Task 2.3 Genre Research

Task 2.3 Genre Research

Our film is a Thriller-Horror hybrid in terms of genre. The conventions we have researched include adding a blue hue to the scenes. This is a convention of horror and really gives a cold feel to the film, however, to coincide with the setting of the forest we were thinking of making it a green hue, which is equally as cold, but is also in touch with nature. We also plan to use music that builds up tension and gets faster as it goes along. Another convention of horror we are going to use is the non-diegetic sound of voices inside the killers head. This will make the viewer scared and feel that there is more to the killer that meets the eye.

The setting of the woods is also a convention of horror. There are a number of horror films that use the woods as a setting, such as Cabin in the Woods (2012) and The Evil Dead (1981). It is an isolated location with little chance of rescue, meaning the audience will fear for the safety of characters involved.

A film that inspired us was The Silence of the Lambs, which is also set in the woods and uses some great shots that make it seem isolated and eerie. It does this with the use of music, as well as some unsteady camera work. The unsteady camera work is a convention of horror, as shaky cam is often a feature to represent fear and a race against time.  They make the shot dark despite it being daytime, which increases the fear of the viewer.

With the horror genre, costume choices should be considered, as they can symbolise certain emotions of the characters. For example, black usually represents mystery and red represents danger. A film that uses costumes to represent ideas in the film is The Dark Knight, a thriller-action hybrid, as the protagonist, Batman, wears black to show a hidden identity and also so he blends into the night sky.  In contrast, the antagonist, The Joker, wears purple, white, green and red, representing a clown to emphasize joking and irony. We can use this as inspiration when deciding what colors our characters can wear. Black represents mystery so that is something we are considering using in the film.

Camera angles are another convention of horror, with lots of high and low angle shots being used to increase tension and to show where control and power is in the scene. Low angle shots are usually used to show little power, but high angle shots show lots of power.

In terms of editing, we believe that our film should have few cuts and very long scenes. This will be used to build up to a reveal at the end. This is another technique used in The Silence of the Lambs, as the first shot is a massive 1 minute and 6 seconds. Our shots will be considerably less than this, but there will be infrequent cuts initially, building up to more cuts when the dead body is revealed.

In terms of sound, Horror films conventionally use volume changes from quiet to loud. This is done to provoke an emotional reaction from the viewer, to get them to ‘jump out of their seats’. We think we will initially start with silence, and then build up to very dramatic music at the end.  This is generally used in all horror films, as it provides the scare factor that they wish the audience to feel to really entice them into the film.

Horror films usually have a recognizable pattern in that it tries to terrify viewers. In many horror films, the antagonist will be the cause of the horror. This benefits the filmmakers as they can make a sequel with the same antagonist and it is likely to be just as popular. Examples of horror films with sequels are the Saw films and A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. It's believed that the roots of filmed Horror began in the late 1700's with Gothic Horror, which saw settings such as dark castles, dungeons and forests being used. The term 'Horror'; however did not come into play until the 1930's. The post-war period to the 1950's was perhaps the most difficult time for horror films, with them all having a strict B-list in Hollywood, as opposed to A-list. In the modern era, horror films include various unique features due to the introduction of Computer Generated Imagery (CGI).The scale of horror films is a lot greater, with films such as World War Z dealing with themes such as post-apocalypse and pandemics.