Boo! Genre Research : Conventions of Horror

 Camera Angles/Movements: In horror films, there tends to be Dutch angles to create discomfort. Wide shots and long shots are rarely used as they tend to mainly be used for tracking shots. Handheld and closeup shots can be used to emphasize a character’s point of view or emotions/reactions.  

Mise-en-scene:  

Lighting: Lighting tends to be dark, which adds to the scary atmosphere. Usually lots of light is pointed to a face, murder weapon, or various sorts of scary imagery. 

Settings: Settings can vary, depending on the story being told. In more isolated settings, protagonists are alone and fending for themselves(example?). In settings where more people are present, characters often must work together to defeat the antagonist, which can create tension between them.  

Costumes: Actors who play antagonists are often made to look less human or entirely monstrous. Examples include wearing masks or wearing makeup to be perceived as an entirely inhuman entity. Protagonists are typically dressed in regular clothing or the appropriate clothing for their setting (i.e., casual clothes when hanging out with friends or at school)  

Acting: Characters are usually acting scared in reaction to the events in their lives. However, depending on the character’s personality, they may become angry, start joking, or become aggressive with their friends. Antagonists are often teasing the scared protagonists or are just stoic.  

Makeup: Makeup, besides being used for the common outfits of protagonists, can be used to create cuts, wounds, or bloodstains on a character’s face. It can also be used to make the antagonists look intimidating or inhuman.  

Props: Props, besides regular everyday objects, are often murder weapons or weapons used in self-defense. Knives and bats are extremely common.  

Editing:   

Common editing techniques are action matches, zooms, and shot-reverse-shots can be found in movies. Eye-line matches can be used to show surroundings or potential threats. Something to note is that cutaways and crosscuts aren’t as common because films often want to follow the protagonist through one setting.  

 

Sound:  

The soundtrack is often off-putting, with quick notes and an unsettling key signature. In a more interesting fashion, a lack of diegetic ambient sound can emphasize more scary moments and create tension. However, ambient sound can also be used, coming in the form of small sounds, like creaky floorboards or twigs being snapped. Non-diegetic sound can include a sound motif (likely for the protagonist or any scary moment).  

The Positives:  

The sound, editing, and costumes have a lot of potential in my opinion. The potential to experiment with sound design, like sound bridges and whether or not to include diegetic sound to increase tension or to defy that usual convention and go with no sound in those moments. Editing such as eyeline matches and action matches could really add to the cinematography of our film. Costumes also have potential, because they could really show the character’s personalities, if done correcting.  

The Negatives: Some conventions of horror may need to be defied. The acting in horror is known to be extremely predictable. Protagonists are often overdramatic and are known to make illogical choices, which leads to their deaths. For the sake of our film, those conventions in acting will be defied. We’re hoping to focus on building atmosphere and not focusing on cheap jump scares, which will be done through our editing and our sound design.  

Film Examples:  

Blair Witch Project :) 

Us 

The Black Phone 

The Menu