Task 3 theatrical trailer conventions

1. Task 3- Trailers
A trailer or preview is an advertisement for a feature film that in the future will be shown in
a cinema. In a trailer there will be snippets of the movie and sometimes some deleted
footage that won’t be in the movie. In trailers they will most likely use clips that have a lot of
action or some element of mystery so that the potential viewers will be intrigued.
Most movie trailers follow Todorov’s Equilibrium theory (1969) states that most storylines
or plot lines follow the same path/pattern. There are 5 steps in the pattern. First there is
equilibrium; this means that there is a state in which opposing forces or influences are
balanced and everything is as it should be. The second stage is a problem or something will
disrupt the happiness, this is also known as disequilibrium. The third stage is the realisation
of the problem, this is the moment where the characters realise that something has gone
wrong. The fourth stage is the point at which the characters attempt to repair the problem.
The final stage is when the balance is returned and there is a new equilibrium.
In trailers it only stretches to the fourth stage of the narrative structure as showing more
would ruin the mystery of the film and would give away too much of the film. This could put
potential viewers off as they may think they have seen most of the films important scenes.
There are many different conventions when it comes to movie trailers, I will be linking these
conventions to four different trailers. One of these conventions is an identifiable title, this
means that there is a unique title to the specific film. This is used so that an audience links
the type of text to that film, an example of this is ‘Harry Potter’.
The title for Harry Potter is dark and
mysterious, this is as it is in the fantasy
genre and wants to keep an element of
surprise. You also see that the text of the
P is jagged and shaped like the lightning
bolt scar that Harry has on his forehead.

2. Another example of an identifiable title is Kong: Skull Island. The letters are big and bold,
this could be to resemble Kong as he is strong. The letters have a stone like effect that
match some of stones in the trailer, we can also see that the text is not smooth and has all
sharp edges.
Rings also has an identifiable title. The letters are jagged and resemble cut marks. It looks as
if a young child has made the marks with a knife or pair of scissors. This could be in the
writing of Samara who is the main antagonist as she was twelve years old when she died.

3. Another trailer that has an identifiable title is Split. The letters appear as if they have been
chopped up into sections, this is because the story is someone who has split personalities.
This text can also be used to show that something is broken or wrong in the film.
Finally another trailer that has an identifiable title is Spider-Man: Homecoming. The letters
have a knitted pattern which is very similar to Spiderman’s suit. We also see that the letters
in the word ‘Homecoming’ is in a webbed text. We also see Spiderman’s face in the letter O
of the word ‘homecoming.
Company Logo’s
Company logos are used to show that a certain company is attached to the movie that is
being shown. In Kong we see the company logos in a different way to usual. This is as they
incorporated them into part of the trailer as a pose to just showing them beforehand.

4. The trailer starts off as a projection that is being presented, they then switch slides to each
of the companies.
We also see this in Rings. The Paramount logo is not shown as normal but it is shown in a
style that is used throughout the film.
Most film trailers do not do this though as they don’t want to take the focus away from the
trailer and what is actually going on in it. Another example of this is the ‘The Belko
Experiment’. They show the company logos plain and quickly so that they don’t distract the
audience from the movie.

5. Age certification
Age certification in movie trailers are not usually used, the cases in which they are used is if
the movie is rated 18A. Usually trailers will have either a Green or Red band. A green band is
used when anyone can watch the trailer but this does not necessarily mean they can watch
the whole thing. Most first trailers don’t have an age rating as they are yet to be confirmed.
A movie that has a green band is ‘Phoenix Forgotten’ although it is a horror trailer the trailer
is appropriate for everyone. This will probably not be the case for the film as it is a horror
film.
A movie that has a red band is ‘Life’. The reason why it is a red band trailer is due to the fact
that it has graphic and excessive violence. It also contains scenes that may distress viewers.
An example of a filmtrailer that is not yet
rated is ‘Alice in the Attic’

6. Social Media
Social media is advertised in filmtrailers so that popularity will be generated and they can
reach as many people as possible. Also these days most films are aimed at teenagers and
they all have social media and this is the best way to get the message across. Most social
media that is used is: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Most films always have a hashtag that is linked to the film, this is so that popularity of the
film can be increased though twitter, the goal is to get the hashtag trending. An example of
this is ‘Get Out’.
Another example of this is in the trailer for ‘Wonder Woman’. We see all the icons for social
media with the caption saying “follow us”. This is good as it has many platforms of social
media that people can follow on.

7. More examples of social media used in trailers are ‘Ghost in the Shell’ and ‘Intruders’
Credits
Credits are used in movie trailers to highlight all the people that are involved in the creation
of the film. Nowadays credits are not used as much as it takes the focus away from what is
being shown. If they are shown they will be shown at the end of the trailer and they will be
shown very quickly. An example of this is in the movie trailer for ‘Life’.
Another example of credits being used in a movie trailer is for the film ‘Passengers’. They
are shown at the very end of the trailer and are only shown for a very short period of time.
More example of credits being used are in ‘Alice in the Attic’ and ‘Alien: Covenant’

8. Release Dates
Release dates are used in movie trailers to let the audience know when the film is coming
out. It also gets the audience involved in the countdown to when the filmis going to be
released. Usually films are released on specific dates which are related to the films theme.
A typical example of this is romance films being released on Valentine’s Day. One filmthat
has done this is ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’. It is released on Valentine’s Day as it is a romantic
film.
Another example of films being released on certain days is Horror films. They are usually
released on Halloween as it is known for people dressing up and scaring people. An example
of this is ‘Ouija: Origin of Evil’ it is released on the 20th October 2016.

9. Another example of films being released on certain days is kid’s films. They are usually
released on days when children are off of school. For example half term or summer
holidays. They do this as the kids are more likely to view the film when they are off school.
An example of this is the movie ‘Finding Dory’ it was released on the 17th of June. They did
this as children were off school at this time so they would have the best chance of
generating profit.
Music and Other sound
Music and sound is a key part of movie trailers, the way in which they are used can change
the audiences view of a trailer massively. One example of this is the trailer for ‘Kong: Skull
Island’. At the start of the trailer we hear the song ‘Bad Moon Rising’ – (Credence
Clearwater) The reason this song is played as it is used to set a happy theme for the
beginning of the trailer. The song is being played over the scene of seeing soldiers in the
army. This is also used as they used to play music like this to soldiers in Vietnam to get them
pumped up for a fight. This music is played up until we see the soldiers flying in a helicopter
and the pilot says “Is that a monkey”. We then see Kong destroy the helicopter by throwing

10. a tree at it. As soon as this happens there is a sudden change of music and everything
seems a lot darker.
There is not a lot of asynchronous sound from the trailer, as they want the focus to not be
on what is happening in the background and should be on what is happening in the
foreground instead. The producers of the trailer are trying not to distract the audience from
the main action, through the use of music, dialogue and sound effects. There is
synchronous sound throughout the rest of the trailer which is very conventional. For
example the shovel being put into the sand and also the shotgun being cocked; this is used
to add realismand emphasise the actions.
There are some jump cuts which are also used within the trailer, and they are also scenes
which are cut to the beat, this occurs when the audience are shown further down the tunnel
on each beat. This is where the ‘skull crawlers’ live. This also is done to show that it is very
far down.