Genre Research: Horror

 One genre I was looking into is horror. I spent about 3 days researching the codes and conventions of this genre, and I think I have a pretty good understanding of it!

Some common camera angles in a horror film are:

  • extreme close-ups: emphasizes scared facial expressions
  • tilt: to show disorientation
  • establishing shot: establishes the films location
  • handheld: to make the shots look realistic
  • tracking shot: to follow the main character and build suspense
  • point-of-view: allows the audience to relate to the character and feel their emotions
  • dolling: makes the audience believe a character is being watched or followed, which contributes to fear.
Some common Mis-en-Scene:
  • secluded locations are a common setting to allow the main character to get harmed with little obstacles. They are usually dark and abandoned places.
  • the monsters or scary actor in horror films usually wear heavy make-up to make them look super-natural or unordinary. This can include blood.
  • the clothes for regular characters tend to stay away from bright, loud colors. They still to neutral colors to add to the depressing atmosphere of the movie. The clothes for the main antagonist, from killer to ghost, are usually in poor or "creepy" condition. This lets the audience know who the main offender is and lets them know who they should fear.
  • The lighting for horror movies usually include gloomy, dark colors to maintain a haunting feeling.
Some common sound/music trends are:
  • horror films often use dramatic music that gets louder when something is about to happen. This effect creates suspense.
Some common props in horror films include weapons, creepy objects, or occult items. This is due to the common theme of death and despair in horror films. Some of these items include:
  • knives
  • chainsaws
  • dolls
  • crosses
  • axes
  • blood
Some popular films in the horror genre include:
  • Annabelle
  • Texas Chainsaw Massacre
  • Insidious
  • The conjuring
  • The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Overall, it was interesting to learn about the features and trends commonly used in horror movies. I personally enjoy horror movies a lot and I would enjoy using every convention I researched. I would be most excited to use the gloomy lighting and handheld camera technique. I feel like this would create a really cool product. The only thing I wouldn't be fond of using is the fake blood. I think it only looks good if applied in the right way and can look cheesy easily. Other than that, the codes and conventions for this genre are really fascinating!


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