Readings

= Movie Trailer Conventions =

What are the features of a trailer?  Trailers are not ‘mini-films’. They are a form in their own right and have their own set of easily recognisable conventions. Trailers are designed to capture our attention and hold it for a short space of time. They create a mood or atmosphere and heighten our anticipation of what is to come within the film. In some ways watching a trailer is like doing a jigsaw puzzle – we’re given some information as to plot and character and our task is to guess at the missing pieces. The style in which the information is conveyed is often fast-moving and requires our attention one hundred percent of the time. To watch a film at this pace would be impossible, we could not cope with the input and would ‘switch off’. However, we enjoy the roller coaster effect of a trailer and the mental challenge it presents. Sound is very important in a trailer, particularly the music, which can manipulate our emotions and create a specific atmosphere. The voiceover, a feature of advertising, is used to summarise aspects of the story and emphasise credit information where appropriate. Like every other element of the trailer, the voiceover also promotes the film by building our anticipation.

What types of trailer are there?  The duration of a trailer is one defining feature: a full theatrical trailer will generally run at two minutes in the cinema whereas a TV spot for a film will usually last no more than thirty seconds. A ‘teaser’ trailer may be as short as ten seconds. A distribution company may decide to release more than one trailer for a film, particularly if it is a big production with a substantial budget for marketing. For example, a teaser trailer may be cut and released online, or played in cinemas, in the early stages of the promotional campaign. As the name suggests, this type of trailer is designed to ‘tease’ the audience and whet their appetite for more information. A word of mouth campaign will thus be started, as people talk about the film to their friends, and an air of anticipation is created. The teaser trailer will be followed by a longer theatrical trailer, which usually plays in cinemas three to four weeks before the film is due to be released. Trailers may also be used in television advertising campaigns, known as ‘TV spots’, but as air time is expensive these will be very short cuts of the trailer, designed for impact in as short a space of time as possible.

 Listed below are some of the more recognisable conventions of film trailers: • voiceovers are used to tell the story and give credit information • the stars of the film are showcased • key points are sometimes conveyed through titles (words on screen) • conversations between characters often consist of one-liners • dramatic camera angles may be chosen to show events or characters • action is interspersed with actor or director credits on screen • music plays an important role in creating atmosphere • the film’s title may not appear until the end • the trailer builds to a climax, where it ends
 * Conventions**

• montage (a series of shots from different points in the film, edited together) is often used to highlight the most dramatic, humorous or fast-paced aspects of the film

 A trailer will often be structured around the most appealing aspects of a film without taking conventional narrative order into consideration. For example, you might see a funny moment taken from the ending of a comedy near the beginning of the trailer for that film, or a selection of clips chosen to attract the widest possible audience, such as a romantic clip in the trailer for an action film. Some trailers will aim to provide a basic narrative structure to guide us through the film’s storyline. A trailer structure may look like this: ** Opening **: establishes setting and introduces character ** Build-up: **relationships established; development of characters and their world **<span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;"><span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;"> Problem: **<span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;"><span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;">a dilemma or series of complications: characters faced with an obstacle (or several) to overcome. There may be more than one ‘problem’ in the narrative **<span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;"><span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;"> Events: **<span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;"><span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;">a series of events as characters try to overcome obstacles and solve problems. Further complications may arise in the process. The conventional narrative of a film will normally adopt a classic storytelling structure, for example: **<span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;"><span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;"> Beginning: **<span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;"><span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;">order is established **<span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;"><span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;"> Middle: **<span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;"><span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;">order is disrupted **<span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;"><span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;"> End: **<span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;"><span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;">order is restored
 * Structural conventions**

Voiceover <span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;"><span style="font-family: Myriad Pro,Myriad Pro;"> The voiceover is an instantly recognisable convention of a film trailer and has several functions. The voiceover: • helps us make sense of the narrative by giving us background information, such as where the action is set, who the characters are etc. • showcases the stars appearing in the film • gives us information about important production personnel such as the director and producer and their previous work • helps to build a sense of anticipation about the film’s release • reinforces the title of the film • sets the tone for the film • the voiceover summarises the story in around 5-8 lines. It does not give away the ending, but helps us anticipate what is to come. A voiceover is one means of conveying information in the trailer: other audio and visual elements, such as dialogue, soundtrack and titles, all play a part as well.