Official Trailer Conventions

In this deconstruction I will be focusing on the conventions which appear in an official theatrical trailer.

 

After watching several official trailers, I have noted that the following conventions often emerge:

• Film production titles
• Titles of actors' names and director
• An indication of an approximate release date
• More ideas of the narrative - clear through clips and titles
• Official clips from the film
• Parallel non-diegetic sound
• Diegetic dialect (voices of characters)
• Film title (towards the end)

Below I have deconstructed the official trailer of "The Expendables 2", noting the common conventions of an official trailer.

 

 

The trailer is introduced with titles of production companies. The main company is shown first (Lionsgate).

 

Immediately the audience are shown scenes of action e.g. gunshots being fired. This enables the audience to note the genre - action.

 



Other visual signifiers of the genre are visible through titles e.g. reload which have action connotations. These titles, more specifically, tell the audience about the sub-genre - shootout action.

 

Non-diegetic music (at 0.30s) is upbeat and leads to other non-diegetic sounds e.g. guitars. These sounds carry a fast, action packed theme and can therefore be oral signifiers of the action genre. The non-diegetic music is parallel to the action and can help to further entertain members of audience, fulfilling audience pleasures.

 

At 1.29s, an indication of the release date is given - through the title "This Summer".

To keep the action theme intact, various clips of action have been displayed throughout. This is a tool of keeping the audience entertained throughout and making sure the genre is made clear of.

These clips of explosions are very conventional of the shootout sub-genre.







The film title has been displayed towards the end (at 2.07s). This is a good technique of concluding the trailer and also meets audience expectations, as the audience would expect to see the film's name.

Like in most trailers, the actors' names are mentioned, either during the trailer or towards the end. Here names have appeared at the end of the trailer, as well as the director's. These titles are a good way in notifying the audience who will star in the film - again fulfilling audience pleasures.

Although my group and I have not selected an action genre, I think this trailer follows a very chronological structure. In addition, I like the way in which film production companies have been presented at the beginning, and how the trailer concludes with the film name. I think these two features would certainly be good for our genre - psychological horror. In terms of title cards throughout, my group may use these as a way of drawing our audience in more. One way in which we can achieve this is through having title cards with conventional connotations of our genre. However, we may choose to not give much away about our storyline, so in this way enigmas can raised within the trailer, making our audience even more enticed.