1. In what ways does your
media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
We have aimed to make our final product resemble a real horror
trailer by keeping to most important codes and conventions; however, we also
aimed to make our trailer different and new. For this reason, we decided to
challenge some conventions.
We stuck to the conventions that make horror trailers horror
trailers. For example we thought the masked killer theme works very well in
iconic horror films such as Halloween and Friday the 13th. We used the masked killer as
most horror movies use their killers: as a stalker. We tried to hold back on
the blood and gore in the trailer, to give it a classy edge. Meaning we know
the killer will kill someone, but the trailer leaves the viewer wondering how
when and why etc. In other words, we don’t give much away in terms of the plot
of the movie.
Generally, horror trailers tend to have a set of conventions that make them distinctive as horror trailers. These conventions appear in the form of mise-en-scene, cinematography, sound, editing and narrative structure. The mise-en-scene of horror trailers tend to be similar in differing sub genres of horror. For example, the killers in horrors are known for wearing masks to hide their identity, thus keeping them mysterious and all the more scary. The killer also usually wears dark clothes to keep hidden at night time. We stuck to both of these horror conventions as we thought they were very effective. Another aspect of mise en scene we used was effective lighting. Whilst our killer was outside we used lighting to darken his body but bring out slight brightness in the mask so the audience can only see the silhouette of a body, then a scary looking mask peering in through the window. Cinematography conventions in horror trailers can be a long shot for an establishing shot of a house or area of inhabitance for example. Tracking shots are commonly used in horror trailers to show slow movement of a character, perhaps the killer walking through an area unseen. This type of shot can also be effective from a point of view shot. Low angle shots are commonly used when dealing with the killer or the villain. This is because a low angle shot gives the killer all the power and control in the shot and the victim little power especially if it is a point of view shot as the victim would be cowering or trembling and looking up at the killer totally at his/her mercy. The killer, in a shot like this, would be looming over the camera which makes them look bigger and taller, adding to the sense that the killer, whose identity is not known and who’s face is covered by a mask, is more monster than man. We also decided to stick with the convention of sharp, loud and jumpy sounds in our trailer. This is because we thought it was one of the best ways to make an audience jump, or be frightened, especially when matched with an equally jumpy shot on screen. These kind of sounds work especially well when there is a build up to a jumpy shot, or even an anti-climax where the audience think there will be a surprising bit, and then wait a few seconds and put that bit in after the audience have calmed down. One of the classic horror trailer conventions is the fast paced montage. We used one of these as the basis of our trailer, including a big number of differing shots to make the minds of the audience race along with the speed of the trailer. We included shots of people dying or dead, but only for a split second, to make the audience think about it that little bit more, because as we thought, the more information you withhold, the more the audience will want or imagine. This montage was more effective with our use of another convention coming just before it. We used a slow steady build up with titles to set the scene for the trailer then, build up to the montage with a change of pace which switches the whole tempo and mood of the trailer.
Generally, horror trailers tend to have a set of conventions that make them distinctive as horror trailers. These conventions appear in the form of mise-en-scene, cinematography, sound, editing and narrative structure. The mise-en-scene of horror trailers tend to be similar in differing sub genres of horror. For example, the killers in horrors are known for wearing masks to hide their identity, thus keeping them mysterious and all the more scary. The killer also usually wears dark clothes to keep hidden at night time. We stuck to both of these horror conventions as we thought they were very effective. Another aspect of mise en scene we used was effective lighting. Whilst our killer was outside we used lighting to darken his body but bring out slight brightness in the mask so the audience can only see the silhouette of a body, then a scary looking mask peering in through the window. Cinematography conventions in horror trailers can be a long shot for an establishing shot of a house or area of inhabitance for example. Tracking shots are commonly used in horror trailers to show slow movement of a character, perhaps the killer walking through an area unseen. This type of shot can also be effective from a point of view shot. Low angle shots are commonly used when dealing with the killer or the villain. This is because a low angle shot gives the killer all the power and control in the shot and the victim little power especially if it is a point of view shot as the victim would be cowering or trembling and looking up at the killer totally at his/her mercy. The killer, in a shot like this, would be looming over the camera which makes them look bigger and taller, adding to the sense that the killer, whose identity is not known and who’s face is covered by a mask, is more monster than man. We also decided to stick with the convention of sharp, loud and jumpy sounds in our trailer. This is because we thought it was one of the best ways to make an audience jump, or be frightened, especially when matched with an equally jumpy shot on screen. These kind of sounds work especially well when there is a build up to a jumpy shot, or even an anti-climax where the audience think there will be a surprising bit, and then wait a few seconds and put that bit in after the audience have calmed down. One of the classic horror trailer conventions is the fast paced montage. We used one of these as the basis of our trailer, including a big number of differing shots to make the minds of the audience race along with the speed of the trailer. We included shots of people dying or dead, but only for a split second, to make the audience think about it that little bit more, because as we thought, the more information you withhold, the more the audience will want or imagine. This montage was more effective with our use of another convention coming just before it. We used a slow steady build up with titles to set the scene for the trailer then, build up to the montage with a change of pace which switches the whole tempo and mood of the trailer.
In terms of marketing, the purpose of teaser trailers is to
leak/ drip feed information to the audience, hence making the audience
anticipate what will happen next and eventually they become increasingly
interested until the movie comes out, thus making the movie more appealing by
method of withholding information from the audience. A good teaser trailer
should be short and surprising, something that is just enough to grab the
viewers’ attention without showing any important information, it should set the
tone for the movie rather than show the plot.
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