4. Narrative Structure
• Within trailers there is usually a certain order of events.
For instance the equilibrium, and then the disequilibrium.
• However some action thrillers only show the disequilibrium to leave
the audience more intrigued to find out what happened in the
equilibrium (past).
• The characters in the trailer are shown to be happy and enjoying life
but then they encounter a problem and everything changes.
• The new equilibrium is usually not shown as that’s why you go to
see the film.
5. Two Minutes To Sunrise
Equilibrium: They are living their lives normally
Disequilibrium: A friend gets killed and the killer starts attacking the others. Do they survive?
Welcome To Yesterday
Equilibrium: They are living their normal lives when they stumble upon a time machine.
Disequilibrium: They take advantage of the time machine and it all goes wrong. The world starts ending so they
try to fix things. Do they fix everything?
6. Trailer Timing
Theatrical trailers are usually 2-3 minutes long, this is because they don’t want
to give too much away.
7. Audio
• Usually within an action thriller the score music used is quite upbeat and
tense. This is to set the mood and to communicate to the audience
something is going to happen. The score music works together with the
editing to make the trailer more thrilling.
• The score music used usually starts of quite low and the further you get into
the trailer the louder it gets this is due to the action kicking in.
In the trailer ‘Final Girl’ the music builds up at the climatic action point this is to
make it more climatic and get the audiences attention.
8. Titles
• Within action thrillers sometimes titles are used to replace the narrative.
For example in in the student trailer ‘The Duplex.’
Instead of there being a
voice over telling the
audience what's happening,
Titles are used instead.
• The title of the film is usually shown at the end of the trailer so the audience
remembers what the film is called as it will be the last thing they see and
remember.
The title ‘Paranoia’ is
shown 5 seconds before
the end of the trailer.
• Action thriller titles are usually seen against a black screen and a simple font is
used. This is so they don’t come across as too distracting.
9. Social Media
• Usually at the end of the trailer the films social media sites will be shown.
This is so the audience can access other information about the film and
share it with their friends.
• The social media details are shown at the end of the trailer to catch the
audience attention as it will be the last thing they see.
The Facebook and Twitter page of the film ‘A
Most Wanted Man’.
Shown a few seconds before the end of the
trailer so it is the last thing the audience
sees and remembers.
10. Editing
• The pace of editing is usually slow at the beginning but then when a problem is
discovered it gets faster.
• Match on action is used quite a lot during intense fight scenes to make the fight flow
more and look more realistic.
• Cross cutting is commonly used in the action thriller genre to create a climatic point.
• CGI is used to exaggerate action scenes, and make them more exciting for the
audience.
In the trailer ‘The Book Of
Eli’ CGI is used to make it
more dramatic and
realistic.
In ‘Divergent’ match on
action is used to make it
more significant.
11. Inspiration
After watching both official trailers and student trailers one thing which has
inspired me is the editing pace and how it is parallel to the score music used.
For instance, when the editing is fast the pace of the music is fast which sets
the right mood and creates tension making it more exciting and without this
to create a successful action thriller trailer would be impossible.
