First Task/Research

Film Genres;

• Horror
• Comedy
• Romance
• Thriller
• Action
• Adventure
• Crime
• Drama
• Science Fiction
• Western
• Fantasy
• Musicals/Dance
• Cartoon

Conventions of Horror/Thriller genre;

• Usually some sort of death e.g a murder
• Use of blood in scenes
• Designed to frighten or unsettle the audience e.g a jump action
• Location; isolated area, abandoned buildings e.g hotels hospitals old houses, urban environment e.g dark streets and back side alleys.
• Characters; victim, hero, villain, children, form of monster e.g demon, vampire, psychopath. 
• Props; knife, guns, machetes. Masks normally featured in slasher films like Scream. Masks are used to hide the villain from the audience that will leave a distinctive image in our minds. 
• Colour and Lighting; dark colours e.g red and black to symbolise danger, blood and evil. White colour to show innocence and purity. Lighting gives a dark and sinister atmosphere. Low lighting is used to create dark shadows and unfamiliar shapes. 
• Common themes; revenge, religion, suicide, nightmares, slasher, depression and supernatural.
• Camera work; POV shots from the killer or victim, fast zoom into a room or building to show a quick action.

What is suspense?

Suspense is a feeling that you get when you are excited or anxious about something that may happen next. Music always plays a big part in creating suspense by low and high pitch sounds, type of instruments making the sounds and different patterns. In horror films camera angles can show suspense by following a certain character maybe with POV shots because they don't know what may happen next.