Info on movie trailers

1. By Lauren Hewitt

2.  The main intention of film trailer is to inform its
audience about what is going to be in the film.
 There are many things that should be taken into
consideration when trying to make the trailer
effective; and depending on the genre that is
chosen for the movie, there are different codes
and conventions each genre goes by.
 Effective trailers should mean that many people
come and watch the movie, and therefore
generate more money for the film in the long
run, so that it reaches its 2.5 formula and
creates profit.

3.  First off all, snippets of the movie has to be
squeezed into a tight space of only 2-3
minutes. You have to include the best parts
that will sell the movie, without giving the
whole plot away; otherwise it may just look
boring, and the audience will not be
interested.
 The clips that are shown should grab the
audience’s attention and build up tension
and excitement. This can be done through
the use or mise en scene, sound, camerawork
and editing.

4.  Most, if not all trailers use colours that fit
with their genre, so that the audience would
be aware what sort of movie it will be.

5.  For example, if the genre of the film is going
to be a Rom-Com, there are usually very
bright colours, usually consisting of ‘girly’
colours such as pink, purple, baby blue and
other pastel colours.

6.  But on the other hand, if the genre of the
film is going to be a horror, the colours are
more likely to be dark and plain, such as
white, black, grey and red, to set a cold,
dark atmosphere.

7.  Sound also has to be used effectively. Normally,
action movies use lots of pleonastic sound, to
emphasise things such as explosions and gun
shots. This will automatically grab the viewers’
attention.
 Horror movies usually have some sort of tension
building music, such as a piano chime or a drum
beat.
 Voiceovers are also commonly used in trailers to
give a narrative to the plot and make it quicker
and easier to understand what is going on, but a
more effective trailer should win over an
audience member through their use of dialogue.

8.  Trailers always include their USPs (Unique
Selling Points) and for most block busters,
this is usually their well known, bankable
actor/actress.
 These are included so that if a viewer spots
an actor that they really enjoy watching,
they will be more like to go and see the film.