Jude White
A2 Media
9315
The Conventions of Film Trailers
Even across genres, film trailers will generally follow a certain set of conventions in order to effectively promote the film they represent. For a more in-depth look at conventions within the horror genre, please see this page instead.
There are two main types of film trailers, and each has a very different set of conventions.
Teaser Trailers
Teaser trailers are much shorter than theatrical trailers, usually only a minute to a minute and a half in length, and aim to provide a more cryptic view of what may appear in the film. Usually released around a year in advance of the film's release, teasers may not provide as much context as a theatrical trailer, as parts of the movie may not be ready for showing at the time. Teasers will often contain no dialogue, and source clips from a wide range of scenes. If the film is an action movie, for instance, a few moments of intense action may be selected; a teaser does not need to inform people exactly what a film is about, but that it exists in the first place, as well as giving a general idea about what the film might entail, and what genre it falls into. Teasers set up for the main marketing campaign, which tends to come months before release.
Theatrical Trailers
Conversely, Theatrical trailers are usually around two to two-and-a-half minutes long, and display a much more cohesive and in-depth look at the movie than a teaser trailer. These are generally released a few months prior to the launch of the film, and given their closer porximity to launch than teasers they can show off more of the now-completed footage. These are the type of trailer shown in cinemas; the term 'trailer' comes from the fact that originally, audiences were shown these clips after the feature film they paid to watch, but this was proven ineffective as audiences left the theater before the trailers were finished. This is the type of trailer I will be making, and as such I will look into the conventions of theatrical trailers in more depth below.
A Breakdown (Pacific Rim Trailer 1)
Most trailers will begin with a production company logo. This tells the audience several important things; most obviously, it informs them who is producing the film. However, stylised logos and the company's past productions can help to inform the audience what genre the film will be before the footage even begins. In this trailer for 'Pacific Rim,' the Legendary Pictures logo is presented in a metallic texture, and is accompanied by deep robotic sounds, which already subtly informs the viewer that the following trailer is about to advertise a science-fiction film.
Production Company Logo
Act 1: The Premise
Film trailers are often divided into three main 'acts.' The first of these acts is dedicated to setting the scene and establishing the basic premise of the movie. The trailer for 'Pacific Rim' launches straight into an establishing/wide shot of a child standing in a destroyed city, as fighter jets roar diegetically overhead; we immediately know this film is an action movie, as this is typical iconography of an action film. One of the fighter jets is firing its gun, and there is already action happening on-screen. This shot then fades to black and then into another shot, a common technique used in trailers to demonstrate that the events depicted are related but not necessarily chronological. In terms of audio, sirens are sounding non-diegetically throughout the first series of shots, giving a sense of emergency and danger and reinforcing the film's status as an action film; there is a threat present from the outset, and we can already see a response to said threat through the jets. The fighter jets themselves are iconography for the action genre as they are so large, dangerous and expensive; they are the extreme version of other planes that could have been used. In terms of mise-en-scene, the colours are bleak and grey, setting up for a losing battle or a dark situatuon. The trailer also uses lots of cool colours such as blues, a convention of sci-fi. The opening sequence of shots grounds the film as being relatively close to modern-day, which is important; the later sci-fi imagery may otherwise have confused some people into thinking the film was set far into the future.
The next shot we fade into is a high-angle/crane shot of a large monster's carcass laying on an aircraft carrier. This shot blatantly tells us that there is a giant monster in the film, which is key to the plot. High-angle shots often show vulenrability, but in this case it is necessary in order for us to see the entire monster clearly. The sirens continue, and we hear a diegetic but offscreen newscaster's voice over the shot saying 'chaos is spreading around the globe.' This informs us that despite the fact this monster is dead; presumably killed by humans given the fighter jets in the first shot, the danger is not over yet. This sets the stage for a prolonged war or battle; stereotypical action movie material. The non-diegetic robotic noises continue through each transition, keeping the film grounded in the sci-fi genre, not the straight-up monster movie subgenre. This shot and the two that follow it last only 2 seconds each, preventing the trailer from feeling too calm.
Now we fade to black again and into a shaky-cam shot of a living monster; this shows us once again that there is still danger. We hear another newsreader saying 'creatures as tall as buildings,' once again reinforcing the fact that the movie is about monsters, as well as the fact there is more than one of them; we may have seen a dead one, but more are still out there. The shots used so far are short and snappy, around 2 seconds each, and this shot is also very obstructive, with people and a building blocking our view of the monster and preventing us from building a mental image of what it really looks like; this is saved until a while later, and hooks the audience in; we want to know what these things are.
Once more we fade to black, then into this brief panning shot of a group of people fleeing into a subway. Throughout the shot, the camera priveleges the man in glasses, telling us he will be an important character in the story; he is always kept in the centre of the frame and his face is clearly visible. Over the shot, we hear the newscasters again saying that nobody knows what the monsters are or where they came from; this is more subtle world-building which sets up for the next shot, where we begin Act 2.
Act 2: Developing The World
Just prior to the beginning of Act 2, we are shown some titles informing us who directed the film. This is conventional of trailers and a selling point; fans of Del Toro's work might go to see this film purely because he directed it. Over this shot, the very last of the horn-like sounds plays, signalling the end of Act 1. The text fades away, and over a black screen some voice-over narration begins, explaining the story in more depth, whilst still drip-feeding us info and building intrigue. Voiceovers are conventionally used in trailers as they allow for a concise yet cohesive explanation of the plot. When the narrator says 'we always thought alien life would come from the stars,' he suggests that the audience's expectations are about to be subverted, which is another way the trailer hooks the audience.
As the narrator explains that the aliens actually came from a portal in the Pacific Ocean, a shot of this portal very slowly fades into view whilst he talks, providing visual confirmation of the narration and affording the audience an understanding of what the narrator is talking about. This shot is six seconds long, the longest yet, the pace slowing slightly now and allowing us to form a better understanding of what is happening; whilst Act 1 was designed to intrigue us, Act 2 now has to keep our interest by withholding less information than the first act.
In the next shot, also six seconds long to allow us to absorb everything, the trailer finally gives us what we have been waiting for... almost. We finally get to see one of the monsters up close and without shaky cam, in a medium close-up of one of the monsters, but the framing permits us to only see a very limited view of the monster; we have been partially gratified, but still want to see more! Thus, the trailer continues to hook us!
We see two more brief shots of the action; this is necessary as the trailer is trying to promote an action film, and the falling car and bridge are impressive visually, but we still can't see much of the monster; another deliberate use of obstruction to build our intrigue, right as we are shown the immense power of the monster through the shot of the bridge coming down. By this point we are very excited to see more of the monster. The narrator continues to speak, saying 'they counted on the humans to give up,' delivering more exposition while setting up the fact that the humans will fight back. This builds excitement as we want to see the battle unfold. There is no score to speak of throughout this section; this will make Act 3 even more exciting, when the action score comes in.
Next, we see two tracking shots of a fighter jet; one of it flying into battle firing its machine guns, and another of it being destroyed. This sequence serves two purposes, one very obvious and the other more subtle. The more obvious is that we have just seen a piece of multi-billion dollar military hardware destroyed with almost no effort, which makes the monster seem threatening and informs us that the action in the film will be over-the-top. The more subtle purpose, however, is to make the audience question how the humans will fight the monsters, causing us to become curious and keep watching; the narrator has implied humanity will fight back, but the how is the question we suddenly find ourselves asking.
After a very slow fade-to-black, allowing our curiosity to build, the trailer immediately begins to answer our question. A light flicks on in a furturistic-looking room, and the same mechanical noise we heard throughout the first act sounds. We first get a narrow shot, and then very quickly after we get a wider one; the trailer is drip-feeding us info so as to keep us hooked, and at this point all we know is that the film will be a science-fiction film, based on the mise-en-scene of the room. A robotic voice begins to speak, and this is one of the most important 'hooks' in the entire trailer; the voice is that of Ellen McLain, a voice immediately recognisable to pop culture fans (the audience of this trailer) as the iconic voice of GlaDOS, the sarcastic computer intelligence in the cult classic video game 'Portal.' The voice is used only once in the movie, but is used a lot more in the trailer, a deliberate choice to appeal to pop-culture fans. Director Guillermo Del Toro has stated he hired McLain because he wanted to emulate GlaDOS' voice, being a fan of the game himself.
We fade to a very brief shot of a man in futuristic armour walking in slow-motion. The armour itself continues the sci-fi mise-en-scene, reminding us what kind of film this will be, and the slow-motion walking is an action movie trope for characters who are supposed to be respected for their skills in some way; we are subtly informed that the man in the shot is a powerful or skilled character, which makes us intrigued to know more about him. We then fade to black again and into another very brief shot of the man entering the room we just saw, informing us there is a relationship between the two, but not telling us what that relationship is; another way the trailer builds our curiosity.
To tease our curiosity even further still, the trailer fades not into the shot we wanted, the reveal shot, but a shot of some key characters from the film talking inaudibly in an army base. This shot is taken from a high angle and shows Idris Elba's character looking up at something and smiling; we now want to know what he is looking at! The narrator says 'they never considered our ability to stand,' setting up for the big reveal of humanity's weapon. In terms of mise-en-scene, this shot has a blue-green tint to it, something which is fairly consistent running through the trailer, a convention of sci-fi films. It shows a huge hangar full of troops, once again giving the film a sense of over-the-top scale, just as the monsters and fighter jets did.
Just as the other characters turn around and look up, we fade into an eyeline match of what they are looking at. Even now, the trailer holds back! We can only see the robot's foot, but we know what to expect now, and this only makes us even more excited for the next shot. The shot begins to pan up, but then fades to black, one final way of building suspense... As we cut to this shot, a robotic-sounding, non-diegetic score kicks in, teasing the beginning of Act 3. This score is quite driving, and thus is representative of the action genre; even through its choice of score, the trailer appeals to an audience of action fans.
The score punctuates the next two rapid shots (2 seconds each), as we see the robot from two partially-gratifying, restrictive angles. The trailer gives us just enough information to work with, and the deep, mechanical score helps to hype us up to see more. The camera is in motion in both of these shots, hinting that the action is about to begin.
We see another two brief shots of a robot being dropped into the water. The pouring rain and huge splashes give the scene a sense of threat and dynamism, again hinting that the action will soon begin. However, after these shots wer get the first cut of the trailer, as opposed to a fade. We cut to black, and the score fades out, leaving us with a moment of suspense. The score crescendos slightly before the cut to build suspense, which the cut retains.
Act 3: The Big Finale
Act 3 in any trailer usually consists of several quick clips from throughout the film accompanied by some sort of driving score, and this example is no exception. Rather than go into huge amounts of detail about each shot, it will be much more efficient to summarise key groups of shots for this section.
We cut straight into a shot of a monster biting one of the robots, roaring loudly. This marks the beginning of the action, and again gives us just enough to keep us hooked. The shot does not linger, which makes us eager to see more. Again, the use of rain gives the shot a sense of threat and movement.
Quickly, we cut to this title which says 'To fight monsters.' This is a blatantly unfinished statement, which makes us want to watch on and find out what the rest of the statement has to say. Some driving, action-styled score kicks in here. Then, we cut to a series of quick shots of the pilots gearing up for battle which shows us some more science-fiction imagery such as scaled armour magnetically snapping into place. These shots are all very short and snappy, giving a sense of urgency to the pilots' preparation.
Then, we cut to another title that says 'we created monsters.' This finishes the statement from before. We then see the pilots running in the cockpit, followed by a shot of the robot running, which links these two actions together in our minds and confirms that the pilots are in fact driving the robot. Again, we see a lot of sci-fi imagery and iconography inside the cockpit, such as holographic display screens.
Next, we are given a series of shots of the main characters of the film. This is crucial, as up until this point we have not really had much idea of who the main characters actually are. First, we see shots of each character on their own, then we move to shots of them preparing to duel. We don't have any real context for this, so it leaves us wondering. The types of shots chosen also give us an idea of the background of each character. The Japanese woman is shot standing in the rain as a helicopter lands, suggesting a more military background. She looks confident facially, suggesting she may be in a position of authority. The male character, however, is first shot against the background of a slum, wearing dirty and rugged clothing; the mise-en-scene is very different. This suggests that two characters with very different backgrounds will come together and possibly clash, which makes the viewer excited to see the outcome; thus, the trailer sells the film.
The next series of shots begins with a character delivering a powerful speech. As we fade into many different shots of characters looking powerful, such as a robot punching a monster, as well as a shot of people looking vulnerable and scared in a subway, the man continues to speak over the clips. This speech will be a memorable part of the trailer and encourage people to see the film as a result.
Then, admidst the triumphant shots of powerful humans, we see some shots in which the humans are on the backfoot. One shot sees a character holding another as though dead or injured, and another series of shots shows a heavily damaged robot falling to the ground. This is key, as we the audience need to have our confidence in our characters damaged slightly; else there will be no point in going to see the movie, for we will expect humanity to win effortlessly, with no epic struggle in between; this is ultimately why action films are so popular, due to the battles themselves, so by reassuring us that the film will have its fair share of high-stakes moments, the trailer sells us the film. The trailer avoids putting us off with all these more negative moments, however, by cutting back to the man delivering the speech as he shouts his powerful and motivating final line, 'today we are cancelling the apocalypse!' This memorable moment sticks in our mind and gets our adrenaline pumping, making us more likely to see the film as a result. The quote itself also highlights the gravitas of the situation in the film, making it seem exciting.
The closing shot of the trailer is a robot punching a monster in the face, which perfectly sums up the kind of action that we as an audience can expect from this film, appealing therefore to its target audience by giving us what we want to see. As the fist makes contact, we cut to black and titles fade in informing us of the film's title, 'Pacific Rim,' whilst the same sci-fi sound effect from the very beginning of the trailer plays again. This punctuates the reveal of the title to show its significance. It is, of course, crucial that the audience is shown the film's title, so they know what to go and see when it is released. The reveal is conventionally saved until the end, however, to build suspense and keep people who are interested watching until the trailer is finished, as this allows for maximum advertising value. A moment after the title appears, the production companies' names fade in above it. This allows us to focus on reading the title first before being distracted by this additional text.
After the titles fade out, we see two final impressive CGI action shots. This section is included so that the trailer closes with something more interesting than just a title, and leaves a lasting image in our minds after it finishes. The first of these shots is very long, allowing us to take in what is happening and become enthralled by it. Then we cut to black suddenly, and we are left in anticipation about whether there will be another shot. Finally, there is a quick shot of a monster roaring. This short section is designed to build our excitement as much as possible in the trailer's final moments. Follwing this, a release date appears; just after we have seen arguably two of the most impressive CGI shots of the trailer, we are now told how long we have to wait to see the film, which builds our excitement even further as we can put a date on it. There is also an advert for 3D screenings on this same screen, which is a must-have for many action movie fans. After this, credits and legal information appear, but it is ok to place these at the very end as a normal audience is unlikely to read them. They appear very quickly, as showing longer trailers is often more expensive and taking up unnecessary screentime with legalities is unnecessarily costly. Showing these screens at the end is also a nice way of marking the very end of the trailer so people do not expect more.