Main CODES & CONVENTIONS of a horror movie poster:
- Colours used- black, red, grey, brown and white- Small titles- generally at the bottom of the poster
- release date
- low lighting to disguise characters
- Use of one image to grab the audiences attention (normally a large image) - optical focus
- Long shot of the main location- adds suspense
CHOSEN MOVIE 1:
Film title: The Woman In Black
British super natural horror movie
Below there are some other examples of the movie "The woman in black" posters.
CAMERA: The images used on the posters are all shown to be dark and gloomy. The shots used are usually, close ups, long shot over the shoulder and mid close up.
A main convention of a horror movie is for the reader to be unable to view a characters face which leaves the audience weary and builds tensions. The colours used on all of the posters are dark colours such as, black, brown, grey, blue, and white.In some of the posters the character is making eye contact with the camera which could be a indication of horror
MEDIA LANGUAGE: On most film posters the media language is selectively placed in order for the images be more attractive to the audience. The name of the main character starring in the movie is usually at the top of the page and was seen in the following posters. Some horror movie posters also show how good the film is in order to gain more audience, which also holds emphasis. Some movie posters use small sayings like in the poster above words are repeated: " She never forgives. She never forgets. She never left"- this builds tensions and attracts the reader.
EDITING: On the movie posters for movie "the woman in black", editing has been used, as the mist around the main character (Daniel Radcliffe) signifies mysteriousness and danger, as the weather is seen to be gloomy and negative, which what conforms to the horror genre. On the background edited behind the main image sets the scene of the location of where the movie is set most of the time. The use of other images, such as the cross and the back of a body wearing all black shows mysteriousness.
REPRESENTATION: On the horror posters, Daniel Radcliffe represents the victim of the film as he is the one who experiences the terror, which is shown as he always has a serious/ scared facial expressions, representing horror, and linking to the genre. The dark weather around the sides of the poster represent bad weather which indicates bad vibes, and negativity which is common in horror movies.
Here is the conventions and analysis of the magazine cover and DVD cover for my chosen movie. I used paddle is create this presentation.
Director: James Watson
Release date: 10th February 2012
Genre: Horror, Drama, supernatural
Starring: Daniel Radcliff, Janet Mcteer, Ciaran Hinds
Distributors: CBS Films
Plot: A young lawyer, struggling for work after the death of his wife, is sent to a village, of a mysterious woman who used to own manor. The village residents want him to leave as they are trying to conceal a deadly secret. But he refuses, and soon discovers that the house of his client is haunted by the vengeful ghost of a woman dressed in black.
MEDIA LANGUAGE: In the woman in black trailer, the use of media language is seen through the titles and logos, which are usually the first thing seen on trailers. This shows the audience which company produced and distributed the movie. It also usually gives a age certificate, verifying what age group is able to watch the film.
CAMERA: Stereotypically, the shots used in a thriller trailer are, close ups, medium close up, establishing shots or long shots. These shots are mainly used to set the location of the film and give the audience a general idea of where the movie is based around. As in the beginning of 'The woman in black' trailer, and establishing shot is shown of a train with a backdrop showing the setting. The editing in movie trailer are usually short and snappy as the producers don't want to give away too much information, so the audience would want to watch the movie more, if they are interested and therefore it will leave the audience thinking.
MISE EN SCENE: In the mise en scene of the movie trailer above, there is close analyse of main star, Daniel Radcliffe, as the story is based around what happens to him. The movie trailer only includes certain horror scenes to create suspense and tensions for the viewer.
SOUND: Stereotypically, sound used in a horror movie trailer is slow and scary, until there is a loud noise/ bang, which could be either, diegetic or non-diegetic. in the trailer above scary and slow music is used, so this follows the code of slow music, to build tension.
EDITING: The editing of the trailer is done so that the short shots are seen, as an trailer only gives the main outline of what happens in the movie.
Main codes and conventions in this trailer:
- The start of trailer shows an establishing shot of the location- the deserted manor. This follows the codes and conventions of a horror movie as a isolated location is mainly found in horror movies because ancient homes add tension and dear to the movie.
Suspense and dark music is also heard throughout the trailer in order to add and fulfil the themes which are commonly seen in movie trailers. Moreover the audience gain a sense of the nature of the movie.
- A typical horror movie contains a vulnerable character entering an unknown location/ situation. This is clearly illustrated through the woman In black trailer
The following screenshots shows main codes and conventions of a horror movie trailers. The location- a deserted mansion, a vulnerable character looking very scared (indicating fear), ancient tools and objects (the picture), to give a sense of tension.
This has helped me gain some ideas of what type of props and techniques I would use in my trailer.
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