The document discusses genre conventions in horror thriller films. Common themes include the supernatural, religion, insanity, the living dead, revenge, and good vs evil. Settings often involve haunted houses, suburban homes, rural areas, and graveyards. Technical conventions used include canted angles, long tracking shots, point-of-view shots, extreme close-ups, sudden sounds, slow pacing, and depth of field. Symbols of black, red, weapons, and religious icons are also discussed. Main characters are the hero/victim and villain. The media product challenges conventions by filming during the day and using slowed music instead of rising tension music.

1. EVALUATION QUESTION 1
In what ways does your media products use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?
Jessica Underwood

2. GENRE CONVENTIONS (HORROR THRILLER
FILM TRAILER)
COMMON THEMES:
• The supernatural
• Religion (religious cults such as Satanism are commonly used in films with this
particular theme)
• Insanity
• The living dead (zombie apocalypse, vampires..)
• Revenge
• Good vs evil
SETTING:
• Haunted houses are most commonly used in the horror/thriller genre, and are
usually set in old, derelict or abandoned houses. Conventional haunted houses
• Suburban homes
• Rural settings
• Grave yards

3. TECHNICAL CONVENTIONS:
• Canted angles are typically used within the horror genre in order to create
confusion as well as to disorientate the audience.
• Long tracking shots create tension as there are no cuts to divert the viewers
attention, keeping the audience focused on the screen.
• POV shots allow the audience to see things from the characters perspective. This is
particularly effective in horror films where there is a clear protagonist and
antagonist in the film. POV shots from the protagonists perspective allows the
audience to place themselves in the characters shoes - viewing what the victim
can see in scary situations cause the audience to become scared themselves.
However, an antagonistic POV shot could act as dramatic irony, and therefore
could build up feelings of suspense within the audience as the victim could be
shown onscreen unaware that the protagonist is watching them.
• Extreme close ups are used to show a characters facial expressions - their fear and
emotions.
• Sudden sounds during quiet silent scenes causes tension. Examples of this includes
gun shots, the rustling of trees, screams..
• Slow paced editing creates an unsettling feeling within the viewer. Long build ups
which lead to jump scares suspense the audience.
• Depth of field is used to focus on the protagonists character. Consequently, the
background of the scene is blurred which is particularly effective when the
audience cannot clearly see any movements made behind the character, causing
them to apprehend what is to happen next.

4. SYMBOLIC CONVENTIONS:
• Black and Red connote death, evil, danger and blood.
• Props such as weapons suggest themes of violence and danger
• Props such as the Bible and Holy Cross suggest dark religious themes such
as exorcisms
CHARACTERS:
• Hero/Victim – Main protagonist of film
• Villain – Main antagonist of film. Could include; monster, demon, ghost,
zombie, psychopath, home invasion intruder, stalker. This is dependant on
the film’s storyline.

5. CONFORMING TO GENRE
CONVENTIONS
• Using horror thriller codes and conventions where important in order to
create a successful film trailer and supporting ancillary products of the
same genre.
• I conformed to the character trope of using a stalker/murderer as the
main protagonist in my film trailer.
• The main protagonist was a young girl which is also typical of films in the
horror thriller genre.
• The seclusion of my exterior location is often used in horror thriller films. I
used the woodland in scenes where the protagonist was being chased,
giving the impression that as the character is away from civilisation, ‘no
one can hear them scream’.

6. SUBVERTING GENRE CONVENTIONS
• I subverted some horror thriller codes and conventions when creating my
trailer as to make it unique and original.
• Unlike the majority of horror films which are filmed in dark lighting at
night time, I filmed the footage for my trailer during the day time, and
created an ominous atmosphere through my use of cool colour and
lighting.
• Horror thrillers typically include music which rises in pace and volume,
and builds as the tension builds in a scene, creating a stronger feeling of
suspense. However, I decided to subvert this convention and instead
slowed the pace of my music down towards the end of my trailer where
my protagonist is shown to have her identity stolen by the antagonist.
Instead I used the voiceover of her heavily breathing as she is being
chased in order to create tension throughout.