Research into Horror Music and sound effects.

By understanding what is commonly used for background music in horror films, it will give me a better chance of being able to create a convincing horror trailer for my project.

Music is used in Horror films to create and build suspense, at crucial points of films it is used to increase the audience's reaction to what is happening on screen, when there hear the music building, the audience then become on edge to what is about to occur. Music and sound effects is more important in Horror than any other genre of film.

• orchestral music is the most common form of music used in horror films, it have been used in the beginning of horror films, and it still popular in today's horror films, the most popular form is the piano.
• Heavy rock has also been used in films like the Blair witch 2 as it fits in with the outdoor woods theme, and does help to build the suspense
• creaking stairs, snapping twigs, bangs and booms are apparent in most horror films, just to build the "what was that" or "who's there" audience response to suspense in films.

most of the time the music is non-diegetic, background music played over the top which is not in evident in the action of the film.

History of Horror Films

When making a Horror trailer, it is important to know the history of the Horror film, this way it will allow me to understand the conventions of horror in more death allowing me to therefore produce a more convincing trailer for the film.

Early Horror films seemed to focus more on classic literature of the Gothic horror, such as Dracula, Frankenstein and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Back in the beginning of horror films, silent films was the most scariest, little or no dialect was known to fright the audience more, in contrast to today's horror films where dialect is a big part of the horror films, however silence does still help to create the tension and build the suspense in certain scenes.

Horror films aim to unsettle, panic and invoke our hidden worst fears while at all times captivating us and entertaining the audience.

horror films are vastly different in modern times, as film directors today aim to challenge the original conventions of Horror Films. There have been two-sub genres of horror films that have risen in popularity over the years which are: the horror of personality-psycho films, and horror of the demonic- for example the exorcist.

Planning

As a group we planned out the story line for 'prank'.

we used story boards to do this which allowed us to look at every aspect of the shot like camera angle, music, props, location, lighting etc.

the location for "prank"

we decided on the location as a group. the woods that we have chosen is full of pathways, trees, and dips to make our filming location interesting, and we can incorporate some of the interesting location into out trailer.

Analysising film trailers-The Blair Witch Project

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D51QgOHrCj0

Genre: Horror

Length: 1.51 minutes

Narrative: three students are filming a documentary in the woods when they all disappear mysteriously to everyone, then three years afterward their footage is found.

Unique selling point: filmed using a hand held camera,

Lighting: use of black and white and colour

Target Audience: 18+ adults

Music: non diagetic "booms" and added creepy noises, wind picked up from the handheld

Shot types: mid-shots, single close ups, long shots, extreme close ups, blurred, unknown scenery on extreme close ups,

Pace: slow at the beginning to set the scene, slowly gets faster when their in the woods,

Dialogue: the people involved in filming-starts with the girl, people discussing the Blair witch myth, Gasps, screeches,

Credits and intertiles: "one of the creepiest films since the exorcist" "an entire movie filmed with a handheld"

Tag Line: In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary...A year later their footage was found

Institution: Haxen films production company

Analysising film trailers-The Grudge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMpg6BdHrkI

Genre: Horror

Length: 1.31

Narrative: An American nurse living and working in Tokyo is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse, one that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another victim.

Unique selling point: very creepy/scary looking film, gives you chills, will scare the audience.

Target Audience: 15+

Music: non diagetic added music, creepy,

Lighting: outside: bright lights of the setting

shot types: scenery shots, low angle shots, close up, blurred shots, two shows, over the sholder shots, point of view,

Pace: slow at the beginning, setting the scene, then all of a sudden gets really fast and pacey. then goes back to slow creating the tention

Dialogue: from characters, screaming

Credits and intertitles: "from Columbia pictures" " a curse is left behind" "it never forgives" "doyouhaveagrudge.com" the title "the grudge"

Tag Line: it never forgives, it never forgets

Institution: columbia pictures

Analysising film trailers-The Eye

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF8J1WqV8aQ

Genre: Horror
Length of trailer: 2.08 minutes
Narrative: The remake of the Hong Kong film "Jian Gui", a woman who receives an eye transplant that allows her to see into the supernatural world, a woman's past.
Target Audience: age 15+
Music: Non-diegetic: fast music, giving the trailer pace, added beat, pacey rock music towards the end-making it exciting, piano sounds-classic horror noises
Shots used: loads of close ups, blurred shots-point of view, two-shots, group shots, extreme close ups
Lighting: use of light and dark in the point of view of the woman with bad eyes
Dialogue: between people in the shots, as well dialogue from the film when the shot is black.
Voice over: talking of people, "the eye" voice over towards the end
Pace of trailer: fast, exciting, rapid

Institution: lions gate
Credits/intertitles: "the eye" "coming soon"
Tag line: "how can you believe your eyes, when there not yours" appears on screen as a blank shot.