Film trailers have a few conventions that are followed universally. To begin with, the shots within a trailer are essentially a compilation of footage from the actual completed production. This means that almost every trailer (besides 'teasers') are in fact released when the film is in post-production and the trailer is part of the distribution process. Also, as the footage is often from the actual film, the shots are not in the same order they appear in the film to avoid the audience picking up too much on the story structure.
Also common in film trailers, is a brief synopsis of the story-line through dialogue pieced together through film footage. For example, they will use a character saying: "The police want us locked up" in the trailer to hint to the audience that the protagonist or antagonist is not working alone and they are wanted.
Another universal convention is the film title's inclusion and position. it is usually placed at the end of the trailer and has a font and colour that reflects its genre (e.g black writing and calligraphy for a horror). Film trailers also have production company logos at the very beginning to hint to the audience what the film may feature (e.g 20th Century Fox for a large budget production).
Critical for any film trailer, the release date is always included and usually positioned at the end. This is done so that the audience can watch the trailer, decide if it is something they must see, then they have the information of the film's title, release date and social links. The addition of social media links is a more recent feature of film trailers but still very important all the same as viral marketing is a very important part of the distribution process.
Lastly, the length of a film trailer will often be approximately 1:30-2:30 and every trailer will have music that reflects the footage shown and the film's genre. Music that perfectly compliments a film trailer makes it more effective and helps the audience identify its genre.
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