Target Audience: Mood Board

The target demographic for the genre of horror is the 15-25 male audience, who are drawn in by the suspenseful sound effects and creepy atmospheres and props. Masks are generally a hit with this genre due to the idea of no identity, along with a sinister feel.  

Above we have compiled a mood board of relevant images in order to help influence our creative vision for our opening two minutes.

Certification of a 15 Horror

Horror tends to apply to the 15 or 18 age restriction certificate, depending on the intensity of violence and gore. However most focus on being 15, to attract a greater audience.

Features of a 15 Film:

- Strong Violence
- Sexual scenes or references
- Inappropriate Language
- Involvement or use of drugs

In a 15, sexual content can be shown, but not to the great amount of detail an 18 would portray. Nudity can be shown to an extent. Violence can also be shown, however strong sadistic violence is highly unlikely for this age. All features of a 15 must be shown carefully, due to the impact and encouragement it can cause on young influential teens, such as misuse of drugs, and sexual harassment.

How would YOU rate a Horror Film?

It's hard to judge whether a Horror is in fact scary or not, everyone has a different level of fear.
To determine the rating of a Horror, you would usually base it on the amount of gore and detail shown. An overall rating is typically decided on behalf of the viewers, these reviews are submitted to worldwide film websites such as Rotten Tomatoes or IMDB.

There are several perspectives of "Scary" in Horror, whether disturbing, gruesome, or suspenseful. The Horror genre is proven to be quite popular with young teens and adults, between 15 and 25. This particular audience tend to be interested in the thrill, and feeling different emotions. Horror films are a great way to spend a Saturday night with your friends or partner. Males seem to be more into Horror due to a stereotypical portrayal of men loving gore and violence.

What Makes a Successful Horror Movie?

In approach to making a two minute opening to a Horror, I have done research relating to this specific genre:

This YouTube Video, uploaded by "TheMingThing" shares the knowledge of how to make a Horror Movie in a humorous manner. Beginning with Colour Grading, we are introduced to the concept of "taking the happy out of it" by doing so we decrease the saturation and give a blue/green tint, expressing a darker eerie feel. 

A successful Horror consists of the usual conventions or cliche's, from the location, to the situation. For example, this video shows three teens going back into a school at night, where one is portrayed as the "let's get the hell out of here" wimp, one being the scared of absolutely nothing non believer, and the other just being the reason they're there in the first place. In many cases, we are also introduced to a character who is there as a sign of warning, but no one ever listens to them....

 A build up of Music and sound effects are vital to accomplishing the element of fear in Horror. Unsuspected jumps and loud sounds build up the viewers fear, this creates suspense which leads the audience to be on the edge of their seat. If your horror film focuses on either the undead or spirit kind, it is good to show the use of moving objects and creaking doors. This then leads to the obvious move of disappearing friends and voices sneaking in the bachground. In an attempt to find your friends, you happen to feel followed, this is done by shots that show figures walking past, and a middle shot of the character shocked and looking at their surroundings. This is followed by the confrontation of the ghost, leading to other events along with suspenseful music and sound effects, most likely resulting into a death or escape route. 

HORROR

The Horror Genre focuses on evoking a negative or emotional reaction on the audience by portraying events or situations that put the viewer on the edge of their seat.
Horrors tend to reveal nightmares, fears, and monsters from beyond the dead.

From  The classics of "Frankenstein" "Dracula" and "Nightmare on Elm Street" to the modern interpretations of horrors like "Paranormal Activity" and "The Gallows", horror typically consists of dark eerie atmospheres involving jump scares, and the undead. Ghosts and spirits beyond the grave are usually popular in this genre, as there are several true stories behind the supernatural. The atmospheric portrayal and darkness of ghosts intrigues viewers to watch more of this content, as jump scares are profoundly used, resulting in engaging and gripping films.

The Rules of Continuity in editing

- Shot Reverse Shot - 

This is a film technique which is applied during scenes where there are several characters, this is usually where dialogue is shown between two characters. This links to the 180 degree rule, as this characters looking back and forth at each other.

- Match-on-Action - 

This refers to when one shot cuts to another that depicts the result, or continuation of an action that was shown in the previous shot. This "matches" the action. Match on action creates a continuous feel of time to the shots, as the shot cuts do not tend to be noticeable.

- The 180°Rule -

This is considered an essential to filmmaking and continuity editing. When done wrong, it will affect the overall outlook on the scene, but in some cases, may be an effect the director intended. The purpose of this rule is that the camera should stay on the same side throughout every shot of the scene. When the camera moves across the other side, it is identified as "crossing the line"....

Classic (Yet frustrating as hell) Horror Cliche's

These are few of many cliche's expressed in the HORROR Genre:

1. "The Trip Up"

Now excuse me if i say this, but it's just ironic that the victim who's being chased happens to incidentally trip or fall over a twig or pebble, i guess this is supposed to build up the tension, but in other words, it makes the audience want to throw a rock at the screen, 

2. "Clueless Parents"

Its typical that in a teen slasher or even any type of horror, we are introduced to the parents who show no sign of understanding or belief to the circumstances, "oh, you have hand marks and bruises on your back, silly you..."

3. I call this the "i'm willing to be killed" moment

In about 99% of horror's we will almost definitely witness the stupid act of a character openly asking "is anyone there?" literally asking to be killed, however in a realistic scenario, the person would probably hide in a closet, jump out the window, or most likely "tweet" for help.

4. "I've lost my friend so lets shout even louder to draw the killer's attention"

This is probably one of the most frustrating cliche's out there, you'd be a fool to draw even more attention to yourself whilst you are on your last lifeline. The first thing that should come to your thoughts is to use this chance to get the hell outta there!

5."The arise of the Killer"

This is when the hero finally kills the killer, and then waits around in relief like what's done is done, but to their astonishment, the killer miraculously arises to conclude with a fight, defeat, or chase scene.