The document discusses conventions used in horror film trailers, posters, and magazine covers. It analyzes conventions like slow buildup music, dark lighting, scare shots, central images, dark color schemes with red text for posters. The student's media products aim to follow conventions like these but also challenge some. The trailer challenges showing killings and uses heartbeat sound. The poster challenges showing the victim not villain. The magazine cover challenges conventions with its black/white/red color scheme linking to the horror genre and image.

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

2. Film Trailer
During the research and planning stages, I looked at least 5 different horror trailers to understand
and begin to analyse the conventions of the horror trailer. I analysed in detail ‘One Missed Call’ and
‘The Crazies’ which both had many conventions of the horror genre. After researching into the
trailers, I found that the conventions were: a slow build up soundtrack, usually being very quiet at
the beginning and more fast paced towards the end, a dark lighting and colour scheme, camera
shots of killings but usually stopping before the person is actually killed, close up shots of the main
actors including the antagonist, faster editing towards the end of the trailer, eerie music and some
trailers include actors dialogue [mostly the actors screaming/panicking]. In some trailers, a scare
shot is also included at the end.
In our trailer, as a group we wanted to stick as close to the horror genre as possible. We stuck to the
slow build up music which also was quite eerie sounding and had the faster paced editing towards
the end. When I was filming, I tried to keep the scenes quite dark, lighting wise, however the colour
scheme I challenged at the beginning of the trailer especially with the costumes and conformed to
more towards the end. Another thing our trailer conforms to, is to begin with some cheerful scenes
at the beginning of the trailer. In between the clips of film, I also inserted text slides which had the
film name, release date and text on a fade to black transition which gives a brief overview of the
film. However, we challenged the trailer by not having any scenes where it involved someone being
killed because we wanted there to be some suspense in the trailer. The trailer also used a heartbeat
sound effect which is used in some horror trailers. However, I think it made the trailer more tense
which is why I decided to add it in. At the end, we also included a scare shot which is used in quite a
few trailers.

3. Film Poster
I also analysed some film posters which portrayed horror genre conventions. It seemed
to be mainly a dark colour scheme, sometimes with red text to symbolize blood and
gore which is scene often in horror films, but over all the colour scheme tends to be
quite dark. The posters quite often keep the image on it very central. A billing block is
often included, and the film title is usually in the middle and centred. Sometimes the
poster will include a tagline and/or a quote from the film. A rating of the film can be
seen on some posters.
My film poster uses the conventions of a horror film poster by
having the image in the centre of the poster. I think that if the
image was to the left or right, it wouldn’t have the same effect
on the audience. I kept to quite a dark colour scheme but
found that making the image black and white made it look
more creepy and that way it emphasizes the red colour of the
letter ‘T’. Using the red gives connotation of blood, gore,
danger and is often used in the horror genre. I think what
challenges the horror genre is the fact that it has the victim on
the front of the poster and not the villain.

4. Magazine Front Cover
Magazine front covers were slightly more difficult to develop because they don’t usually
stick to a specific genre. Instead, they look at different films and different genres of films
so I looked into magazines like Total Film. The coverline colours usually correspond to
the colour of the image. This a convention that is used with most magazines. The
masthead is the biggest piece of text on the front cover, usually in the centre at the top
or to the left of the magazine. The date and issue are often placed on the side and there
are often buzz words used on the front cover. The main coverline is much bigger than the
rest and is placed in the centre or over the image.
My magazine front cover sticks to most of these conventions, having the masthead as
the biggest piece of text and to the left. The date and time are on the side and the image
takes up most of the space on the front cover which makes it the main focus of the front
cover and the coverlines are on either side of the magazine. The main coverline is slightly
of centre of the magazine, over the top of the image and is a bigger font size than the
other coverlines. What challenges the conventions of a magazine is the colour scheme.
The use of the red keeps in theme with the horror genre but the black and white also
links to the image colour. The font on ‘fixation’ also links to the horror genre because it
has a look of liquid about it and the red makes it look similar to blood.