Codes and Conventions of the Horror Genre

Stereotypically, most horror films, like all films, follow a certain set of conventions throughout the genre, tailored for that genre in particular. For the horror genre, the main conventions are these:

• Low key lighting, giving a darker effect overall and enhancing things such as shadows
• Isolated locations for settings, this adds hugely to tension due to isolation of characters
• A female victim, this could be for sexual objectification or also to stick with stereotypes. It is unlikely that men would be seen as the main victims.
• A disruption of normality, creating a surreal look and unnerving the watcher as a result of this as it manipulates the concept of reality.
• Sub-plot of a male and female relationship to create another subject in the film. This is, more often than not, created mainly for female audiences, and also adds nicely to give more of a filling to the storyline to give more depth. 
• Defeat of monster of resolving of matter, this can help sculpt the film to create a happier ending after the whole ordeal of the issues going on during the film, usually created so the audience isn't left unhappy or unsatisfied with the film, and helps to still make the film some form of an enjoyable industry.

Although these conventions are used by many directors and creators, these conventions are often bypassed by others in the same position. From looking at this, I believe that I may break a lot of these conventions, and create something much different, which is a huge reason as to why I believe my trailer fits a more contemporary style so much more. 

Here is a very helpful source that I looked at for research:

Horror genre:codes and conventions from jwright61

Mise-En-Scene Idea #1 (Annie)

I finally have an outfit idea for the last character in my trailer. This girl is middle class, around the age of 14, and is interested in striking colours and teddy bears. She is relatively unstable mentally, and focuses mostly on fighting and hurting people, which gives a relatively discomforting aura to her, due to her age. This costume idea looks best as it is the most suitable, and shows that perhaps she is someone who is very in your face and full on, due to what she is wearing. I found this make-up and hair tutorial for a character also called Annie, from League of Legends this time, and I believe that this gives a strong understanding of the look I will try to create for this character.
-Disclaimer- My character name originated from the sole reason that my little sister is called Annie. The names are not similar due to the League Of Legends character. 
Here is another outfit idea that I have found very helpful, an outfit tutorial based on the Little Sister character, from my favourite video game, Bioshock.

Audience Theory in Relation to My Trailer

I believe that my trailer would be more relatable to those who are in favour of challenges to society. Researching into other products such as video games and films, as well as their target audiences has helped me to realise that in fact, many of these people want the same thing. Although, like B+K's audience uses and gratifications theory, many of these people may use my trailer and overall product for different reasons, I believe that it all comes down to one thing that my target audience will use this for, and that's escapism.

My product isn't supposed to be informative, and because of the storyline and concept, it's not necessarily relatable either. I believe that the main use for my trailer would genuinely be for escapism. I researched Blizzard games, and found that the majority of the audience use this as escapism too. I believe that this would be the same for my trailer due to the similar concepts and nature of both products. I also believe that this trailer would not be very suitable to those who believe strongly in capitalism being the way to go, as my trailer focuses heavily on the fall of the government and system, rendering any form of capitalism that once existed, useless. Overall, I believe that my trailer relates heavily to marxism for this reason. Thus a marxist reading of my trailer would see it as a challenge to society.

Trailer Script

BLACK SCREEN
CERTIFICATION
BLACK SCREEN
Text appears gradually, showing the quote "It is difficulties that show what men are". - Epictetus.
Fade back to black
BLACK SCREEN
Cut to a Master Shot, panning as a long shot

DESERTED AREA NUMBER 1
The 3 main characters are stood in a noble stance as the camera pans across from left to right.
Fade back to black
BLACK SCREEN
Text appears gradually, showing the quote "Some woman pick men to marry; others pick them to pieces." - Mae West.
Cut to a close up of Annie

DESERTED AREA NUMBER 2 (WOODLANDS)
Close up of puddle, droplets drip, creating a small splash in the puddle each time.
Rack focusing from the back of Annie to the woodlands
Panning of woodlands
Low angle shot of woodlands (trees)
Final establishing shot of woodlands with Annie in background (Here I have used the 5 shot rule)
High angle of muddy shoes before cut to clean shoes
Close up shot of her clothing, before cut to prettier, girlier clothes
Close up of anger in facial expressions, before cut to happier facial expressions
(Flashback shots of her in comparison to present)
Tracking as Annie runs
Fade back to black
BLACK SCREEN
Cut to a Master Shot, panning as a long shot (Contin).

DESERTED AREA NUMBER 1
The 3 main characters are still stood proudly, as the camera pans from left to right.
Fade back to black
BLACK SCREEN
Cut to a close up of Tess

DESERTED AREA NUMBER 3 (METAL FENCES)
Close up of fencing
Rack focusing from the back of Tess to the metal fencing
Medium close up of fencing
Panning of fencing, going upwards
Final establishing shot of fencing with Tess in background (here I have used the 5 shot rule)
Close up of shoes, before cut to cleaner shoes
Close up of her clothing, before cut to other clothes
Close up of worry in facial expressions, before cut to happier facial expressions
(Flashback shots of her in comparison to present)
Rack movement, over the shoulder shot of Tess to Martha in background
Fade back to black
BLACK SCREEN
Cut to a Master Shot, panning as a long shot (Contin).

DESERTED AREA NUMBER 4 (Wreckage)
Close up of rubble
Panning of area
Close up of blood on floor
Low angle of wreckage
Establishing shot of area, with Martha in background (5 shot rule)
Close up of shoes, before cut to worn shoes
Panning of clothing, before cutting in areas to other clothing
Close up of face, before and after
Fade to black
BLACK SCREEN
Cut to a Master Shot, panning as a long shot (Contin).
Cut to Medium shot of 3 characters
Fade to black
BLACK SCREEN
Film title and release date appears gradually
Fade to black
BLACK SCREEN

DESERTED AREA NUMBER 5 (???)
Cut to a close up of agressive man.
Fade to black
BLACK SCREEN

Prop Creation and Research

After browsing the internet multiple times, I have found three very helpful sources in order to help me in my prop creation for Annie and Martha.

Questionnaire

Can you please read this questionnaire and answer honestly? Thank you for your time.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BY9FFZ6

Film Funding and Structure

I believe that my film would be funded by some form of Kickstarter page. For instance, I create a trailer or use the money I have saved personally with other people who are interested in producing this, and then have something to show and post online. This will then attract online audiences, and they can donate to help fund the film. I believe that this is the way it would be done, as my film company is likely to be independent and relatively new. Many directors gain funding through this and social media, which is the route I would also take, and by having a kickstarter, you can also give back to people who put their money in, to really bring those stakeholders into the production on a personal level, making them more interested in the film and it's production, and creating a relatively loyal audience, which may often share and post about the film and it's development, which works as free advertising, and also gives the opportunity for other people to take an interest and help fund the film. I believe that this would work tremendously, as the structure of my film company is likely to be relatively unprofessional. I believe that the company would be more personal, and perhaps start out as good friends or a team of people who share an interest and have a more personal connection to eachother, perhaps friends or family, and start out creating films as it is a personal hobby, but they are able to barely get by buy creating these films as full time jobs. Often things are posted on YouTube, for instance, creating props or costumes etc, and they get a lot of their profits from the monetization of these videos. I believe this would be the best idea, and that it would suit my film trailer and give a matching look to what the creative team behind this could be like in a realistic world.

Audience Uses and Gratifications Theory

This theory does not treat the audience as one unit, but proposes that each person is individual and have different motives for consuming a text. They are an active audience who can work as a unit, but use texts in different ways and for different purposes, and are gratified by these texts in very different ways.
Bulmer and Katz identified the following uses and gratifications:
Escapism - Escape from everyday life.
Personal Relationships - Emotionally engaging with certain characters or storylines in a text.
Personal Identity - Relating to issues and values that are conveyed through texts
Informative - Getting information, perhaps through news or weather stations.

Censorship and Legal Responsibilities

As my film trailer is aged 17+, censorship will play a huge part in this. Censorship is already a hugely debated subject in media, and most of us have an opinion on what people should or shouldn't see on TV screens, meaning we all have some form of input on this subject. Governments play a role in regulating this by having censorship in the first place, so that there isn't anything NSFW or inappropriate for audiences that it may not be suitable for. Compared to countries such as China and Korea, places like UK and USA have far less strict regulation and censorship rules put in place, although there are still cases of films being banned or having only edited versions made available to the public, for instance, 'A Serbian Film'. Because of examples such as this, age certificates exist for films, video games and even websites. There is also the fact that some companies could edit out certain scenes in order to achieve a younger age certificate, so that they can then have a larger audience and more profit as a result.

Star Theory

Chris Rojek identified three types of celebrities in the modern media:
-Ascribed Celebrity - Those born into or inheriting celebrity status, such as members of the royal family or children of those who are already very famous.
-Achieved Celebrity - Those who become celebrities for significant achievements such as charitable actions.
Attributed Celebrity - Those who become celebrities through inheritance nor achievement. Their celebrity status is media generated, for example reality TV stars, such as Katie Price.

Richard Dyer argued that starts conform to dominant ideologies of their time, such as wages as attitudes, and recognised three ways in which a star's image may be interpreted on screen:
- Selective use - Some aspects of a star's personality are conveyed through the character they play.
- Perfect fit - The character the star plays fits perfectly with the star's personality (almost like they are playing as themselves)
- Problematic fit - When a star and their character appear to contradict each other (For example, Tom Hanks playing a villain).

Media Language

Mise en Scene:
- Lighting, props, costume, make-up, location and performance. All are very important in creating the best settings and layout for the film.

Camera Still:
- Close Up (CU), Medium CU, Medium Shot, Long Shot, Wide Shot, Over-the-shoulder Shot, Two Shot, Low Angle Shot, High Angle Shot, POV Shot, Cutaway Shot, Aerial Shot, Dutch Angle.

Camera Movement:
-Camera Panning, Zooming In, Zooming Out, Tilting, Tracking, Rack Focusing/Pulling Focus, Hand-Held.

Editing:
-Cut, Fade to Black/White, Dissolve, Jump Cut, Flashback, Continuity Editing, Master Shot, Match Cut, Shot-Reverse Shot, Montage.

Sound:
-Diegetic Sound, Non-Diegetic Sound, Overlapping Sound, Ambient Sound, Volume/Sound Mixing, Musical Scores.

Print Media:
-Layout, Masthead, Headline, Strapline, Splash/Lead, Cover Story, Cover Line, Exclusive, Copy, Serif Font, Sans-Serif Font, Anchorage, Lure, Framing.

E-Media:
-Web 2.0, Banner, Widget, Blogosphere, Podcast, Vodcast, Wiki, Strings, Long Tail, Avatar, User Generated Content, Digitalisation, RSS Feed.

USPs and Creativity

After thinking about my trailer and style of film, I have had some ideas as to what will make my trailer creative in a different way, and make it more unique. For instance, I shall be creating outfits and weapons myself. For example, swords and other weapons shall be created using materials at home, as this is something I do as a hobby that I could combine with what I am going to do for this film. I believe that this will work well, as this is a very unique style similar to the video games of League of Legends, World of Warcraft and Tome for example. I also believe that this would work well as I don't think that anybody would have the determination to create these kinds of props, which would be brilliant to use for the trailer, almost putting it into it's own category. Overall, I believe that using similar styles from things like LoL and WoW would be great, as it's something that not a lot of people would think of doing, and not a lot of people would connect together or have the determination to recreate, but due to me doing this in my spare time already, I believe that this is more realistic for me to recreate.