In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Horror Conventions
I feel that my horror trailer covers a lot of stereotypical horror conventions, which makes it look more effective and allows my chosen genre to be recognisable to the audience.

My trailer is set in a selection of different places, but the three most recognisable are: the forest, large open fields and a house. All of these locations symbolise isolation and lonelyness, as any help is far from away from the victim. The majority of out trailer was shot either in the dark or edited to look that way, as the dark is a common element used within the horror genre and adds to the fear factor, as darkness represents mystery and the unknown. The combination of darkness and isolation work well together to create a good horror atmosphere of tension, suspense and fear.

In horror there is no limit to camera angles that can be used. Angles such as canted or shaky camera work that may not be acceptable in other genres, all fit into the horror genre, as they add to the general feel and atmosphere that the horror conventions work together to create. Close ups are very effective within the genre, as it disorientates the audience and makes everything look scarier. It also allows the characters to be more expressive with non verbal actions, as close ups allow the audience to see character expressions clearly. A classic horror still, using this method is the extreme close up of an eye, which I have shown within my comparison pictures below. Aswell as using close ups in our trailer, we also used low shots looking up at the monster from the victims perspective to make the monster appear more intimidating. We also used editing to our advantage and used the camera functions to their full ability, which is especially noticable in certain shots. The mirror scene where the girl appears to be doing her hair in the mirror and then the monster appears behind her, was created by fading two separate shots together. One with just the girl in the centre of the mirror  and one with the monster standing behind her and grabbing her, which I think creates a really good overall shot. Another shot created with the same method is the ghost scene. Two shots were put together and then we brought the opacity down on the man in the shot to make him appear more see through, creating the ghostly affect. We also used a focus pull shot where the camera focuses on the metal pole and the man in the background is fuzzy, but then we brought him into focus. This shot also symbols diorientation and fear which also connects with the horror genre, as fuzzyness and uncertainty could represent eyesight and panic.
Visual signifiers of any genre are important as they help the audience to catagorise a film to a specific genre. Some of the visual signifiers for the horror genre that we have used within our trailer include: blood, darkness, isolation, close ups, the use of one significant prop and the use of the colour black. These all work together as part of the overall creation of the horror genre, and really work well within our trailer. The significant prop that we used was the symbol of the 'Triquetra' on a necklace. This was really important within the plot of our trailer as it was the trigger to the possession and it is also where we got the name for our trailer from. This symbol can be considered either religious or wiccan. I also have a tattoo of this symbol on my left wrist which we used as part of the plot and as a shot within our trailer.
The structure of our trailer is a linear narrative, very similar to classic Hollywood narrative. The plot begins with equilibrium and complete normality. The protagonist comes in contact with the necklace which triggers her possession, turning her into the monster, which is the disequilibrium within the plot. Horror rarely has a particular happy ending, so we are undecided on the ending of the plot, but I think that the audience would become attached to the protagonist/monster, as she is innocent to the effects of the necklace and is ultimately the victim.
Our trailer is unusual within the horror genre as the protagonist, who would be assumed to be the final girl, actually becomes the monster. There is a contrast between the person she was before coming in contact with the necklace and after, making it clear to audience that a change has occured, although this would be explored more within the entire full length film. There is no real hero within the film, making  it difficult to match any of Propp's theories to our trailer. Torodov's theories work better as the plot begins with equilibrium, then there is a disruption to the equilibrium which is then recognised by the other characters, and then there is an attempt to regain the equilibrium, but in the horror genre this rarely happens. The fact that our trailer is difficult to fit into theories makes the trailer and plot unique and something that cant be fitted into a stereotype. We aimed for our trailer to be more of a psychological horror, as we found out from our audience research that this is what our audience prefered within the overall horror genre.

Trailer conventions
A teaser trailer usually lasts between 30 and 60 seconds as it just shows enough to make the audience interested and to make them want to see more without giving too much of the plot away. Our trailer is 1.44 in length, but we still consider it a teaser trailer as it doesnt give alot away within the plot, and just shows enough to catch the audiences attention, although by an outside audience it could be argued to be a full length trailer. We chose to show the scenes we did, as we felt that these scenes would suceed the most in creating the horror atmosphere of suspense and tension, while building on the fear factor and getting the audience to begin asking questions.  A teaser trailer would typically be followed up with a full length trailer later on in the films production, to fuel the audiences want to see more and to remind that the film will be released in cinema's soon.
Although the genre of the film may not be odvious to begin with as our title, doesnt really symbolise horror, especially for people who have no idea what the symbol Triquetra is, but I think that the genre would be obvious after they have watched the trailer from the horror conventions (see above) that we have used.
The soundtrack for our trailer we created in Garage band and got off websites with no copy right. We fitted them together to create an eerie sound, as the soundtrack really adds to the atmosphere of what you are seeing on screen and can even make the visuals appear more scary.
We used intertitles throughout the trailer to give the audience important information, such as the production company and also to set up the story, so we could make use of the short time we had effectively without wasting time. We could have used a more interesting font in our intertitles as the font we have used is boring and not very eye catching, but they get the information across as well as any other font would. They also back up what is being seen on screen, for example the intertitle says 'when people doubt' and then a girl is seen saying she doesnt believe in ghosts, which also sets up some of the plot line, making the audience want to know more.

Please click on the images to see my Flickr analysis.