Trailer Conventions Essay

Explore the genre and conventions of your chosen media text. How do you plan to adhere to or develop these conventions?

For my A2 coursework, I am going to be making a trailer. The genre of the film my trailer will be for is either going to be a chick-flick or a romance. For my research task I am going to look at trailers of these genres and plan how I can use the trailers to help me plan and eventually develop my own trailer.

The first trailer I looked at was for chick-flick ‘Mean Girls’, released in 2004 and directed by Mark Walters. The trailer starts with a ‘paramount pictures’ ident, which lets the audience know that it is high budget and produced by a well-established Hollywood studio. The first shot is of the main character Cady, then the math teacher Miss Norberry. There is also a sound bridge of the principle talking throughout the ident which continues to the scene of a typical American high school. The trailer then quickly picks up speed with a cheesy soundtrack in the background and graphics of a film frame with still pictures inside to document Cady’s past. The trailer contains a lot of head shots and when the typical cool girls are introduced, a shot panning up their bodies is shown, perhaps to demonstrate that they are known for their appearance mainly and are fickle or superficial. The story is then told out and the happy ending is shown by a change from Kelis to a more reflective and happy sounding song. The voice over of Cady shows the audience she is the main character and when the shot is split in two, showing Regina and Cady on the phone to each other it suggests they are sworn enemies. The genre of this film and the fact that its target audience is probably 14-23 year old females is very obvious due to the quick paced style of the trailer and the soundtrack behind it. Also, the characters in the film show it is about an American high school and social events, not about anything very sinister.

The trailer for ‘John Tucker Must Die’ is similar to that of ‘Mean Girls’ in many ways. Firstly, there is a female voiceover from the main character, narrating loosely what happens in the film. Secondly, the stills shown in a scrapbook-like photo frame suggest the genre chick flick or at least comedy, and are useful for outlining the story of John’s past quickly, and introducing him to the audience. There is then a montage of the four main girls planning to sabotage John Tucker’s social life. There is then quick dialogue from John and the girls and a soundtrack of a Pussycat Dolls song ‘dontcha wish your girlfriend was hot like me’. This soundtrack combined with the quick shots and cheesy expressions and lines from the characters shows the audience that the film is definitely a light hearted chick-flick which is easy to watch and not too heavy.

The film ‘Blue Valentine’ is a different type of film to ‘Mean Girls’ and ‘John Tucker Must Die’. It is a romance but it is not a comedy, and is not a typical chick-flick aimed at teenage girls. This is my favourite trailer because it is tasteful and beautiful without being too cheesy. The soundtrack that is used is rather unique because it is Ryan Gosling, (who plays the main character) singing to his love interest and other main character. The trailer starts with The Weinstein Company logo, followed by the Cannes film festival logo, followed by the Sundance film festival logo and lastly the Toronto film festival logo. It is only at 0.21 seconds that a shot from the film is actually shown. These logos are shown to show the audience that the film is rated highly and to urge them to want to go and see it. Throughout the logos, the sound of Ryan Gosling playing the guitar is played, which sounds soft and lovely. Also, the fact that he is good looking could be an incentive for the target audience to watch the film.

The hand-held camera in the first shot of the couple the film is centred around frames them both, with Gosling in the shadows and Williams more central. The shot is a mid shot and Williams then starts to dance to Gosling’s music. The moment is captured well and the genre of the film is instantly obvious. The trailer almost has a homemade feel to it, which is relatable. The close up shots of the main characters faces show intimacy and love. The soundtrack stays the same throughout the whole trailer, unlike the soundtrack for the ‘Mean Girls’ trailer and the ‘John Tucker Must Die’. It is also a lot more simplistic with less instruments, which is perhaps something I would consider using in my coursework trailer.

The trailer for ‘Like Crazy’ is similar to ‘Blue Valentine’. It is another romance, and is less aimed at a teenage audience than ‘Mean Girls’ and ‘John Tucker Must Die’. It starts with Paramount Vintage and Indian Paintbrush idents and a soft piano piece playing quietly in the background. This music sound bridge technique is something which has been used a lot in the trailers I have been looking at, so I will probably use it in mine to create a similar and professional feel. The main male character says ‘would you mind reading me something’ before the shot of him and the main woman (his love interest) is shown. The lighting is soft and warm and the shots are close ups which again creates intimacy. The ‘sundance film festival winner’ logo is then shown which may be to get the viewer’s attention. There is then a montage to the music of the couple falling/being in love, followed by emotional dialogue and a clear dilemma in the relationship. There is yet again a voice over from the female main character. The trailer ends with the title ‘LIKE CRAZY’ in capitals on a background of warm glowing colours, eliciting a warm and comforting feeling in the viewer. The target audience for this film is probably females aged 15+.

The trailer for ‘Before Sunrise’ was made in 1995 so notably earlier than the other trailers I have looked at. Even so, it still starts with a Warner Brothers ident and a man’s voice talking over it followed by a sound bridge and a shot of the man speaking to the woman. A medium paced montage then follows of the couple falling in love and lying under the starts etc. The title ‘BEFORE SUNRISE’ then shows against a black background, which is certainly more simplistic than the graphics from the other films, but this is probably because the film was made much earlier. The target audience for this film seems to be again, largely female, and aged 15+, similar to ‘Like Crazy’. The film genre is obvious from the trailer although the music is slightly different to the usual music behind romance trailers, it sounds as if it could be more chick-flick-esque. There is text which reads ‘…When love can come as a complete surprise.’ Shown upon a black background. This is an interesting idea for telling the story so I may consider using this in my trailer, although I think it sometimes makes it too cliché and cheesy.