Conventions

Social Media/websites: www.filmratings.com www.mpaa.org www.thecommuter.movie

On screen text: disclaimer… “the following preview has been approved for appropriate audiences”

Character introductions: Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga

Company: Motion Picture Association Of America, inc.

Music and voice-overs: Sinister music plays. Clips of voices that reveal crucial plot points are shown in the trailer. “My job is to answer one simple question”

From the director of: “The Shallows”, the “commuter” – already attracts a huge audience.

Release date info: this January

Category: Film and Animation

Promotion material: “The commuter”

More conventions of a film:

Voice-overs: These are used on order to give more detail and narrative to the basic plot of the story. It makes clear characters roles, adds a dramatic effect, sheds some light on the significance on specific aspect/scene of a film.

Music: Music is the most go-to source if the effect of a build-up is desired, climax is very easy to achieve if the right music is chosen and placed at the right time. It adds flavour and entertainment to all trailers, complimenting every effect each scene was intended for.

Montage: A series of shots from different points in the film, edited together. Used to tell the story of hard work and improvement. Shows impressive characteristics of a person/thing.

Key forms and Conventions of film trailers

·        Film trailers have many different forms and conventions. Although trailers are obviously different, they all stick to a list of rules because of testing. Over the years, trailers have transformed. The same can be said for films and audiences.

·        Forms consist of: The ‘shape’ of the trailer. This refers to the actual length, title and type. Most film trailers are 2-3 minutes long.

·        Conventions: The expectations we have as a community. (dramatic music, voice over, cinematography etc.) Conventions are used to add to the body of a production, meaning aspects of the production which add up to create an overall meaning/effect. For example, simple shots of cinematography being middle, focused, low angle shots. Further example: a low angle shot on a character in a trailer gives a strong amplification that the character is superior or to be feared, perhaps hinting he is some sort of big boss in the film, either a fearsome enemy or a powerful ally, this may not be given away in the advertisement. High angle shots may be used to put emphasis on how vulnerable or puny a character appears compared to something. The strong implying and the increasing sense of vagueness attracts the targeted audience. It serves as a very efficient method.

Examples: The Commuter Official Trailer (2017)

Length of trailer: 2:05