Conventions of a Trailer depending on the genre.

1. Genre of TrailerGenre of Trailer• Family
• Action
• Comedy
• Horror
• Thriller
• Western
•

2. A family film is orientated for a large target audience, it starts at a very
young age meaning that there is lots of content that isn’t displayed.
Within a film that is targeted for a family there is no violence, adult
behaviour or language which includes: drugs and sex. The scenes in a
family film are very moderate and approvable for a young audience. Due
to this, a trailer promoting a family film has to follow the same
principles.
 The typical conventions of a family film are as followed:
 Plot involves family and relationship
 No serious bad language or behaviour
 The characters are humorous and happy
 They often contain lots of humour
 Usually a simple message/lesson is being told
 Conventionally is a happy ending
FamilyFamily

3. Action films are usually targeted at males as they are most interested in
violent films. Actions films use many conventions to address this target
audience of males aged between 15-40. One of the main conventions of
an action film is that the protagonists is normally a male and is
accompanied by a female role who stereotypically fall in love with the
protagonist. It is very unusual for the protagonist to be female, however,
when they do use female characters as the lead (Katniss in the Hunger
Games) it is combat the stereotype of females being weaker than males.
Conventions of actions films
 Mission waiting to be competed
 Always a motive for the actions of the protagonist
 Antagonists and Protagonists
 Outbursts in setting's
 Action

ActionAction

4. Usually, the target audienc of a comedy fim is very dependant on the content of the fim. For
eample, many chidren films can have comical scenes in which you would link it to the
comedy genre, however, these fims woud be completely different for a comedy film labelled
as a 12 r 15. These fims have the taret audience of the certified age. The final age partion of
the comedy targgeet audience is 18 certificates, this is because the comedy in these fims
are ofte more explicit in terms of language and scenes, making the fim heavily aimed at the
over 18’s.

Typical conventions of a comedy film is :

 The setting is dependant on the type of comedy, however, usually they are generic
places which include: Bright places, Towns, Cities and well populated areas.

 Many camera angles are used in comedies, however, almost all comedies contain
certain shots:
◦ The camera is very natural and goes along with the characters.
◦ High shots are used to capture the whol;e environment
◦ Medium shos to catch all of the charcters expression
◦

ComedyComedy

5.  Most comedies contain certain types of charcters these are:
◦ Stupid People (Idiots) who are normally very accident prone
◦ Smart people who are conveyed as socially awkward
◦ Regular People
◦
 Also there are many different themes within the comedy genre
◦ Anarchic Comedy
◦ Gross Out
◦ Parody
◦ Romantic Comedy
◦ Screwball comedy
◦ Slapstick
◦
 Icongraphy is also a convention if comedies:
◦ Bright colours such as blue and yellow are used often
◦ Lighting is often bright and all events normally take place in the day
◦ Props normally symbolise the comedic side of the film
◦

Comedy cont…Comedy cont…

6. Conventionally the typical target audience age for the horror genre is from 15-25. This is due to the thrilling
factor arisen form horror movies, as the younger generations enjoy the jumps and suprises that come with
the film. Additionally, unlike older generations, teenagers are unlikely to be put off by graphic images and
iconography but instead are drawn towards them. Unlike, in most genres, horror doesn’t conform to a
specific gender.
 There are many different conventions of a horror film and there are usually some of these conventions
displayed in the trailer to demostatrate that it ius a horror.

 The trailer shows thebest bits of the film to attract the audience
 Battle of good vs evil
 Images of death and blod which connote this particular genre
 There is always a protagonist who is normally the victim, however, they always manage to survive at the
end of the film
 Mise en scene is a dark atmosphere
 There is typically an appearanceof authority
 Dramatic camera angles which show the charcters more
 Action is interrupted with credits on the screen
 Isolated location – not many people around
 Music – indicating a frightfull moment that is aboput tp happen
 Titles are mainly shown at the end
 Disruption of normality

HorrorHorror

7. Most thrillers are targeted at both male and female audiences including a variety of social classes which are
addressed through the relatable charcacters and themes throughout the film. However, certain thrillers such
as psychological thrilers are aimed for an audience 18+ due to the issues and violence in the film as they
are not suitable for a younger audience. Other than that most thrillers are certificated 15.
There are many conventions that are found in a thriller which are also demonstrated throughout the trailer
of the film. These include:
 Dark colour schemes and low key lighting is used to connote mystery and suspense
 Themes of isolation connotes the character as vunreable in comparison to the antagonist
 Props such as guns are used to signify terror which creates tension and suspense
 Distressed appearance
 Settings usually depict an normal everyday setting which impacts the suspension as the action is
unexpected
 Suspense and Tension
 Plot twists
 Protagonist vs Antagonist
 The narrative is usually dominated by the protagonists point of view
 Conventionally represent injustice and the battle between good vs evil
 Clear recognition of the antagonist
ThrillerThriller

8. Western films are one of the oldest fil genres as they have been around for about 100 years.
They are films that are primarily aiming to tell a true of fictional story of the American West
in the late 19th Century. The target audience for western films is a wide age catergory due to
a lot of violence being in the films and because older generations are more intrigued into
westerns due to them being on tv during there childhood. Overall, the main target audience
is males due to nthe violence within the films.
As with every other genre there are common conventions within that particular genres.
These are as followed:
 The hero is always a solitary male, sometimes with supporters
 Villiamns are typically lawbreakers
 The victims are normally older men, women and children
 The stereotypical setting is a desert environment in an American Town
 Conbentionally, the storyline is based around a hero who arrives in a towns to save
victims from a villain
 The main conlict in westerns is between the hero and villain however, there is also
conflict between the villain and the victims but this is only minor


WesternWestern

9. As I have researched the different genres of trailers and the
conventions of trailers, I have decided to analyse multiple
trailers. I have analysed multiple trailers from different genres to
see the common conventions. These include:

10. As I have researched the different genres of trailers and the
conventions of trailers, I have decided to analyse multiple
trailers. I have analysed multiple trailers from different genres to
see the common conventions. These include: