As the chosen genre for my trailer task was a Slasher horror film, I analysed the codes and conventions of existing Slasher films, which is documented in my research and planning stages. I aimed to make a trailer for a very traditional Slasher film, but a British one! I tried to stick to conventions, except the nationality, very closely including mise en scene, location, costume, the storyline and camera angles.
The storyline of my horror film is very conventional. In ‘The Sleepover’, a young girl is left alone from for the weekend as her parents go away. She has a sleepover, which is interrupted by a masked killer who kills every character except ‘the final girl’. This is very conventional as films such as Scream and Pyscho also make use of the final girl theory and the victims of the murderer being teenagers with illicit behaviour. My British twist to this, however, is the content I would include in the full film; there would be a lot of British youth culture included to establish the challenging conventions of the American Slasher Film. Also, I would try to achieve a more realist effect than films such as Scream – an effect similar to the British film ‘This Is England’.
The weapon I included in my trailer is conventional of a Slasher film. A penetrative weapon is very conventional, due to the theory of sexual terror where stabbing is an act of taking sexual power away from a victim, who often has been included in sexual behaviour in the film. I used a Ghurkha knife as a prop, which instantly evokes fear from an audience. This is similar to films such as Psycho and Halloween.
How I styled, shot and directed my villain fitted conventions appropriately. Slasher villains are often dark figures whose facial appearance is somehow covered up with a mask, lighting or film make up. The costume for my killer was plain black clothes, signifying evil and also evoking alarm from an audience when they see a dark figure. I used white face paint to cover his facial features, similar to the villain in Scream and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This also gives him the dehumanising effect which is common in Slasher villains. He moved slowly in my long shot of him walking up the stairs, which is common as it signifies that the killer has no fear; he is invincible and moves calmly to show this.
The characters in my trailer are also very conventional. A group of teenagers is possible the most common victim group among the horror genre; perhaps due to their vulnerability or due to their illicit behaviours (their brutal end is some form of punishment). I used Emily for the main character, who is conventional due to her attractiveness and innocent look. The unconventional aspect of my characters is their strong British accents, behaviour and realistic appearances. Another convention I broke with my characters was one I made sure to include in my trailer; the convention that the women who have sex die first. Scream also breaks this conventional, and I believe it is a realistic modern update to the traditional Slasher film. This is why I included the footage of Emily and Michael leaving the room together to wolf-whistles to suggest that the final girl survives despite not being a virgin.
The sound I used is conventional for a horror movie. For non diegetic sound, I found two different orchestral scores. One was more calm and eerie for the beginning of the trailer before the horror properly unfolds. I then incorporated a more traditional horror music; jumpy, fast paced and tension building, for the more ‘scary’ scenes. I also incorporated sound effects such as
• An eerie door creaking sound
• A metallic ‘boom’ for scary moments such as the villain appearing at the window and the door opening to reveal bloody handprints.
• A voice over of a British narrator – to establish the British genre and also explain the plot more substantially. The voice was deep and mysterious, fitting the conventions of a horror voiceover.
Diegetic sound that I used was sound such as a scream, a knife swishing and the low scared voices of teenagers. These are all conventional sounds for movies such as Halloween and I Know What You Did Last Summer.
I incorporated the green screen, and the production/distribution company Warner logo to include the things which are generally seen in trailers in theatres. I chose Warner Brothers because they could distribute my film in America, despite it being a British production, and they are extremely successful. The clip of their logo also establishes the horror genre. I got this and the green screen by converting a clip from Youtube onto MP4, then converting it into imovie.
I carefully altered mise en scene so it was as conventional as possible. Some examples are:
• The final girl running through the dark night into an area full of trees / bushes – This setting is very common in horror films due to the isolation and helplessness of wooded areas. It is common in films such as The Cabin and Eden Lake.
• The teenagers sitting in a circle in the living room, telling scary stories. This creates a sense of irony I wanted to portray in my film, similar to Scream. The dark room lit with candles creates an eerie atmosphere and foreshadows danger.
• The killer walking up the stairs, which are dark and eerie – A common convention of horror films is a victim running up the stairs further into the house instead of escaping. “There’s always some stupid killer stalking some big breasted girl, who can’t act, who’s always running up the stairs when she should be going out the front door” – Scream (1996)
• The setting – most of my filming was done in a friends house which is an old English cottage. This old setting set a mysterious atmosphere and is similar to the conventional haunted house locations in horror films, similar to ‘The Others’.
One convention which is very traditional, and could be see as overused, is the phone call. I wanted to use this though, to stick very closely to Slasher conventions in my British twist. I filmed the girl speaking down the phone then edited the killer’s voice on top using I-movie. The cockney British accent sets my film apart from most American ones, although his language is very conventional.
I used editing appropriately to stick to conventions also. I altered the colour settings on the beginning of the trailer to increase contrast and decrease brightness. As I did not get the opportunity to film outside the old village house, I had to use mine which is a typical small terraced house. Therefore I hope editing made have more of a dark atmosphere.
I also incorporated slide transitions such as cross dissolve and fade to black between some scenes, in order to split certain stages of the trailer and increase or decrease the pace. I also used many fast paced jump cuts, and I think the contrast between the two is effective. I used text in my trailer, to speak directly to the audience and hopefully captivate them more into the storyline. This also establishes the genre and plot more to the audience. The language is mysterious, and the black screen with a cracked graphic red font connotates violence, danger and is conventional of a horror film. These colours are often used in this genre.
Similar to Eden Lake:
I used a ‘fake ending’ – the fade to black transition is very gradual and suggests to the audience that the trailer is over, however I used a loud, startling sound effect along with sudden footage of the killer jumping out of a cellar to shock and scare the audience; the main aim of a horror film.
I also used editing at the moment the villain appears at the window. I split the clip into three parts and editing the colour settings of the middle clip so that the picture appeared as a 'negative' photo. The overall effect is a flashing at the window which shocks the audience and draws attention to the killer's dangerous intentions.
The camera shots and techniques I used were aimed to be varied. I used a range of close ups, long shots, low angles and point of view shots.The low angles showin the villain signifies his dominance in the situation and the point of view shots give the audience personal insight into the characters - captivating them into the experience of my teaser trailer. I also used a clip of hand held camera shooting. This is often used in horror films and gives a more realistic depiction of the horror. This technique is used throughout the whole films in Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project.
I used a vertical panning shot of the girl sitting on the stairs then the dark figure of the killer at the top of the stairs, unnoticed. This is designed to shock the audience and make them feel alarm for the victim; creating sympathy for horror victims is essential.
