'Genre' derives from the french meaning of 'kind' or 'sort'; it's the name given to catagories films, music etc are put into according to certain criterias they meet.
Why do audiences, producers and distributors need to know the genre of a film?
The audience would like to know the genre of a film before seeing it so that they know whether the film is their taste and therefore not a waste of time and money. Producers need a clear idea of the film's genre so that they know what direction they need to go in in order to make their film a success and what techniques to use in order to make this possible. Finally, the distributors might need to know the genre of the film so that they have an idea of what sort of success it is going to have in their particular, and more importantly, they would then know how to advertise the film efficiently and effectively.
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We looked at several horror trailers from decades ranging from the 60s to modern day. Their structures differed but their effectiveness tended to stay quite powerful. My examples are Psycho (1960) and The Hills Have Eyes (2006).
Psycho (1960): the trailer for this film is over 6 minutes long, which is easliy double the time of a modern-day trailer, and filmed in black and white. Also, there are no scenes from the film featured in the trailer at all; Alfred Hitchcock, the director of the film, escorts us round the set of the film and almost tells us the story line, every now and again dropping little hints to us then moving swiftly on. Although this is cheesey and probably wouldn't be effective today, back in the 60s this might have been effective because people would want to know what they should be expecting to see when they watch this film and would want to know what happens in the end.
The Hills Have Eyes (2006): this full-length trailer is only just over 2 and a half minutes long, and yet it is packed with ten times the action and thrill of the Psycho trailer; it's bright vivid colours in the desert reflect the harsh heat on the sand, and the vast wasteland surrounding them reinforces their isolation from civilization. It gives you a clear idea of what the film is about, but at the same time doesn't give too much away, and uses lots of fades and crossfades.
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Battle Royale
Above left is a trailer for the 2001 film Battle Royale. This trailer shows a group of teenage school students depicted as 'players' in a viscious game of survival of the fittest. The pace is fast and the repetitive music creates tention as the panic amoungst the students mounts, particularly when the adult in the tracksuit tells them the prize for winning the game is their life.
The adult in the tracksuit is portrayed as being in charge; this is reinforced with close up shots of him smiling at the chaos around him and the teenagers scream and try to escape. Usually there would be low angled shots of the villain, however this convention is not followed in this trailer, as we are eye-level with this man. This is because the audience is in just as powerful position as he is, as we oversee the island as he does in the film.
Audiences will be able to sympathise with the teenager's desperation to live but the painful dilema of knowing that in this situation, living means killing your friends. The bond between these students is particularly highlighted when just before one of the boys' necklaces blows up he and his best friend reach out to each other in desperation knowing there is no way of saving him now. At the start of the trailer the shots are cross-faded into one another, which could put emphasis on them traveling. We never get to know the teens individually which makes them seem more like the 'game-pieces' they are rather than actual people; they're more 'robotic' this way.
