Genre and Conventions of a Horror film

The film Genre that we are going to focus on for our production is horror but slightly thriller, as we all enjoy a good a good ‘scary movie’, but also we are really looking forward to go behind the scenes and to actually research and find out what goes on, what makes a horror film, possibly finding out what the special effects are that make the murder seem so real.

I think it will also be very interesting to dig deeper into the making of a scary movie, and find out more detailed information that the audience of the film would not really take into account at the time.

A list of items that we need to find out before we even start to create a horror movie of our own are as follows:
Analysing three opening sequences to a horror film
Establishing shots- plot, setting
Mise-en-scene
Significant shots and sequences
Editing
SFX
Sound
Narrative
Titles and text
Recurring motifs
Target audience

A convention is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted standards, norms, social norms, or criteria, often taking the form of a custom (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_(norm))

Conventions can even be associated with horror films for example; horror films are made to originally ‘scare’ people. According to http://www.filmsite.org/horrorfilms.html, a horror film is designed to frighten and panic, and to invoke our hidden worst fears, but at the same time just be fairly entertaining for people to actually watch them, all these things are accepted by the audience as they know that it is associated with a horror film.

Other obvious conventions of a horror film that we as a group have identified are:

Blood
Death
Killing
Haunted houses and other scary settings
Monsters
Evil
Weapons
Darkness
Storms
Chase sequences
Gore
Violence
Screams
Ghosts

Genre Research

Task 1




Different genres:






Action:

High energy, big budgets, physical stunts and chases. films may include rescues, battles, fights, escapes, destructive crises e,g floods. Examples of actions films could include Independance day, The fast and the furious, fight club.





Adventure:

Usually exciting stories with new experiences. historical spectacles, searches or expeditions for continents such as jungle or desert epics. these films can be linked with action films. Examples of adventure films include Pirates of the caribbean, king kong, Jaws.





Comedy:

Light hearted plots deliberatly designed to amuse and provoke laughter with jokes etc. They exaggerate the situation, the language, the action, relationships and the characters. Examples of these films include Dumb and Dumber, Beverly hills cop, Toy story.





Crime/ Gangster:

Actions of criminals and mobsters particulary bankrobbers or ruthless hoodlums who steal and murder their ways through life. This category also includes a description of some 'serial killer films'. Examples of these films include Scarface, The Godfather, Goodfella's.





Drama:

Are serious, plot driven presentations portraying realistic characters, settings, life situations, and stories involving intense character development. Dramatic films are probably the biggest genre. Examples of films include The longest yard, Forrest Gump, Titanic.





Historical:

Costume drama's, war films, medival romps or period pictures that cover a large expanse of a time set against a vast backdrop. Epics take an historical or imagined event, mythic, legendary, or heroic figures. They add extravagant settings and lavish costumes. Examples of these films include Saving Private Ryan, Braveheart, Schindler's list.




Horror:

Designed to frighten and involke our hidden worse fears often in a terrifying shocking finale. They are often combined with science fiction when the menace or monster is related to a corruption of technology or when the earth is threatened by aliens. There are many sub - genre of horror: slasher, teen terror, serial killers, satanic, Dracula, Frankenstein etc. Examples of these films include An American Werewolf in London, The Blair Witch project, Cabin Fever.


Musical:

Films that emphasize full-scale scores or song and dance routines in a significant way. They are films that are centered on combinations of music, dance, song or choreography. Examples of these films include High School Musical, Wizard of Oz, Moulin Rouge.



Science - fiction:

Films that are complete with heroes, aliens, distant plants, impossible guests, improbable settings, fantastic places, great dark and shadowy villians.

The timeline

We have planned a timeline to make sure we have enough time to fit the project in. In our school study lessons we will do work. these studies are:

Week A

Monday - lesson 2 and 3
Tuesday - lesson 3
Wednesday - lesson 2
Thursday - lesson 3
Friday - lesson 3

Week B

Monday - none
Tuesday - lesson 5
Wednesday - lessons 2, 3 and 4
Thursday - none
Friday - lesson 5

We have planned a timeline to make sure we have enough time to fit the project and we belive that this will help us to be more organised throughout the media project to ensure we know what we are doing from now on.