Codes and Conventions of a Horror Trailer

Target Audience = more often then not it is the younger generations (15 - 21) as they tend to lack a sense of mortality.

Disruption - generally comes in the form of an object in supernatural/paranormal films. This object can be small, or it can be a whole house, but it is usually cursed or possessed by an evil entity. For example, in 'The Possession' the disruption is the purchasing of a 'Dibbuk Box' whereas in 'A Haunting in Connecticut' the disruption is a cursed house.

Quick Cut Montage - this editing technique is to increase the heart rate, fear and tension of a trailer to attract the audience. This technique is usually combined with emphasised diagetic sound or a quickening pace to increase the audiences heart rate.

Cut to Black - this is used generally with a stab of sound to shock the audience.

Title and Release date - crucial information, this is generally featured at the end of the trailer after the title, tagline and institutional information with a stab of sound intended to scare the audience and leave them with a memorable image of the movie and the name of the film.

Stabs of Sound - usually with silence beforehand, a stab of sound is used to scare the audience and make a scene scarier.

Contrapuntal Sound - this technique is when a usually innocent sound such as a lullaby, is placed over a scary scene to create horror out of innocence and destroy the safety that is usually connotated with it.

Emphasis of Diagetic sound - heavy breathing, heart beat or other quiet sounds are commonly used for tis effect and it is used to emphasise the silence of a scene. For example, if a character is hiding in a closet and the antagonist is approaching, the breathing or heartbeat of the protagonist would seem louder and the footsteps of the antagonist would aswell. This is to enhance fear.

Lighting - lights may be darker or used to highlight something are used to disorientate the audience.

Angle Shots - high angle shot are to make something appear imposing or menacing. Low angle shots are used to make something appear vunerable.