Summary of Trailer Research

BY: Annamaria Noto

Conventions of trailers• Start with production information – e.g. company logos – Such as Universal

and 20th Century Fox – give indication of film genre.• Contain a plot summary – show elements of (fast paced) action to engage the

audience. Often combined with fast paced editing to maintain the audiences attention and ultimately, interest.

• Cast, Credit, Studio Information – usually shown throughout the trailer (rather than the beginning or end because the viewer may not be as concentrated). Displays the names of the actors involved in the film, as well as crediting those who contributed to the production of the film.

• Famous actors – often shown throughout the trailer to attract as much audience interest and attention as possible. This aids the marketing of the film and aims to result in huge profit and eventual success of the film.

• Order- tends to be an order of events – divided into Equilibrium and disequilibrium. (Trailers start off with some state of normality which later gets disturbed, causing disequilibrium. This is typically symbolised through fast pace editing and louder score music).

• Timing – typically 2 – 3 minutes long – to intrigue the audience without giving away too much.

Examples of: Psychological horror trailers

Titles• Tends to be shown at the end of trailer which makes it more memorable for the

audience.

e.g. Silent Hill & Blair witch 2 – title is shown for 4-5 seconds at the end of the trailer

• Usually have black backgrounds with white/ red text. None or minimal effects used on the font - tends to be clear and simple. Also, so that it is more memorable.

1960

1978

2003

1995

1980

Time timeline shows that even through out time conventional title styles have been kept

AudioMusic /Voiceover :• used to aid the viewer’s understanding of the film because it establishes the tone and

pace.• This sets the mood.• Voiceovers – usually narrate the action happening in the scene (e.g. when some info.

would be too hard to understand or too long to show in one scene). • Often in synchronicity with the editing more captivating.• The music is closely linked to the intensity of the film (e.g. in a psychological horror film

trailer – the score music gradually gets louder towards the climax/ anti-climax to create tension). E.g. ‘The Shining’ trailer.

Score music is generally calm Its gets louder + more noticeable Music heightened as climactic point is reached

Music seems to have reached a point of resolution (identified with a bell sound)

Score music is loud + intense at the end = more memorable for the audience

Editing• In Psychological Horror trailers the pace of editing often begins slow but gradually gets

faster as the action intensifies/ a problem occurs/ a climactic point of the trailer is reached. (E.g. In ‘Black Swan’ trailer the fast pace editing makes the audience feel overwhelmed but intrigued).

• CGI is not use as Psychological Horror tends to focus on the human fears/mental aspects.• Cross cutting is sometimes used to intrigue the audience. E.g. In ‘Psycho’ trailer (1960),

starting with parts of the shower scene, then going back to just before the murder in the shower, then the conversation before the murder, then just after the murder, and back again to the conversation of before the murder – intrigues the viewer.

Engaging the audience/social networking sites • Social media sites and related details will be displayed at the end of the trailer.• It is the last thing the audience see of the trailer, so that they can remember it. • This allows the audience to seek out more information on the film and to be

involved by ‘sharing’ with friends online.• Therefore, they also help with publicity of the film.

Twitter page of the film ‘The Boy’ (2016).

Shown at the end of the trailer

Inspiration• How the pace of the editing and the score music

are in sync – evokes a more dramatic effect.• As there is fast pace editing towards the end of

the film, the music also gets faster, which engages the audience more – overall very effective.