Conventions of horror film posters

There are several features that you would typically see on the front cover of a horror film poster which makes it recognisable that the film is in the horror genre.

Lighting:

The lighting used in horror film posters is typically dark and dull and the only real lighting seen is either near the person or object however this lighting is still very dull and not bright. This is done as it creates mystery and uncertainty about what the film is about and makes the viewer want to go and watch the film to find out what happens. An example of a horror film cover that uses lighting to create mystery is the conjuring film poster.

This cover has used dark lighting around the person then in the middle there is some light to allow us to see the outline of a doll however we still can't see who is holding the doll and what they are doing, this then makes us want to find out by viewing the film.

Colour scheme:

The main colour scheme seen on horror film posters are associated with a dark colour scheme. Blacks and greys are typically used as they have connotations of mystery and death which are the main themes that we see in horrors films throughout the film there a moments of mystery when we don't know when the scare is going to come and they always end in a death so the poster is stating this to the audience. We always see the colour red used in film posters as this colour has connotations of danger, warning and blood which is telling the audience that the film doesn't end with a happy ending and that we should be warned about this. You wouldn't typically see any bright happy colours on the front of a horror film poster unless they want to confuse the audience and make them believe that everything is good and happy in the film before they watch it which would create a bigger impact when they find out what actually happens.

Setting:

Typical setting/background for horror film posters is an eerie photograph of an house then the protagonist is in front of the house. This is typically used for supernatural horrors where the house is possessed by spirits for example "Insidious" however could also be used for slasher films as typically the killing will take place in the house so I might use this for my film as the sub-genre of my film is a slasher so I could have a picture of the house as a background for my poster. The house used will typically be very old-fashioned houses maybe from the victorian era by using a house it will make the viewer feel very uncomfortable as we would typically associate a house with safety but in this case by being in the house wouldn't be safe at all.

Iconography:

Typical iconography you would see in horror film posters are weapons that would cause danger to someone for example a knife, pitchforks or guns these could all cause danger to someone. Typically you would see a knife being used for slasher films as this is a typical weapon used in these films for example "halloween" throughout the film the main weapon used is a knife so by having it on the poster it will tell audience what type of horror the film is. Im going to feature a weapon on my poster as the sub-genre of my film is a slasher and the "killer clown" kills the woman with a knife in the end so this will tell my audience what sub-genre of horror my film is.

Camera Angles/shot types:

Long shot- A long shot would be used in a horror film poster if it was showcasing dark figures of silhouettes as this would allow the audience to see the outline of the killer which would make the audience feel uncomfortable but also allow them to know what the outline of the killer looks like in advance so when they watch the film they would know when the killer is coming

Close up- A close up shot of the protagonist allows the audience to feel closer to this character and while watching the film they will have a connection with the main character and sympathises with what happens to them in the end.

Medium shot- this is typically used in paranormal or slasher films allowing the audience to be close to the antagonist.In addition the antagonist is typically giving direct eye contact to the audience which would make the feel on edge and uncomfortable as if they are going to get them next.

Extreme close up- this is used to show key details of the antagonist or protagonist to give a sign to the audience to what is going to happen in the film. As this key detail must have a link to the narrative of the film which you wouldn't be able to see if a different shot was used.

Filming Log

Here is a filming log of what scene was filmed on each day. This helped as it allowed me to see what I have filmed and what I still needed to film to finish my film. I filmed in four sections I began with the beginning to set the scene then I had two middle sections to build up the tension and finally the last scene.

Risk Assessment

The purpose of a risk assessment is that producers have considered the safety of everyone involved including the cast and crew. This is done by considering the potential hazards and how these can be prevented. The risk assessment should be completed before filming on location as this could prevent serious injuries. It won't stop injuries from happening as you can't control everything however it can stop the injury from being more serious.

Release form

Here is my release form from an actor in my short film . A release form is used in photography, film and music and is a legal binding agreement.  In film actors will have to sign a release form which will mean if they after signing release form and being filmed then they said that they don't want to be in the film anymore they wouldn't be able to do as they have already signed the release form.  

Call Sheet

Here is the call sheet for my short film. It states the title of my film, the location, cast, crew and equipment that will be involved when making my film. It is given to everyone involved to let them know the location of the shoot on that day and what scene they will be filming. Its a general summary of what is happening throughout the day.

KILLER CLOWN

My main idea for my short film came from the huge phase of the "Killer clown" which took place around halloween. The trend began in America in the summer and slowly came over here in the UK. The trend focused on people dressing up in scary clown outfits and jumping out on people however in some cases this trend was taken too far and some people were threatened with weapons.

I wanted to look at this "killer clown" phase in my horror film as its surprising how we are typically more scared of things that are associated with our childhood and inoocence for example dolls,balloons and clowns. In my horror film I wanted to do this by having a child dress up as a cute clown which we see as innocent but then this child grows up and the clown is "psychotic".

In addition I wanted to relate my horror film to real life situations much like "Imom". It interests me how quickly trends are spreaded across countries which is mainly through social media. People start out these pranks as just funny jokes however in some cases they can develop too far and become very dangerous. 

By looking at this trend it helped me in coming up with the title of my horror film. "Clowning around" comes from the idea of how easily pranks can be taken too far even if it is just messing around. 

Screen-play

“Clowning around”                            By                     Georgia Robinson

223 Kingsley Avenue Kettering 07907412823 Georgiarobinson238@gmail.com

FAde Black

Clowning Around

FADE BLACK

Halloween 1993

FADE BLACK TO THEN SHOW A LONG SHOT OF THE HOUSE

 

jOE:

(WALKS UP TO HOUSE AND KNOCKS ON THE DOOR) “ TRICK OR TREAT”

jojo:

“WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOUSED TO BE?”

jOE:

“A CLOWN”

JOJO:

“WELL YOU LOOK STUPID, YOU CAN’T EVEN AFFORD A GOOD COSTUME”

JOJO:

“COME BACK WHEN YOUR COSTUME IS ACTUALLY GOOD BECAUSE RIGHT NOW YOU LOOK PATHETIC”

Jojo shuts the door in his face. Joe walks off and sits at the bottom of the step and looks up in a sadistic way and let’s go off the white balloon.

Fade to black

Halloween 2016

Fade to black

 

 

Long shot of house with lights on in the living room. Camera goes into the living room to see young boy and mother watching a kids clown programme.

jojo:

“IM JUST GOING UPSTAIRS”

 

Jojo walks up the stairs with the camera looking down at her. She walks pasts the camera. The camera begins to zoom in to the letterbox. Grungy hands slide through the letterbox and lift it up to reveal the mouth of the clown (close up of hands and mouth).

Stan:

(HISTERICAL LAUGH)

 

jOE:

(SITS UP TO GO SEE WHAT THE LAUGH WAS AND LOOKS THROUGH THE LETTER BOX- CAMERA LOOKS THROUGH THE LETTER BOX, TO REVEAL A BALLON OUTSIDE. THE CAMERA IS THEN LOOKING THROUGH THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LETTERBOX TO SHOW THE YOUNG BOYS EYES. THEN THE LETTERBOX SHUTS.)

jOE:

(WALKS PAST LIVING ROOM DOOR AND CLOWN HANDS COME OUT TO GRAB HIM)

                “MUM”

JOE:

(WALKS UP THE STAIRS- CAMERA FOLLOWS THE FEET WALKING UP THE STAIRS)

 

STAN:

(PUTS HANDS AROUND THE CORNER TO PLACE A RED BALLOON OUTSIDE MOTHERS BEDROOM)

 

        JOE:

(CLOSE UP SHOT OF HIS SCARED FACE AS HE LOOKS AT THE BALLOON, WALKS INTO THE MOTHERS ROOM)

 

CAMERA FROM JOES POINT OF VIEW LOOKING AT THE CLOWN STABBING HIS MOTHER AND LAUGHING. THEN THE CLOWN LOOKS AT THE CAMERA AND LAUGHS. CLOSE UP SHOT OF HIS FACE WITH HIM SMIRKING. CAMERA ZOOMS OUT AND THE CLOWN GETS THE BLOOD OF MOTHER AND WIPES IT ACROSS HIS MOUTH AND HE LAUGHS. THE CAMERA THEN PANS ROUND TO LOOK AT THE BOY HOLDING THE RED BALLOON LOOKING SCARED.

        STAN:

(CAMERA LOOKS BACK AT STAN AND HE POPS THE BALLON NEXT TO HIM AND HE JUST LAUGHS)

FADE OUT TO BLACK

 

The End