Extensive Research 2 - Conventions

CONVENTIONS OF A TEASER TRAILER

In order for a teaser trailer to be very effective and to have a lasting effect on the audience there has to be conventions used within the teaser trailer. As a result by including these conventions it provides a platform for the teaser trailer to be effective and hopefully entice the audience to watch the full film in cinemas. Below I will go into more detail about these vital conventions.

Institution
The institution is the business company that has helped the film be distributed and also produced the film. As a result this has to be included, stereotypically the institution logo is at the start of teaser trailers however from my extensive research there are some teaser trailers where a scene is shot then the logo appears.

Rate of Cuts
The rate of cuts also is a pivotal aspect of a teaser trailer. From the research that I have conducted I have noticed that the speed of the cuts also adds meaning, for instance the quicker the rate of cuts the more intense feeling the audience senses and the slower the speed of cuts the less thrilling the teaser trailer seams. However from the theory of Propp and Todorov cuts in a teaser trailer are important as the slow cuts can be used at the start to show the equilibrium and the quick cuts can be at the end to show the disequilibrium.

Music
The music that is used in the teaser trailer has to fit what is currently being shown in the teaser trailer and the genre of the teaser trailer. For instance if the teaser trailer is a horror the stereotypical music would be deep and heart throbbing whereas in a romantic comedy the music would be more quieter and fluid. However I also conducted research on music and found out that contrapuntal music can also be used effectively and this is done in our Year 12 product, 10/10/10.

Casting
The casting is also a convention of a teaser trailer. However from the extensive research that I conducted I noticed that not all teaser trailers included this, however the films with the major and popular actors all included the casting in the credits and therefore this has shown me that this can also be a way to increase the amount audience. An example of a film that includes the casting is the teaser trailer from, Terminator 4 Salvation.

Voice-Over Narration
Voice-over narration is also another effective method that is used in a teaser trailer. This is used to set the scene of the film and to add more of an understanding in the teaser trailer for the audience. As a teaser trailer can be confusing as it is only 90 seconds long and a lot of information is condensed in that time a voice over narration is commonly used.

Graphics
Finally graphical text is also a convention of a teaser trailer. This is when the teaser trailer contains text; however the font of the text is a way to create and add meaning. For instance the teaser trailer for Terminator 4 Salvation (Science-Fiction) the graphics are metallic and the graphics for the Se7en (Thriller/Horror) are very scratchy. As a result this clearly indicates the genre of the film just from the graphics.

In conclusions there are many conventions of a teaser trailer that are very effective and are a great way to create meaning within the 90 second teaser trailer. As a result I will have to make sure that these conventions are used in my teaser trailer and then there will be a greater chance of my teaser will succeed.