Film Trailer Conventions

Tropic Thunder

In the comedy/action film Tropic Thunder there are distinct differences in the way that its comedic nature is displayed. Conventionally it does start with a production logo and includes institutional information at the end but at the beginning it eludes the audience into thinking that it is a hard hitting war film with the slow motion effects and the emotive words written in a serif mature font.

Bizarrely the graphic/violent images are juxtaposed by contrapuntal music that includes lyrics. As the audience the fast edited action images create a proairetic action code (Barthes) as the images themselves don’t seem to fit together but they all have the same semiotic connotations. The music then stops and fades to black where the audience is almost ‘shocked’ to discover that actually they are actors filming, further enhanced by the motion overlay titles pointing at the cast with the word “actors”.

A second change of music then ensues with a bright happy and up tempo beat confirming the audience’s confusion of whether it is a comedy or not. Again the audience are informed that they are working on a film set by the long establishing shots of what appears to be a film crew.

As the main characters are introduced the voice over man accompanies the titles which have now changed from the serious and mature font from the beginning to bold sans serif with bright colours which doesn’t create the binary opposition of the previous motion overlay titles but emphasizes the comedy genre.

From a flash of white the mise en scene is then altered again with dark chiaroscuro lighting appearing with negative connotations of war. Yet again the music has changed to more heavy rock based music. But as the editing switches from the night time and the day time showing different characters we assume through Claude Levi-Strauss’ theory of binary opposition that the characters in the dark are evil and the characters in the day are the heroes.

For the fourth time in 1 minute we have another music change to the slightly ironic “War, What Is It Good For?” song which begins with the fire of a gunshot. As to highlight the comedy moments the song pauses to allow the main focus to be on the dialogue of the characters which acts like a narration as well as allowing the audience a flavour of what the comedy in the film is like. There is then an edited wipe and yet again another change in music to more orchestral and dramatic based music to accompany the climatic ending.

Perhaps due to the genre of the film, the main stars of the film names appear in the similar font as before. The convention of including the stars name is unique and more prevalent to the comedy genre as in other genres it can weaken the films ‘fantasy’ element and that in fact they are just actors.

As the trailer builds to its final conclusion the editing pace increases rapidly and the music itself increases in volume and in drama. The crescendo then concludes with the film’s title logo.

As the audience we presume that that would be the end of the trailer but there is an additional scene that has a comedic element to reinforce the genre of the film. Institutional information is then displayed along with the title logo in order for the audience to not forget the films name.

American Pie Reunion

Unconventionally this film doesn’t begin with the production company logo instead it opens with the comedic moment and then shows the institutional information. This could be perhaps due to the fact that the characters in the film are quite rebellious and in that sense they want to convey that to the audience. It could also be due to the fact that the producers wanted to immediately signify the nature of the film. The music at the start of the trailer is upbeat and happy, a reflection of the genre.

As in Tropic Thunder, to emphasize the genre the music stops for a brief period of time when a comedic moment arises. There are also very fast edits used as to signify the happy upbeat genre. Unlike in Tropic Thunder, American Pie Reunion uses dialogue from the film to give a narrative context, this could also be due to the fact that fans of the prequels to this already know the context behind it and therefore don’t need a voice over to understand that.

Unlike in other film trailers where they show the release date at the end of “Coming Soon” near the beginning American Pie Reunion show a full screen title with strong bold colours and font perhaps to excite the audience who clearly have anticipation for the next installment of the franchise.

As in Tropic Thunder, they display the title and then reprise with a comedic moment at the end to really emphasize the film's genre and audience appeal. However as it changes to show more detailed institutional information, due to its release in the 21st century they have now included a website and Facebook page linked to the film to create a more interactive experience for the audience as they can now go and 'like' the film on Facebook etc as well as it and appeal to a younger audience and reinforcing the target audience for the film also.

 

500 Days of Summer

This trailer opens conventionally with the production logo of Fox Searchlight using a sound bridge to the song, Sweet Disposition by Temper Trap, which creates an emotional enigma with its happy yet slightly melancholic tones. The voice over, utilizing the usual deep and serious male tone, also offers narrative exposition, stating; “This is not a love story, this is a story about love.” As the two main stars are in the background the audience immediately assume that they are the two people in love being discussed.

To accompany the song the editing changes on beat with the kick drum of the song, perhaps highlighting the precedent and importance that music has in this film due to its soundtrack. Rather unconventionally the title appears only 40 seconds into the film trailer with not only a motion overlay title but a full screen one that flashes different colours. This could be due to the fact that it’s not a “mainstream” film but it is in fact a more “indie” or “hipster” film.

The title then appears two more times before the final time which does exactly as the first did with the flashing colours. The name of the film is also being reinforced by the voice over stating 500 days of summer and continuing to say “of magic, of distance, of tenderness” each accompanied with a clip to display for example the tenderness. This also creates a hermeneutic code as the audience query as to what the magic/distance/tenderness is and how this affects the film. The pacing and editing of shots to match the narration is a key convention of many trailers not just rom/coms.

As in Tropic Thunder (also a comedy), the voice over then identifies the main stars and who they play in the film, which suggests that this is a common convention in comedies/romantic comedies. The genre is then further reinforced by the bright high key low contrast lighting. As expected the film ends with institutional  information as well as audience information so that they can be more interactive with the film, but no comedy element as suggested with the typical ending of comedy trailers.

Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction is something of an anomaly as it is a very short trailer which it tries to influence and interact with the audience rather than show multiple clips from the film. Obviously it starts with the production company logos but then the main character Uma Thurman asks a rhetorical question to the audience engaging their attention and intrigue. Not only that but the voice over, another convention, also asks a rhetorical question. It also features titles showing the Academy Award Nominations they have received to add more credibility and interest from the audience due to this.

Pan's Labyrinth

It conventionally begins with the production companies logos but also with action based shots (Barthes action code) and dark chiaroscuro lighting immediately signifying to the audience the genre of the film as fantasy/ horror.

The voice over accompanies the non-chronological series of images in order for the audience not to be confused but the information given by the voice over creates an enigma itself in particularly when he tells us, “the legend that wants her back.” To add more intrigue into this ‘unknown world’ of fantasy, continuous fades to black are used after each shot to add to its fantasy element, as an audience it is hard to distinguish between what is real and what's not.

The music used to accompany the trailer is quite conventional with dramatic string quartets used to match the mise en scene as well as the genre and, as the trailer progresses, the music’s volume and intensity changes to match the action and information.

As the crescendo of the music approaches the editing matches the images to the music, making it more militaristic and bold and therefore more appealing to the audience as the combination of sound and image together is very effective. The increased intense fear of the scenes themselves is also displayed through the increased editing pace.

Rather obscurely after the dramatic build up the ending itself is quite melancholic as it slows right down as though it has hit its peak. And like in Tropic Thunder where after the film title had been displayed there was an additional comedy moment in Pan’s Labyrinth there is the repeated clip of what we presume is the ‘Labyrinth’ again leaving an ambiguous end to the trailer and creating an air of mystery. It concludes on institutional information as expected.

Unlike other trailers Pan’s Labyrinth includes whole screen titles displaying the awards the film has been nominated for and has won. This is possibly due to the fact that it is an international film and in order for it to be recognized and to create interest for the general public, its critical acclaim and “award seal of approval “ In addition it also creates prestige and makes it more appealing to an audience who do not normally go to foreign language films which is also another method of audience appeal is focusing on its genre appeal.

28 Weeks Later

Like most film trailers it open with the production company logo in addition, to establish it as a horror film, it uses a sound bridge of ambiguous drone styled music, immediately establishing an eerie atmosphere. The opening, establishing shots are of an empty London adding to the mise-en-scene of unsettling mystery, distance and emptiness. The editing is similar to Pan’s Labyrinth in that the shots fade to black quite quickly in order to add mystery and intrigue to the film. Fades are quite a conventional feature of features due to the fact that they have to connect what would appear to be fragmented an disjointed images and link them together to make a sequence. These images may not appear in the same way in the film itself but in 2 minutes they have to create a narrative, sometimes context as well as series of shots that signify the genre.

Instead of using a voice over, which is a common convention for creating narrative themes and characterization through exposition in many trailers, in Pan’s Labyrinth, 28 Week Later uses dialogue from the film to create a narrative and establish these themes. These are again enhanced by the full screen motion titles that use one word phrases such as "Sterilization" or "Re population"

There is also a time ellipsis edit displayed by the motion overlay title “28 weeks later…” during which the music changes to choir-esque orchestra music to emphasize the seriousness of the situation. There are also sound stings attached to each fade to black to add dramatic impact as it builds to its crescendo.

The fade to black is then interrupted by a high pitched siren (using a Foley sound effect) alerting the audience’s attention. Accompanied with this is a red tint on the images which semiotically signifies danger and fear. Overlaying this is institutional information in bold white writing which could perhaps display a binary opposition (Claude Levi-Strauss) of heaven versus hell with the white signifying heaven and the red signifying hell as well as the binary opposite of good v evil, natural v supernatural and in this case zombies created through man's own destructive lust for power and control.

The red images themselves are very threatening and imposing for the audience. This threatening persona is matched by the ‘glitchy’ type editing creating tension for the audience. Most notable this style of editing appears more frequently in thrillers/horrors/sci-fi’s more than any other genres. These non-chronological styled images build and they show a lot of action style clips which create a hermeneutic code (Barthes). A hermeneutic code is where a short series of action clips display the film's genre and atmosphere despite the fact that the series of clips are not sequenced or in chronological order. In terms of a trailer non chronological series of clips would make no sense however in this case and using the hermeneutic code it does.

In comedies they have a short, comedic set piece to end the trailer and in this they show the main title and then a series of fast clips to leave an impression on the audience. However although this film is not a comedy it is an anomaly as conventionally the trailer ends with institutional research but this film doesn’t, it ends with more non chronological fast edited action clips to reach its climax. This could be due to the fact that it is independently funded rather than funded by a big production conglomerate.

 

The Matrix

The Matrix is obviously a well known sci-fi action film, the production logo appear as a typical convention at the start of the trailer and the logo itself is modified in colour to relate to the genre of the film. In this case the Warner Bros logo that we normally associate with golden font "WB" and bright blue sky background has been edited to a purple font and a dark cloud in the background to suggest that this is either a horror or some sort of good vs evil struggle. Due to the 1990's release date this is possibly one of the earliest Warner Bros modification, examples of this can also be seen in the recent Harry Potter films.

The fast paced shot transitions appear frequently throughout the trailer suggesting that like the above trailers, fast paced editing is often a key to establishing the genre but is common throughout trailers due to their brevity and aim of establishing a film's themes and appeal whilst keeping the audience engaged. Sound stings through transitions are also a key feature in this trailer. The opening sounds and music immediately creates an atmosphere for the audience and in this case they used the sound effect of thunder. In relation to the thunder clap it could be related back to the Warner Bros logo with the dark, storm ridden sky, but the idea of the thunder could also create a pathetic fallacy for the audiecne in that the weather represents the film or character's emotions etc. What seems to be an apparent theme in thrillers/action films is that dialogue of the film is use for the context and a narration but that is also accompanied by titles that use singular words to pick out important aspects of the film as well as adding enigmas for the audience.

The Matrix in this sense is no exception, in fact The Matrix uses a blank black screen with narration overlaid to emphasise the importance of the words further. There are also typical shots shown to establish the genre of the film i.e. images of guns, explosions etc. But the non-chronological order in which they appear establishes that within itself through Barthes' hermeneutic code.

Conventionally the film ends with the title, a short clip after and then the important institutional information to conclude the trailer.

The Thing

As expected the production company logos appear first in this film, a seemingly common convention in horrors and thrillers. The initial establishing shot reduces any enigmas the audience might have.

The music as expected begins at the beginning of the trailer which it's eerie atmosphere immediately introduces the horror/enigma element. There is no voice over in this film and the character's lines from the characters serve as a narration/voice over. In addition whenever there is a fade to black or when a shot changes it is synchronized with a bass heavy sound sting appears to emphasize the danger and threat that is present.

Since this is a remake of an original film some shots have been directly copied in the new film to increase the appeal for the viewers who remember the original. Later on in the trailer there is a full screen title where it  reinforces the audiences attention and asserts the production company, a trait which hasn't appeared in any other trailer so far.

Similarly to 28 Weeks Later, The Thing uses the phrase "from the producers of ..." to add credibility and give more genre appeal in particular because the example they give - "Dawn of The Dead" is an extremely popular and well received horror film. Unlike in other trailers, whilst the music accompanies the final crescendo the final 'shock' moment uses very little sound, using near silence and fast edited images to create a sense of threat instead.