Setting: The usual setting for a horror genre is most prominently a desolate place; this is because this isolation enhances the isolation that the protagonist is stereotypically likely to feel throughout the film. Examples of these places could be dark alleys, or small villages in the middle of nowhere. Frequent places that occur are sometimes linked to the gothic genre, with deserted buildings with a ‘history’, or places like abandoned houses etc. or insane asylums. The lighting also would connote the horror genre, it usually would be dark throughout the film, or the ‘scary’ stuff within the film would be likely to happen at night time, furthermore the weather would likely be rainy and cold, or alternatively stormy etc. to help enhance the scariness of the film.
Characters: The characters within a horror film are repetitive in that we find them in the majority of these films, firstly we have the main protagonist, often the victim but later hero of the movie, usually this character becomes the ‘last girl’ of the movie (this idea coined by Carol J. Clover) meaning she is the only one to survive the whole film.
Secondly the villain, often a monster or a serial killer, or some other form of threatening person, this is usually a killer and is the source of the disruption within the film, for example, Leatherface in Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
These two are two definite characters that are involved in most, if not all, horror films.
Themes: Horrors are usually separated from thrillers because horrors tend to have more of a paranormal aspect to them. This directs us to certain themes that would more prominently be seen in horrors, for example:
●Good vs. evil
●Supernatural events
●Paranormal happenings and so on.
How do these conventions link to the ideas you want to involve in your trailer?
The setting in a horror is a key feature that allows the genre to be defined. The location for the trailer will be outdoors, and will be involving bad weather (rain and thunder) and also with the majority of the shots occurring at night time. This links in to our story because her paranormal events occur in her dreams, so it would obviously be at night time if she's sleeping. This also allows the isolation, which is a common theme, to be reinforced further because it’s dark, she's asleep, vulnerable and there’s no one there to save her. From the setting, there's also the idea that these disruptions are paranormal, consequently proving further the fact that the genre is horror. Not only this but we adopt the 'last girl' theory throughout the plot, however this wont be indicated in our trailer, because if so, we would be giving too much of the story away.
