Summary of Codes and Conventions

I began by looking at trailers from a range of genres, then honed in on ones specific to my genre looking at these in more detail. From this I found various techniques, common in many trailers of the genre, which I could then apply to my own work.

• Use of a slightly shaky point of view shot or tracking shots to convey someone is watching (The Strangers, Silence of the Lambs, Blair Witch Project, When a Stranger Calls)


• Use of red filter to connote violence without actually showing it (Triangle, Cherry Falls, Jenifer's Body, Eden Lake)


• Blue light filter used to connote supernatural forces (Sorority Row, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Scream, Friday the 13th)


• Extreme long shots used to show movement from urban setting to rural eg car travelling (Babysitter Wanted, Eden Lake, When a Stranger Calls)


• Black and white used to convey flashbacks (Cherry Falls, Friday the 13th, Halloween 2)


• Newspaper cuttings/radio announcements give exposition to necessary parts of plot (Prom Night, Silence of the Lambs, Scream, Babysitter Wanted)


• Use of childlike singing placed over scenes of violence (Sorority Row, The Last House On The Left, A Nightmare On Elm Street)