1. Codes and Conventions of
Film Trailers
Film Posters
Magazine Covers
As a part of my Secondary Research, I gathered intelligence about what
are considered the codes and conventions of Film Trailers, Film Posters
and Magazine Covers, all products I would later produce.
Kevin Ntueba

2. Codes and Conventions of Film Trailers
• Although the context in film trailers tends to vary, there are many codes and conventions in
which they adhere to , these rules essentially when used well result in successful trailers. People
are changing, audiences (consumers) are evolving forcing the producers to present their ideas in
a slightly different way, as to steer in an audience. Here are a few examples of film Trailers that
have been released in the last 5 years.

3. The Production Company logo is commonly shown towards the beginning of a film trailer, This informs the
audience of who made/wrote/directed the film. These may be focal to drawing in audiences who may have seen
work from the same company/director/writer. An example of this would be in the Conjuring where the trailer makes
it clear that the directors of Insidious and Saw made the film. Similarly as I could account from experience. After
watching all seven Saw Films/Trailers which featured the Lionsgate logo, whenever I see that a film has come out in
my specified genre which has been produced by Lionsgate I am drawn to it, something Production Companies would
have intended. A big budget logo/company can help sell a film significantly.
Film Production Company Logos

4. The title of the film is present in nearly every trailer, it is considered fundamental that the Audience are
aware of what the film is called. This is often shown at the end of a trailer, Production companies will
altar the font they use to make it more memorable for the Audience. For Franchises this works
perfectly as they are able to make the viewer aware Of their franchise which would most likely use the
same mode of presentation of the title. An example of a few franchises would be the slasher movies The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
And the Seven Saw films.
The Film Title

5. One of the examples of how film trailers have evolved is the use of social media, the Film Companies
have noticed this rise in use of the internet. A convention which has been recently established are
website/URL’s, Twitter ‘hashtag’s or accounts to follow on social media sites such as Facebook. This
allows the audience to look into the film further, making the advertising of a film campaign more
effective as it reaches a wider audience. The social media also allows people to talk about and share
information with one another, for example, tweets, Facebook posts or YouTube film reviews. Film
companies want people talking about and watching their film and the social media allows to interact
with their audiences directly.
The Social Media

6. The length of a film trailer is often between 1min 30s and 2mins, however in for instance however
trailers you may have ones that are 20 seconds or even 10 seconds long! An example of a recent one
would be the Quiet Ones. The title of the film may not be shown either, you want to see more don’t you,
you want to know the plot! Teaser trailers and short trailers are another way film companies make you
think just that.
The Duration

7. Coming to a cinema near you! The release date of a film in a trailer can be a vital attraction for
particular audiences for instance horror movies like Saw who release a film during the Halloween
period. The release date is also usually shown towards the end of the trailer, the trailer is shown some
time prior to the release to ensure as many people as possible have seen it before they release it to the
public.
Release Date

8. As I have discussed earlier in my Secondary Research section the BBFC rating my be shown in trailers
to make audiences aware of which age groups of people should be allowed to watch the film. This is
often the target audience, the rating will reflect what the contents of the film will be.
BBFC Age Rating

9. The Music (sound) in a film trailer is another key feature, it can in many cases make or break a film, for
example hypothetically hearing a Beyoncé Knowles song in a horror would arguably shock the world,
It would be an irrelevant use of sound in terms of the context of horror films. The sound should reflect
the genre, for example classical music is sometimes used in horrors/thrillers to create a sense of
suspense, like in Dead Silence and I Spit on Your Grave 2.
Voice-overs can be equally just as important, for instance The Book of Eli, (Denzel Washington) uses
voice-overs to give the audience more information about the plot and the characters. Like in V for
Vendetta a voice over can be part of the film, added on top or sections of dialogue.
Sound, Music, Voiceovers

10. Some films’ selling point is the main character in the film, this could be said to be true of The Wolf of
Wall Street, The Great Gatsby which both star Leonardo DiCaprio. Similarly The Book Of Eli and Flight
feature Denzel Washington as the main character, his name is shown in each of the trailers. Famous and
well known actors may drawn in audiences who are familiar with their work. For example personally
anything with Zoe Saldana from Colombiana and Star Trek in it I would watch, similarly with Christian
Bale, a great actor who brings a realness to the films he stars in as main characters that is rare For
example his role in Equilibrium, The Machinist and as Batman in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight
Rises. So when the two came together in Out of the Furnace you could imagine my excitement.
To conclude, the actors can significantly contribute to the success of a film.
Character Introductions

11. Actors you should
keep an eye on!
And shouldn’t sleep
on!
Christian Bale Zoe Saldana Denzel Washington Kerry Washington
Batman Begins, Equilibrium, Harsh Colombiana, Star Trek, Out of Malcom X, Book of Eli, Flight The Last King of Scotland, Ray
Times, Machinist, Dark Knight Rises The Furnace, Avatar, After Sex Training Day, Safe House Django Unchained – Scandal
Jake Gyllenhaal Eddie Murphy Jessica Alba Samuel.L Jackson Gerald Butler
Prisoners, End of Watch Coming to America, Nutty Profess. Fantastic 4, The Eye, Honey The negotiator, Unthinkable Law Abiding Citizen, 300

12. Codes and Conventions of Film Posters

13. Typography is simply the style and appearance of
printed matter. For example on the Colombiana Film
Poster the tag line is written at the top of the poster, in
contrast to the other text as the bottom, for instance
the Title, the tag line is smaller. The actor’s name Zoe
Saldana is written above the title, which is used to
entice audiences to watch the film, a San Serif Font is
consistent through out the poster with a similar colour
scheme. The director,, production companies and their
logos are all situated at the bottom of the poster, these
are commonly the smallest in terms of text sie ratio on
any one poster.
The tagline encourages the audience to watch it, the
iconography in the poster links well with the tagline,
the woman is shown with a pistol in her hand, which
suggest, that she is out to inflict damage on someone
else. She does not have sleeves which could connote to
things getting hot/tense, there is a city in the
background which she is blended into, a possible
location for the film.
Typography And Written Language

14. The photographs in a film poster are often the most
dominant signifier on the poster, there’s a notion that says
Pictures speak louder than words. In many cases film
poster correspond with this notion. The photograph
should give the audience an insight into what the film is
going to be about. Of course this will often be supported
by a tagline in this case – The 300 poster PREPARE FOR
GLORY and the title of the film. The 300 logo is iconic for
its appearance of looking like dripping blood and blood
splatter. This title is more of an illustration than written
text that is why I have chosen this film poster to show
how photographs and illustrations can be used in a film
poster.
Interested about the history behind the film 300?! Click below to
read about the Battle of Thermopylae.
Photographs and Illustrations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Therm
opylae

15. The lighting of a film poster is another way of
communicating the plot/theme of the movie. For
example in THE EYE poster you can see that the colour
scheme is a blue, black and white one. This is common in
drama’s even more so in films which include medical
institutions.
This is of course anchored further by the title, the
photograph of the main actor (whose name is above the
title in a consistent San Serif font) Jessica Alba. Beneath
the title is the tagline, what this poster has done
differently is the medical definition of Cellular Memory is
found at the top of the poster, this has been placed there
as it must play an important par in understanding the
plot.
The colours convey a dark confined sense of atmosphere,
the rain in the poster could also convey a storm coming.
(something bad is about to happen)
Lighting and Colour Schemes

16. The camera angle is also another way ideas are
presented in film posters, in this poster of the film
FLIGHT. The man is positioned at the centre of the
image in a medium shot facing away at a seemingly
upward angle.. He is dressed in pilot attire so it would
be reasonable to think he is look up at the sky or
something else in the distance. Notice the difference
between the way the Flight poster uses the camera and
the Safe House Poster below doe, the Safe house poster
uses two shots a extreme close up and a long shot, this
could be used to convey the message of;
Camera angle- Camera Shot
The man on the right
being an immediate
threat, and the man on the
right being a “long shot” in
a sense.

17. Codes and Conventions of Magazine Covers

18. The main image is commonly the main feature
of the article, these are often studio
photographs usually in a medium close-up, or
mid-shot, the character is often facing the
viewer. This is a form of direct address.
Main Image

19. Magazines tend to have their own trademark
font which they consistently use throughout
their editions. These are using one or two
words, which fill the length of the magazine at
the top of the magazine. The price of the issue,
the website and number of the issue is usually
positioned near the masthead.
Masthead

20. PUFFS – are free offers/giveaways that the
magazine are offering.
BUZZ WORDS – these are used to attract
attention in this magazine cover a buzz word
would be the PLUS! At the bottom of the
magazine.
The barcode is what is scanned when an item
is purchased. This varies in the position on the
magazine cover however they are often placed
at the bottom of the magazine.
Giveaways, Buzz words and Barcode

21. The Coverlines are the text layered on top of the
image, in the front cover, they are designed to
attract people into reading/purchasing the
magazine.
The main cover line is the second largest text
after the title, it therefore anchors the meaning of
the image being displayed on the magazine. Some
cover lines are only one or two words with a brief
introduction beneath it outlining what they can
expect to find inside the magazine.
Cover Lines

22. The strip contains the list of items which will
feature inside the magazine, this is done to
draw the potential consumer in on purchasing
the magazine. This is often placed at the
bottom however it man be placed on the top
on some magazines.
Strip and Colour Scheme