1. Codes and Conventions of the Horror genre.
•15 or 18 Certification.
•Extensive use of narrative enigma.
•Exploration of narrative themes.
•Point of view shots.
•Low angle shots.
•Slow pace of editing, builds tension, long takes.
•Predictable narrative content (follows format).
•Clear binary oppositions (e.g. good vs. evil).
•Use of low key lighting.
•Dominant, hegemonic representation of gender. - i.e. a female victim and male
murderer etc.
•Often hybridized.
•Primary target audience – male and female, 16-24.
•Extensive use of both close-ups and extreme close-ups.
•Incidental non-diegetic sound.
•Distorted diegetic sound.
•Extensive use of narrative off-screen space.
•Young/teenage, vulnerable characters.
•Use of CGI, FX.
•Use of hand-held camera to create a completely different perspective
(quirky/amateur/realism) and also to entice the audience.
•Ghosts.
•Moving objects.
•Random sounds.
•Restless sleeps.
•Barking dogs.
•Weapons – knives.
•Dark spaces.
•Open spaces.
•Lots of windows.
•Blood.
Products similar to our film that use these codes and
conventions.
•Paranormal Activity trilogy.
•The Devil Inside.
•Signs.
•The House at the End of the Street.
•Sinister.
•Cloverfield.
Emily Mason. Paranormal Productions.