scheme fits in with
conventions of horror film
posters. Red signifies evil
and darkness and black is
just the lack of light.
The tagline of the film is short and it
tells you exactly what the film will
contain “The demonic case that
shocked America” It doesn’t give too
much away but it also lets people
know that it will be some sort of
paranormal investigators because
they are investigating a case.
The poster also shows off its
main characters on screen
immediately. This will make
people go see it if they have
seen other films with these
established actors in it. It also
shows them in a vulnerable
position so the audience know
they are the protagonists.

33. Pet Sematary
The colour scheme is red and
black again which is classic
horror film colours that are used
in lots of posters an trailers. Red
can foreshadow lots of blood
and more graphic scenes.
“Sometimes dead is
better” This tagline does
not give anything away
about the film explicitly
but it likes to the title and
when you watch the film,
you realise why dead is
better.This is good and
simple and links to the
movie.
Religious imagery.
All very dark and dull colours until
you get to the cats eyes. This makes
you think that the cat will have
some sort of significance to the plot
of the movie.
The girl in the foreground looks like
she will have importance because she
is stood right in the middle. However
you can’t see her face or her facial
expression because the lighting is
coming from behind. This leaves an
element of mystery towards who she
is and what her importance is to the
film.

34. Titane
The film poster has the main
character centred but she does
not look vulnerable on any way.
This is reflected in the film
because although she is the main
character, she is also not the
protagonist and is not vulnerable
in any way.
I like how they use primary
colours in this poster.The
colours make it stand out
and they also reflect some
of the colours in the film.
From looking at this poster
you would not know it is a
horror film. It doesn't give
any indication of what
genre the film is therefore
makes you want to watch
the trailer.
The film title is In a big bold
sand serif font.This makes
the title really easy to read.
It also stands out against
the blue background colour
a lot.
Something I noticed about this
poster is that there is no
tagline. This film gives away no
indication on what sort of film
it is and no indication towards
any of the plot.This is not a
very stereotypical film poster
that you would find.

35. Ghost Stories
The posters for Ghost Stories are not
conventional posters for horror films. They use
colour and strange imagery to portray something
scary rather than using dark dull colours.The
colours that are being used are not conventional
but they will make the posters stand out from
other posters and maybe want to make you watch
the film more.

36. Bibliography
• Found Footage (Film Technique) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Found_footage_(film_technique)
• Pseudo-Documentaries https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudo-documentary
• Codes and Conventions of horror trailers https://prezi.com/emoczz-a7fo2/codes-and-conventions-of-horror-
trailers/#:~:text=A%20horror%20film%20MUST%20include,as%20to%20watching%20the%20film.
• What Is diegetic sound? https://clipchamp.com/en/definition/what-is-diegetic-sound-
film/#:~:text=Diegetic%20sound%20is%20sound%20that,piano%20being%20played%20on%2Dscreen.
• What is the difference between diegetic and non-diegetic sounds in films? https://www.masterclass.com/articles/diegetic-sound-and-
non-diegetic-sound-whats-the-difference#3-examples-of-diegetic-sound
• Sans Serif VS Serif? https://www.impactplus.com/blog/sans-serif-vs-serif-font-which-should-you-use-
when#:~:text=The%20answer%20is%20simply%20in,hence%20the%20%E2%80%9Csans%E2%80%9D).
• 8 spooky lighting techniques https://nofilmschool.com/2016/10/8-spooky-lighting-techniques-you-can-use-your-horror-film
• Skinwalkers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin-
walker#:~:text=In%20Navajo%20culture%2C%20a%20skin,disguise%20themselves%20as%20an%20animal.
• Skin-Walkers https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/50931/1/skinwalkers-the-creepy-creatures-terrifying-tiktok
• Conventions of horror movie posters https://tylermills1994.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/to-be-edited-horror-production-film-poster-
codes-conventions/
• Top 25 Oren Peli Quotes https://www.azquotes.com/author/11479-Oren_Peli
• Paranormal Activity Reviews RottenTomatoes https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/paranormal_activity/reviews?type=user