The document discusses conventions used in horror trailers, posters, and film magazines. It notes that horror trailers often use canted camera angles, POV shots, and extreme close-ups to create disorientation and draw audiences in. They also use ominous music that builds suspense, voiceovers, and editing techniques like jump cuts. Horror posters commonly feature close-ups of eyes to create fear and enigma, photographs of creepy houses as unsettling settings, or dark silhouettes of villains to generate mystery. Film magazine covers usually showcase the main actor in character to promote the film's genre and include articles, reviews and interviews to attract audiences.

1. CONVENTIONS OF HORROR
TRAILERS/ POSTERS/
FILM MAGAZINES
AFRA MALIK

2. HORROR TRAILERS
CAMERA
 Canted angles are used at least once in most horror trailers in order to make the audience feel confused and to create disorientation.
Occasionally there are POV shots which allow the audience to see what the protagonist or antagonist is viewing; this draws the audience in more
as they can feel like they're actually involved in the film.
Extreme close- ups are also used often to show the expressions of characters and since fear is the emotion show cased the most, it creates a
sense of terror because the audience can empathise with them.
SOUND
 The soundtrack used for a horror/thriller film trailer is vital as that’s what completes the fear factor in it so music is needed that sounds ominous
and suspenseful.
Most trailers use instrumental music that doesn’t have words or if there are lyrics involved they are closely linked to the trailer.
The music tends to build up and slowly crescendos before going completely silent and then a sudden noise is heard which tends to surprise the
audience as it’s unexpected.
Voiceovers of screams, whispers or one liners also tend to be added and since the audience can’t see the person behind the voice it heightens
the scary element as it creates fear of the unknown.
EDITING
 Thriller/horror film trailers often start with slow editing and cuts that fade to a black screen so everything seems normal and the audience begins
to feel uncomfortable as they know something is coming up but unsure as to when. Then the trailers begin to transition into faster editing like
jump cuts to speed up the pace and to heighten the suspense created.
Sometimes the background is blurred in order to make a character seem more in focus and something will move in the background which creates
fear of the unknown as well as the audience can’t visually see what’s in the background but know something is there.

3. MISE- EN- SCENE
 Props play an important role in horror/thriller film trailers as they can showcase what’s going to occur. If a weapon is included as a prop then
this indicates that there’s going to be violence and possibly blood and gore. If a prop like a Bible or an ouija board is used then the audience
can tell that the plot is linked to religion or supernatural beings. A significant prop used in most horror/thriller films is a mirror as it portrays
reflection mainly as a comparison between who the protagonist used to be and who they’ve become; or it’s used to show something in the
background whilst a character is looking in the mirror.
Cult and religious themes are used a lot in horror/thriller films and the colour black and red as they have connotations of danger and blood.
NARRATIVE
 The main narrative used in horror/thriller films are that main character/s are against the antagonist which is usually a superior, supernatural
being.
The main character/s often doesn’t know what’s going on for the first portion of the film until they seek help or guidance on the matter.
In terms of teen horror/thriller films, the main characters tend to be a group of teenagers however in this group there is often one character
that stands out and is the main survivor (final girl)/
All of the elements mentioned previously will most likely be incorporated into our own film trailer so that it can be easily conveyed as a
thriller/horror film trailer. We’ll use shots like canted angle shots, over-the-shoulder shots and extreme close-ups in order to amplify the fear
factor. Furthermore we’ll incorporate a lot of shots where the background is out of focus but the main subject is in focus so that if
something appears in the background it can’t be easily seen so it creates a mysterious effect.

4. MAGAZINE FRONT COVERS
• General conventions of a horror magazine are very easy to spot. The main image of the
new movie appears in the middle and usually takes up a majority of the page. The
featured articles appear on the left third of the article. The main image is always
conventional as the actor whose modelling, is always in character, this promotes the film
and attracts audience, especially when they see the actor in the role as it gives them a
taster of what the movie will include. For example, if it features a zombie, the audience
will know the film will include a lot of gore and blood, if it’s of a man with a mask around
his mouth, its most likely going to be about a cannibal or psychopath. The use of blood is
also very conventional of the horror genre.
• Typography that is used is conventional to a horror magazine with the use of a large red
masthead that is eye- catching and appealing with this conventional colour. Text that is
used is typically Sans- serif which adds to the boldness of the magazine which identifies
important and conventional information relating to the horror genre. The text of the main
article is always slightly larger which creates hype for the movie.
• The layout of the magazine uses the route of the eye as the first thing that is seen is the
masthead followed by main image which is conventional to the genre and the majority of
film front covers as it relates to the title below. Extra information is added at the bottom
of the page which informs the target audience with things such as reviews, interviews and
more which would attract attention and appeal to the target audience.
• The colours that are used are mainly black, red and white. This is typical for horror and is
eye- catching to the audience. Also this range of colours have been placed and used in the
way they have in order to contrast, and the text stands out more. The front cover is much
more visually pleasing and conventional because of this.

5. FILM POSTERS
• Typical codes and conventions of horror film posters make the target audience look forward to the movie
as it’s the first glimpse of what it will be like, for example, they will see the actor in character and find out
what kind of sub genre it is (slasher, psychological, supernatural, gothic…) and thus attract the right type
of crowd.
• One very conventional feature of a horror poster is the use on extreme close ups of the face, most
commonly the eye. There is often a manipulation to the eye that creates an unnatural and eerie look, this
draws the audience in because it is unusual. The crop of the eye fills the frame which generates impact
and expresses the emotion of fear, as the eyes are often widened with fear. This makes the emotions
relatable to the viewer and creates enigma due to the fact that nothing else can be seen other than the
emotion and whatever manipulations have been applied. In the ‘Candyman’ poster for example, the iris is
a deep red, and the silhouette of a dark figure, creating further enigma as we know the eye is seeing
something we cant but we don’t know who or why. There are also parts where additional things have
been added onto the eye, for example, in the movie ‘The eye’ a hand is coming out of the bottom of the
eyelid. This makes the audience look at it in a different way, due to the unnatural and disturbing nature of
this image, therefore making them drawn to the poster and the film. The eye is often that of the victims,
as they are the character that feels fear along with the audiences, as we almost see what they see. The
close crop and close up zoom means the viewer only gets a small sense of the themes and storyline of the
film, making it a teaser poster, leading the audience to want to find out more and see the film. This is an
effective convention due to these factors, and can be very effective for supernatural horror films.

6. • Many horror films use a house as a setting, so there are a number of horror film posters with a eerie
photograph of the house, either with the protagonist in the foreground or the house on its own. The main
genre which uses houses are psychological and supernatural horrors such as Insidious and House at the end of
the street, however there are also slashers which take place in a house such as Amityville horror. The
background around the house used is often dark and the sky is foggy or manipulated in order to look strange
and unnatural. They are often large traditional houses and have the potential to be haunted and are creepy
looking. When a movie is based in a house, it unsettles the viewer because of the feeling safety that is usually
linked with the home. Posters in which a house is used often creates enigma because we do not know whether
it is the people who live in the house or the house its self that causes the disequilibrium.
• Another effective convention used in horror posters is a dark figure. This pose is particularly effective at
creating enigma, and is mostly used when depicting evil. The lighting that is used is usually dark and is
sometimes backlit in order to highlight certain parts of the silhouette, often in unnatural ways to makes it seem
more eerie. The fact the identity of the villain is concealed and there is only a small hint of what they are
wearing, doing and what they look like creates mystery around the character and can be considered a teaser
poster through this technique, as it makes the audience want to see the film due to the enigmatic nature. This
convention is often used in slasher films as the villain is the key to the plot. For example, a serial killer with a
bladed weapon. Low lighting is paired with the dark silhouette to carry on the mysterious atmosphere that this
convention creates.