Synopsis of Horror Films

Synopsis

A synopsis is a short summary of what takes place in the film.

Below I researched on horror film synopsis's and carefully analyzed and highlighted key elements of the summary. I have grasped onto the main characters, the stock characters, the plot and the setting.

LINK: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/let-me-in/35724/synopsis

Link: http://www.fandango.com/thehillshaveeyes2_v355445/summary

Concept of Horror Film - Music & Sound Effects

I will now do some research on different types of music and sound affects used in horror films.

One of the most overlooked aspects of films is the sound. An audience can easily forget that if the music and sound affects were taken away from a horror, the fear factor would decrease dramatically, possibly even disappear completely. Reading this may make you think it’s not true but we all know when we watch a horror movie and turn the sound down, we suddenly forget how scared we were and the images on the screen don’t scare us half as much as they would if the volume was up.

From the information I have read about horror films, I have found out that music in horror movies are probably more powerful than in any other film genre. The music in a film is used to communicate with the audience, so we must interpret it. You can watch a horror film without music but it isn't frightening, however it can be gruesome. If you add the music, you add tension.

Classic Horror Music

It has been recognised that orchestral music is the most common type of music used in horror films. When collecting research about music in horror films, I found out that orchestral music has been used since the birth of the genre and is still the most popular type of music used in horrors and thrillers. A reason why orchestral music is used so much in horror films is because of the composer can really vary his compositions as he follows the events in the film. Another possible reason why orchestral music is used so much in horrors is maybe because it is a very neutral type of music and it appeals to a wide audience. Orchestral music really helps set a certain mood and get across different emotions in a horror film.

An example of classic orchestral music in a horror film is the soundtrack for Friday the 13th; Press play to listen below:

Modern Alternative Horror Music

Although orchestral music is the most common type of music used in horror films, it is not the only genre used. Horrors also use modern alternative music. This genre uses synth-based music and industrial music. Examples of this music genre are used in horrors such as Blair Witch 2 that consists of alternative rock and heavy metal music. This music works well with horrors as it is quite dark and brooding, which suits the visual style of the film. Some filmmakers replace the classic orchestral horror music with music that would normally never even be considered for a horror film. One example of the most extreme case that used this type of music is American Psycho that consists of American 80s rock and pop music. When listening to the music used in this film, I can see that horror films definitely require the right kind of music to function properly. The song Hip to be Square by Huey Lewis and the News is used used in American Psycho as the protagonist slaughters one of his victims. I felt that this created a very odd feeling for us as the audience. From research, I have found out that this produces a complete audio-visual dissonance.

Below is a clip of the American Psycho Scene that uses Huey Lewis and the News - Hip to be Square in the background; Have a listen and see what mood it creates for you! :

From doing all this research about music and sound effects in horror films, I have realised how important it is to use the right kind of music in our horror trailer. Without effective horror music in our trailer, the audience won't be drawn to the movie and they won't feel like it is going to be a scary horror. We have decided we are going to use Modern Alternative Music for our horror trailer as our film name 30.10.10 represents the present day and comes across as very modern. It is always the right music to use when linking it to our overall concept.

Trailers - Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

• The Scott Pilgrim trailer encapsulates most of the best bits of the film - this technique is used to attract the audience and get them to come to the cinema to see the full film:

• The trailer uses non-diagetic music throughout
• The title of the film is presented to us by the use of a voice over. The voice over is used because it represents what kind of the film Scott Pilgrim is. It is funny and not very serious. The director's were not aiming to represent realism
• The trailer holds a narrative structure - beginning, middle & end
• It uses many credits displaying release dates, production company, directors and the famous stars:

• The Unique Selling Point (USP) of the film is the fact that they have made it a sub-genre - video game/love:

Trailers - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

What is a trailer? A trailer is an advertisement or preview for a film that will be shown in the future at a a cinema.

I am now going to analyse the following trailers:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

• The music in the trailer heightens the anticipation through use of enigma codes. The music creates the mood and the atmosphere.
• The credits displayed at the end of the trailer only consist of where the film will be playing and the production company which is Warner Bros. Pictures - The credits don't need to tell you the names of the actors or the director as it has been such a long sequel, so the audience are very familiar with them already:

• The Unique Selling Point (USP) of the film if that it is in 3D which also comes up in the credits at the end as this is a new concept used for the film:

• Rapid shots are used in the trailer - this is exciting for the audience
• The trailer doesn't follow a linear, chronological pattern
• The credits also show the release date at the end
• The trailer only shows the best bits of the film which gives the audience a taster and makes them want to go and see it at the cinema
• The tempo of the music creates a sense of urgency
• The credits help tell the story as they say 'this is the final book, will Harry Potter survive?

Trailers - Paranormal Activity 2

I watched the trailer of paranormal activity on Itunes and I evaluated it using 5 questions. Below is the paranormal activity trailer:

We are told the name of the movie at the end of the trailer as it keeps the audience gripped to find out what the name of the movie is.

we are not told who is starring in the movie as it is a sequel and the same actors/stars are used again.

We don't see any major action as the whole movie is done by hand held camera to give it a sense of realism. The major action of the trailer is of a man being thrown against the camera in the trailer, a dog braking and a child standing.

There are no music in the trailer as its is the sound of the natural environment. The trailer includes as scene where the audience is watching the trailer and they end up screaming.

The speed of the trailer stays the same as if you were watching the movie. The speed of it is very slow as they want to grip the audience into what is going to happen next. This also adds more drama to the horror movie even though not a lot is going on.

The information that was given in the very last frame of the trailer was the movie name and who directed it. In some cases it can also show the release date for people to go and see it.

You would expect to see this trailer during adverts in between TV shows and before a film viewing in the cinema. This technique is used to intrigue the viewer and so the audience won't forget it because of the way it catches their attention. This will make them want to go and see it as soon as it comes out.

Teaser Trailers

Teaser Trailers

As well as analysing official trailers, I have looked into teaser trailers. They are slightly different as they are much shorter and don't give out as much information about the film. Below I have identified the difference, as I would have to take all this information into consideration when producing my trailer.

Teaser trailers are usually made for big-budget and popularity themed movies. The purpose is to tell the audience less about a movie's content than simple to let them know that the movie is coming up in the near future, and to add to the hype of the upcoming release.

Teaser trailers are often made while the film is still in production or being edited and as a result they may feature scenes or alternate versions of scenes that are not in the finished film.

The following videos are of a teaser trailer and an official trailer:

Below is information in bullet point form about all the important features of teaser trailers:

Concept of Horror Film

During our lesson on the 14th of September, we got into our groups and brainstormed all our ideas about the general concept of a horror trailer. In our brainstorms, we discussed many different aspects of what would be involved with a horror movie. We mentioned what the different locations/setting are? e.g. park, woods, house at night.. What is Horror? e.g. scary. weary, dark, bloody.. Who are the audience? e.g. adults, teenagers.. What type of music/sound is used in Horror's? e.g. non diagetic, diagetic.. What type of props are used? e.g. knifes, chain-saw, blood & costumes.. What influences you towards your horror trailer/movie? e.g. research on other horror movies/trailers and find out what your audience want.. Below is a print screen of the task we carried out:

Conventions of a Film on Prezi

I carried out some research about 'What is Horror?' and below I have inserted a brainstorm I produced consisting of all the different elements associated with horror:

The Prezi slide I have inserted Below is to emphasize on horror characters a bit further. This shows all the different types of characters which have been used in previous horror films and gives me an idea on characters I can use for my horror trailer. Horror characters either look scary and are scary or they don't look scary at all but play a big part in the horror aspect of the film, for example they may use a cute young girl like in The Orphan but she turns out to be the horror character: