Key Conventions of the Horror genre.

Before exploring the conventions of Horror movies, I first looked at the key areas for analysing film conventions in any genre. This made it a lot easier to think about the conventions for any specific genre. 

Key areas for analysing film conventions:

• Social groups
• Editing - effects/cuts/speed
• Mise en scene
• Camera shots/angles/movement
• Music
• Diegetic and non diegetic sound
• Set/Lighting/Props/Costume

I then applied these areas of analysation to the horror genre and came up with these conventions:

• Lighting - very dark, possibly uplighting, shadows, contrast between dark and light 
• Location - Somewhere totally isolated or in your own home - two extremes
• Camera work - Often from villains' point of view
• Characters - Vilain is often an outcast
• Icons - Weapons, blood 
• Music and sound - Screaming
• Setting - Isolation, eg. abandoned house