Film Trailers: Conventions and Uses

Although I doubt I'll be choosing this as my final project, I have investigated some conventions of film trailers, and how they use them to persuade their audience to see the film:

• Titles - although the film title is generally revealed last, alongside the release date, once the audience has formed an opinion and (hopefully!) would want to know the name so they can go see it.
• Credits - all of the famous and rising stars in acting and producing/directing etc will be made apparent, whether through image or captions, to appeal directly to fans of those people. Generally the more well known names, the better the film will do.
• Voiceover - used to introduce the film, usually in a booming male show voice. Often used are generic phrases such as "The Greatest Horror Film...Of Our Time" (quoted from "The Woman In Black" trailer, which I will analyse)
• Montage - gives an idea of what the film will be like, showing the most exciting parts without completely giving away the storyline, will give an impression and a vague understanding with (hopefully!) increased expectation. Includes highlights to give an overview of the film.
• One-liners - to grab the audience with clever lines and funny scenes.
• Cliffhanger - leaves it at a tantalising end so the audience will feel the need to watch it just to see what happens.
• Music soundtracks - gives a film its own identity, creates atmosphere, often repeats theme music so the audience will remember and recognise it, in a hope to grab their attention to then go and see it.
• Editing - edited to fit each genre, lighting, contrast, music, volume, silence etc can all be very valuable tools in creating atmosphere.