Exploring the conventions

HEROES

The Incredible Hulk

There is a non-diegetic voice over for narrative exposition and sound stings on different shots to increase the impact that they have and make them more dramatic. There is fast paced music to match the fast paced editing which is used in order to create tension and emphasise the action that is a common convention of hero films. The titles are white on black which links to Strauss’s binary oppositions of good and evil and heroes and villans which are both Proppian character types commonly found in hero films. The trailer also contains something which is in all trailer; the institutional information and logos. There is the use of special effects such as CGI which is a common convention in hero films as they create characters and add to dramatic events and make the element of fantasy seem more real. They are present in the trailer as they are needed to introduce the characters as well as draw the audience in by creating impressive looking action using sound effects.

In the trailer there is Proppian character types which are clearly apparent, there is the hero, the damsel in distress and the villan. This is very common in big action films, especially ones based on comic books and characters. These characters types are normally always established in action films. Tordorov's narrative structure theory can also be found in various action films, it starts with an equillibrium, then the equilibrium is disrupted (often by the villian) which leads to a chain of events after the disruption, then normally there is a resultion of some kind. This typical narrative structure is often used in acton films and is a key convention used also in action trailers, but trailers usually show the disruption and and the chain of events after, and leave the resolution for the auidence to come and see. There is clear binary oppositions in the trailer between 'The Hulk' and the 'Abomination' where 'The Hulk' is fighting for good and the 'Abomination' is evil.




COMEDY

Angus thongs and perfect snogging

There is bright natural lighting, the use of bright daylight implies everyday life and that the film is going to be realistic and not contain elements of fantasy. Also that the context of the film is quite happy which is common in comedies as they are supposed to be humorous and about real people and real subjects that make people able to relate to it more. There is a non-diegetic voice over done by someone who is not a character in the film which makes it seem as though they have an outsiders viewpoint of telling the story which is common in comedies due to a large amount of characters and it makes it feel as though you are looking in on their lives. The context is shown to be bright and happy but also that the teenager faces problems she classes as 'major' which plays to the stereotype of a female teenager.

In this trailer there are also Proppian character types, but as it is comedy they are different to the action trailer. In comedy's there is normally the 'hero' but in comedy's they are the protagonist that the audience relates to, in this trailer it is the main character Georgia, and her aim is to obtain the 'prince/price' character. He is her love interest and in the film trailer it is shown that she wants to obtain him, however characters such as 'the father' give her advice and is a main character in the film. There is a narrative structure of a resolution, a disruption but events leading to a completely new resolution which benefits everybody. There is slight binary oppositions between the main character Georgia and a girl she refers to as 'slaggy lindsay' as they don't like each other has Lindsay is going out with the boy she desires, but as it is a comedy there is no violence or physical conflict between them.

 Meet Dave

There is positive sounding music from the start over the institutional logos which adds to the comedy of the film as well as drawing the audience in as a trailer should. This is common in comedy films as they need ways for the audience to remember the trailer and the music is an obvious way of doing that. Also the main character is walking in time to the music so it shows humour as if it is diegetic when it is really non-diegetic. The voice over which is common in comedies also adds to the humour, it is common as it is an easy way to establish the story as well introducing the characters. This voice over addresses the audience; ‘meet Dave’, which makes them feel more involved. The trailer is also quite bright and uses CGI as it shows little people live inside a robot and the robot has to act as a human being. The well known comedic actor Eddie Murphy emphasises the comedic element as he has been in many well know comedies. The music in the trailer seems up beat and quite optimistic which suits the comedic genre. It also seems to be family friendly as it has a child in the trailer and also has many obvious jokes which children would find funny.

In this trailer there isn't a conventional character as they normally is in comedy's as the main chacratcrer 'Eddie Murphy' is a robot and inside he is controlled my minuature people, so the main protagonist is a robot, but in the trailer it shows a possible love interest which could be what the film is about.

  

Non Mainstream

City of men

Even though less mainstream, City of Men still enraptures many of the distinctive occurrences in all typical trailers. Throughout, there is a male voice over in order to clearly establish and illustrate the narrative of the trailer, displaying Fiske’s theory of Narrative vs. story. There is also non-diegetic music, fitting of the Rio setting. The clips establish the two protagonists and the peripheral characters. The relationships are shown through the voice over. At first the setting appears calm and beautiful, yet it is disrupted by an ambiguous sound effect of either thunder or a gun shot, thus showing the film’s theme of violence. Guns are present throughout to reinforce this. After this, the slums are then shown consistently to show they are poor. Overlay titles are used to keep the focus on the image. The editing is fast to reflect the style of the film. The plot is exposed, but not given away to make viewers want to see the film. Diegetic sounds of the guns are exaggerated. The use of freeze frame is used for dramatic effect to direct the viewers attention to specific events. At the end ‘Coming soon’ is not actually shown. 

 
The fox and child
Throughout, a softness is created by the almost constant diegetic sound and images of birds, animals and nature, even through the production logos. A piano is heard again creating the same. Delicate fades are used as transitions rather than harsh straight cuts and the editing pace is slow. The overlay titles glow to give a magical feel. The young protagonist girl and fox are established. At the beginning they are in different shots, by the end they are always in shots together showing the developed relationship and friendship. Lots of extreme long shots are used to establish the surrounding nature and lots of extreme close ups create an intimacy and delicacy. They show very little of the disruption of danger at the very end. This time ‘Coming Soon’ is shown.

Horror

Prom Night

The editing is fast paced making the trailer griping and enticing. There is a male voice over and this adds authority to the trailer, also there is voiceover of dialogue from the actual film which makes it seem more realistic. The trailer has darkish colours which match the horror genre and shows the mood is dark and eerie. They are high pitched screams and the use of weapons highlighting the genre and showing the audience what to expect in the film and makes them interested. The psycho shown to be obsessed with the main character and he has a grudge with her immediately showing she is the damsel in distress. The setting is in a hotel making it harder to catch the ‘killer’, fear and anticipation created as shown the obsessed killer escaped maximum security prison and is after the main character. It shows a killing taking place and numerous scenes in a quick flashing motion to add fast pace and create enigmas with the audience. The music is very important in this trailer as it builds tension, it has an electronic and is fast paced and suits the genre. In horror trailers the music is important and the fast flashing scenes seems to be consistent in other horror trailers.

In this trailer there is clear Proppian character types, the most obvious is the damsel in distress, hoever as it is a horror film there is no big superhero. There is people trying to stop the 'killer' such as the police and fellow students but the 'villan' in this film is the kille holds major threat and is back fro revenge in a psychotic manner. The narrative structure starts with a equilibrium and this gets disrupted by the killer which then leads to a dramatic sequence of events, but because it is a trailer it doesnt show any resolution or this would give the film away to the audience. The binary oppostions shown in the trailer are the young student the killer is after and the killer himself.

  

Quarantine

Shows the ‘events’ filmed on a hand held camera to make it more personal and traumatic. The voice over is talking about ‘something’ that happened and is implying a government cover up theory. This created enigma’s with the audience already. Builds fear as audience question whether they can trust the government. There are scary sound effects and screams which seem to be in numerous horror trailers and is a key convention in them. Special effects/make up on the infected person makes her look scary and show film horror as she attacks the ‘filming crew’ which enable the audience to know what to expect. Night vision makes it more realistic and highlights it’s at night time which is a key convention of horror films. When the military find the tape it creates fear and anticipation because they are about to watch the horrific events that went on there previously to their arrival. Fear also created with audience as shows even the military over powered by the ‘infected.’ Music is fast paced and high pitched, adds an eerie atmosphere and makes events seem more fast and chaotic. The use of the voice over makes the events seem ‘real life’ which creates terror with audience and makes it a lot scarier. This trailer also has many of the horror conventions, fast paced with fast music and lots of sound effects and scary voice over all highlight the genre to the audience.