Horror Action Trailer Codes and Conventions

After analysing several Horror film trailers in detail I have decided to look in depth about the conventions within the trailers so I can see what I can use when my group create our film trailer. This blog post is going to be sectioned in to 3 parts Horror trailer conventions, Action trailer conventions and Film trailer conventions.

Horror Trailer Conventions

One of the most common conventions of a horror trailer are that the trailer always starts with an equilibrium normally showing a group of protagonists having fun or planning on going somewhere. However, the equilibrium will be quickly disrupted in some way usually with one of the protagonists being attacked by the antagonist. After this the trailer will become much more intense which can be seen through the sound in the trailer as we will hear intense, dramatic music to increase the tension to scare the audience. Furthermore, a music sting is a common convention in the horror trailer as catch the audience off guard because of how sudden it is. This is similar to Tzvetan Todorov's (1973) 4 act theory which states that a film while begin at a equilibrium only for it to be disrupted and the film being about repairing it.

Another common convention that we can see in horror film trailers is that we will see at least one character get killed or injured by the antagonist to show the audience how much of a threat they are to the characters in the trailer. Also this can be used by producers to hint at who is going to die in the film when it released as it will make the audience start to speculate about what is happening in the trailer compelling them to go and see it which would make the producers a larger profit.

The setting in a horror trailer can also be very conventional as it will mostly be set in a very isolated location far away from civilisation this is so that the protagonists are truly alone and at the mercy of a deranged killer this location could be many things such as the middle of a forest, an abandoned town or campsite. In Addition, the location will usually be seen during at night time as it helps create a dark and gritty atmosphere within the trailer to further increase the suspense and tension in the trailer.

The Camerawork in horror trailers are also very conventional as they are used to make some scenes more intense for example a low angle shot is commonly used to make the antagonist look superior to the protagonists in the film as if they were looking up to them making them feel as if they could never be as strong as them. There is also a high angle shot which does the exact opposite of a low angle shot as it is used to make someone seem inferior to the world around them as if they were being looked down on which it is how it is commonly used as the antagonist is normally taller than the protagonists so that they feel powerless towards them.

Here you can see the trailer for the film A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) which I'll be analysing.

Unlike many other Horror trailers the trailer places us already in to the horror instead of it being about the equilibrium being disrupted. The first thing that stands out to me is when one of the people chasing the man gets out of his car and shouts 'Krueger' this is the first indication this is a Nightmare on Elm Street films which will immediately hype up fans of the series as they are getting a new film we also see this when the factory is being burned down as before he dies Freddy takes his jacket off revealing his signature stripped sweater to further help attract audiences to the film.

After the factory burns down the trailer cuts to black and the producers name appears which is in a dark red colour with blood splatters surrounding it. This is a convention of the horror genre as the colour red is normally associated with hatred, death and blood hence why the font is this colour. In addition as it shows the producers name fans of his work may be more interested in going to see his new film to see if they will enjoy it.

After this scene we see that the characters start having dreams and are shown a variety of bizarre scenes such as a room where it is snowing inside of and a room full of candles. These scenes are shown to confuse the audience so that they acknowledge that what they are seeing is part of a dream so nothing is supposed to make sense. This scares the audience as it makes it impossible for them to predict what is going to happen next so they brace themselves for the worst possible situation increasing the suspense and tension in the trailer.

Freddy's knife glove

We are then shown a close-up shot of Freddy Krueger's signature knife glove as he scrapes it against the wall creating sparks which light up the scene. As you can see in the scene we can see a ghostly figure of what we assume to be Freddy's next victim this has been done so that the audience can place themselves in the victims situation which makes them feel scared and nervous as they know that they are going to be killed and they are powerless to stop him.

We later see this same scene this time from the victims perspective showing  Freddy walking towards us during this we can hear his laughter in the background. This has also been done to make the audience feel like they are trapped in that corridor with Freddy Krueger which creates suspense and tension as they have no idea how they are going to get out of that of trouble. After this scene we get a shot of the Elm street sign this has been done for similar reasons I mentioned earlier so that fans can immediately recognise this as one of those films which will lead to them wanting to go and see the film making the producers a larger profit.

Freddy's hand rises through the bath tub

After this sequence we can hear in the background girls chanting Freddy's theme song which the characters hear in their dreams before they are killed this makes the trailer more suspenseful as it creates an ominous atmosphere as it as children are stereotypical associated with the demonic and supernatural in horror films. We are then shown a montage of Freddy attacking his victims in their dreams in a variety of ways one of the most shocking one of these is his hand rising through a bath tub that one of his victims are sleeping in. This shows themes of the horror convention of punishing promiscuity which is people being killed in horror films for acting very sexual and while we do not see this happening in the trailer it may be a hint of what occurs in the film.

Going to the end of the trailer the last shot that we see is Freddy approaching one of his victims raising his arm and saying 'this won't hurt one little bit' the trailer then cuts away. This has been done as in many of his films before he kills his victims Freddy says a one liner referring to the way that they are dieing. For example, one of his most iconic one liners comes from Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) when he kills Jennifer by crushing her with a TV he says 'Welcome to prime time Bitch!'. Looking at what Freddy says in the trailer it suggests that he is killing his victim in a hospital as a doctor would normally tell you that what they are about to do with you wouldn't hurt even though it will hurt. This implies that Freddy is putting her into a false sense of security before killing her which shows us how evil Freddy is. 

Action Trailer Conventions

Action film trailers play out very differently to horror film trailers this can be seen from the start of them as we are usually place right into the middle of all the action which we can see as the editing will be fast paced cutting to different parts of the action to excite the audience. The soundtrack will be loud and thrilling which gets the audiences blood pumping hyping them up for the films release. The trailer is also edited to keep the action going which means that there will never be a scene in the trailer without any action which helps make sure the audience doesn't lose interest while watching.

The action in the trailers is usually portrayed as being over the top showing off some of the best parts of the action scenes which is also used so that the audience doesn't lose interest in the film. During these scenes we will usually see violent fight scenes and large explosions which are cut together so that they fit with the trailers soundtrack. This means that the trailer will be more enjoyable to watch is it makes it somewhat similar to a music video as the music normally conforms with what is being shown on scene.

As I briefly mentioned explosions and other special effects are used to make the action scenes more thrilling as an explosion can be seen as the pinnacle of an action scene as many trailers will be building up to the explosion which can be done in a multitude of ways such as having the soundtrack get louder, the editing becomes more fast paced or by showing the scene just before the explosion so that we can see the characters in the trailer realise what is about to happen. All of these methods help raise the suspense and tension in the trailer which makes the initial explosion much more overwhelming.

Another interesting convention in action film trailers can be having the heroic protagonist some comedic moments in the trailer this normally done through the use of one liners. While these more commonly used in action from the 1980's they are still used in many action films today and are used to lower the tension  but still entertain the audience.

Here you can see the trailer for Mission Impossible (1996) a very conventional action film trailer which I'll be analysing.

 The trailer starts with a ambient silence with no music playing we then hear a monologue of a man giving a mission to a spy during this he mentions that if he is caught the government will erase all information on him. This creates suspense and tension within the trailer so that the audience understands that this mans is on a life or death mission and is fighting for his life making them feel uncertain as they are unaware of what is going to happen. During this scene the editing is slow paced showing us several other spies who will be on this mission slowly fading from one to the other. This has also been done to also create suspense as it shows us more of whats at stake as all of these people may potentially die so we fear for their lives.

After this we see a man lighting a match which he uses to ignite an explosive, while we don't see the explosion go off we see that the match has been used to start the mission impossible theme which plays throughout the rest of the trailer. The main feeling that you get from the song is that you are sneaking around hiding from your enemies so that they don't see you in other words this song makes you feel like you are a spy which helps immerse the audience as they feel that they are in the the same situation as the rest of the characters. Immediately after this in big bold writing we see Tom Cruise's name appear who is playing the main role in the film this is an example of a trailer focusing on its most famous actor as no other actors names appear in the trailer so they are using Tom Cruise's name to make more people go to see their film increasing the production companies profits.

Action scene from the trailer

After this the editing becomes more faster paced as the action starts where we see scenes of Tom Cruise sneaking through air vents, fighting guards and being suspended in mid air. This has been done to excite the audience as we see Tom Cruise doing things insane feats which thrills the audience as they we see how brave and fearless he is which are conventions of an action hero this will also hype the audience up for when the film is released as they would want to see more of the action scenes like what they have seen in the trailer. This makes Tom Cruise's role fit the role of the hero which was created by Vladimir Propp in 1928 as part of his narrative theory. Tom's character fits this role as he is shown to be strong and fierce as if nothing could stop him as if he was invincible.

The next action convention we see is the use of an explosion to destroy a car this is used to be the pinnacle of the action as the first explosions sends the car flying which shows us how much of a threat the explosion was as it throw a car as if it was a toy. Suddenly, another explosion occurs engulfing the car inflames this has been done to catch audience members off guards who thought the explosion was over but also to show us how much danger Tom Cruise's character is constantly put through which makes the audience feel sympathy for him but also shows him as being a powerful person as he manages to survive through all of this.

Burning Helicopter stunt

However, the action doesn't truly start until we get to the end of the trailer were the last scenes are in very fast paced editing showing Tom Cruise doing things many people would consider to be impossible such a jumping from a burning helicopter onto a moving train barely getting onto it this is a convention of the action hero stereotype as they are shown to live through the impossible in spectacular way which can also be seen in the trailer when he is running from a flood destroying everything in its path. All of these insane action scenes can be summed up by the trailers tag line 'Expect the Impossible'.

Film Trailer Conventions

Twisted Pictures logo

These conventions of are by films from all different genres which makes them universal conventions these will mostly be used to make my groups film trailer look more genuine and professional. The first convention is that the production companies logo will be shown off before the trailer starts this is so that the audience can immediately recognise what type of the film they are going to be watching as many film production companies focus on a certain genre of film for example Twisted Pictures who are known for creating the Saw series are known for creating horror films. 

The next convention is the films name appearing in the trailer. They usually appear at the ending of the trailer including the date that the film is set to appear in cinemas (if the date is unknown it will be replaced with coming soon followed by the year of release). The title of the film will be in big bold writing so that it stands out and can be viewed easily by a larger audience.

In addition, the trailers will normally focus on the most famous actor who plays a role in the film this is to attract a larger audience to the film as many people will recognise the actor and if they enjoy films that they have already appeared in it will compel them to see their upcoming film. For an example look at the above Mission Impossible trailer as you'll notice that it mainly focuses on Tom Cruises character. 

Social media platforms which the films trailers may have
links to

Also, at the very end of the trailer their will be a link to the films social media page this is allows fans of the film to be able to discuss the film with other fans so they can all share their thoughts on the film as a whole. This helps create buzz for the film as it gets people talking about it before it is released so more people will go to see it when it does come out in cinemas.

BBFC film ratings many horror
action films would be either 15
or 18 depending on the content

Arguably one of the most important conventions for film trailers is having their certified rating appearing in the film as this will be the determining factor for who can and can't see the film as if it is rated 18 only adults will be see the film which can be considered as limiting the audience for the film depending on its genre such as action adventure films which are usually made so that both adults and children can enjoy the film.

After looking at all of these trailer conventions I will try to see which ones would be possible for my group to use for our film as we would not be able to create things such as special effects any were near as good as trailers made by film companies. I have made a list summing up the conventions I would like to use the most in my film trailer that are in the realm of possibility:

• Have one of the characters killed on screen to make the antagonist more threatening
• Conventional horror camerawork to emphasise who has the power in the trailer and create suspense and tension
• Fast paced editing during the action sequences to make them more intense and exciting for the audience to watch
• An action movie one liner to lower the tension for comedic value most likely will be followed by a jumpscare as audience will be in a state of laughter and relaxation  
• Include generic film trailer conventions (certificate, film company, etc) to make it look more professional 

IT (1990) A Retrospective

Last week I saw the film IT (2017) a remake of the classic miniseries from the 1990's however I had never watched the original so I felt like I couldn't give a proper comparison of both films until I had seen both of them so yesterday I watched the entirety of the original miniseries. Something I should mention is that the new film is only the first half of the story with a continuation currently in the works. However, in the miniseries it covers the entirety of the story starting when the Loser club were kids and ending with them returning to Derry (the fictional town the film takes place in) as adults to kill It for good. I mention this because I will be discussing plot points that may appear in the 2017 films continuation so beware for spoilers.

IT (1990) Poster

Overall after watching the miniseries I enjoyed it the original was no where near as scary is its remake however it still has a creepy vibe surrounding it which still manages to catch the audience of guard sometimes. The first part of the miniseries is fairly similar to the remake with some scenes altered to make them more scarier. This can be seen at the start of the miniseries when Georgie has to go into the basement to get some wax to help his paper boat float, while this scene is in the 2017 version has been extended as when Georgie goes down the stairs he grabs the wax and sees what appear to be two glowing eyes staring at him making him quickly run up the stairs whereas in the original Georgie runs down the stairs grabs the wax and immediately runs back up the stairs. I believe this scene was extended in the remake to make it more tense for the audience and surprise people who watched the original as they would be unaware of this scene and be caught off guard by it. One of the biggest noticeable changes is Georgie's death scene in the original never see him die instead we get a close-up of Pennywise's teeth as he eats Georgie whereas in the remake Pennywise rips Georgie's arm of making Georgie crawl away fro the drain but It grabs him and pulls him into the drain. I believe this was done to make Georgie's death look more horrific and gruesome and show It is a merciless killer.

One big difference between the films that I want to discuss in further detail is the portrayal of Pennywise in the miniseries. You may remember in my IT (2017) analysis I mentioned that I was basing Tim Curry's Pennywise on the clips I had seen of him but now that I've watched the original I would like to discuss his role as the killer clown. In my opinion, I still believe that Bill Skarsgård's Pennywise is by far the most terrifying as he plays the character as a psychopathic manic clown which can be summed up by the signature smile that Bill created for the character which he created when he used to chase his brother around the house. Now looking at Tim Curry's Pennywise the most noticeable difference in his portrayal is he is plays Pennywise in a much more comedic tone compared to Bill with Tim cracking jokes in many of the scenes that he is in with some poking fun at the characters such as when Bill Denbrough returns to Derry as an adult Pennywise mocks his stutter pronouncing his name as 'B-b-b-Billy boy' Pennywise referring Bill as boy also makes him seem inferior to It. In addition, we also get scenes such as when Richie returns as an adult and Pennywise is saying that they are to old to kill him only to then say out of know where 'Excuse me ma'am is your refrigerator running? *Gasp* It is!? well, you better go catch it before it runs away! A-HA A-HA A-HA' this turns a very serious scene into a comedic which makes it loose all of the tension that it had.

The Library scene much of Pennywise's dialogue is much more humorous then scary

Like I did with the remake I'll now talk about different elements and conventions in the miniseries that I could use for inspiration for my Horror Action trailer. Looking at the sound throughout the miniseries a lot of the music sounds very similar to the happy cheery music you would hear at a circus however its use in the miniseries is usually during scenes where It is scaring the kids/adults such as when he makes loads of balloons appear that explode covering the library with blood. I think I could use this convention for my trailer by inserting music that sounds much more positive than what is actually going on in the scene to bewilder the audience as they are uncertain of how they should feel during this scene. Another convention that I believe that I could use is having the antagonist in the trailer mock/taunt the characters show that they are superior to them making the protagonists seem weaker.

The history of the action horror genre

The Horror genre has been around for over 100 years beginning as silent short films created in the later 1800's. Since then the genre itself has became on of the most popular genres in film history spawning countless film franchises from around the world. One of the most important moments in the horror genres history was in the rise of hybrid genres which allowed film producers to become more creative when making films.

Here you can see a prezi that I have created that shows the origins of the horror genre since the 1800's all the way to modern day.



As you can see the Horror action genre first began with the release of Psycho (1960) which was one of the first globally successful Slasher film. After the films release many other film producers started creating their own Slasher films attempting to capitalise on Psychos success this lead to some of the most iconic horror films of all time to be created such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) which helped boost the Slasher genre even further with critics clamming that it 'set a new standard for slasher films' and without Leatherface the films iconic antagonist we may of never seen arguably the most famous Slasher antagonist of all time Jason Voorhees from the just as famous Friday the 13th film series.

However, you may notice that my prezi mainly focuses on the horror genre and how that lead to the creation of the horror action genre so I have also created a prezi showing the history of the action genre and how it lead to the creation of the horror action genre.


After researching the history of the Horror and Action genres and how they became a hybrid genre I can see that it conforms with Jane Feuer's 1992 theory as over the years the genres have become more abstract as they weren't just a single genre as within them you have dozens of different sub genres all with unique conventions and themes only seen in those films. Genres then became harder to identify as they then started to combine creating hybrid genres which took popular conventions from a multitude of genres and fused them into one uniting fans from a variety of genres. This also conforms with Henry Jenkins (2006) theory on how genres are breaking the rules which allows them to hybridise more creating unique films.

IT analysis and inspiration

Warning: Due to the film only being released recently at the time of this blog posts release I should warn you that this post does contain spoilers for the film

On the coming Sunday I'm going to be seeing the horror film IT (2017) a remake of the classic horror TV miniseries of the same name released back in 1990, interestingly the film was released 27 years after the miniseries finished referencing the antagonist It who appears every 27 years to kill its victims, this is also an adaptation of the novel written by Steven King published in 1986. The reason I'm going to see this film is because it is one of the most successful horror films of in recent years grossing an estimate of $100 million in its opening week this tells me that it has been successful scaring its audiences so I will watch the film and see what I can take as inspiration for my groups film trailer so that it will be able to scare 2017 audiences. I will update this blog post after I have watched the film.

IT 2017 poster

I have just got home from watching the film an overall I thought the film was fantastic as someone who never saw the original series nor read the novel I went in completely blind only knowing basic information about the films plot. The main ways that the film scares its audience is through the use of sound and cinematography. Sound is used in multiple ways for example when the loser club (the group of protagonists) enter the well hole (It's lair) they immediately get separated when Bill Denbrough one of the films protagonists chases after what appears to be his dead brother Georgie Denbrough who was killed by It a year prior to the events of the film but bill still forces himself to believe that his brother is alive and goes after him. During this scene you hear loud high pitched string instruments playing as the camera goes to a P.O.V shot as Bill goes around all of the turns in the sewage pipe the sound has been used like this to create suspense and tension as we are put in the place of bill and we can only see what he can see so we are unaware of where It will jump out from.

Furthermore, in many other the scenes the music is replaced by ambient silence which makes the audience uncomfortable as we a unsure about what is going to happen yet we know that something is going to happen this is used throughout the however one scene where this stands out the most for me is the scene where Beverly Marsh another loser club member hides from her father in the bathroom who is shown to have some bizarre sexual interest in her making her always call him daddy and saying that 'your still my little girl... right?' while stroking her hair this ultimately leads to Beverly hitting her father in the face with a toilet seat presumably killing him then the music goes silent as a high angle shot is used looking down on her fathers body and then suddenly the camera cuts to a low angle shot of Beverly stepping away from her father only to show It in the form of Pennywise the clown (It's most iconic form) towering behind her as it abducts her leaving the message 'YOU DIE IF YOU TRY' written in blood on the wall for the rest of the loser gang to see showing us It is taunting the protagonists challenging them to come after it.

Both versions of Pennywise the Clown the left is Tim Curry
and the right is Bill Skarsgård while they are both different
they still accurately portray the murderous clown

Many of the themes in film revolves the psychological horror films as It uses the main characters personal fears against them as he feeds of their fear. In addition the reason why It only kills children is because their fears are more easily to take advantage of compared to an adults. This can be seen through It's appearance as he takes the form of an traditional circus clown as it the fear of clowns is common among many young children usually because of the bizarre costumes and make-up that they wear makes them look inhuman. This can be seen by looking at Pennywise in both the film and miniseries wearing white face make-up making It look pale and lifeless showing the audience that It is a soulless creature. Both versions also have unique teeth with the Curry's version having sharp monstrous teeth whereas Skarsgård version is more human like but abnormally large Skarsgård's costume is also consists of shades of white and black with small parts of red on it making his costume look much more like a traditional clown costume whereas Curry's costume was much more colourful consisting of vibrant blues and yellows giving him a more cartoonish design even including a traditional red clown nose whereas Skarsgård nose is just has red make-up. Personally I find Skarsgård's Pennywise is more terrifying mainly through his acting skills as he truly sounds like a psychotic killer such as when he tricks Georgie into giving him his hand by offering to give him a balloon which when combined with his sinister costume and make-up conveys him as being a much larger threat. However I still believe that Tim Curry's Pennywise was terrific but much less scarier I believe this may be due to Tim Curry's acting as he plays the role of Pennywise in a more comedic way through the dialogue he says but he can still put on a creepy role when he needs to especially when he stalks all the members of the loser gang one at a time. This conforms with Levi-Strauss's 1975 Binary opposite theory as we are seeing to completely different versions of the same character with one being fun and comedic with the other being violent and murderous.

Bill Skarsgård's Pennywise smiling

Looking at Bill's Pennywise I can see that he conforms with Richard Dyer's 1979 star theory as many people now associate him as the true Pennywise because of the lengths he went to portray the character in his own unique way while still being faithful to the original which can be seen as Bill created Pennywise's smile by doing the same smile that he used to do when he chased his brother around the house when they were children. This constructs Pennywise in a way that stands out compared to other horror movie villains as it shows the audience a slight glimmer of the real actor behind the clown which intern makes Pennywise seem more real to us, this also makes the audience associate Bill with Pennywise as being the best Pennywise in a way similar to how people discuss who they believe is the best James Bond (he's been played by 7 different actors). Also, we know that Bill Skarsgård is reprising the role of Pennywise in the sequel to IT (2017) which will make more people associate him the with role of Pennywise as he would of played him in a total of two movie whereas Tim Curry has only played the role in the miniseries. Also looking at Richard Dyer's theory he states that stars are conveyed in 3 possible ways the stars as a construction which means the star is not real and is a construction created by the real person, the star as a commodity which means stars are created to sell merchandise such as t-shirts and the star as an ideology which means that the star will represent a certain social group and fans of that star will then mimic the way they act and share similar beliefs to them. Looking at Pennywise I can see that he is a star construction as he is not Bill Skarsgård he is Pennywise a psychopathic clown who was constructed to be like that by Bill who is the real person behind the star which can be seen as unlike the star Bill portrays he is not a sinister killer.  

Bill Skarsgård's (Left) and Tim Curry's (Right) versions of the Take it scene

After analysing the film I'm believe that the films use of sound will be very useful to my groups trailer especially using music to build up to an ambient silence to put the audience into a false sense of security only to then have a jump scare which will catch them off guard.