Trailer Conventions

Some of the main conventions of a trailer include:

• Important, key events in the plot of a film, but ones that do not give away the whole story
• The trailer will usually start with an the main production companies' ident
• The trailer ends with the film's title and a release date
• Some films will include a form of narration, such as credits or a voice-over
• The main characters will be introduced
• The music is significant and varies according to the genre e.g. a horror will use fast-paced music whilst a romance will use calm and relaxing music
• Camera editing also differs, so where you have a romance a lot of fades, slow motion and cuts will be used but an action adventure will use quick-cuts, cutaways and extreme long shots/establishing shots

Teaser trailers very similarly use the same conventions as theatrical trailers however since they are much shorter, such things as editing and music have to be emphasised to put across the genre. If you have a horror theatrical trailer the conventions usually include: quick cuts, glitches, a dark filter, low key lighting, ominous music, incidental music, sound motifs, a main antagonist, scared/weak protagonist who we think we overcome the protagonist but won't, supernatural force, screams and usually it will end with silence before something happens to scare us. In a comedy you will notice how there is jolly music, a funny/idiotic main character, high key lighting and the music might stop as a joke is made. A romance on the other hand may use very relaxed music, fades, slow motion editing and explore the relationship between two people that has been disrupted by an event, accident or jealously. An action adventure will usually use quick cuts, fast-paced music and include a protagonist and antagonist who will engage in some death-defying fight.