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Generic conventions Websites – The Conjuring 2, Lights Out, Don’t Breathe and Blair Witch

Horror movie website generic conventions

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Page 1: Horror movie website generic conventions

Generic conventionsWebsites – The Conjuring 2, Lights Out, Don’t Breathe and Blair Witch

Page 2: Horror movie website generic conventions

NavigationThe first convention that I noticed on the home pages of horror movies was the navigation. All of the websites I visited had navigation menus that were either hidden and needed to be clicked on to be revealed or were small in the corner and vertically aligned rather than horizontal across the webpage. This is presumably so the navigation doesn’t get in the way of the webpage and distract from the information. I also have noticed that the font stands out and is easy to read so people know what page is what. Another convention of the navigation would be that there is something that signifies the page that you are on. Shown in the examples I have found are red font and a line through the home page name. There is also animations on all of them when you roll over a page name. The most common is for the page name to change colour when you hover your cursor over the page.

Page 3: Horror movie website generic conventions

Social MediaThe next convention I notice is to have links to all of the social media pages that are related to the film. This way anyone who wants to find out more about the film or discover extra content can go to their social medias. The icons are typically tucked away on the webpage. Most commonly in corners of the webpage or down the sides of the webpage which means they are out of the way of the main content of the web page but still visible. Colours wise, the links tend to not stand out as much on the webpage and tend to be in colours that contrast with the rest of the webpage to ensure they don’t obviously stand out. They are also icons rather than text links which makes it look more modern and clean rather than having a line of text along the bottom of the page.

Page 4: Horror movie website generic conventions

ReviewsIt is also commonplace for home pages to have reviews on them from media outlets, magazines and newspapers. This way people can see what professionals think of the film which could make then decide whether they want to watch the film. The reviews will contain a snippet from the overall review that stands out and who said it, and the name of the company that they write for. The reviews tend to be towards the side of the page but in a large, easy to read font and a colour that stands out on the background of the page. This was the reviews are easily visible to anyone that visits the website without them getting in the way of the main content on the webpage like images or the trailer itself.

Page 5: Horror movie website generic conventions

TitleThe title is one thing that all horror homepages have. The titles are either large at the top of the page or are right in the middle of the page. They are also the same as the title used on both the poster and in the trailers to build a brand identity so people can recognise the film. Like I identified in for the poster generic conventions, the fonts tend to be distorted or disturbed and can look damaged or dirty which represents the fact that the films are horror films. The fonts are also in bright colours that make them stand out on the background.

Page 6: Horror movie website generic conventions

SoundA majority of horror home pages have audio on their homepages to make the people who visit the page feel more involved in the experience and it allows them to get even more of a feel for the film. The audio usually tends to be the soundtrack to the film or creepy, horrific audio that matches the theme and feel of the film. The inclusion of audio can also build tension on the webpage or even create fear as the creepy audio could make someone who is visiting the website anticipate something to jump out on the webpage and scare the visitor. The audio is usually slow, droning audio that creates an eerie atmosphere on the webpage.

Page 7: Horror movie website generic conventions

Main ImageEvery webpage has a large, main image or animation on its homepage that gives the audience a glimpse at what happens in the film. The Blair Witch homepage contains a short animation with clips from the film. Normally the main image directly relates to the plot of the film or something significant that happens during the film. Colours wise, it is made obvious that this is the films are horrors as the colours are very dark and sinister and help contribute to the tense feeling of horror that the webpages create. The focal point of the image tends to be in the centre of the page or it will take up lots of space on the page so the visitors attention is immediately drawn to the image on the webpage.