Research Into Similar Products: Conventions of a Trailer

There are many codes and conventions of trailers, although all trailers are different, they still stick to a general list of rules in order to make the trailer successful. However, as the audience has changed, so did the rules slightly.

Film Production logos:

Usually at the start of the trailer, there is always the production/distribution company logo, such as Universal or Lionsgate etc. The film company's reputation would definitely benefit the film trailer, for example, if the audience already liked a previous Film 4 film, then they're likely to watch this one too! It also gives an impression of the type of film the production company is selling, since these companies try to capture the audiences of certain audiences most of the time, such as Disney; you'd expect a heart-warming film suitable for families and young people.

Film Title:

Obviously, there's always a film title in ever trailer; generally at the end of the trailer to provide an exciting build up so the audience would be eager to watch the film after the brilliant impression it's made from the trailer. Also, it's a bit of fun, the audience excitedly whispering saying 'Oh! I know what the film is!' then the title comes up at the end 'I was right! Yes! It looks so cool!' It's like the cherry on the cake.
In terms of audience type, you could tell what genre the film is by the appearance of the title with the font and colour/effects used.

BBFC Age Certification:

There are obviously age ratings awarded to any film released in the UK, so to give a guideline for the target audience's age, for example, a film rated U certificate makes it a family friendly film, so you'll get many children going to watch it. The age rating is important since it hints to the content of the film too, for example, a film rated a 15 certificate could suggest there may be moderate to higher levels of violence, sexual scenes and bad language, and if the audience member doesn't like that sort of thing, then they won't watch it.

Social Media:

A new convention of film trailers is to add URLs, Twitter hashtags or accounts to follow as well as instructions to Like their Facebook page. This encourages the audience to discover more about the film and follow the progress/news/narrative of the film by social media. It also, of course, encourages the audience to share and exchange information and enthusiasm about the film via social media to their friends; promoting the film even more without the film companies having to do a thing.

Character Introductions:

An important feature of film trailers is character introductions, whether they have big Hollywood actors or not. This is essential since an audience may get pleasure from films by connecting and relating to the characters, like by individual similarities, such as prominent young female leads may get a wider female audience since the character is relateable, such as Katniss from the Hunger Games franchise. Also, if the film has famous actors, fans or those who enjoyed previous films that actor was in, are more likely to go watch it to see their favoured actor in action!

Music:

Music is a VERY important feature too which can make or break film trailers! They show the pace of the film, the genre and often even the budget of the film (like, if they managed to get an artist to specifically create a soundtrack for the film, or the bigger the artiste the greater the budget they have, and a greater budget usually means a better film).

Voice overs are important to guide the audience through the film plot and characters. A voice over can either be an external voice which is added on top of the footage, or the voice over can be from sections of dialogue from the actual film (I think I'll use the second voice over technique here).

Name Captions:

In every trailer, there are name captions which could be of the actor's name, director's or producer's names. This is so that if the audience enjoys the works of a particular actor, director or producer, they're more likely to see the film! The director's name can also show what the style of the film would be like, for example, Tim Burton or Peter Jackson have particular styles of directing and films that their audience could appeal to more. It's like the director's signature.
However, the captions could be misleading, for example, if the trailer said something like 'endorsed by PETER JACKSON' it may not necessarily mean it's a Peter Jackson film, but simply that he enjoys it. This is usually used for the films of smaller budgets if they don't have a great director of their own to brag about.

Time Length:

The film usually will have more than one trailer made-usually a theatrical release and a teaser trailer- with different sections of the film edited together. The official theatrical release trailer is usually between 1.30-2.00 minutes long, but you'd usually find that horror or thriller trailers have an even shorter 10 second trailers to help build the hype through it's air of mystery and 'what on earth is that all about!?' appeal. The clip may or may not have the title shown in this case.

Different paces:

It's common for trailers to cram in as many clips in the trailer as possible to show the audience enough to let them decide whether the film is for them or not. However, on many cases, the trailer goes on a 'journey' you could say, starting off slowly to get the audience involved, welcoming them in, then builds up in pace once the audience is captured to add drama, narrative and to show as much content as possible before the title appears on the screen. For example, the 'Alice In Wonderland' trailer and 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' trailers start off slowly to introduce the audience to settings and characters, then builds up gradually to show the high emotions and dynamic of the story, as well as the peril the characters could be going through (as well as obviously building the audience's excitement!) I'd love to create a journey of ups and downs in terms of pace in my trailer. What the Hobbit trailer also shows is a little extra clip at the end to bring the pace back down and leave a comical lasting impression too, suggesting the tone again. I also love that idea.

Applying Theories:

If you believe in the hypodermic needle theory, then Teaser Trailers tend to follow this because the producers and directors are 'injecting' the audience with information in a way that will manipulate them into seeing the film.
However, some audiences will take the information from the trailer and interpret it in their own way, and therefore following the audience reception theory. for example, those who disagree with the footage are not persuaded to see the film are a negotiated audience. Those who are persuaded are a dominant audience.

Release Dates:

Release dates are obviously essential for attracting a large audience to the opening night of the film's release. The release date is shown on the trailers usually a few weeks before the release, giving the audience just enough time to pre-order their tickets before they forget! The release date is usually shown at the end of the trailer so that it's the lasting thing the audience remembers-when to see it.