Codes And Conventions of a Film Trailer

Film Company

Most film trailers begin with the logo of the movie studio that the film is being distributed by. These images are universally recognisable around the world and connect new films with older films. When the Universal logo comes up it makes the audience think about films like Jaws and Jurassic Park, whilst the Paramount logo conjures up films like Indiana Jones. Audiences will have positive of these films are those memories will be imprinted on the trailer they are about to see.

PlotThe most simple job of a trailer is to introduce the plot of the film, to varying degrees. Some trailers will only give us the bare minimum amount of information whilst others will tell much of the film’s story. It’s a fine line between the audience feeling like they’ve seen to much so there no longer intrigued by the film and them seeing to little so they have no interest anyway. A film like Inception’s trailer struck a perfect balance between the two, giving the audience a story and characters to relate to, as well as unexplained images which would spark a mystery in someone’s mind. The film was a massive success mostly in part to the great trailer.

CharactersThe problem however here is that obviously for my trailer I’m creating I wouldn't at all be able to create anything close to the amazing special effects in Inception so in order to create the same level intrigue I would have to in 2 minutes create both depth and mystery around my main character. A trailer for the film like “Shame” does this perfectly. There’s no car chases or stunning special effects ; it’s just a simple 2 minute introduction to the protagonist of the film, which in the mind of the person watching the trailer creates a mystery. Who is this man? What’s wrong with him? These questions are simple because they need to be. Emotionally we connect to him just from the trailer because the great effective use of cinematography and music. For my film I wish to create a similar effect to this.

DesignMost great trailers end with the film’s title in original font. The most iconic films of all time like Star Wars and Indiana Jones can be evoked simply by the film’s font. For my film I will design an original font using either Photoshop or possibly by drawing it out myself and scanning it into the computer. Even for a films like Inception and Shame the mood and feeling the film is trying to create is perfectly evoked in the film’s font. Inception’s is steel and metallic matching the film’s intense action feel, whilst Shame’s is minimal and simplistic small on the screen matching the feeling of melancholy the film is conveying.