The genre I have chosen for my trailer is horror. Horror films often follow strict conventions with little deviation. However it is not unheard of for a horror trailer to deliberately deviate for effect. There are subgenres to the horror genre and it is arguable that they each have their own conventions. I will be writing about the conventions of the subgenre “psychological horror”. There are many examples of psychological horrors for example ‘The Strangers’. This subgenre often overlaps with supernatural/ paranormal horrors.
One common theme in horror films is mystery. This is particularly important in psychological horror films. The element of mystery is a gateway to the creation of tension and is therefore very useful for a director. A director will often use this tension to create an atmosphere that will induce fear. For example in ‘The Strangers’ atmosphere is built up with tension and often leads to nothing. In one scene we see one of the killers in the same room as the victim (without her knowledge) slightly out of focus. At this point we expect something to happen and it is very tense but then the killer leaves the room. This also keeps the element of mystery as the killer is out of focus so we don’t properly see him leaving the audience still ‘out of the loop’. Another common theme, an essential, is jeopardy. A film cannot be scary without an element of danger or struggle. As well as this is film cannot be scary unless there is an element of fear within the protagonist as through their emotions the audience recognises the danger. I.E. if the characters are not scared the film will struggle to frighten the audience. However the opposite can be used for effect. Again for example in ‘The Strangers’ one of the two protagonists is oblivious to what the other character and the audience are afraid of. In a way this helps to create tension. A third theme is violence. Violence is often used in horror films as it is something the audience can relate to. In other words a normal person will be terrified at the idea of being violently murdered whilst others will not find the concept of the paranormal as they may not believe in it and will therefore lack emphasis for the characters who are struggling against the occult for example ‘Paranormal Activity’. As well as a lack of emphasis with characters the audience will also find it hard to fear something they do not believe to have existence.
In the same way there are many character types that are seen in horror films. It is often the case that at least one of the main characters is an attractive young female. For example in ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ the cast consists of young attractive individuals. It is also fairly common to have a couple. This helps us emphasise with the characters as we see the emotions that they share. There is also a character or sometimes an entity that acts as the antagonist and the object the audience’s fear is based on. In ‘The Strangers’ it is a group of people that act as the antagonists and in ‘Paranormal Activity’ it is a demon.
It is often the case that in horror films we are introduced to the characters and their back stories at the beginning of the film, unless this is kept a mystery for effect as seen in ‘Saw’, this helps the audience relate to the characters as they do not seem so much like strangers as we may have some understanding of why they act the way they do during the film. There is also often a brief period of the film where the characters do not know that there is something bad happening. For example in ‘When A Stranger Calls’ the main character thinks the mysterious and creepy home calls are from one of her friends trying to freak her out. However due to back story and our awareness of the film and its genre previous to viewing the audience is aware that everything is not as it seems. There is often a pinnacle moment when the protagonist begins to realise they are in jeopardy. This is often the turning point in the film when tension becomes horror.
Music is most often used to create tension in horror films, especially psychological horrors. For example the music may stop in a moment of silence before something bad happens or it may increase in pace or pitch. Both of these methods create tension however the silence creates the potential for the “jump effect”. Often these moments of tension are built up for nothing to happen. In these instances it is usually the non silence that is used. Music can also be used to create a negative atmosphere. For example in the opening sequence of ‘The Shining’ the music is very dark and brooding to match the film.
The style of the films in terms of camera work is varied. One method of filming horror films is the POV camera style. This is used in ‘The Blair Witch Project’ and ‘Paranormal Activity’ this fully immerses the viewer in the film. The lighting in horror films is often very dark. It is believed that mankind has a natural fear of the dark due to fear of the unknown. Therefore darkness in a film automatically creates fear in an audience.
The graphics in horror films are often relatively bold and eye catching. This may not be used to create fear but it does make it clear that the film is of the horror genre. However in psychological horrors the graphics may be more low key as in ‘The Shining’ where the graphics are very plain as it bolder more obvious graphics would be out of place and unfitting with the film.
To conclude there are many conventions for the horror genre and the subgenre psychological horror these are mostly followed but can be ignored for effect.
TS
TS
No comments:
Post a Comment