Trailer Conventions

Sounds
Almost every comedy trailer will use a form of sound, whether its diagetic, such as a character speaking, which basically would be there in the setting, or non diagetic, like music that’s been added in. The music used would match the speed, setting or tone of the film, for example an action film would use a fast paced song where as a historic drama might use classical music.
Diagetic Sounds
Diagetic sounds are really important for making physical comedy funny. Sound effects such as a hitting sound are added in to humorous moments where something has happened physically. For example a character getting kicked in the groin. These sound effects are used as a main part of physical comedy. The sound might be emphasised in the trailer more than the film as it plays a much more important part to the trailer. Most of the physical happenings featured in a comedy trailer are not that relevant to the films plot. However a trailer is used to sell a film and to most audiences of a comedy film, something like a man getting hit in the face with a ball, can make the film appeal more to the audience. The other main diagetic sound is the characters speaking, or the script. This can play a key part in advertising the film as it can give away the films plot, give the viewer an impression of the main character and add humour if the script is funny enough.
Non Diagetic Sounds
Non diagetic sounds are used much more thoroughly in comedy trailers. This would mainly include music, and voices from narrators and characters who aren’t currently on screen. A main concept of many trailers is to include serious or dramatic music at the start of the trailer to create juxtaposition from this music and the silliness of the actual film. After the serious music stops, there tends to be mainly diagetic sound until another song comes on. This song is usually a much less serious song which most probably would have been in the music charts at some point. Some trailers might even just include the instrumental of the song. As well as the serious music at the start there is sometimes a narrator with a deep voice. This can humorously fool the viewer into thinking the film isn’t comedy for a brief amount of time. Another effect used in most trailers is to show a quick shot of a character saying part of the script and then showing other scenes from the film whilst the character is still talking. This is usually used to give away the plot from the characters perspective whilst at the same time showing as much of the film to the viewer as possible.

Characters
The main character/characters are often portrayed as “losers” or “idiots” being the hero/protagonist. The antagonist of the film might also be an idiot who is not very intimidating, a contrast to other film genres such as horror where the antagonist is very scary and intimidating. However, for a comedic effect, the trailer might have tense and scary music if he or she is shown. Which acts in the same way the dramatic music does. In some cases the characters might be played by the same actor, for example many of Eddie Murphy’s films like the “Norbit” and “The Nutty Proffessor”. The actor must play many different types of characters for this to be funny though as the diverse range of characters is a key comedy element.

Mise en Scene and Locations
This depends on the type of comedy film it is. If it is a setting based film, for example a film set in a well known city, then many shots will involve the city. However, in films such as “Dodgeball”, the actual location is not included.
The mise en scene can also be different as some films that are character based might have funny clothes on the character to stand out. However, other subgenres of comedy films might not focus on the clothing of characters as much. Most mise en scene will help covey what sort of setting the film has been shot in. For example, the typical comedy character protagonist are usually lazy "slobs". Therefore their house might be shown with litter in it or beer bottles and junk food in the fridge.

Plot
Most main stream comedies have a very similar plot. Most plots are based on a boy that has a girlfriend, which he loses and then goes through a lot to get her back, and finally does. Examples of this could include Run Fatboy Run. Another similar plot featured in many comedies is that the main characters want to do or get something and end up going through a ridiculous amount of hardship to do so. Examples of this could include Dodgeball and Harold and Kumar. These two plot types are foundations of a comedy films story which are used in many different ways throughout main stream films of the genre.

Lighting
Lighting can be an important tool in a trailer when conveying what sort of film it is. For example, a horror movie has a very dark tone in most cases, therefore dark lighting would be used. However, something like a romantic comedy, which is very light hearted would use much more bright lighting. Comedy trailers would typically use bright lighting unless they are showing something like a messy house, where the tone would still be lighthearted. Black comedy fims, however, would most probably use more darker shots to suggest a much darker tone.