Studying Horror Films
Making a horror trailer for a new horror movie
Genre
A genre is a type of film: romance, comedy,
horror, science-fiction, action/adventure…
Now complete the ‘Genre Mix ‘n’ Match’ activity
Sometimes a film borrows from more than one
genre, these films are called Hybrids
Now complete the ‘hybrid’ activity
So You Think You Know Horror

Name the films that the following characters appear in:
The Conventions of Horror Films

List the conventions of horror movies
(conventions are the elements you
expect in a horror film):

Complete the conventions sheet attached
Horror Movie Conventions 1
Blood
 Death
 Killing
 Villain
 Victims
 Haunted houses and isolated settings
 Monsters
 Evil

Horror Movie Conventions 2
Weapons
 Darkness
 Storms
 Chase sequences
 Gore
 Violence
 Screams
 Ghosts

Fear
What makes us scared?
Suggested horror movies to
watch:
Scream
 The Ring
 Gothika
 The Others
 Blair Witch

Generic Horror Movie Log Sheet
When you watch a horror movie complete the following tasks about it:
 What is the film called?
 Who directed it? (Have they directed any other horror films?)
 When was it released?
 Does it have any well known stars in it? If so who?
 List the Horror genre conventions in the film.
 What elements in the film created fear and suspense?
 What elements in the film failed to create fear or suspense?
It is good to watch as many horror movies as you can. Some
contemporary horror movies as well as some older horror movies
(Halloweens, Nightmare on Elm Streets, Friday 13th, …)
Complete the generic horror movie log sheet
when watching horror films
Narrative and Character

Narrative: most, according to Propp, film narratives follow this structure:
Equilibrium – disequilbrium – a new state of equilibrium

According to Propp again, there are certain characters in films and stories with
certain functions:
the hero – the one on the quest and the one who saves the
day
the villain – the evil one who causes the disequilbrium
the helper – a person who helps the hero on their quest/the
sidekick
the victim – at the mercy of the villain
the donor – someone who has something special which will help the
hero
Complete the narrative and character worksheet
on the horror movies that you watch
Brief Outline of the Film
Industry 1
Production
A small production company will form and have an idea for a new
movie. They will then have to get funding for this movie. Movies
often cost many millions of dollars/pounds to make. The
production company will go to a distributor for this money.
If the distributor likes the idea: in other words that the film has
a winning formula (similar films have been successful before) or
that it is so brilliantly original that it amazes them (this is most
unlikely to be the case). Also the idea must meet the
conventions of the genre to which it belongs. Then the
distributor may well lend the money for the production company
to make their film.
The distributor can force changes to the idea and demand that
certain stars appear in the film.
Production…
The production phase itself is split up into
3 sections:
1. Pre-production: planning, design,
storyboarding, casting…
2. Production: the actual shooting of the
movie
3. Post-production: editing the movie
together, adding sound and special
effects
Brief Outline of the Film
Industry 2
Distributor/Distribution
These are the people with money. They are often the large
studios: Universal, Twentieth Century Fox and Warner
Brothers. They are often part of huge media conglomerates:
Vivendi Universal, News Corporation and AOL Time Warner.
They are wealthy and own much of the world’s media.
Once the film has been produced (made) then the distributors
start marketing the film: posters, interviews with stars,
merchandise, soundtrack, trailers…
Seeing as the distributor lent most of the money for the movie
then they scoop up the majority of the film’s profit.
The distributors are often American, hence this is why the
American Film Industry dominates our screens
Brief Outline of the Film
Industry 3
Exhibition
The showing of the film. This can be
either:
 Cinema
 DVD (rental and sales)
 Video (rental and sales)
 Satellite/digital TV and Box Office
 Terrestrial TV
History of the Horror Movie
Condensed…
Horror movies have been around since silent movies (Nosferatu). Obviously being scared is
something the audience want. The horror movie received a huge revival in the late 70’s early
80’s (Omen and Nightmare on Elm Street) but died a sad death in the late 80’s and
throughout most of the 90’s.
However, with the advent of the horror smash parody Scream the genre is, once again,
extremely popular.
What was frightening back in the silent movie days and what is frightening now may well have
changed. As society changes so do our fears.
For example, when moving image was first invented footage of a moving train caused fear in the
audience because people really believed that the train would come straight out of the screen
www.darkwebonline.com/top100horror1.asp
The web address above will take you through the top one hundred horror movies.
Research and produce your own power point presentation of the history of the horror movie
Textual Analysis of the opening
sequence to Scream

The opening sequence to Scream is Wes
Craven at his best: he deliberately uses
some of the most common horror
conventions in the genre…
Complete the worksheets on the opening sequence to Scream
Textual Analysis
Important definitions

Denotation: a description of what is
actually there in the frame

Connotation: what are the suggested
meanings of the elements you have
identified under the section of
denotation
Complete the denotation/connotation activities
Camera Angles
Extreme Close Up:
This is used to
Emphasise something.
What is this image
Emphasising? In other
Words, what is the
Connotation of this
Image?
Camera Angles
Close Up:
This is where the
subject fills the frame
it shows emotion.
what is the connotation
of this
close up?
Camera Angles
Dutch Tilt:
Where the subject is
tilted. Often used in
horror to create
disorientation. What
is the connotation of this
Dutch Tilt?
Camera Angles
Extreme Long shot:
This is where the setting
Fills the frame. It is
An establishing shot which
Sets the scene…what is the
Connotation of this shot?
Camera Angles
Long shot:
this is where
we see the subject
in relation to their
surrounding
the setting dominates.
what is the connotation
of this image?
Camera Angles
Medium long shot:
this is where the setting
and the subject are
in equal proportion.
What is the connotation
of this still?
Camera Angles
Medium Shot: this
is when the subject is cut
off at the waist. You
can still see their costume
but also some of their
emotions. What is
the connotation of this still?
Camera Angles
Medium Close Up:
When you can still see
some of the subject’s
physique but their emotions
are clearly evident. What
is the connotation of this
still?
Camera Movement





Zoom = when zooming in the camera does not
move
Tracking (dollying) = the camera moves
smoothly towards or away from the subject
Pan = the camera moves from left to right
following a moving subject.
Hand-held camera = produces a jerky
movement, creating a sense of reality/chaos
Steadicam = a hand-held camera worn with a
harness to achieve a steady shot
Editing
This occurs everytime that a film is cut. A film is never
shot in the order that the events happen. This would
cost a fortune: all sequences with the same location
will be shot at the same time regardless of where
they appear in the narrative. Sometimes the opening
sequence to a film will be the last sequence to be
shot. When a sequence has high octane action the
cuts/editing is fast and numerous…
Chase sequences are very good to demonstrate this
Soundtrack and Sound effects
Soundtrack: this is the music playing in the background. It can be
diegetic or non-diegetic. If the sound is part of the narrative,
the action (eg: a radio playing in the shot) it is diegetic.
However, more often than not, the soundtrack is non-diegetic.
Music playing in the background which is not evident in the
action.
Sound effects: these are the effects added during postproduction. For example, explosions, birdsong…
Jaws: watch a shark approaching sequence without the sound and then
with the sound!? Notice the difference…
www.filmsound.org
Costume
Costumes tell you something about the character (the
genre too)? What are the
Connotation of the following costumes?
Props
What are the connotations of the props in
these images?
Lighting
What are the connotations of the lighting
used in the stills below?
Mise-en-scene
If you were to pause a moment in a film, that frame
would be mise-en-scene. Textual analysis of elements
within this frame, in terms of denotation and
connotation, is mise-en-scene.
Mise-en-scene…
Your practical production 1


You must first form a production team and invent a name for
your production company
You must then begin your primary research
The target audience is very important in any media product. You
must meet their needs in order for your product to be a success.
So, decide on your target audience (teen…) and create a
questionnaire which sets out to discover what horror movies are
popular with this audience, what their fears are, what
conventions they rate as the most important in a horror film…
Hint: make your questionnaires easy to fill in and give the
participants choices to choose from. Don’t ask a random
question like: Why do you like horror movies? Instead, give
them a list of possible reasons to choose from to state why they
like horror movies – this will make your analysis much easier
Your Practical Production 2
Once your questionnaires have been
completed and your results have been
analysed (together with your knowledge
of the horror genre and your knowledge
and analysis of horror movies + clips)
you will be able to begin brainstorming
possible ideas for your own horror movie
Your Practical Production 3
Once you have decided on an idea for your
own horror movie then you must write
the TREATMENT for your film. A
treatment is a 200 plot summary of
what happens.
When the treatment is complete you may
begin inventing your PITCH
Your Practical Production 4
The Film Pitch
This is a very short sales pitch about your
film designed to get distributors
interested in your product.
Films have been sold with pitches of only
three words: the film Alien was sold on
the pitch: Jaws in Space
The Film Pitch

www.thefilmexperience.net/news/

www.scripthollywood.com/id29.html

www.chickenhead.com/stuff/moviepitch/index.asp

www.geocities.com/fidelio1st/film/pitch.html
Your Practical Production 5
Once you have pitched your film and created your
treatment. You are ready to move straight from
production into post-production.
The distributor ‘farms out’ the job of creating the
trailer for a film to a post-production house.
You, in effect, will become that post-production house
and create your own trailer for your new horror movie
The Film Trailer 1
Film trailers are between 2-3 minutes long. They have about 100
cuts in them. They are designed to make the audience feel
both:
The pleasure of the text – the audience recognises familiar
conventions and narratives
Suspense in the audience – by the use of engima codes. Who is the
killer? What happens in the end…?
The film trailer itself tends to be structured in the following way:
this structure is not ‘set in stone’ and can be moved around to
have a greater effect
The film trailer 2
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
The distribution company logo
The production company logo
The narrative establisher – a series of longer sequences which establish the
fundamental storyline of the film
The stars or the USP – the unique selling point – often stars or directors.
Horror movies traditionally don’t always use well-known stars because the
audience feel more uncomfortable with actors they don’t recognise and that
don’t make them feel secure. In the trailer for the horror movie Scream the
director Wes Craven is the USP because he is famous for directing the cult
horror film Nightmare on Elm Street
A series of quick, exciting, sequences that are full of suspense from the film –
this is the convincer in that it should create enough suspense to ensure that
the audience decide to go and watch the film
All through the trailer will appear the conventions of the genre
The black and white film listings
Complete the trailer analysis worksheets
Go to www.virgin.net/movies for film trailers
Storyboarding
Now, in your production teams, please storyboard your
film trailer using the conventions of trailers
Storyboarding
You must number each
image/sequence on your storyboard
Underneath each image on your
storyboard you should include some
notes as to camera angles, lighting,
etc…
Please see attached blank storyboard
Prop List
Cast List
In order to organise
yourselves effectively you
must complete an prop list
and a cast list for your
trailer…
Please see attached blank listings
Production Schedule
Your production team must complete a
production schedule. You must not go
over schedule as you will go over budget
and the distribution company would lose
profits…
See attached blank production schedule
Edit List
Now you have shot your footage; you must
now look at the footage on your tape
and number the sequences + a
description of them in the order they
appear on the tape. Then you have to,
using your footage list, prepare an edit
list of the sequences you will use and
the order they are to be edited in…
See blank sheets attached
Evaluating your product
You must evaluate your product and the
stages of production.
Please see attached evaluation structure