SELF-EVALUATION…

IDEAS FOR MY PRODUCTION…

The use of a normal family home in the film Carrie shows that our

production will be successful due to previous use of this location being

conventional for the horror film. Other films that use a family home

are; MAMA, The Conjuring and Annabelle. This is a conventional

setting for horror films as although they don’t look typically scary from

the outside, horrifying things always go on inside, suggesting to the

target audience that these events could happen to them too. Different

lightings could be used to represent the house in different

conventional ways, we will use natural day light when the house is first

shown but once the trailer progresses low key lighting will be used as

this is more conventional for horror films.

Our film is going to include teenagers as this is a

relatable age to our target audience. Another film that

uses teenagers as the main characters is Carrie, this

ensures that my production will be successful and

conventional for the horror genre due to previous films

success.

IDEAS FOR MY PRODUCTION…

This image from The Conjuring shows one

of the younger characters screaming due

to her fear of the house being haunted,

this tells me that screaming involved as

diegetic sound in our production is

effective and conventional for the horror

genre. Screaming tells the target audience

that the character is in danger which

connotes negativity and violence,

conventional for the horror genre. We will

also be using crying in our production, this

signifies that character is vulnerable and

danger is soon to come.

Paranormal Activity is a successful horror

film that uses the idea of doors slamming

when no one is actually moving them

(this is scary and conventional for horror

films as it suggests that there’s a

ghostly/demonic presence). We have

included this feature in our production too

as it is a previous successful and

conventional scene/sound in horror films,

ensuring our product is appealing to the

target audience.

IDEAS FOR MY PRODUCTION…

Paranormal activity is a previous successful horror film similar to ours that

uses low key lighting and cameras as a prop. Camera’s are conventional for

psychological/found footage horror films as it offers a scare factor of

previous demonic events that have happened. We are using this feature in

our production as our target audience said that they found this appealing.

Previous success of this also tells us that we are following the conventions

of the horror genre, helping to build up suspense within the trailer.

This image of the school location from Carrie tells us that our

production will be conventional and successful due to previous

success. A school setting is appealing to our target audience as several

of them are teenagers, who would then identify with the characters in

the film and their social environment.

There has been a use of rocking

chairs in previous films such as The

Conjuring, which was conventional for

the horror genre due to its slow

rocking movement, especially when no

one can be seen sitting on the chair.

This tells me that our product will offer

scare factor to the target audience.

IDEAS FOR MY PRODUCTION…

Establishing shots are used in

several horror films. These two

images from the

psychological/demonic horror

The Devil Inside show a use of

establishing shots, which tells

me that the use of the

camerawork in my production

will be conventional for the

gene and appealing.

Establishing shots enable the

audience to see the whole

setting of the scene and

gather some idea of the

significance it has during the

trailer. My target audience also

said they’d expect to see this

shot used in a horror trailer.

This image of a close-up from the MAMA trailer tells me that by using

this camera shot I am enabling the use of conventions within my product.

This camera shot is conventional and appealing to my target audience

as it shows the emotion of the character (antagonist = anger and

demonic, protagonist = worry and upset) when a close-up is used on a

protagonist then this is normally paired with crying or screaming (such as

the image from MAMA) conveying that the character is vulnerable and in

distress, conventional for a horror film which we will include in our

production.

High/low angles are shown in several horror films,

such as MAMA, which tells me that including them in

my production will ensure I have followed

conventions of the horror genre. This angles are so

effective because they allow the characters to be

seen in different ways. We will use a high angle like

MAMA does in the image to show the vulnerability of

a distressed and panicked character, which is

conventional for a horror film due to its high use and

appealing to the target audience.

IDEAS FOR MY PRODUCTION…

Dark clothing is often

used in horror films

to convey death and

negativity, often

associated with the

antagonist. One of

these characters is

Jason from The

Friday The 13th

franchise, which

makes him look

scary and

dangerous. This tells

me that the use of

dark clothing in our

production will be

conventional and

appealing to our

target audience.

Old wooden furniture such as rocking chairs, fireplaces

and mirrors are often used in horror films, this is

because it makes the atmosphere scarier and often

makes creepy sounds such as creaking and banging. A

mirror can be seen in the image from Paranormal

Activity 3 which tells me that this is a conventional and

appealing feature, ensuring success for my production.

A character, such as the antagonist, could also be seen

standing in the mirror making the target audience

wonder what’s going to happen next.

Normal clothing is used for

several teenagers in horror

films, such as Carrie, as it

helps the target audience to

relate to the characters they

are watching. This tells me

that my use of costume will

be successful to the target

audience and suitable for the

horror genre. Blood may also

be used when they are in

distress.

SCRIPT…

From researching into other

successful film scripts such

as Paranormal Activity and

The Conjuring I can see that

I have followed the

conventions of a horror film

trailer script. We have used

limited dialogue due to the

amount of characters in our

production and also due to

the fact that we will use

sound and camerawork to

build up tension instead,

which the target audience

finds appealing (such as

close-ups to show emotion,

screaming to stress that a

certain character is in danger

and fast paced non-diegetic

sound which will help build

up suspense for the

audience and can all be

found in various successful

horror films such as The

Conjuring, MAMA and

Carrie.. Similar to other film

trailers like The Happening,

we have used a smaller

amount of scenes, using

short takes and different shot

types instead, another

conventional element.

Sound within our script/production will consist of screaming, crying, demonic laughter, clocks ticking, floor

boards creaking and doors slamming. There will also be a strong use of non-diegetic sound which builds up as

the trailer progresses. These are all conventional sounds to find in horror film trailers, which I have found from

previous research (MAMA, Paranormal Activity) ensuring me that my product will follow the conventions of

horror and remain appealing to the target audience.

CASTING…Teenage characters within horror films is widely

conventional and appealing with the target audience

(Carrie). This is because the age of the characters they

are watching is similar to themselves, offering the chance

for the target audience to relate to them. (this also gives

a sense of realism). This is a technique that we have

used in our production, with the four main characters

being teenagers aged seventeen-eighteen, which allows

us to know that we’ve followed the conventions of a

horror film and listened to our target audience and made

the film appealing to them through the use of our casting.

Our antagonist, James, is also a protagonist to start off

with which offers a twist to the storyline, this is also

reflected in the film Carrie which sees her eventually

grasp her supernatural powers and take revenge

(several other films see this happen too, such as The

Conjuring and the Paranormal Activity franchise). This

once again ensures that conventions have been met for

a horror based production, enabling success for my

product.

SHOT LIST….

Our production plan Carrie location Our production plan The Devil Inside title scene

From looking at our shot list it is clear to see that we’ve followed

the conventions of previous other horror films such as Carrie

and The Devil Inside due to similarities. The opening scene for

the trailer of Carrie is an establishing shot of her house, a main

location within the film. As it can been seen from my shot list,

our group have also decided to use an establishing shot of the

films main location which is a house too, this sets the scene and

storyline for the target audience whilst also continuing previous

conventions within the genre. We have a number of title

sequences in our trailer, styled with a black background and

white text which is found appealing to the target audience. The

Devil Inside uses the same technique as this, with several title

sequences breaking up the scenes within the trailer (this is also

used in several others such as Carrie and MAMA) this shows

me that I am following conventions of horror films, assuring that

my product will be professional and suitable for the genre. Fast

paced editing has been used at the end of the trailer for Carrie

to build up tension for the target audience and a scare factor,

this is something that we have decided to include in our

production with several short takes, fast paced editing and fade

to blacks paired with very loud and dramatic non-diegetic sound.

FONTS… When deciding on fonts that would feature within my ancillary products I

conducted research into previous successful horror film posters and

magazines such as MAMA, The Conjuring and Sinister, to assure that I used

a continuation of conventions throughout all of my production pieces whilst

also remaining appealing to my target audience. I also want to make sure that

my ancillary products are original and eye catching to create interest for my

film. Several horror posters and magazines for films such as One Missed Call

and MAMA are rather simplistic but also bold with block capitals, which is why

I made sure that all of my font options were styled like this too. The bold font

style connotes danger and violence which are conventional connotations for

the horror genre, due to this atmosphere being portrayed within the trailer too.

The colour of the font differs depending on the background used on the

poster/magazine, a dark black/brown background often sees white be used

as this offers a strong conventional contrast, whereas black or red font would

be used on a lighter background. This is something that I have also

considered for my ancillary products and an important feature in also

appealing to my target audience, ensuring that my ancillary products are

effective, conventional and professional. I have chosen to use two different

fonts on my ancillary products as there is often this technique featured, for

two different headings/titles. Some text such as the style used for Sinister is

messy and looks like blood is dripping, just like the second font on my ideas.

However, others look bolder and this is why I have decided on two separate

fonts, to offer both conventions. I will also be using the font styles that my

target audience found the most appealing; Crimes Times and SF Gushing

Meadow.

ANCILLARY PRODUCTS…

Poster draft Magazine draft Sinister poster Fangoria magazine featuring

InsidiousBefore completing a rough and then detailed draft for my ancillary products I did some genre research to make sure that I was using all of the appropriate

conventions for form and genre and include appealing elements to my target audience. There are clear similarities between my poster draft and the

poster for Sinister, such as a character from the film featured as the main image covered in blood (the red person on my draft is to suggest that in the

final ancillary product they will be covered in blood instead) this tells me that I am following correct conventions that make the target audience interest in

the film by suggesting that there is danger and violence amongst the characters, the title of the film also gives off this impression by the font style chosen.

There is also text on the top of both posters, which allows the route of the eye layout to be used, highly conventional for form of all posters. I have also

included my billing block at the bottom of my poster draft along with the release date as I found that this is conventional for all posters including those of

the horror genre. For my final poster production I will probably use a blank background or different location.

From research into horror

magazines I can see that my

detailed draft does not follow all

of the conventions and some

further improvements are

needed, such as more

headlines, images and a better

layout (such as route of the

eye). However, there are some

conventions followed such as

the title of the promoted film

and the information being

placed at the bottom of my

magazine cover, which tells me

this is appropriate placing.

There is also a mixture of font

colours and styles which can be

seen on Fangoria magazine

too.