Codes and Conventions of Film Trailers

• Film Productions Logo  - A film productions logo is necessary for all film trailers, it can build expectation for an audience at what type of film they are going to see, for example a parent may see the 'Dreamworks' logo in a trailer, and consider taking their children as Dreamworks main target audience is families.
• Film Title - The film's title needs to be clearly included in the trailer, so that the audience know which product to actually look out for at the cinemas and for home releases. The film title may be used to build up an identity or 'buzz' about the film.
• Social Media - In most modern films a 'buzz' is created by using social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook, for example a film may include a twitter hashtag for people to add to tweets about the film, meaning the film can 'trend'. Many films will also include a link to their Facebook page so that the audience can 'like' the films page to gain more information about it.
• Character Introductions - Every film needs to show the audience what characters are going to be included in the film, and the relations between those characters. Films may want to have an entirely relatable character, if so that will need to come across in the films trailer, or if there is a fantasy film the character may become less relatable. The audience usually requires to have an understanding of the films protagonists, and it's antagonists, so each characters role usually becomes clear in the trailer, usually a films protagonist will take up most the time in the trailer.
• Music and voice overs - A soundtrack is commonly used in trailers to identify the mood and genre of a film. A horror film such as 'The Conjuring' will feature creepy and more piano-driven music, whereas large summer blockbusters will usually include dramatic orchestra pieces, or even hard rock music. Music in trailers can be used to re-enforce emotions or actions that different characters encounter. Voice overs are used to help the audience understand some of the narrative of a film, or can be used to establish the time and place in which the film is set. For example a period film may have the narrator read the words 'London 1860' to show the audience that the film is set in Victorian times, and that they should have different expectations for it.
• Name captions - usually used in films with well-known cast and crew members. This is used to make an audience interested in a film by presenting well-known people associated with the film. These are usually one colour for the background, with coloured text with just the name, although if the cast or crew member has won an award it could feature 'award winning' before their name. An example of this would be in the trailer for the 2012 film 'Django Unchained' using it's director Quentin Tarantino's name to create interest.

• Release Date - it is important for an audience to know when a film is released, so that they know when they can actually attend one of it's showings. Release dates can also give the audience an idea of what type of film they are going to watch, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' is a Summer blockbuster therefore was released in August, but a family Christmas Film such as 'Nativity!' would be released closer to Christmas, around November or December.