Conventions of Theatrical Trailers

There are a number of conventions for theatrical trailers.

1.
Firstly, they almost always begin with the production company logos of those involved in the production of said movie with the largest of the production companies having their logo first followed by the smaller ones.

• One reason for showing the production company logo is that these corporations are trying build a sense of brand loyalty among their audience. If the viewer has previously seen a movie created by this production company and enjoyed it then they may be more likely to go and see this new movie if they see that it is the same production company.
• The audience may also recognise the production company logo and immediately know what genre or type of movie it will be, for example when people see the Pixar logo they will know that it is going to be an animated, family friendly movie. On the other hand, if they see a Marvel logo then they know that it is going to be a superhero movie. 

2.
Every trailer will contain the title of that film for the obvious reason of telling the audience what this trailer is for as it is pointless showing a trailer without giving the name of the movie as people will not know that to look for.

• Movie titles can also be a visual signifier for what type of movie it will be. For example the Harry Potter title consists of grey text in their own iconic font on a grey background emphasising how dark parts of the movie can be. On the other hand, the title for we are the millers is upbeat and colourful, clearly emphasising that this is a light hearted movie. 

3.
Any film released in the UK is awarded with an age certification by the British Board of Film Calcification (BBFC). The given age is generally shown towards the end of the trailer. Without this, people may go to the cinema after being intrigued by the trailer, only to find out that they are not actually old enough to view the movie.

4.

A new convention of film trailers if to show the movie and production companies' various social media accounts either throughout the trailer at the bottom of the screen or on at the end to accompany the movie title or release date.

5.

Another important convention in trailers is to introduce the characters. 

• This can be important for two reasons. If the cast consists of famous actors/actresses then there will be a large number of people who will just go and see their 'favourite actor/actress.
• On the other hand with or without a famous cast, the viewer may be able to connect and relate relate to the main character. For example, if the movie has a young, female main character then this is going to be aimed at teenage girls and young women as they will likely find the story relatable or may be able to connect with it as they are the target demographic. 

6.

Music is also an important factor in trailers as it can set the pace and the tone for the rest of the upcoming movie. 

For example, if the music is fact paced and overly dramatic then the audience can expect an action packed, fast paced movie. 

On the other hand, slower, more calming music is often used in romantic comedies as they are much slower and do not require fast action packed scenes but instead slower scenes containing large amounts of dialogue. 

7. 

Voice overs are a generic convention of theatrical trailers as they are used to guide the audience through the film's plot whilst also introducing characters as the audience hears them or information about them for the first time. Voice overs in trailers are either additional audio recorded just for the trailer of audio taken from another part of the movie and used as a voice over for the trailer. 

8.

If there are is anyone famous involved in the production of this film or and famous cast members then their name will be shown on screen as a marketing tool drawing people to the cinema to see this film that it gives the impression that this must be a good film if so many famous people are involved. 

An example of this is in the movie Ready Player One which was directed by Steven Spielberg 

9.

Theatrical trailers generally range from about one and a half minute to no longer than two and a half minutes.

10.

Often the last thing to be shown in a trailer is the release date, alerting people when they can go and see this movie. Theatrical trailers are generally released a long time before the actual movie so may not give an exact date but rather a month or season instead.