Movie Posters contain multiple different conventions that can be placed on a poster according to how the designer wishes to structure their poster. These conventions are a requirement for posters as they allow the designer to create a successful product. An example of the specific placement of a convention is the Main Image which is seen in the centre of the poster.
Another use of these conventions is to give the audience an insight into the movie, with horror movies specifically we usually feature an image of the protagonist. This is vastly different from a horror trailer as the purpose of a trailer is to hide the protagonist. By allowing the audience to view the antagonist you draw them in as they want to find out more, this elicits an enigma which the audience want to discover. An example of this is the horror movie poster for 'The Thing', you clearly see the protagonist in the centre of the image and his appearance is so odd it makes you want to find out just what this thing is. |
Magazines also follow conventions and it is unusual to see a magazine challenge these conventions. The front cover of a magazine contains some of the most specific details and information of a magazine and are the first thing the audience see. Therefore, by sticking to the conventions put in place the designer will be able to make an audience-pleasing piece. If a designer were to challenge these conventions it makes their work a lot harder as following the conventions is much like following instructions to construct the perfect magazine. One magazine convention that horror magazines follow is the dark colour scheme, a colour you will almost always find is black which is usually seen as the background colour. Other magazines that are not associated with the horror genre will not typically contain a black background and instead include more lighter colours.
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A typical movie trailer is typically two minutes long however a teaser trailer is typically around a minute long give or take ten seconds.
Here you can see the length of time for our teaser trailer and the time for the 'Conjuring 2' teaser trailer. You can see that we followed this convention as our trailer is just under a minute long. The reason we followed the convention is because it prevented us from making a trailer that showed too much. The intention of a teaser trailer is to not give too much away and so through limiting the time it allowed us to not give too much away through our trailer. |
Another convention of a horror trailer is the Jumpscare. Jumpscares have become one of the most recognisable conventions of a horror film and trailer. They are extremely effective at getting a gut wrenching reaction from the audience and this is why the film producer includes them due to their effectiveness. However in our trailer we did not include a major jumpscare. By doing so we broke this convention as we wanted to be original and not copy what other production companies are doing with their films.
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