Conventions Research

There are many key conventions of film trailers which make them effective to the audience. These are used in the majority of film trailers, and I will try to utilise these in my trailer. The most common conventions are :

• Voiceovers explaining the basic story and giving information
• A clip of each of the stars to pull in the audience
• Subtitles or words on the screen giving information about the setting or story
• Clips of conversation between characters to outline the story
• A range of camera angles used to make the trailer more exciting
• Action builds with the increasing pace of the film
• Music creates an atmosphere giving an idea of the genre
• The film title appears at the end of the trailer after all the action
• A montage is often used to highlight the most important or dramatic parts of the film  

Structural Conventions

A film trailer is often structured around the most exciting parts of the film without giving away too much of the plot. These clips will be chosen in order to attract the widest possible audience, with a basic narrative structure. This structure will most commonly be as follows:

• Opening - A few clips to establish the setting and mood of the film, and introduce the main character(s).
• Build up - A development of the characters, giving more information about them and the place they are set in. 
• Problem - A dilemma is presented where the characters are faced with an obstacle to overcome. There may be one problem or a few, depending on the genre.
• Events - A series of events are shown of the characters struggle to overcome these obstacles and solve problems. The pace of the film builds and is usually left on a small cliffhanger in order to attract the audience into seeing the full film.