Iconography and Audience research

Psychological Iconography
Iconography is used in horror films to identify the genre to the audience. The connotations of the horror genre are recognisable and tells the audience who is good and who is evil and also identifies the conventions linked with them.

Iconography of psychological horrors:

• Disfiguring face or mask
• The screaming victim (the 'final girl')
• Binary oppositions of good vs evil
• Isolation 
• Low key lighting
• Everyday settings
• Knives

Audience research
I decided to ask 5 people of different ages and gender who fit in with our target audience (15-25), what they associate with psychological horror films. This is so I get a range of answers to ensure my group and I create a trailer where the genre is clearly recognisable with the iconography used which will appeal to different ages. Also, this research will help us meet our audiences expectations and follow psychological horror conventions.

Male aged 19

Female aged 22

Female aged 18

Male aged 15

Male aged 25

What I learnt from my audience feedback
The majority of my target audience have the same ideas about the sub-genre; however some of my target audience believe psychological horrors depend on mental disorders and violence. Some members also thought that the genre depends on audiences and characters emotions, fears and personal experiences. This is what some psychological horrors are about such as 'The Shining', so as a group we will have to take this bit of feedback into consideration. Two of my target audience members said they don't associate gore with this sub-genre therefore we will be sure to stay clear of this horror convention as they may think it is a killer film. Isolation was also mentioned therefore this is something else we need to consider as this is a general iconic symbol of psychological horror films so this will clearly show the genre. As a group we could consider using different camera shots such as establishing wide shots to show the setting, isolation and vulnerability of characters to make the audience fear for the characters to create suspense. Furthermore, one member said unpredictably and 2 members said that they associate twists in the plot of the genre and also leaving 'crumbs of evidence' for the audience to make them carry on watching and ask questions. From previous research I found out that these are conventions of psychological horrors therefore we will consider using plot twists and leaving clues for the audience in the trailer to excite them and also meet their expectations so they watch the film.