This document provides guidance on key elements for creating an effective horror film trailer. It discusses that horror trailers aim to elicit intense emotions of dread and fear by following a similar narrative structure to the full film. It is important for horror trailers to be creatively different from previous examples while still adhering to genre conventions to attract and engage the target horror fan audience. The document also outlines how effective use of sound, color grading, and editing techniques can help set the right ominous atmosphere and build suspense that makes horror films truly unsettling and enjoyable experiences for viewers.

1. Genre Target Audience Sound (post) Colouring (post) Editing (post)
What’s key in a
Horror film trailer?
Horror trailers create an intense
emotional experience of both dread
and fear, tending to follow a similar
narrative structure to the actual film
itself. Usually sets of stylistic
techniques to achieve this emotional
intensity is needed to have a
successful trailer that horror fans will
enjoy.
Being creative in these teasers is
imperative as the standard horror
fan doesn’t want to watch another
carbon copy of a previous horror
trailer. Doing something that is
creative and different but keeps to
the changing guidelines of a horror
film is going to be important to bring
in your target audience and them to
enjoy and recommend the film.
You need a clear target
audience for genres like this
to really refine who you
want this trailer to be aimed
at, but also to keep in mind
the secondary and 3rd
audience as at the end of the
day you want to accumulate
as many viewers as possible
Horror films are great at
using sound to compound the
anxiety you feel as you witness
events unfold onscreen;
a film's score may feature a
persistent low hum which only
makes the creaking stairs and
hushed whispers across a room
more unsettling. In a horror film
typically you need lots of sounds
varying in pitch. Horror films
typically have drone sounds (a
long single note) this is very
typical to bring un-ease, and
intensity to a scene. Also it allows
to create unforgettable
atmosphere which will make the
movie being even more enjoyable
and breath-taking. The
atmosphere is very important to
create good overall experience for
the audience. Soundtrack helps to
build-up certain feeling which is
contributed into movie success.
Colour grading is used a
lot in the horror genre to
set the mood or for
symbolisation. A
common tone that
is used in horror films is
blue, which is used to
create a 'chilling' effect.
To create an effective
blue tone the whites
tones are usually
balanced to cold blues or
a blue mixed with purple
tones. The colour pallet
of a lot of horror films is
black and white, they
achieve this by using lots
of washed out of tones
and Gray scaling the
whole film. This adds a
mysterious feel to the
film.
In editing short, fast paced
clips can build dramatic
tension, extended uncut
clips can be used to grow
suspense. As the tension in
a scene builds, the
audience anticipates
progression, whether it’s
through the reaction of the
subject on-screen, the
introduction of a new and
surprising element, or a
simple cut to a new shot or
perspective. When a shot is
held on-screen for longer
than expected, the
audience starts to feel
discomfort and anticipates
a change to come. The
greater that discomfort
builds, the bigger the
anticipation and
accordingly, the editor
should use the pent up
anticipation for a big reveal
in order to satisfy their
audience. Holding on a
shot can be difficult,
because the editor wants