The trailer uses many conventions of horror films to create tension and frighten the audience. It begins with establishing shots that seem normal but then introduces unsettling elements like blood and a scream. Jump scares with sudden loud noises and cuts to black leave the audience wondering what will happen next. Bloody violence and a mysterious connection between a doll and murders further frighten the audience and set up the supernatural thriller elements of the film.

2. Props Charact
ers
Setting Mise en
scene
Camera Sound Other
Weapons,
knife
Young
people,
teenage
rs and
children
, ghosts,
spirits,
vampire
, killer
(usually
male),
Isolated
areas,
woods/fore
st, country
side
Low key
lighting,
colors red
and black,
blood,
chiaroscuro
lighting,
overall dark
and dull,
Extreme close
up to emphasize
to object or
person, tilt to
create
confusion,
establishing
shot, handheld
giving a sense of
verisimilitude,
tracking, point
of view, low and
high angles to
show a conflict
between the
superior and
inferior.
Slow when
something
mysterious
is about to
happen but
fast when
there is
action,
screaming
Short
takes
(editing),
psycholog
ical (sub
genre)

4. Annabelle (2014)
Annabelle is a horror film, directed by John R.
Leonetti. Annabelle is about a man who gave a
doll to his wife as a gift. One day, their home
was invaded by satanic cultists. This led to
violence and terror.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp0hXdmpT
JA

5. The teaser trailer of the film ‘Annabelle’ starts with a
fade in to the logo of the companies involved in
producing and distributing the film. The companies
are Warner Brothers and New Line Cinema which as
both owned by Time Warner (conglomerate). This
implies that the film is major film as the companies
are major companies. The score starts off with the
logos. The score sounds joyful and cheerful.
There is a fade to black then fade to an establishing
shot of the setting. At this moment, everything
seems fine and there is a sense of verisimilitude.
There is a medium shot of a woman walking into a
bright and colorful room. The use of medium shot
allows the audience to realize that she is pregnant.
This makes the audience feel sympathy towards her
because she is seen as vulnerable. We realize the
room she walked into is the room for her new baby.

6. WHAT CODES AND CONVENTIONS HAS BEEN USED?
There is a medium/close up of the doll that allows the audience to examine the doll. The
costume of the doll makes the doll seem innocent, as there is the colors red and white used.
White symbolizes purity and red symbolizes love. However, the fact that the doll has heavy
made up is strange. This is a convention of horror because there is always something strange
that is left for the audience to figure out. The use of make up ruins the innocence of the doll in
which dolls are meant to be. There is a medium shot of the woman placing the doll next to the
other dolls. This juxtaposes the new doll to the other dolls. The other dolls do have make up but
the new one is extreme compared to the other dolls. This is therefore a convention as it scares
the audience as they think the doll is not as innocent as they thought it was. This has been used
in this way so the audience can compare between the good and the bad. The doll next to the
new one has a little rose on her dress compared to the huge rose on the new doll’s dress. The
juxtaposition is a convention of horror as it allows the audience the compare dolls. The
convention has been used in this way to create a tense atmosphere.

7. WHAT CODES AND CONVENTIONS HAS BEEN USED?
The score changes when we see the title of the
producer and it is tense and mysterious. The score is
a convention of horror and is used to create enigma.
The audiences realize something is wrong so start to
get scared. The use of low-key lighting is a
convention of horror and is used to create an
anxious atmosphere. The ambient sound of the
heavy wind makes the situation usual.
The camera moves from the woman to the window.
Unexpectedly, there is blood on the window. Blood
is a convention of horror and is used to create a
sense that danger is close by. The score adds to this
as it starts again with a high volume all of a sudden.
The score is in time with the blood. At this point the
audiences are frightened. There is a scream, which
is also a convention of horror. This is used to attract
the audience and grab their attention. This is
because it happens all of a sudden and they have no
choice but to pay attention to what is going on. The
audiences see a man with a knife in the same place.
A knife is a typical prop used in horror films. The use
of knife builds the feeling of terror the audience
already has. There is cut to black. The use of cutting
to black implies there is something odd and strange.
This scares the audience, as they do not know what
is going to happen.

8. WHAT CODES AND CONVENTIONS HAS BEEN USED?
The woman wakes up and tells her husband that she heard a scream. The use of dialogue (diegetic sound)
frightens the audience as her voice sounds worried. This is a convention because in a typical horror film, the
dialogues of characters sound scared and worried. This is because there are constantly people in danger.
The use of match on action of the husband opening the door emphasizes that he is going. This terrifies the
audience, as they would think that something might happen to him as well. This is a convention because it
makes the audience scared and the terrified feeling is the main purpose of a horror.
The woman walks and there is a voice. The voice whispers, “I like your dolls”. We cannot see the person
saying it, which makes us panic, and we thought the woman was alone in her house. The whisper builds
suspense and is a convention of horror because it feels as if there is some sort of secret about the dolls. The
whisper has been used to create a tense atmosphere. There is a medium shot of a woman holding a doll.
The use of low-key lighting (convention of horror) prevents the audience from seeing her face. The low-key
lighting is used in this way to grab the audiences’ attention. This is because the audience would want to see
her face. As she is an unexpected character, the audience would panic because they do not know what the
woman can do. At this moment the score is tense and suspicious. The tense and mysterious score is a
convention and is effective for the audience. The score adds to the tense atmosphere.

9. WHAT CODES AND CONVENTIONS HAS BEEN USED?
The woman stutters, “My husband is coming
back”. The fact that she stutters makes the
audience feels afraid too as they realize that
she is petrified. This is used in this way to
establish the genre of this film. Characters are
usually scared the most in horror films.
A man with blood on his clothes appears
behind her. Again, blood is a convention and is
used in this way to make the audience realize
that he might be the killer in the film, creating
a tense atmosphere. The blood also makes the
audience be sure that the woman is in danger
and the man would hurt her. There is cut to
black, which makes the audience wonder what
he could do to her. The audience feels
sympathy towards the woman because they
believe she is vulnerable.

10. There is a constant change between a black screen and some actions that are not clear.
This is because of the constant short takes. Short takes are a convention of horror and is
used in this way because it grabs the audiences attention. This is because they do not
know what is going on as the screen quickly cuts to black. This makes the sequence fast.
WHAT CODES AND CONVENTIONS HAS BEEN USED?

11. The camera zooms in to the woman holding the doll on the floor. This makes us panic and we think there is
some sort of connection between the doll and the woman. The woman has blood all over her. The medium
shot allows us to see the letter A on the wall written with blood. This makes the audience wonder what is
special and unique about that letter. Blood is a convention of horror and is used to make the audience
petrified. Plus, it builds up the tense atmosphere.
The camera zooms in the doll and the audiences realize it is the new doll the man bought for his wife. The
blood on the woman drips onto the doll. This is shown through the use of slow motion. The slow motion
emphasizes the dripping of the blood. Blood is a convention of horror and creates a tense atmosphere. This
is because the blood used in this way could imply that the woman’s evilness is passing onto the doll. This
therefore leads the audience to worry. When the blood drips, the score starts. The score starts in time with
the blood dripping. The blood dripping implies that the doll’s innocence is gone and evil has entered. As the
camera zooms in, the blood goes into her eyes, suggesting the evilness has gone through her and evilness is
spreading. This makes the audience timid because they do not know what is special about that doll and what
the couple is going to do. Overall, this trailer has used a range of conventions to reach their target audience.
The convention used is to establish the genre, horror. This is because the main purpose of a horror trailer is
to make the audience frightened.
WHAT CODES AND CONVENTIONS HAS BEEN USED?