Genre

Genre means class, and is used to group different text together. Genres are not fixed and some are very similar, some can cross over to create hybrids also that contain elements from different genres. For example, a rom-com has elements of both the romance genre and the comedy genre. 

• McQuail's (1987) theory states that; genre is set so that the text produced matches the expectations of its audience and to go along with its production. Basically meaning that genre is a key part of a media texts production as it caters the text to a specific audience. 

 My trailer will relate to this as I am planning it following typical horror film conventions, including shot types, lighting and mise en scene. 

• Robert Stam (2000) suggests that genres are based on certain aspects relating to that genre, or where it stems from to create a typical portrayal. For example, films based on true life events are generally under the drama genre and films containing stupidity, jokes and unrealistic scenarios are classed as comedies. 

This relates to the story for my film as it includes elements such as blood, gore, violence, masked antagonist, female protagonist, and is set at night. These elements together are classed under the horror genre. This also relates to the use of paradigms to help the audience recognise and establish the genre and aim of the movie. The paradigms include all aspects and elements used to create the horror feel, ranging from the obvious down to the code and conventions. For example, some of the camera work I am going to use when making my trailer will give give the impression that the protagonist is being watched, enhancing what the protagonist is saying (i.e; she does not feel safe, feels like she is being watched). Another aspect that relates is that the antagonist is going to be male, quite big and scary dressed in a boiler suit and a mask hiding his identity.