Trailer Conventions I Followed

In many comedy trailers, the opening starts like a more dramatic film would. This seriousness and epic feel gives a humorous anticlimax when a very unimpressive character is revealed. This part of the trailer usually has dramatic music, use of black fades and a deep voice over speaking about a very dramatic but unclear happening (for example “This summer, something will happen”).
My trailer follows this convention very closely. The voice over of “When a boy gets pushed too far, he becomes a man” gives, like many trailer voiceovers, a very vague or misleading description of the plot. The dramatic music I used also follows the convention, as does my slow fade into the actual start of the shots. As well as this, the garage door that slowly opens up dramatically reveals the character and we see that a not so heroic nerd has been revealed. The zoom into his face gives a greater sense of anticlimax by showing how humorous his facial appearance is.
After the anticlimax many trailers would create an even further juxtaposition by having a cut to something very physical that is happening to the main character.
My trailer also follows this, as a montage of shots showing the two bullies kicking the geeks in the groin and their reaction shots. The montage itself is also a regular convention in comedy trailers, as they are used to emphasise repetition.
As a trailer ends, the still image of the film name shows the film certification and other information. In many trailers, not just comedy, a brief shot is shown afterwards. It is effective as the film trailer ends on a more exciting tone, which is much harder to achieve with just an image.
My trailer ends with the close up of Chris saying “Give it your best shot” in a very threatening and challenging way. This closes the film with a very humorous ending but also leaves the outcome over the confrontation open, making the viewer more interested in seeing it. I also think that it challenges the viewer, making it seem the threat is also directed at them, as well as the bullies.
As well as comedy trailer conventions, I looked at some action film trailers. Their conventions were things like a montage of action packed shots, with the characters speaking briefly to each other. Also, they use energetic music and the beat is sometimes timed with the actual actions in the filmSimilarly, my trailer does the same. The shots of Chris working out and punching the bag are timed with the beat of my song, “Club Foot”. This gives the trailer the effect of that its trying to be serious however the main character just isn’t, and creates a sort of oxymoron or contrast.
Finally, in many trailers I have seen, there is a shot of the character speaking. The voice then goes over the other clips whilst the actual shot stops. Usually the following shots are of the same context as the speech.
My trailer follows this when Chris is speaking in the mirror to himself, saying, “I’ve been picked on for too long, revenge is a dish best served cold”. The voice overlaps the clips of him working out. Here is the video below.