Horror Genre Conventions

Setting

·         Small communities or isolated places. Urban environments, dark streets and narrow alleyways. Large cities or run down ghost towns. Anything that connotes isolation or being alone.

·         Places with ‘dark’ history, like abandoned houses and hotels.

·         Locations: lakes, roads, highways, dark woods, cabins, underground tunnels, farms, countryside, graveyards, hospitals, churches and cellars.

Characters

·         The main character is often the victim/hero of the movie.

·         Teenagers are often the victims.

·         Police officers (whether they’re bad or good.)

Technical Codes

·         Camerawork is very expressive and not natural. High and low angles can connote fear and nightmares.

·         POV (point of view shot, shows what the character is looking at) because they allow the audience to see the world from the 'monsters' eye.

·         Disturbing sounds are very important. E.g. footsteps, heartbeat, screams etc.

·         ECU (extreme close-up) shots are very useful too, as it helps the audience with identification with horror and fear.

Iconography

·         Dark colours, like red and black are linked to evil, danger and fear

·         Low key lighting can create shadows and unfamiliar shapes e.g. bonfires, torches and fireplaces.

·         Objects such as: weapons, masks, religious symbols etc are all related with horror

Themes

·         Depression

·         Religion

·         Revenge

·         Lust

·         Suicide

·         Envy

·         Madness

·         Science gone wrong

Preliminary Task

This is my preliminary task where I show match on action, shot reverse shot and the 180 degree rule.  

                                                                   

Directors of horror films

James Wan

 James Wan was born in Malaysia on 27^th February 1977. He is an Australian producer, screenwriter and film director. He is famously known for directing the Saw movies. This was released in January 2004 and is one of many in the series. He has also directed Dead Silence, Death Sentence and Insidious. The styles of his films are mainly crime, horror thriller.

Takashi Shimizu

Takashi Shimizu was born on the 27^th July 1972 and is a Japanese filmmaker. He is best known for the film, ‘The Grudge’ which is one of a series and was released in October 2004. His genre is mainly horror and crime, often including murder mystery.

Oren Peli

Oren Peli was born in 1970 and is an Israeli American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for directing Paranormal Activity. This was released in October 2009 and was the first of many in the series. His main genres are horror and thriller. 

Horror Genre Mood board

I chose these horror pictures as they are all typical 'horror' themed. This is because I find horror associated with lack of colour and spooky woods and these pictures are all apt for this genre.  

Preliminary task storyboard

Shot reverse shot

This rule applies when two people are opposite each other, usually having a conversation. The shot shows what the character is supposedly looking at and then the next shot is a reverse angle shot of the character themselves, looking at the person/object opposite them. This rule ties in with the 180˚ rule as you need to retain the continuity. Also, when looking over the shoulders of characters they must stay on the same side.

This image has been taken from Google images.

Match on action

Match on action means that when something happens in the scene when there is a cut, the same action must be going on in the next shot. This helps the audience understand what is happening as there is continuity as it creates a visual bridge, which draws the viewer’s attention away from the slight cutting. It portrays a continuous sense of the same action rather than matching two separate things.



This image has been taken from Google images.



180˚ rule

The rule starts with two characters facing each other. We then draw an imaginary line between the characters and decide where to place the camera. This rule states that the camera should stay the same side of an imaginary line. This enforces continuity of the film. The rule may only be broken ‘for effect’ otherwise it confuses the audience.  Crossing the line when filming over the shoulder shots shifts the person’s eye line, which mean the actors’ eye lines don’t match.



This image has been taken from Google images.