Task 2: Research into Existing Products (Horror)

Horror Conventions

Introduction:

The history of the film genre 'horror' has been spread out for over a century. it had first started in the late 1890s where the film industry had literally just began. As you know the technology in those days were really low, therefore there wasn't as much special effects or fancy editing that we have in our days. But even then, the films still gave the audience a thrill due to the fact that no one had seen this sort of film before and was totally new to them.

Later horror film were introduced into the film theatre were it was mostly preferred to be watched because of the big screens and speakers which had a great effect on how the audience were getting more terrified.

Towards the early 1930s, the company 'Universal' started to make horror films such as the Gothic types like Dracula, Frankenstein and The Invisible Man. Even now these films are still successful and have had made different versions made by other film industries.

But when the horror film really got effective was during the 1950s and onwards where there was a big advance in technology. The films started to move away from Gothic and started with a new style which was three different sort. This was horror-of-personality, horror-of-armageddon and the horror-of-the-demonic films. During this time there was also many low budget films made which included aliens invading earth. These sort of films were very 'cheesy' but still was being enjoyed by the audience.

Later on from this, there has been many films made and have been extremely successful for example the 'Omen' which has been watched by millions over the world therefore there they had made in total 5 films which had followed each other in the story line and the exact same thing for many films such as Scream, Chucky, Halloween and so on. But there was one film made which took horror to the next level. This film is called The Exorcist. this film included the demonic nature and had some special effects which gave a audience a shocking fear. The director had made this film extremely carefully with all the conventions and rules of a horror film.

The Basic Conventions in a Horror:

The conventions you would see in the start of the film is extremely important on how it is done. The reason for this is that the start would set out the mood for the rest of the film. So in a horror film the start would normally have a music being played. this music could either be a fast beat and loud music which would get the audience anxious and tensed. Or either a slow music but with a weird sound which would also create the same effect for the audience. The opening credits theme would be different from other films as well. The credits font would be bold and in dark colours such as red or grey with a white background to make it stand out. Below shows what some typical horror films opening credits would look like. And as you can see, the most common credits would be in the colours red and black. This is done to make the text look as if it has been written in blood and looks a bit gruesome. This and the music piece put together is enough for the audience to recognise it's a horror film.

The first scene in a horror film would vary on what the film is about. But there are some conventions that you would see in some horror film. For example some films may start with the ending of the story. And in this scene there might be some freakish nature where there is blood everywhere or either someone who looks like they have been injured or even dead. So this instantly show the audience what the film is going to be about. But then this will causes the audience to get curious and want to watch on. So to reveal what happened in this scene, they would go back to the past and then tell the story from the start.

Horror films are always set in dark mysterious places where you would not see much people around. For example the woods, forest, bigs houses isolated in the countryside and so on. And the time of day would most commonly be at night where the weather is gloomy, fog and raining. This also helps set the mood for the film which would be extemely strong and depressing effect towards the audience. This is extemly important on how the first scene is set out in location, settings and atmosphere. Because if it was to be set on a sunny morning in a busy city, then this would give no hint towards the audience that it is a horror film. Below shows how some typical horror settings would look like.

You would also find that in a horror film, their is always a lot of suspense built up during the film and as it goes towards the end, it gradualy gets bigger. This is done to make the viewers tense and scared, so when there is a scary horrific part, the viewers would react more to it. The way they would create this suspense is done by many different things such as, camera shots, sound, editing and setting.

For example the film 'Scream' there was a scene where the young girl gets a phone call from another person. The person on the phone is the actual killer in the film, but the audience dosn't know this at the particular moment. But what they do know is that there is something bad going to happen. Staight away this has got the audience curious about who is on the phone to this girl which has got them already glued to the screen trying to find out who is it. As the phone call goes on, the girl in the film is cooking popcorn. And as the phone call is goes on, the pop corn at the same time is getting bigger. And also when the girl hangs up, the person rings up again. This also is hinting out that something will happen eventually. The way sound has been used in this clip is when the pop corn is getting bigger you can also hear poping a crackling which is getting louder and louder. The camera shots also help out such as when she walks around trying to find out if anyones out side, the camera is tooking at a long shot so the audience can see behind her aswell and look for if there is anything there. But at this stage the edditing is vital because when the suspense and tension gets higher the camera shots are changing faster. The audience at this stage would be extemly tensed and anxoius. So now in the film the killer would jump out of no where which would extemly terrify the audience, even though they knew it was coming. As you can see this has a extemly good effect towards the viewers therefore this is vital when making a horror film.

The characters you would find in a horror film would most likely be very simular to other films. These charectors you would always find would be:

The big bully: this character is very big and strong. He is agressive towards the other people. But when it comes down to it, the killer would bruitually kill him which shows the audience that the killer in the film is stronger than anyone out there.

The crazy girl: she would be the odd one out the group. And her style would also be odd out to the rest, for example a goth. She would do weird things and would freak out the rest of the people in the film. As you can see below, she is lighting her tounge with a lighter. She would also try to act brave, but she really is a weak character and is terrified of the killer.

The inocent girl: This character would be very quiet, carm and wouldn't even hurt a fly. She is the one that the whole group would push around. But when it comes down to it, she is the smartest there and proberly would be the last one standing.

Young attractive girl: This character would be very preety and stunning. But she wouldn't be the smartest one around at the start of the film. Then towards the end she becomes more smart and tries to defeat the killer. But then she would also be bruitually killed by the killer.

The actual killer: This is the main character of the film which everything evolves around him. The way this character would look extremly weird and something you have never seen before, but also would give you the chills when you look at him. For example, below this character is wearing a worn out mask to hide his identity, his hair is ruff and his clothes are ragged up. As you can see this person dosn't look normal at all and does have a creepy effect towards the audience.

Over all the characters chosen for the film are very steriotype and common. And they seem to be the same age and trend that the audience would be. This would make the audience enjoy the film more and feel more interactive with the film.