Evaluation Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products ?
by Rebecca Hart

To begin answering this question, I am going to take different shots from my trailer and analyse and annotate them, and assess how well they reflect the forms and conventions of the horror genre.

The first clip I have chosen from my trailer establishes the storyline of the rest of the trailer/film. It is fairly typical of horror films; a group of teenagers are alone in the woods and one of their friends have gone missing, and I personally believe that this initial part of the sequence establishes the story quite well. There are shots of the characters looking worried and upster, with another character then coming into the frame saying "I can't find him anywhere..." This sets up the basis for the rest of the trailer, which follows on and is quite self explanitory. This introduction to a film trailer is very typical of a horror film trailer, with our group noticing in particular the first scene of the "I Know What You Did Last Summer" film trailer.

The second clip introduces the characters individually to the audience. Again, we know this technique is typical of horror film trailers as we noticed it in the trailer for "Scream 4", and it was a technique that we thought was extremely effective. The clips are kept very short, and fade in and out, showing the characters in their everyday surroundings going about their everyday business, with their purpose being to introduce the characters to the audience, and almost make them feel a connection to them, therefore making them slightly worry for safety and well being, which is most likely in danger due to the nature of the film. This grips the audience, and is a convention that is very well and commonly used in professional texts.

The purpose of the third clip is to step the pace of the sequence up a notch. It is at this point that the action of the trailer begins, with the characters becoming suspicious that something unusual is going on, which is a technique used in many horror film trailers.

The fourth shot establishes the creepy plot of the whole trailer, with the ominous black silhouette against the kitchen window working very well to do this. The thought of somebody being outside watching you in your own home is a thought that could scare anybody, and works well in creeping out the audience, as it is a universal fear. 

Our intertitles, shown in the fifth shot, are designed to fit with the rest of the trailer, and give off the same scary vibe.