Trailer conventions

Purpose of a trailer:

• ·       Attract audience
• ·       Create interest
• ·       To create hype buzz
• ·       To show genre
• ·       To give a taste of the story
• ·       Advertisement
• ·       Show famous actors or direct etc
• ·       Make the film seem as appealing as possible to attract largest audience
• ·       Unique selling point; actors; 3D; director

Conventions of a trailer

• Unique selling point (film stars, directors)
• Elements of plot or narrative
• Title (may not be clear till the end)
• Genre
• Convey target audience
• Release date
• Music (plays an important role in atmosphere)
• Voice over (tell story or give info)
• Best shots 
• Conversations between characters (usually one liners)
• Key points sometimes (words on screen)
• Dramatic camera angles
• Action split with actor, director or release date credits 

Structural Conventions

• Opening - establishes setting and introduces character
• Build-up - relationships
• Problem - a dilemma series of complications: characters faced with an obstacle (or several) to overcome. There may be more than one 'problems' in the narrative.
• Events- a series of events as character try to overcome obstacles and solve problems. Further complications may arise.
• 
  

Planning our Trailer

We plan to make a Horror trailer and have looked at these films to base it on:

·       

Severence - When a weapons multi-national Palisade Defence reward their European sales division with a team-building weekend in the mountains of Eastern Europe, comedy blends with horror as the team fight first amongst themselves, and later for survival against a group of war-crazed killers intent on revenge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVwBVm7yVE4

·       

The Hills have Eyes - While travelling in a trailer to California through the New Mexico Desert, a family is misled to a shortcut going to nowhere by the owner of an isolated gas station and wrecks the car in a rock. Along the night and on the next day, they are attacked by a group of deformed cannibals, fruit of the atmospheric nuclear tests conducted by USA from 1945 to 1962 in that spot. Absolutely trapped by the psychotics, they have to fight to survive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O76m3kpgPTQ

·     

  Blair Witch Project - Three film students set out into the Black Hills Forest to make a documentary on the legendary Blair Witch. Armed with a 16mm camera, a Hi8 video camera, and a DAT recorder, every step, word and sound is captured. After wandering around the Black Hills Forest, Heather, Josh, and Mike are cold, lost and hunted. Finally, one night after the last ray of light had left the forest black, they were never to be seen again. One year later, a bag full of film cans, DAT tapes, and video tapes were found. The behind the scenes, video footage and the film, are cut together, and this is..."The Blair Witch Project."
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZu1cTg-xUM

Features of the Trailer - Piranha 3D

Here is  table of the key features we found whilst looking at the trailer for Piranha 3D. It showed us how each convention works together to show what the film is about, it genre and create tension and interest with out letting to much of the story line out.