Applying recognisable conventions of trailers

In order to play with the recognisable conventions of trailers, in groups we came up with the idea about how to market and promote a new horror film called Bloodshed High. To begin the task we made a list of all the conventions we saw in a typical movie trailer.

-Highlighting the best bits of the film (whether they be very funny, very sad or action packed)

-We are not necessarily shown the story in chronological order

-The famous actors or director in the film are always highlighted. This is a very effective way to get the fans of the stars to come and see the film.

-We are normally given a small glimpse into the character's personality through one line soundbites

-At the beginning of the trailer we are often shown the normal day-to-day life of the main protagonist

-So that the audience gets a good idea of the genre the production company is always highlighted somewhere in the trailer.

-Voice-overs or text often pop up on screen. They are often in the form of a rhetorical question. This builds anticipation.

-Music plays an important role in creating atmosphere and building a strong sense of the genre.

-The title never appears until the end. This is so they know they have the audience's attention by the time they give away the title.

-Trailers in nearly always builds to a climax where it will end. This builds anticipation and makes the audience wants to come and find out how it ends.


After we had built up a substantial list we started to think about how we could challenge the conventions to promote a unique selling point.

We began our trailer with a shot of a production company Twisted Pictures. This will immediately draw the attention of horror film fans because this production company is well known for making the best horror films. After that we were going to have a slow fade into an establishing shot of a boarding school on an island. The next shot will show our main character going through a normal school day. It is important to show these shots because it sets the scene and gives the audience an idea of the norm. This will give the action more impact when it begins. The young boy who plays the main protagonists will be played by a rising young British film star for example Nicholas Hoult. Because he is considered a serious actor he will appeal to the film's demographic. The shots start to get faster after the boy discovers someone dead at this point the pace of the trailer begins to pick up along with the action. The music which before now was very slow will start to build in volume and tempo. This makes the action more thrilling and sets the atmosphere perfectly. We have decided not to use voice-over because they are quite outdated and we want to sustain a sense of realism. We will not give away who the killer is or whether the boy lives or dies because this will make the audience curious and more likely to buy tickets.