Conventions of Horror Trailers

- Shows the 'best parts' of the film
This helps to attract the viewers into watching the film

- Blood and gore
This appeals to lovers of the chosen genre

- Battle of Good vs Evil
This causes suspense and the audience tends to root for a certain side which means they will watch the whole film in order to see who wins

- Screaming
This makes the audience wonder what is so bad that someone will be that scared of it

- Shows the well known actors/actresses
This will attract more of an audience if the person already has a fan base of people who will watch them in films

- Dark scary atmosphere (Stormy sky etc)
This is to visually cause fear to the audience as a dark atmosphere indicates a dark storyline

- Commonly used Dialogue (Who's there? What do you want?)
People who have already seen good horror films with this dialogue in will be drawn towards the film

- Authority figures (A policeman)
A denotation of Good vs Evil

- Dramatic Camera Angles (low angle)
These tend to show the characters more and allow the audience to understand who is more important and who is more or less powerful than others

- Isolated Location
This means not many people are around and more stuff can happen that if they were in say a crowded neighborhood

- Incidental Music
This is to indicate that a scary moment is coming up- Its a build up to the action

- Voice Overs
These are often used at the beginning to explain the narrative/context of the film. A young childs voice is ofter used as it adds an eerie effect.

- Sting
The sting is often placed at the end of a trailer after the title. It is often the scariest part as it aims to shock the audience and leave an impact persuading the audience to watch the film. Often the music and pace of the trailer slow down right before the sting allowing the audience to relax and calm down which increases the shock at the end. (The Conjuring Trailer)



In my trailer i hope to use quite a few of these conventions. My trailer will show the best parts of the film, the Battle of Good vs Evil, someone screaming, commonly used dialogue, dramatic camera angles, an isolated location, incidental music, a dark scary atmosphere and a Sting. It may also have a voice over.