Conventions found in Horror Movie Trailers

Conventions found in Horror Movie Trailers

Conventions are important as they allow the audience to determine and recognise which genre the movie belongs to.  Conventions provide a sense of familiarity and allow the audience to know whether they will want to watch the movie or what to expect if they do watch the movie. The audience will have expectations about the things they will probably see on screen and that will happen. They are continuously picking up on clues and signals trying to guess what is going to happen next. This was possible because they have seen other horrors and are familiar with the conventions they had been exposed to prior. It allows future 'movie makers' to know what codes and conventions to follow as they have been proven successful. Without some of these key conventions, these movies would possibly no longer be considered as horror movies.

I watched the following trailers and highlighted key conventions that were repeated in each trailer.

Conventions to explore further with regards to my project will be isolated setting, the narrative or 'stores structure' and technical elements such as sound camera, composition and editing.