What are genre conventions?

For instances, this means that audiences derive pleasure from knowing the expected within genres, but also, pleasure may be derived from changing

the expected, by giving the film’s genre originality.

Genre conventions are all little elements that separate one genre from another. These elements can include setting, characters and themes. For

the most part, genres often have particular elements that the audience will expect.

Genre conventions tend to evolve and therefore directors break out of the typical genre to create new content. Sometimes audiences will get bored of

the typical genre and will be stereotyped as a cliché.

Steve Neale declares that ‘genres are instances of repetition and difference’. He believes that audiences receive pleasure from both of these;

repetition and difference.

Horror conventions

Any dark place would be good for filming a good horror. Subways, haunted houses, forests, basements, attics, cabins and other isolated locations.

Setting-Urban environments, dark alleys and streets. Also, places that are assumed to have ‘dark’ history such as abandoned houses and run down ghost towns. Anything that connotes being alone or isolated.

Technical Aspects-

Low-Key lighting is usually used in horror films when trying to create a ‘dark’ atmosphere. This is used rather than using ambient lighting as it can set the mood of the film. Low–Key lighting can also help create unfamiliar shapes and shadows within the darkness.

Lighting--

Technical Aspects-

Diegetic sounds are just as important as non-diegetic sounds. This is because they both create just as much of the atmosphere. Diegetic sound such as footsteps and non-diegetic sounds would be a voice over, or sound that is used to over emphasise and action.

Sounds--

Technical Aspects-

Editing can create suspension and unsettling tension for the audience. If the editing hasn’t been paced up in a while then it’s plausible that something bad is likely to happen very soon or something will make you jump.

Editing--

An example of this is the film Scream. The long shot of following someone’s action of slowly walking around with no music suggests nothing yet it makes us suspicious, the editing then changes when the presences of the evil has been seen and the shots start to have a faster pace, and music is also introduced to make our tension as an audience grow.

Technical Aspects-

Camera angles--Camera angles are very expressive when it comes to filming any genre. Especially in horror, the high and low angles can be used to connote fear, desperation and inferior. Point of view shots allow the audience to empathise with the monster, or with the victim who is being chased.

The narrative structure is how the story is told and in horror films usually the end is a cliffhanger or it has a negative ending. There’s always a protagonist, hero, a man and a ‘final girl’. Usually the hero has to go on a mission or quest to kill someone or resolve the problem.

Narrative Structure-

Iconography-

Visually, colours that are dominant within the horror genre is red and black. These colours connote death, blood, danger and evil.Props are a large element of identifying the genre. Props include things such as knives, chainsaws, masks and ripped costumes. Other things include, crucifixes, Ouija boards and bibles.

Themes-There are a lot of different themes within a horror film. Some of which include; good versus evil, revenge, supernatural, nightmares, insanity, envy and lots more.