Generic Conventions of Horror Film website Homepages

The Conjuring(2013), Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension(2015), Insidious

2(2013) and Woman in Black(2012)

Insidious 2 Homepage:

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension Homepage:

The Conjuring Homepage:

Woman in Black Homepage:

For most horror film homepages dark, dull colours are used. This is typical of websites because dark colours such as black represents something in the film as being sinister. Usually, there is little/no use of bright colours as this does not fit with the horror genre. However, the colour red is commonly used for text, not only to make it stand out from the dark colours, but the colour has connotations of death, blood and evil which the audience are likely to relate to the film.

Social networking has become a big part of people’s lives nowadays. Another convention of horror films is to advertise using social media as it gets the film known quickly and gets the audience involved. All of the websites I have analysed include a social media bar which has hyperlinks to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram so that people can have easy access to the pages/accounts they have created for these films so that they can follow and share information about the film.

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension

Woman in Black

Insidious Chapter 2

The Conjuring

The text on website homepages is often minimal. Minimal text means that the website is not crowded which makes it easier to read. For example, the key information is shown, the film title is usually the largest text on the homepage to make it stand out. It is usually in the same font as the font used on the poster and in the trailer to show a clear link between the products. Also, the tagline is included on the homepage to accompany the film title, the tagline is always in the same font as used on both the poster and in the trailer.

A very common convention used on homepages is animation. It is usually a very short clip taken from the film that repeats itself. For example, as you open up the insidious Chapter 2 website there is animation. By using animation it makes the website more interesting for the audience and also has their attention from the minute that they open the website.

Animation used on Insidious 2 website. First animation is the

loading of the website is shown by the percentage counting up to

100%. This ahs been used to help build the audience anticipation by

having to wait to enter the website.

Animation used to make the flame of the match flicker. This is the only lighting used to show the

facial expression of the character. This is affective as it is very

mysterious and the fire is seen as being dangerous to the audience.

Production company logos are usually shown on at the bottom of the website homepage along with the credits for the film. This information is usually in the smallest font on the page but can be important for the audience to know. Fro example, if the production companies are known for creating films of a high standard then this might encourage audience to pay to go and see the film in a cinema. The credits are not always shown but from analysing the websites I can see that there is a link to the credits. This is because there is always a cast and crew page for the film which provides the same and more information than the credits.

Woman in Black

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension Link to Credits

Woman in Black

As part of horror website homepages multi-media features are often used. For example, the majority of the websites I have analysed have music playing. The music is commonly music which has bee use don the film trailer. The music used for this is often an eerie, high pitched piece which is uncomfortable for the audience to listen to but helps to create a tense and scary stratosphere. From looking at the websites I can see that the ones tat have music playing in the background provide an option for the audience to turn the music off if they would like.

Another multi-media feature is to have the trailer on the homepage. Tis is a common convention because it helps to advertise the film. For example, as you open the Woman in Black website the trailer starts playing.

One of features which is always used on a website homepage is a photo gallery. The gallery is provides the audience with images form the film and behind the scenes of the film. They are able to view the images which may give them more information about the film and might encourage the to go and see it as well. The images below are some that are on the websites I have analysed:

Another generic convention of all websites is to have a Navigation bar. The navigation bar helps the audience to navigate their way round the website easily. Most navigation bars are shown at the top of the website homepage in a small, clear text. From analysing the four websites I can see that the navigation bars are usually rollover and once clicked will direct the audience to a different page on the website. When the mouse is rolled over the colour of the word on the navigation bar changes from one colour to another. Also, I have noticed that on the Insidious 2 website the words shake this adds extra effect to the website and suggests to the audience that something is not quite right.