Codes and Conventions of Film trailers

Film Trailers can have their each and own different set of codes and conventions depending on the genre of the film. Although there are still some conventions that are used throughout all film trailers which are seen as a guide on how to make a successful film. There are different ways in which you can put into your work, these include; Cinematography, such as camera shots and angles can connotate certain things therefore making it a code. Another method that you can use is editing, with editing you can use things such as continuity or montage to represent different things and you could also use the speed of the editing. Mise-en-scene is also another way in which you can use codes and conventions through items such as props and costume. Lastly the sound can also be used to add codes and conventions into your work. All of these will be needed in a film trailer in order to make the film successful. On average a film Trailer will last around 2:30 minutes, that is not a lot of time to put all of these things in so therefore they have to really think why and how they can put these methods into their work.

Cinematography can be used in many different ways to represent codes and conventions, one of these is close ups, these are usually used in a film trailer to represent the protagonist (main character), this way before we have even watched the film we have gained the knowledge that the person shown is the lead character and it also gets us emotionally attached to the character so we want to go and see the film for the character. They can also use establishing shots so that we know where the character is, this way we get a feel for how the film may pan out. A good example of both of these techniques in a film trailer is ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, as within the first 20 seconds we get these two shots which give us the feel that the man in the foreground of the close up two shot is the Protagonist and the man in the background could be a big part of the film and we also can find out that we’re in a game show.

Other shots that can be used include over the shoulder shots which can sometimes show the protagonist and what they have to do, or the mess that has been made by them, this is usually used in action films or thrillers. An example of this would be ‘From dusk till Dawn’ as it shows a building in the background being blown up and the two characters walking away to show they’ve done that and they’re getting away.

Going back to ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, not only is there Cinematography techniques used within the trailer to show codes and conventions there are also Editing methods used as well such as, Non-diegetic elements, as in the trailer it shows on the screen a question and it gives you four answers, this then builds on the earlier code that we are in the setting of a game show and takes us that one step further to that we’re on ‘who wants to be a millionaire’ as the question is set as if it would be a question on the show, not only does it show us this but It also gives us the storyline as it shows the question saying how did Jamal Malik win 20 million rupees and then gives you the answers to choose from and it then give you the answer saying ‘it is destiny’ so therefore we now know that it is about the man in the foreground, Jamal Malik? Winning 20 million rupees on who wants to be a millionaire because it was his destiny and we know all this because of the codes and conventions that are used throughout the trailer. 

There is also a fast paced montage edit used in the trailer of the stuff that’s happened in his life so far which gives you the feel that everything has rushed by leading towards this one moment in his life, during this montage you see other characters which you can tell will be a big part of the film such as a brother which will be his companion on his life journey and also what could be a love interest or ‘one true love’. These are again all found out through the use of the codes and conventions within the trailer.

Mise-en-scene is also used in order to show codes and conventions throughout the film as you can see here in the Slumdog millionaire trailer as it shows the setting of when he was younger and the clothes he is dressed in and this shows that he comes from a poor area and that they don’t have much money, therefore we feel sorry for him as he has been brought up with not much money which gives us an emotional attachment towards the character, the image from the trailer also shows them jumping from a rooftop which tells us also that they haven’t had a very safe upbringing.

Lastly Sound is another way in which Codes and conventions are used as there is an upbeat soundtrack playing in the background whilst there is the montage of his childhood and he always looks really happy however the music changes to a slower song when the girl ‘Latika’ is left behind from the train which shows that from that moment on he hasn’t been the same because he hasn’t been with his one true love so we get the feel that everything he’s done from that moment onwards has been done so that he can find Latika again.

Overall Codes and Conventions are used in film trailers in order to show what the genre of the film is and also, how the story will pan out throughout the film and why it is going to go like that. Therefore codes and conventions are what makes up the film trailer so that the audience can then read them to understand the film.