1. Evaluation Question 1
Our trailer uses, develops, and challenges traditional forms and conventions of real horror
trailers in many ways.
One convention of a horror trailer is that at the start there is a group of people, usually
youths in a relaxed atmosphere, going about their everyday lives. Our trailer uses this
convention; we have our characters at college on a table chatting, later we also have the
three guys walking together.
You can see the similarities between our trailer and this professional trailer for the film,
‘final destination 4’. A group of young people chatting to each other in a normal
environment. Another similarity is that we have the same amount of characters as that film.
Another convention is that the trailer will show teasing shots of the killer throughout. ‘.Com’
goes along with this well in the way that you never see the killers face, only ever the back of
our killer of a distorted view.
In the final destination film the killer is actually death, therefore the teasing shots are of
dangerous situations, however the premise is the same in that you don’t usually see the
actual death, just the build up to it. We also used this convention, as we showed the killer
chasing the victims and a shot of someone hanging but never an actual killing scene.

2. Also a focus point of all horror trailers is the locations used during the film. Our locations
were similar to some horror films in that we used an old building (the church) which is
usually considered a safe space and somewhere you wouldn’t necessarily feel worried of
scared to be in.
In the final destination trailer this building is a speedway racetrack which you would usually
think of as structually sound. We used a local church which is a very old building and we
used close ups like this trailer of the building.
A massive convention for horror trailers is that the killer is seen as an indistructable/
untouchable force that cant be taken down by anyone. A good example of this is in the
horror movie ‘scream’ where the killer whears a mask and a big hood which covers his face
and protects his identity. Our killer is very similar in this way, using the hood so that you
cant see his face properly. This is effective in adding to the mystery and suspense of the
trailer whilst also making the killer even scarier.
We have also used a similar low camera angle on some shots of the killer, this is a regular
occurance of horror trailers and conveys the power and dominance of the killer.

3. One way in which we challenge codes and conventions of horror trailersis that most of our
killings happen in broad daylight. We did this to try and show that our killer isnt the usual
careful killer but an average person. We really were trying to enforce that anybody could be
a psycho killer.
Another convention in our horror trailer is
that most films use deserted settings such
as lunatic asylums and hospitals with no
people in to create an unnerving effect. In
our case we used a graveyard, which is
classic iconography of horror which
represents death. Also the camera angle in
this shot is quite typical of horror films, a
long shot which makes the audience feel as if they are watching and spying on the killer,
seeing something that they shouldn’t be.
Our killer is unusual in the way that it challenges how we usually see in horror movies that
the killer chosses a specific spot to perform his killings or take his victims. However the killer
in ‘.com’ kills seemingly at random with no regard for safety of keeping himself hidden. You
can see this in our trailer as you see the killer in the church, aleyway and beach. We were
hoping that this will create fear in the audience as they will feel that no where and no one is
safe.
In conclusion I would say that we have a good balance in that we use some codes and
conventions effectively to make our trailer look more professional and be more scary. On
the other hand we have challenged and developed some conventions to set our trailer apart
from the rest and give it a fresh new feel, also avoiding cliches and overused elements of
horror.