The document discusses conventions used in film trailers. It begins by outlining typical elements of trailers such as providing an outline of the story, enticing viewers to watch, and expressing the genre. It then distinguishes between "open" and "closed" narrative structures used in different types of trailers. Various theorists who have studied narrative structure, like Tzvetan Todorov and Vladimir Propp, are mentioned. Common conventions for different genres of trailers are then analyzed, including the use of voiceovers, music, and text. Finally, the document discusses how the conventions analyzed from other trailers have been applied to the author's own trailer for a horror film.

1. In what ways does your media product
use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
- film trailer

2. I firstly am going to look at typical trailer conventions and what media trailers
already distributed have done.
1. They express a short outline of the story
2. Need to entice users to watching the trailer
3. Needs to be understood
4. Express the genre
When creating a trailer, there are two main kinds when it comes to the
narrative.
OPEN – no sense that there is a ending, there could be a lot of characters
involved throughout the trailer. And more than one storyline going on. The
characters are all different with different problems and ideas. Usually, the timing
is in chronological order as well. Examples of open trailers are soaps, series of
programmes (Friends, Family Guy, Simpsons etc.) and reality TV shows. The
narrative of open narrative is based around the real world. For example:
Coronation Street usually creates a story line of headlines that have been in the
paper not long ago.
Another type of narrative trailers is CLOSED – these are usually used for films,
and are advertising and promoting a film which has an ending and a story line
that will end. Compared to OPEN narratives, closed usually doesn’t have as
many characters and time isn't chronological. The narrative isn’t usually linked
to the outside world either as story lines use flattening of effect a lot more.

3. TZVETAN TODOROV looked at structure and narrative from the 1960’s. he stated
that all films worked in one orderly fashion and began with a equilibrium or status
quo. It creates a series of events and problems are solved so that order can be
restored in the world of fiction.
VLADIMIR PROPP looked at 100’s of folk tales to see if they all related to a
structure. He identified eight character roles and thirty-one narrative functions:
Villain, hero, helper who aids the hero, person rewarded for the villains schemes,
donor who provided an object, her father who rewards the hero, someone who
sends the hero on his way, a false hero
If you relate this to the news, usually there are hero's and villain's and those who
are sometimes a false hero.
CLAUDE LEVI-STRAUSS focused more towards narrative structure in terms of
binary oppositions. (sets of opposite values which reveal the structure of media
texts.) These could be looking at past and future, as we know the past however
don’t know where the future might go. Strauss didn’t look at the order in which
events went, instead he looked at the deeper arrangements. Science Fiction films
have a series of binary oppositions created by narrative:
Earth Space Good Evil
Humans Aliens Normal Strange

4. VOICE OVER
A voice over on a trailer is a very common convention that is used on trailers.
 It can express more to the trailers narrative for the audience to
understands
 Doesn’t make the trailer seem as boring with only sound and no voice over
 Using text on the trailer means that the audience can be told who is
staring in the trailer
 Help bring together a quick outline and summarise the story line quickly
and promptly
 Tells the audience when the film is being released
 Tells the audience about the director, title of the film etc
I will be using this on my trailer as I wan to make the narrative be expressed
and not make my trailer too confusing.

5. GENRE
Every film as its own genre. Some are mixed genre such as romantic comedy
or sci-fi drama. However each film has it owns ideas, genre and conventions
to make it individual from other films. Each genre has its own rules and
conventions too making them different from each other type of genre.
When looking at different types of genres, I looked at an variety of different
films. From romance to comedy to children's to horror.
However I chose to do a reality based horror. I needed to include a varity of
shots to express this including
- point of view,
- dark mise-en-scene,
- Music to cause tension,
- Cliff hanger,
- Introducing characters,
- Text to express more of the storyline…

6. Comedy trailers

7. THE INBETWEENERS MOVIE
Although The Inbetweeners movie isn't exactly the type of genre I want to
focus on, I still wanted to look at the conventions and way of the trailer and
how it worked. This trailer is over two minutes long.
You instantly can relate to the genre – comedy and the
audience is mainly teenagers. The trailer needs to
express this. the trailer uses the fade from one clip to
another transition.
The trailer uses a lot of narrative speech which doesn’t
necessary link with the clip however it works well and
the story narrative is expressed clearly. Rude language
and gestures are used in the trailer as well which also
relates to the target audience meaning it can’t be
shown until after 9pm. In the trailer I really did enjoy
the vibe and it gave you a good sense of what will be to
come in the film. This shows it is a good trailer as it is
clear and clever. The synthetic music is calm and as the
trailer progresses the music begins to have a faster
pace.

8. MR POPPERS PENGUIN
Again, Mr Poppers Penguin isn’t the style of film I wan to go down however I
wanted to look at aspects of the trailer that inspire me. The trailer is two and a
half minutes long and much longer then I want to do.
This movie is more realistic for myself despite
including the penguins! Having a movie like this will
be easier when it comes down to casting and filming. I
really like the way that this trailer includes text flying
in and the narrator over the top who isn’t included in
the film, this is the voice over. The comedy for this film
is aimed at teenagers and young children as the film is
a PG.
To also make my trailer more realistic I can add
characters names and fly in. The sound used is not a
song however distinctive sound which will relate to the
film. Hearing the sound makes you think it will be
played at some point in the film.

9. Romantic trailers

10. ONE DAY
To start off, I wanted to have a romantic trailer, and I wanted to base it around
One Day, a 2011 hit. I liked the story line and way the trailer doesn’t tell much of
the sotyr yet you understand what is going on. My problem is that I wouldn’t get
the same feel and connection to the audience like One Day has.
I really like the story board for this film and how it has been
showed through the trailer. The trailer is happy and sad and
makes you carry on watching. Fast pace music is used when
something exciting is happening. It fades to black when
changing from clip to clip. This trailer has stood out to me.
The trailer is full of close ups and extreme close ups to
express the closeness between the couple. The story board is
clever keeping the story line set to film every 15th July every
year for 20 years. It is a lovely, gorgeous romantic film. There
is dialogue of the two actors until 26 seconds and then the
voice over narrator starts. This is clever as the couple are
setting the scene and theme of the film before the voice over
carries on and sums it up with them speaking to one
another. The voice over is clear and sharp. Towards the last
30 seconds a song starts. This is the film score and it fades
down when dialogue is said.

11. THE NOTEBOOK
Just like One Day, I am looking at The Notebook for research and conventions that
might appeal to me to include in my trailer. The trialer again is over two minutes.
The Notebook is a film telling a story about a couple in love.
Noah is telling the story to his wife about how they met and
the troubles they went through and how they ended up
together years after. Noah’s wife is loosing her memory
however he is determined she will remember their story. The
trailer starts with the older Noah talking and telling their
story in a condensed version. The transitions between each
clip are fading slowly. The music is calm and loving showing
a happy time in their lives. The trailer as a whole is a calm
trailer not going at a fast pace nor it is rushed. This tells
viewers that it is a romantic film. The narrator sums up the
film without having much speech from characters. The
narrator says the actors names and when he does there are
clips of them smiling. Quoting the actors name is at the end
of the trailer as the other trailers I have analysed are as well.
The trailer is calm and uses mostly the narrator which I
admire however I am going to include more dialogue. And
uses postmodern features a lot throughout.

12. Drama trailers

13. IN TIME
This trailer really stood out to me, it is very modern and clear however the story
line isn't exactly how it is expressed. The trailer makes you want to see the film. I
am beginning to relate down the path I want to go with my trailer.
The film is set in 2029 where all humans live on time and
are split into how much time they have, like society now
with money. The trailer involves short clips with fast
music which creates tension and thrill. The first clip is of
text to express the date the film is set. I want to create this
in my trailer by setting my film in a different year or
expressing one date the film is set around or filmed on.
The mise-en-scene is very dark and the area is very
typically American. There is text every few clips to express
the story line which I am also going to do. Fade to black
transitions are used which I also really like as it stands out
to me and the trailer doesn’t seem messy and too fast. The
shorts are a lot of close ups. There is speech over the clips
however no specific narrative, the text is doing a lot of the
story telling. The trailer makes you want to go and see the
film. The text used is also different and not common.

14. Musical trailers

15. BILLY ELLIOT
I chose to look at Billy Elliott. The film is still watched and known worldwide even
today. The trailer is much shorter and I am looking to see if the shorter trailer still
catches peoples attentions and makes the film want to be watched at the cinema.
Billy Elliot is a film made on a much lower budget compared to those Hollywood
films. This trailer is under 30 seconds long however in that time you get the
storyline that Billy Elliot is a young teenage boy who dances and loves to do it.
However the trailer express that Billy’s family aren't pleased he does it. There are a
variety of shots used such as close ups, panning and tracking shots as well as
median and long shots. There are no transitions used between each clip. The
music is a fast pace and a well known song which is easy to dance to. Throughout
the trailer, no clips of sound are used from the movie, as the whole trailer is a
narrator. The narrator is taking to the opportunity of promoting the film and
quote what film critics have said. The background is black and the text is yellow.
The font is very ‘typed’ design which indicates the genre to be a more up market
type. I get this impression from the type used and how formal the trailer is.

16. Horror trailers

17. INCEPTION
The first clip is the main actor as the voice over begins. After those two short clips
are the distribution companies. The clips are short and sweet, there is a voice over
of the main actor informing the audience of the narrative and also the speech
relates to the clips. There are a variety of shots such as over the shoulder, close ups,
behind the actor expressing where they are looking and panning up as they look
up, medium and establishing shots. All the shots work together to create a story
line. With help from the voice over, a story line is being created and it draws
audiences in. The genre is expressed so clearly as well, the music and dark clips
suggest this. There is also mystery expressed with clicks well and is very clear to
understand. There is a clip as the main actor is looking over his shoulder. The clip
has been slowed down and then the music draws to an end. I really like this
convention. It is then when the music creates more tempo and speeds up. The
voice over has stopped which suggested the first 40 seconds was an introduction
for the audience. The clips are short and quick. The text is plain, bold, white and
in capitals. It keeps the film simple and not to extravagant and have that
mysterious fantasy look to it. When the title clip is shown, INCEPTION is written
in the middle of a maze. This says a lot about the storyline, is the film based
around a maze? Is the meaning a puzzle and confusing? Is there something for the
characters need to solve? All these questions will draw the audience to watch the
film.

18. The trailer begins with a ringing of a phone. The sound is a
woman answering and saying hello Roberts’s residence and
then the person on the other line says welcome home
Scream 4
Sydney. This sets the scene by someone trying to get Sydney.
A quick fade to black transition is shown with a fast music
note as the actress turns her head. The actress is in her
kitchen and a medium shot shows this. The voice on the
phone says ‘loosing everybody close to you’ and as this is said
there are short clips of people close to Sydney. They are split
by fade to black transition. The clips are said with speech in
them and then there are clips which relate to that just after.
‘they have to be extravagant killings.’ And then a clip of a
woman being chucked on the top of a bus surrounded by
people. The text is small, in capitals font. They have chosen
to use grey and black which is a convention of horror trailers
that is used a lot. I don’t think the text is easy to read and it is
shown fast. When the title is shown, the text fills the screen,
SCREAM is zoomed out and then the A turns into a 4 in the
colour red. There are a lot of music going louder as though
someone is breathing in and gasping. This gives the
impression the audience should be doing this. The music
creates a lot of horror in horror trailers.

19. The trailer starts off with Alice as she runs through a
forest. There are three clips of this, spilt by a fade to black Alice and
transition. Each of the three clips is from a different angle
and perspective. You get a sense of her elegance as she Wonderland
runs and to take in who she is as well. The music chosen is
slow and calm and the tempo increases as she falls down
the whole in the ground. This creates a storyline and the
audience will know this. The way the text is shown as it
comes from the screen and fades out I really like. The
music behind it suits it as it is fast and loud. By 26
seconds we have had two establishing shots, close up,
medium shit, point of view shot. The cuts in the clips are
very quick and short. This creates drama and tension as
well as not telling the audience too much and giving too
much away on the shots and mise en scene of the film.The
music is very interesting, it is unique with no voice
however suits the style of the film. The film is also
mystery and this is expressed from the magical place
where Alice is now. There is voice over informing the
audience of more narrative then what the clips are
showing. The text is also unique and mysterious as some
letters are longer then others.

20. Conventions of my trailer and
how they relate back to research
of trailers I have looked at…

22. My trailer is 1 minute long, which is slightly longer by a few seconds as a teaser
trailer. I have added text clips plus my indent during my trailer. I didn’t want to
make it too long as it might make the audience bored however too short
wouldn’t express the story line clear. I didn’t want the narrative to be given away
which I didn’t want to do. The whole point of the trailer is to slightly show the
story line however not give off the whole story of film a whole story which I feel
some trailers do.
I have included different shots in my trailer, such as close ups, extreme close
ups, medium shots, long shots, establishing shots, point of view shots over the
shoulder shot etc. I have also added fade to black transitions just like IN TIME
trailer as it keeps the trailer looking a lot neater and professional. Fade
transition also shows that the clips aren’t in that order in the actual film. The
shots and mise-en-scene of the clips used is dark and mysterious. Up until half
way through the trailer, it is filmed inside and then the rest is filmed outside.
This is to express that maybe the actor needed to get out of the house quickly. I
have also used the convention where clips are filming the same thing but from a
different angle and point of view. I want to express the importance of the actor
in the trailer which is why I kept the trailer to be focused on him. The film will
not be filmed with one character, this expresses that there are other people that
the film needs to find out. Hopefully will link audiences in to find out what
happens.

24. I started my trailer off with the date being typed in. research told me that many
believers believe the world will end on 21st December 2012. I have linked this to
the main storyline of my trailer. Throughout my trailer I have used the same
font, the font is different and unique. When text appears I have faded it in. it
looked a lot neater compared to if it just appeared. Also using this transition
makes the trailer it feels like tension is being built up. I have taken this diea
from other trailers research. I used black and white as it links the dark theme
through the genre and style of trailer I am creating. The title text I chose red as
it is a strong colour on the black background.
During the editing process, I edited a lot of shots by changing the lightening
and cropping some areas out. For some shots I made darker though to create
that dark effect.
To the right is my story board. I used a tablet to create it
and designed it on Photoshop. I wanted clips that were
short, quick and blunt. Once I filmed my trailer I didn’t
like the sequence as I felt it was too much like an actual
story line. I changed the sequence around as I wanted the
main actor Adam to be expressed differently and have more
of a scared look about him that I didn’t feel I expressed on
my first final trailer.

25. I didn’t want to spill the whole story line and as I am creating a teaser trailer I
needed to make sure I didn’t. I feel with the trailer I have created a story line
that isn't too revealing but has a basic outline. I changed the sequence of my
trailer as I felt it didn’t tell as much as the final edit does now. The actor in
my trailer isn’t acting upbeat, or happy. Instead he is acting scared and quiet
and very focused. This is the image I wanted to create. Looking at trailers
such as In Time has given me the opportunity to make sure I achieved this
feel and style to the filming. I needed to provide the audience with
understanding about the character and his purpose and the role he is acting.
The text I have used in my trailer is there to create more of the storyline. I
have put in capitals WORLD. I did this as I felt that is important and maybe
the problem that is happening occurs to the whole world and not just him.
This is the effect I am portraying. Such as adding the date at the beginning,
this instantly gives the impression that the film is based around that date
and could be filmed within that day.
I have used a range of edits and transitions, I have re organised the sequence
in order for the trailer to make sense and to not make it like a story that is
told within a minute. As looking at research, no other trailers sequence is in
the correct order o the actual film.

26. SOCIAL NETWORKING CONVENTION
Due to the take over of social networking sites I wanted to include this on my
trailer. Many programmes have added a hash tag on their programmes for the
programme to trend on twitter. Twitter is used by hundreds of thousands,
even millions of users worldwide. It is cheap promoting for your business,
film, yourself as a famous person. Having this print screen from my trailer
with the twitter and Facebook logo on, I think it will benefit as it makes
audiences leave their opinions and hash tag or tweet us @2112.

27. LOOKING AT MUSIC AND
VOICE OVER
For the music I chose a song that by Two Door Cinema Club. The song
chosen isn't well known and I did edit the clip. The song starts with a long
1 minute intro which I thought was perfect, the music is strong and builds
up tension, as the sound plays it gets faster and louder. It fits the feel from
my trailer and film narrative perfectly and before the title is shown the
music is so loud and then stops when 21 12 is on. This is a common
convention that is used for horror trailers. I also have a voice over, this is in
the style of a radio clipping. I chose to add this as again it adds more style
and empathies to the date being an important factor to my trailer.
I have also used a breathing clip. I chose to put this over the ending to my
trailer and start of off at a point of view clip. This is to add more character
and narrative to the trailer, it empathises the connection from the
audience to the actor. It shows that he is scared and hiding from
something.

28. CHARACTERS
During a horror trailer, he mise-en-scene
is usually quite dark and mysterious. The
characters are only shown slightly, and I
have done this. I have chosen not to add
two more characters as it adds mystery
to the films narrative. On the DVD and
poster I have put down two more names
which some audiences will click that
they aren't shown on the trailer. Having
just one boy in the trailer also gives the
impression that he is on his own. Having
short snaps of the actor also keeps up the
tension and also a sense that the trailer is
being phased around one event. Looking
at research I also get this impression and
convention which I wanted to use in my
trailer.

29. Bibliography
• http://www.scribd.com/doc/8332523/Narrative-theory-notes
• http://www.scribd.com/doc/20423695/Narrative-in-Films-and-Film-
Trailers