The document discusses conventions used in movie trailers to convey information to audiences. It uses the trailers for the movie "Warm Bodies" to illustrate these conventions. The full trailer establishes the movie has genres of supernatural horror, comedy, action, and romance through visual cues like makeup, facial expressions, and editing. The teaser trailer similarly conveys genres of action, romance, and supernatural horror through fast pacing, violence, and relationship progression. Both trailers use non-diegetic sounds to enhance enjoyment and set expectations, but the teaser focuses more on violence and sexuality while the full trailer provides more context.

1. Trailer conventions
Trailers are designed to send particular messages to audiences about a film. You will
notice certain conventions recur in most trailers and this activity helps you to analyse the
purpose of some of these.
Use the 2 minute WARM BODIES trailer as the focus for the following tasks.
http://www.filmeducation.org/teachingtrailers/secondary/index.html
The teaser trailer can be seen here
1. Watch the trailer once, WITHOUT the sound (either turn the volume to zero or
switch off your speakers).
2. Now watch the trailer again, still WITHOUT the sound, pressing pause at points that
illustrate the visual features listed in boxes 1- 4 below. Make notes explaining
what you see in the frozen frames.
3. What do you think the sound would add to this trailer? How do you think it would
help to establish the genre? Can you easily establish the genre without the sound?
If so, how?
4. Now watch the trailer once more, this time with the sound ON.
 What does the sound add to your enjoyment of the trailer?
 What does it add to your expectations of the film and its genre?
 Explain your answers in box 5 below
FULL TRAILER
CONVENTIONS IDEAS
1 Film title – When does it appear?
How many seconds in?
Warm Bodies- 2;18
2 Credits – Who is credited? Why?
Summit a distribution company credited within15
seconds.
Summit entertainment credit shown around 1;20
3 Stars – Who are they? What else
have you seen them in?
Nicolas Holt- Skins, X-Men
John Malkovich- Of Mice and Men, Johnny English
4 Genre – What type of film does it
seem to be? How can you tell this?
Supernatural Horror- a Zombie is immediately shown in
an extreme close up. Can tell his is a Zombie through
the mise en scene (Make-up is extremely dark but also
pale skin tone, body language is without human
capability, props look apocalyptic.) Conflict shown
with Skull Group, opens possibilities that originals

2. Zombies are not as bad as thought.
HYBRID
Comedy- Comic element appears through body
language and irony as Security Zombie scans other
Zombies without effort. Facial expressions have a
comical element.
Action- Increased pace and tempo, extreme close up
on fearful facial expression, violence in protagonist
killing humans.
Romance- Slowed editing and longer shot duration,
eye-line match, facial expression. Editing shows his
heart begin to beat. Shots show a potential romance.
Sexuality shown.
5 Sound – Diegetic? Non Diegetic?
Now compare the teaser trailer HERE
More quickly go through the same questions as for the fiull trailer:
5. Watch the trailer once, WITHOUT the sound (either turn the volume to zero or
switch off your speakers).
6. Now watch the trailer again, still WITHOUT the sound, pressing pause at points that
illustrate the visual features listed in boxes 1- 4 below. Make notes explaining
what you see in the frozen frames.
7. What do you think the sound would add to this trailer? How do you think it would
help to establish the genre? Can you easily establish the genre without the sound?
If so, how?
8. Now watch the trailer once more, this time with the sound ON.
 What does the sound add to your enjoyment of the trailer?
 What does it add to your expectations of the film and its genre?
 Explain your answers in box 5 below
TEASER TRAILER
CONVENTIONS IDEAS

3. 1 Film title – When does it appear?
How many seconds in?
‘Warm Bodies’ shown just before the final shot
2 Credits – Who is credited? Why?
Summit is shown immediately
3 Stars – Who are they? What else
have you seen them in?
Nicholas Holt
John Malkovich
4 Genre – What type of film does it
seem to be? How can you tell this?
Action- Icredibly fast paced editing, violence and
conflict (murdering of humans and threatening
behavior is shown throughout)
Romance- Sexuality expressed through removing of
shirt, shots showoing the progression of relationship
Supernatural Horror- Zombies shown in an apocalyptic
setting throughout the teaser trailer
5 Sound – Diegetic? Non Diegetic?
Comedic – “I’m literally lost, I’ve never been in this
part of the airport before”
Romance – Upbeat, lively system, opposite to watch
shot is suggesting
Finally write a paragraph comparing the two versions
 What has stayed the same?
 What are the differences?
 What are the different effects of the two trailers