Within my film mappings, I have learnt a large number of conventions that should be present in my trailer . I have seen action, comedy, science fiction and thrillers all as genres within the trailers I have viewed. These genres all carry their own qualities and identity within the production and these can be seen and identified in their film trailer.
In comedy productions, I noticed that a pause in background music would be common when a punchline is delivered by a character in order to bring attention to it. Also, comedy trailers often have a humorous tagline to go with TV advertisements or other traditional marketing features (e.g print ads). Note also that the trailer can often begin or end with a funny punchline or scene that cements its genre as a comedy. If I was to consider creating a comedy, I would have to take these points into account.
Science Fiction usually crosses over with Action or Fantasy but, in the case of Assassin's Creed (movie), Action/Sci-fi was the genre. For science fiction, I noticed that the background music changed as soon as the diegesis changed (to hint at a new environment). This is relatively common in sci-fi productions if there is a storyline that involves travelling to a different planet or elsewhere beyond earth.
Action films have to show excitement within their trailer and this can be done through quick cuts, special effects - which may not be available to us due to budget - and most importantly, action. This could include car chases, fighting, or even free running. Action may be one of the most difficult genres to do under a small budget but scenes with quick proxemics and quick transitions to keep up momentum could still help create a convincing trailer.
Thrillers need tension, above all else. This can be done through careful selection of the background music (important for all genres) that could include a slow tempo and plenty of depth to the bass in a surrounding which is both dangerous and unfamiliar to our protagonist (just like the opening to the Assassin's Creed trailer). Also, Thrillers can benefit from slower transitions that speed up when a character is under threat, and this can then cross over with horror, action or another genre when the threat is revealed in the production. These points must be considered if Thriller becomes the chosen genre.
In addition, all the film trailers I analysed were from 2016 and they all carried one thing in common: hashtags. Usually positioned at the very last shot, information on how to share the trailer (or your comments) were placed here; not dissimilar to institutional information. In this task of creating a film trailer, invention of a hashtag for our film is an absolute must.
The film mappings I have been tasked with researching has given me invaluable information on different genre conventions, the importance of giving some kind of information on how to share the production, and most importantly it has made me consider what has to part of my own work, depending on my choice of genre.
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