Mind Maps and Collages
Horror Word WallFor this section of the research I examined the horror genre and selected words that I believe represent key aspects of the genre, ranging from types to villains. It is just a screen shot of the work that I have been doing for research of the horror genre. Words of greatest importance I have made larger than others. The psychological aspect to a horror film, from the work I have done examining horror films such as The Shining and Silence of the Lambs, has shown me that this along with gore and blood can make a horror film as the greatest scares can be in the mind as well as on screen and are often more effective as imagination is limitless. Knives and gore are also often key, especially in Slasher Horror films.
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Though in the more Gothic of Horror films the focus is more on the villains, the vampires and other monsters. Horror films encompass a great deal of different aspects, they can be both psychological and graphically gory, be centered around clowns, vampires and even children as their villains. The Horror genre broadens with each film that is made and this word wall shows how different the genre can be while sticking to its key motive of scaring its audience.
Horror Collage
To the right is a collage of iconography typical of the Horror
genre, ranging from settings to villains. The two settings I have chosen are the Haunted House and a Graveyard; these are stereotypical of Supernatural Horror films or, in the case of the Graveyard, Zombie films. Clowns, zombies and often young girls are shown as villains in Horror films which is why I have included them in my collage. The girl from The Exorcist is on the top left as I feel she is key in making this a convention. The clown from It is something I have also included as this uses the fear of clowns that is quite common and amplifies it making them even scarier than they are in life. A common theme in the villains is facial deformities, such as pale skin, cuts, white eyes or scars. This is to make it clear that they are the villain but also to capitalise on the fact they don't look normal and make them appear scarier. The wounds on the zombie that I have chosen are quite graphic which would scare some people. The colours are often quite dark, the girls have dark hair, the lighting of the house is dark and most of the people are surrounded in shadow. This theme of darkness is something stereotypical of the Horror genre and is used in the majority of the genre's films. |
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Conventions of Horror Mind MapTo your left is a mind map have created examining the different aspects of the
Horror Genre. I looked at the typical props that are used in this genre, the characters that are usually used and the actors/actresses that bring them to life. I also looked at setting, examples of films and the sub-genres they fit into. I also examined institutional details and most importantly of all I looked at opening conventions as I will be making an opening of my own and with this research can make a good, effective one that adheres to the codes and conventions of a Horror film. |
By looking at all of these aspects of the Horror genre I can decide what I want to include in our film but also what I want to challenge, for example I believe a female villain would be more effective as the villains are usually men so a female villain would shock the audience and draw them in as it challenges the typical Horror film. The codes and conventions that have been set up for each genre I will likely follow as they have been shown to work.
My mind map is in a custom HTML format as it is too large to be view as a picture, the text is unreadable even when enlarged. To zoom into 100% which is needed to view this document on Windows.
My mind map is in a custom HTML format as it is too large to be view as a picture, the text is unreadable even when enlarged. To zoom into 100% which is needed to view this document on Windows.