Horror Location Shot Types

Horror Location Shot Types from jessfareymedia

Audience Profile for the Horror Genre

Horror films often attract large audiences, as the genre is so broad and aspects of it are often incorporated within many popular films. The audience come for excitement, thrills and adventure. They are often marketed specifically for the demographics outlined below, under the groups of age, gender and class. This will not necessarily be the primary audience for all horror films; some sub-genres of horror will have a more niche target audience. Thrillers or psychological films, for example, tend to be produced for an older audience.

Age

Horror films are mainly popular with teenagers and younger adults, between the ages of 15 and 27. This could be because they want the thrills from the suspense that horror alone can deliver. They have less experience with the world and will probably be easier to excite and entertain. There is also the stereotype that young people are more naive which could mean they find the plot lines of horror films much more scary; the desired effect. They have also grown up without the production codes/restrictions of older generations and more advanced technology. Consequently, more realistic and graphic special effects, like gore and monsters, can be achieved. A younger audience would not feel as negatively about this as an older age group, who could stereotypically find it more offensive. 

Gender

The male protagonist (above) and below with 
his romantic interest (Warm Bodies, 2013)

It is generally men who make up the majority of the horror audience. This is down to the social norms surrounding gender; the stereotypical female will be considered too "squeamish" or "easily frightened" to enjoy the genre. Instead female audiences tend to favour romance or drama films. Horror, with suspense, violence and gore is marketed for men. Traditionally, men are seen as the "stronger" sex, and can cope with this. The content of the films themselves reflect this attitude as female characters are often used as sexual objects, with no purpose other than to act as the love interest of the male protagonist. The men are normally courageous and heroic, attempting to save the "damsel in distress". If a character survives until the end of the film, they are normally male. The film industry is male dominated and horror films in particular are rarely directed, produced or written by women.

Psychological thriller: The Sixth Sense (1999)

Class

Horror films are often produced for classes C1, C2, D and E; average to low wage earners. This is because most horror films follow conventions that are easy to identify and appeal to a mass audience. They also provide escapism from work and daily life. The exception to this could be thrillers or psychological films. These are considered to have more sophisticated plot lines and characters because a lot of the information is inferred, rather than action based. They may therefore be marketed to target the upper classes A and B. 

I intend to keep to as many conventions as possible when I create my horror opening for a realistic film, and in doing so should attract the typical horror target market group. My target audience will be people of the demographics I have identified above; teenagers and young adults, predominantly male in classes C1-E. I will create a survey and make sure that I ask these groups specifically what they like and dislike the most about horror to ensure I please the target audience. 

Constantine Analysis

Created with Padlet

Psycho Analysis

9 Frame Storyboard

Timeline and Analysis

Music

The Psycho theme is arguably one of the most famous pieces of music in cinematic history. Suspense is typically achieved by using longer, sustained notes in music, however this music opens with short, quick notes on string instruments. More instruments are layered, with a low key riff interrupted by higher notes that could make the audience jump. At around 40 seconds, the pattern changes. Although the tempo is still fast, slower notes in a lower pitch are layered on top, which has a haunting effect. This soon resumes to the main tune. The emphasis on certain beats could echo the audience's heartbeat, building the anticipation to the film itself.