The document discusses the process of creating a horror movie trailer. It begins by examining conventions in slasher films, such as having a male villain and female victim. The trailer uses this convention initially but then subverts it by mostly showing male victims. Character and camera conventions from horror films are also considered, with some used and some challenged in the trailer. Overall, the document examines how the trailer both employs and modifies standard horror conventions to create suspense.

2. MY TRAILER
I researched into horror trailers to help make my own trailer.
• At first I looked at some of the most famous
horror films like the exorcist and Halloween. I
then focused on the slasher subgenre of
horror movies. One thing I noticed that is in
all types of horror but very prominent in
slasher films is having a male villain and a
female victim.
• I used this convention in my trailer by having
the opening shot be of the villain and a
female victim. I also went against this
convention by having mostly male victims
after the first female one.
• A theorist named Steve Neale said that
pleasure is derived from repetition and horror
audiences love horror clichés so I used that
for the opening shot then went against the
convention for the rest of the trailer.

3. SLASHER FILMS
• I chose to make a slasher horror trailer
• The slasher film is a sub genre of the horror genre as slasher films are
popular with horror fans
• These are three of the slasher movies I looked at
I chose to make a slasher
trailer as it is very formulaic
so there are lots of
conventions for me to use or
ignore

4. FORMS
Common forms found in horror movies are usually based on something
that happened in real life which makes the movie more scary to the
viewer
• Serial Killers
• Haunted House
• Revenge
• Gore Focused
• Demonic Possession
• Ghosts
I decided to go for a serial killer as I can
explore the killer more or rather keep the
killer a complete mystery with their motives
hidden which I think adds to the fear as you
have no idea why it’s happening which is the
same as in real life

5. CHARACTERS
In horror films, characters also have conventions and
I’ve either challenged these or used them to help
develop my characters
Conventions My characters
The Protagonist: Usually a female virgin
who survives the end of the film
The Protagonist: I decided to go against
conventions and I have a male main
character instead who isn’t the traditional
macho man either
The Sex Appeal: If a woman is on screen
then she is sexualized and is usually the
first on to die
The Sex Appeal: I challenged this
convention by not sexualizing any woman,
however I only have one female in the
trailer and she is the first one to die but I
didn’t make her character about her body
and looks
The Irritating Character: Due to their
irritating behaviour most of the audience is
glad when they are killed off
The Irritating Character: Again I have
challenged this convention by not having
an irritating character who you want to see
killed off
The Unlikely Hero: The one the audience
think is the villain but turns out not to be
The Unlikely Hero: Due to the villain
being of such an unknown origin I didn’t
use this character type in my trailer
The Antagonist: The villain of the story
who is usually revealed at the end
The Antagonist: I didn’t want the villain to
have a big reveal, you see flashes of him
throughout meaning that if you want to get
a good look at him you’re going to have to
pause the trailer

6. CAMERA
• For horror the camera is one of the most important parts of creating a
sense of fear and suspense
• The horror genre also enables you to experiment with loads of different
camera angles tog et much more interesting shots
• From my research I found that a lot of shots are extreme close ups so I
used some of them in my horror trailer
• They are used to make the audience more involved and therefore build
more suspense
• Below are some screenshots from my trailer

7. OVERALL
Overall I would say that I used, challenged and developed certain
conventions that are found in horror movies