Horror

Horror film is a genre that aims to create a sense of fear, panic, alarm, and dread for the audience. These films are often unsettling and rely on scaring the audience. They include alien invasions, ghosts, gothic horror, comedy, zombies, monsters, nature gone wild, occult, sci-fi, and supernatural. Popular horror movies include The Thing, and Night of the Living Dead.

The Conventions of Horror:

The Powerpoint presentation below explains the Horror Genre Conventions

Pros/Cons of a Horror Short Film:
Pros:

• Fast moving.
• There is always a scare which isn't interrupted or built up and not finished. 
• There is one scare focused on a single thing, e.g. on scary character.
• There is no background storyline.
• The storyline is very short and straight to the point.

Cons:

• Less storyline's and background information.
• The audience may be left on a cliffhanger- negative for some viewers experience.
• The audience can't understand the narrative as easy.
• The audience can't connect with the characters or storyline because there isn't enough time for the whole past story etc. 

Textual Analysis of Lights Out:

The title of the short horror film, Lights Out was made by Swedish filmmaker and animator David F. Sanberg and he uploaded it on his Vimeo account a few months ago in December 2013. Watch the embedded short film below:

Lights Out - Who's There Film Challenge (2013) by David F. Sandberg on Vimeo.

Lights out is a horror short about a woman who is about to go to bed in her room, as she turned off the lights a shadowy figure appears. 
The scene starts with an establishing shot to show the outside of the house, this gives the audience a clear indication of the location but also time of day. By showing the dark exterior we quickly learn that its late evening as its very dark. This helps to add to the effect as a dark evening is more scary and associated with spooky terror happening at night. 
A wide angle is then used to see the only character leaving a room and walking though a hallway, we see the whole of her body and can see most of her surroundings, this helps us to see that she is riding nothing and when the lights are on there is nothing else there.
To emphasise this aspect of only the one character being alone the mise-en-scene of the house is very basic with little props or furniture with a single coat stand and a few pictures in the scene. The characters costume is also very basic and she is seen wearing a nightshirt. This clearly tells the audience she is about to go to bed. This is also developed by the characters movements being lade-back and slow. 
When she is flicking the light switch and notices the extra figure there are two shots used. When she is looking towards the figure an over the shoulder shot is used to help the audience see her perspective and what she is seeing. To contest with this a point of view shot from the figure is used to see her reactions. 
Thinking it was just her imagination she turned on the lights and no one is there, when she flick the switch again, the figure returns. 
As she does it again twice the figure suddenly appears and disappears in front of her and she was shocked. Until this point no non-diagetic sound has been used and to emphasise the jump scare a high pitched minor violin sound is used. This also stands out and shocks us, the audience, to make the shock very evident. Also a brass instrument is heard. This is the sound also helps to show the shock. 
Before this the sound has been basic and all diagetic. The sounds include the doors closing, the womans footsteps and the light switch. 

There is then a very quick cut to her unwrapping thick tape then tapes the switch so the lights are on and went to bed; suddenly she hears noises and creepy footsteps. Lots of very short clips and quick cuts are used to add tension and make it clear another very important scare is about to come.

Scared, she covers herself in her blanket and when her lamp is blinking she just put on the chord properly and the lamp was on. Feeling that it is over she uncovers her head from her blanket and she felt relived, then when she was about to sleep a monstrous looking thing which everyone couldn't tell if it's a girl or long haired boy, shows up and turns the lamp off ending the film.

Overall the use of quick cuts and short clips for editing, clear camera angles to show points of view and reactions, mise-en-scene and screeching sounds help to add tension and make the scares more shocking to help stereotype the horror genre and achieve its purpose of scaring the audience. In this short film it also leaves the audience at a cliff hanger making it even more shocking as the audience don't know what happens next and are left to wonder the characters unfortunate ending.

Treatment for a short in this genre:
The main concept of a short horror film is the build up to the climax whereby the audience will be shocked by the twist to the plot. Key horror conventions will take place to signify the supposed genre and only until the very end will it become clear that the stereotyping of society has allowed the viewer to become caught up in the theme and make the wrong assumptions as to the ending of the piece.
Mostly diagetic sound with some non-diagetic to emphasis shocks/scares and to build tension. To achieve this I would slow and quiet instrumental sound is playing to signify a building of tension, the best instrument for this is string instruments.
All short horror films must include at least one shock/scare which is normally a jump scare, without this they may not be as interesting.
AN EXAMPLE TREATMENT FOR THE MIRROR:
If I was constructing a short, five minute film, the intended audience would be a teenage to middle age group, because they stereotypically enjoy watching horror films more than the older generation and younger people tend to enjoy being scared. The storyline would include a young girl who wakes up to a knocking sound. It sounds like a knock on glass. She pulls the curtain hesitantly to look out the window. There is nothing there. She then slowly looks behind and hears the sound from the mirror. She walks slowly unto the mirror and puts her head against it. The knocking stops and stares straight into the mirror. She thinks she was hearing things and goes back to bed. Camera pans towards the mirror and a scary ghost which looks like a young girl screaming inside the mirror. The scream is very loud. Then quick cut to black.