Original Script

As I am producing a horror teaser trailer it will not feature a vast amount of speech particuarly towards the end of the trailer, however I have made a script for the speech which will be featured in the trailer. This is the original script in which I would have given to the original characters.

The group of friends named Rebecca, Jasmine, Abbey, Sophie and Ellie have all received their A-Level results at college.

Lizzie: (Whilst jumping up and down with excitement) I'm so happy, I never thought i'd do that well!
Ellie: (Smiling) I can't believe it!
All: (Cheering and laughing)
Lizzie: Lets celebrate tonight!


The group of friends are heading into the woods.
Lizzie: (After taking a swig from a bottle) Lets make tonight a night to remember!


Lizzie has received an unusual text
Jodie: What's the matter with you?
Lizzie: (Wary voice) Umm...er nothing...just some idiot who thinks they're funny


The girls are fairly drunk and getting into the party spirit
All: (Laughing and shouting)


Lizzie and Holly seperate from the group
Lizzie: Urgh, how annoying! (Waving her phone in the air, attempting to find a signal)
Ellie: Come on, we'll try and find a signal elsewhere


Lizzie is alone and frightened in the heart of the woods
Lizzie: (heavy breathing and crying)


Lizzie is alone in her bathroom
Lizzie: (confused and shaken) W...what is happening to me!


Screams are heard throughout the fast pace editing shots at the end of the trailer.


Lizzie is being chased through the wood
Lizzie: (Shouting) Please no!

Original Prop list

• A tent
• Ketchup
• Empty alcohol bottles and cigarettes
• Scarfs, coats and hoodies
• Big bags
• Ripped tights
• A mirror
• Envelopes and paper (To represent the exam results)

Location list

We are going to use Cropton Park to replicate the woodland area in which Ellie will be walking to when travelling to college and home. Cropton Park has a well hidden forest like area which i think is ideal to use for the location of our trailer.

Elisha Sparkes' house will be used to replicate the bedroom scene in which Ellie is followed up by her stalker, our reasons for this is that Elisha's bedroom is located in the attic therefore the lighting and look is ideal for the character.

Both of these locations were going to be used in the original plot also.

Cast list

I have decided to add what each individual character would bring to the trailer, the original cast list would have featured:

Jodie Braithwaite - Jodie would have played the outgoing character in the group, from research I have come to realise that there is always a strong, confident individual who often makes the decisions!
Elizabeth Morgan - Elizabeth would have played the 'geeky' friend, who is fairly quiet however makes valid points when needed.

Kaylee Murphy - The loyal friend, I have noticed that in many horror films there is a character who is the friend who always plays safely.

Holly Robinson - As i am blonde haired, I would have played the stereotypical 'dumb blonde' member in the friendship group. This would have featured myself being killed off first, as this would have been viewed as stereotypically correct.

Both Elisha Stewart and Hannah Mason I would have used to make up numbers in the group, as they would have made the group look strong and all good friends.

The stalker will not be revealed! As this is a teaser trailer I think this adds extra tension and suspense to the trailer, the stalker will be created by the use of point of view shots.

However as I have adjusted the plot of my trailer to just one main character better known as Ellie who will be played by myself Holly Robinson, this will be the only character featured in the trailer.
Ellie will be featured having blonde hair so that it projects to the audience her stereotypical image of being naive, my reasons for choosing my main character to have these characteristics is that by analysing other horror genre trailers and also by watching several horror films many of the leading characters are blonde and they are perceived in this way, therefore I have put these ideas into use for my final production.

Synopsis

The title of the film trailer will be called 'The Hunted' which will therefore be a horror teaser trailer based on a stalker.

Originally the horror trailer was going to feature a group of six friends who venture out into a local forest to celebrate their A-Level results, little do the group realise that they are alone in the forest with an extra individual...their stalker who has been watching them. One by one each of the characters dissapear, and one survives. However I came to realise that this idea would be very difficult gathering all six characters together at the same time and also the plot became fairly complicated, therefore i have adjusted the synopsis.

The title of the film trailer has remained the same 'The Hunted' as the trailer is going to be based around a stalker and one female character, therefore the title of the film can then be assoiciated with the plot.
There will be one character who is named Ellie, Ellie will be featured blonde in the trailer as by using my secondary research and watching several horror films the blonde female character is often seen as very vulnerable and in many cases naive, therefore Ellie will be featured walking through a forest alone to and from her way to college...this will represent her naive characteristic and perhaps her stereotypical outlook. Ellie will be watched by her stalker who has been watching her every move throughout the week, to project this to the audience several days of the week such as 'Monday' will appear in text in the trailer to represent the time to the audience.
The first day which will be Monday will feature Ellie walking through the forest, Wednesday will see Ellie become slightly suspicious and wary as she hears movement and can feel the sense that someone is possibly watching her. Friday will see Ellie being followed home, by this time Ellie is aware that something is not right and her stalker will follow her home. As Ellie's parents have gone away for the weekend she is home alone, Ellie sits in her bedroom terrified and finally becomes face to face with her stalker, this will leave the audience in suspense and end on a cliffhanger.

Audience Research

To create the teaser trailer we needed to establish which age range would our specific genre (horror) appeal too, therefore I created a questionnaire to guide me into doing this.

The questionnaire asks the participant to state their sex, age and favourite film genre.
The questionnaire asks the participants to state their sex, age and favourite film genre.
In the questionnaire we can see that the horror and comedy genre are very popular, however the horror genre is in particular popular with teengaers and young adults.
As I had already decided in which genre I was going to be using in my genre it has helped me in deciding the age range of the characters in the trailer as this will appeal to teenagers/young adults. Therefore I will feature teenagers in my final product as my target audience will be able to engage with the final product.
I also noticed that comedy was popular, often horror can be mixed with horror to create horror and humour, however I am sticking with the horror genre.

To perhaps improve the validity of the questionnaire I could have used a larger sample such as a 1000 participants, therefore this would have provided a valid and representative sample.

Genre - Horror

Horror is intended to scare, unsettle and horrify the audience. It is created to invoke our hidden worst fears in often a shocking and terrifying finale. Horror films center on the dark side of life, the forbidden and strange events which can occur.
Horror films go as far back as 100 years and were often created as very gothic in style this could be better known as the gothic/horror genre, this was usually set in spooky old castles and mansions. Their main characters were generally supernatural creatures ranging from creatures such as zombies, vampires, devils, mad scientists for example 'Frankenstein', evil spirits and many more. It was in the early 1930s that American film producers particuarly Universal Pictures that popularized the horror film bringing to the screen the likes of 'Dracula' and 'Frankenstein', some of these blended together science fiction with gothic horror, these films were simply designed to thrill. Universal's horror films continued into the 1940s with the film 'The Wolfman', this wasn't the first werewold film but was agreed to be the most influential. Throughout this decade Universal continued to produce more sequals to the Frankstein series. However in the 1950s-1960s the advances in technology that had occured the tone of the horror films had shifted from the gothic genre towards what people saw as more relevant to the current time era, a stream of productions featured humanity overcoming threats from 'outside' such as alien invasions and deadly mutations to people.
During the late 1950s and early 1960s, production companies focused on producing horror films, including the British company Hammer Film Productions. Hammer enjoyed a vast amount of success from full-blooded technicolor films involving classic horror characters in films such as 'The curse of Frankenstein', 'Dracula' and 'The mummy' and many other sequels. During the 1960s Ghosts and Monsters still remained popular, however in 1968 the film 'Night of the living dead' which featured Zombies was deemed as being cultural, historically or aesthetically significant. Blending the psychological insights with gore moved the genre even further away from the gothic horror trends which were first brought about with horror, this therefore brought horror into everyday life. Gore-shock films were also very popular such as 'Blood feast' which featured splattering bloody and bodily disemberment.
With the financial success of the gore films from previous years the 1970s started referencing the occult this often featured gory horror films with sexual overtones. This led to films such as the 'Exorcist', many similar films contained a Devil who represented the supernatural evil which was often done by inpregnating women or possessing young children. Evil children and reincarnation became very popular subjects, also Satan became the villian in many horror films however with a postmodern style. Also in the 1970s the horror author Stephen King debuted on the film scene as many of his books were adapted for the screen, Stephen Speilberg also shot to fame in 1975 with his creation of the deadly shark 'JAWS' this film kicked off a wave of killer animal stories. 'JAWS' is often credited as being one of the first films to use elements such as horror and mild gore in a big-budget Hollywood film.
The 1980s were marked by the growing popularity of horror movie sequels, for example in 1892 'Poltergeist' was followed by two sequels and a television sequel. The successful supernatural slasher 'A Nightmare on Elm street' was seen as the popular face for horror films in that era. Another trend which begun in the 1980s was the involvement of comedy elements, many of which were 'one-liner' punchlines, such films which included this were 'An American werewolf in London' and 'Fright night'. Despite the huge demand for horror films there were many which were seen as extremely controversial such as the film 'Nekromantik' which was a disturbing film about the life and death of a necrophiliac, also the growth in home video led to growing public awareness of horror films and the concern of the availability of such material to children. Many films were branded as "video nasties" and banned an example would be 'Silent night' and 'Deadly night' which was was withdrawn and failed at the theatres as the subject was about a killer Santa Claus.
In the first half of the 1990s, the genre from the '80s continued. Sequels from the 'Chucky-Childs play' had some commercial success however was also very controversial as it was linked to the murder of the young child James Bulger, the ten year old boy's who had killed James had apparently previously viewed these sequels and caused the certificate of the film to increase to age 15 certificate. Among the popular English-language horror films of the late 1990s, only late 1999s surprise independent hit 'The Blair Witch Project' attempted staight-ahead scares.
The start of the 2000s was a quiet period for the genre. The re-stored version of the 'Exorcist' was a success even though it had been available on home video for years. 'Final Destination' marked a successful revival of clever, teen-centered horror and spawned three sequels. A new trend had been set which first appeared in 'The others' which had required psychology to scare the audiences instead of gore. One of the larger trends was the return of extreme, graphic violence. An extension of this trend was the emergence of a type of horror with emphasis on depictions of torture, suffering and violent deaths with films such as 'Saw' and 'Hostel'. Remakes of the late 1970s horror films became routine in the 2000s, such as the 2003's remake of 'The texas Chainsaw massacre', in 2007 Rob Zombie wrote and directed a remake of John Carpenter's 'Halloween'.
Therefore we can see in each decade there has been specific trends and significant changes in the horror genre.

Sources used www.wikipedia.com

Textual analysis - The blair witch 2

I have decided to specifically analyise 'The Blair Witch Project' as this film was located in a wood, therefore this will be able to give me some ideas towards my final product.

The trailer opens with a birds eye view shot establishing the main desolate location which is the woods in which the students want to discover information about the Blair witch, it could also be said that the birds eye view shot is used to project to the audience the size of the forest in which the group will be investigating. A key film trailer convention is used which is the use of a voice over and in this case as it is a horror trailer the voice over is slightly more mysterious to help set the tone and the mood. Close up shots of each five members involved are shown to help the audience establish and make up their opinions about each character, several of the characters are featured smiling and laughing possibly used to create a sense of irony as mystetious happenings could possibly occur later on in the film. The use of the non-diegetic music which is the sound of a piano in the background almost creates a magical and supernatural feeling and is often stereotypically linked with witchcraft films and programmes. Extracts of perhaps useful and story telling phrases in which the characters have said in the film are used such as "If you don't believe in the Blair witch then why have you bothered to come?" therefore the audience immediately know that the group are there to find out and perhaps communicate with the witch.

The long shot of the graveyard reflects that there will be supernatural occurances in the film and is also a very stereotypical horror location. "The Witch is back" projects to the audience that this is dangerous! as this is said the editing becomes fast paced to possibly suggest panic and danger, eery non-diegetic music is heard and flashes of dead bodies, owls and screaming characters are all seen these are all also conventions of horror and are popular in many horror trailers. The montages of the film and the diegetic and non-diegetic music becomes so fast paced that it all together stops and a woman is seen to be frantically chanting however we as the audience do not know who she is, this is all part of the teaser trailer to make the audience want to know what occurs next.

Another form of narration is used which is text, dramatic pieces of text are used to frighten the audience and to not believe anything they've heard and to find out at the cinema itself what the film is about. As this is shown and spoken flashes of violent images and events are projected to the audience by using low angle shots up at the sky to show movement and perhaps referring to unknown spirits, which is very relevant to this film. A long shot of a woman spinning round in circles on her bed establishes to the audience that she has possibly been posessed and has been in contact with the witch, the mise-en-scene also helps the viewer think this by displaying books and candles which are often associated with spell casting. The use of showing short, teasing clips of characters getting killed and in this case a man falling off a bridge creates excitement and creates a cliff-hanger effect.

The effect of using a handheld camera to record their reactions creates verisimilitude we as the audience can imagine and see what it is like and have an understanding, this has given me ideas of how i could represent the stalker in my final product.

As the title of the film 'Blair Witch 2', this appears as if it is being viewed in a wave effect this could be perhaps to reflect the motion of waves and how they dissapear associating this with the group members who go in search of the Blair witch. We also know that this is a sequel due to the title 'The Blair Witch 2' therefore this is a popular and successful film, also a non-diegetic sound of a woman who appears to be a news reporter is speaking about the brutal murders and happenings which have occured in the woods, at the same time an establishing shot of the wood is being shown to the audience this creates a mysterious and ambiguous end to the trailer.

Textual analysis - Sorority Row

The first thing which i immediately notice about the trailer for sorority row is how it begins with upbeat non-diegetic pop music to represent the happy lives in which the group of friends have. The mise-en-scene has also created this atmosphere by the colourful and bright lighting used, colours such as yellows and summery colours often represent cheerfulness and warmth. The fast paced editing gives off the quirky student lifestyle, this effect is often used in party scenes or clubs to again represent the student lifestyle. The characters featured in these shots are viewed as being happy and vibrant, we as the audience see this by the positive emotions expressed. The parties could also be viewed as very stereotypical with the alcohol, loud music and dancing.
However the mood changes as the camera moves in to a close-up of the group of girls speaking about a boy, we then realise these are the main characters in the film. To create a mysterious effect the director has darkened the light to create a key convention which is used in horror. The way in which the group of girls are seen in a bedroom could also be seen as stereotypical as many American films use this to reflect the closeness between the friends.
"A deadly Prank" this phrase is used as a form of narration, the word prank is often seen as humourous however the adjective 'deadly' informs the audience that this prank has backfired. On the other hand the non-diegetic music appears carefree, perhaps this is to reflect the irony of the situation. The group of friends end up in a desolate area which is very cliche in horror, the lighting is dull as it is nightime this exhibits the darkness of the situation. The weapon used is captured in a close-up so that the audience can see that this weapon could possibly be the main weapon used in the film. The trailer does not show the full scene of the killings as this would give away what some of the audience would call the best bits. As the first killing is briefly showed the editing is extremely fast paced with flashes of lighting as this is often associated with horror films, the diegetic sounds of screaming and crying expresses the volume of fear indicated from the characters. The cutting from darkness to lightness indicates the sign of how life moves on and in this case how the friends have forgotten about the situation, the slow motion of the graduates celebrating could perhaps signify how their happiness is gradually slowing down. The use of technology today such as receiving picture messages through a mobile phone is indicated through the mise-en-scene this is important as it creates verisimilitude and reflects life to this day. Montages and the fast paced editing display panic to the audience which builds up to the murder of one of the members of the group, however we as the viewer do not see the killer as this is one of the devices in which the producer uses to draw the viewer into seeing the film. The phrase 'sisters for life' could be seen as ironic being featured after a killing which dulls the tone and establishes the mystery in which is occuring.
The use of flashing images of the weapon used is seen as a key convention of the horror genre, this also perhaps signifies upcoming danger.
I have noticed throughout the analysis that to create a scary effect the producers do not feature any sound for several seconds then suddenly feature screams and loud non-diegetic sounds this forms a sense of fear to the audience. The non-diegetic sounds of young children singing appears to be popular in the use of horror trailers as it adds a specific creepy feeling as something is not right about the situation. The pitch of the diegetic and non-diegetic gets louder and the diegetic sounds of knife blades rubbing together are heard, as the editing gets faster this reflects the fear and panic.
The title of the film is featured towards the end of the trailer to perhaps add tension, it could also be seen as acting as a cliffhanger. The short snippet of the film after the title sequence could be viewed as shocking, this could be signifying the horror and the events which are going to be featured.

Textual analysis - Mirrors

The horror film 'Mirrors' was released in 2008, the film is all based around mirrors (as reflected in the title) and their reflection which carry out horrific and gory actions carried out by their own accord.

The trailer opens with pleasant weather to reflect that the mood is neutral and normal, however pathetic fallacy is then used as the weather and colouring turns darker to reflect the mood and feeling of storyline and the characters. The trailer also opens with mysterious music quickly showing and establishing the family house to the audience, however we then hear the sound of a young childlike voice talking to himself or so we think. Many horror films choose to feature young children in their films as it often adds a creepy effect to the film for example in the film 'the sixth sense' the main focus in the film is the young boy who has a sixth sense to see ghosts, this makes the film more mysterious as children are often seen as happy and viewed in a more positive light. When the young boy in mirrors is asked a question at the beginning of the teaser trailer the background music appears to get higher in pitch adding tension which alerts the audience that something is not right about the situation, this is also created by the hand held camera shot creeping behind the boy's mother which gives the effect that someone is behind her, the over the shoulder shot is reguarly used as it gives off the impression someone/something is possibly watching them. A loud thud followed by a scream reflects to the audience that there is something more to the mirrors, this is then followed by the repition of loud, deep beats this could possibly reflect the frantic heartbeat of the mother and father. The close up of the door handle and the squeeky diegetic sound is stereotypical in horror and makes the audience feel uneasy about the situation. To add more nail-biting effects the director's have used quick, fast paced editing which almost looks like a blink of an eye focusing on different shots. In the conventions screaming/crying voices are usually featured in most teaser trailers, 'Mirrors' does use this convention to create panic and confusion. The trailer also displays narration but through the form of text which in every several seconds shows the audiences messages such as 'Within these walls', 'Lives an evil', 'Beyond our world' all of these pieces of text are very confusing and mysterious to the audience which makes them want to discover the meaning. The director uses the adjective 'evil' to describe the terror existing in the film, this is viewed by many people as a negative word and harsh to describe something which therefore makes the narration more dramatic.
I have noticed that the trailer uses nearly all of the typical codes and conventions such as the use of picking out dramatic words and sentences which the character's used for example "I'm so scared" reflects the fear in which the family are going through, another example would be "what if the mirrors are making us do things which we don't want to do" this piece of speech which is used in the trailer projects to the audience that the family must have a lack of control over the mirrors and have to figure out how to stop the weird goings on.
A further example of a convention which is used is that the title of the film is featured at the end of the trailer to add a thrilling and suspensful ending. However towards the ending of the trailer a creepy and spine chilling child's laugh is heard this also adds a shuddersome affect to the audience.
"Don't be scared mummy i just want you to come and play with us" this phrase again reflects the weird creepyness in which a child can create in a horror film, the use of the word 'mummy' almost adds inoscence to the phrase which is also deepened with the use of editing which displays his 'other person' in the mirror, as this is said the close up reveals to the audience not only the child but also his reflection.

The conventions of film trailers

Before specifically focusing on one set genre I am going to gather together the conventions used in trailers in general.

• Firstly there are always voice overs featured in a film trailer as this is used as a speaking narrative for the audience. It is also often used to build up tension especially when used in the horror genre.
• Often close-ups are used so that the audience can familiarise with the characters and places, by using close-ups the directors do not give away too much.
• Montages and fast-paced editing is extrememly popular in trailers, and often the editing hops back and fourth from quick to slow this keeps the audience interested whilst watching the trailer.
• Non-diegetic music is featured often at the beginning of the trailer so that it can set the scene and the tone of the trailer.
• The title of the film is featured at the end of the trailer this is because it makes the trailer appear more dramatic, words and text can be used throughout the trailer acting as narration picking out key words which fit the codes and conventions of the genre.
• Often trailers feature dramatic words or phrases used by one or some of the characters featured in the film, this is to perhaps make the film appear exciting and possibly make the audience want to know more.
• They always end in cliffhangers and not give the ending away so that it gives enough for the audience to go and see the film.
  
  Conventions of Horror trailers
  When watching a horror trailer there are many key conventions which the producers use to create fear and excitement. At first trailers usually give off a happy atmosphere so that the audience can become familar with the main characters and environment. However mysterious and creepy music is often featured to show the negative downfall and to make clear the horror genre of the film. Other conventions used in horror are the final girl, a frightening place, themes of death/destruction and iconography such as knives and masks. The frightening place is often a castle or an isolated house however in the horror film 'Scream' the main location is that in a domestic home this then disobeys the conventions of horror as a domestic home is seen as warmely and comforting and creates a false illusion. However in 'Scream' they use classic icons of horror that also immediately signify fear for example a knife can be seen as an extremely violent weapon. 'Scream' is also clever as in it presumes that the audience know of the key conventions used in horror as they are frequently used and discussed. The location in horror films and horror trailers often turns very gloomy and the weather is often raining or dramatic thunderstorms are present. Generally narration is used to tell the audience the story in brief and give them an image on what the film is about, this is often used by short quotes of texts which often use dramatic words or phrases from the film which could perhaps make the audience want to find out more. The diegetic sound used reguarly features screaming or shouting, the screaming featured can be young children as this appears more spooky and spine tingling as children are never normally viewed in this light.

LIIAR of film trailers

Language

One of the first and most important aspects involved in film trailers is the type of language needed in a film trailer, the language used has to be persuasive to draw the audience in to seeing the film. It also has to be interesting and appealing otherwise the film would not be successful.
To achieve this trailers always include a non-diegetic voice over which is often spoken in a very deep and mysterious manner, this could also perhaps be seen as one of the key conventions used in trailers as this helps achieve the films popularity. The Voice over generally works as the narrative but in an intriging story telling format.
The text on screen in which small but meaningful quotes are featured are also a key part of the trailers selling point as this joins together with the voice over to form a strong narrative structure, the text featured is to project key themes and possibly summarise the plot.
Reguarly film trailers feature snippets of dialogue from the film such as essential parts, for example if it was a horror film it would feature screaming and dramatic phrases said by the main characters.

Institution

The most popular and successful film trailers are often produced by the following production teams such as 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, MGM and Fox-Filmed Entertainment.
However up until the late 1950s trailers were mostly created by National Screen service and mainly consisted of just key scenes from the film. With the boost of Hollywood in the 1960s trailers changed introducing the likes of montages and fast paced editing this format was frequently used by Andrew. J Kuehn who became extremely popular and then ended up opening the West Coast office of Kaleidoscope Films in 1968, therefore Kuehn became the major player in producing trailers and enforcing specific and important morals and values for the target audience.

Ideology

Ideology is a set of beliefs and specific values, this is then applied to the film trailer to project the institutions opinions to the audience.
For example a film which is targeted at teenagers would perhaps feature Sex, drugs, alcohol etc the instition could display this as being bad and create a film trailer and show the extreme effects of drugs.

Audience

Every film produced has a target audience as this helps the institution to specify and attract the specific audience. An example of this would be the genre horror as this is very popular with teenagers to attract this target audience horror often features sex, drugs and alcohol but perhaps in a more negative light to show the consequences.
If it was a romance film stereotypically this would perhaps be aimed at more women then men.
However film trailers are viewed by everyone as they are displayed on television, the producers do this as people who enjoy films will more than likely enjoy television as they are both visual pieces of entertainment. Film trailers are also seen before specific films (often of the same genre) as they will be interested in possibly seeing the film.
With the boom of social networking sites with teenagers in which it is extremely popular with, many film advertisements are placed as these sites are used by millions everyday.

Representation

This is an important aspect in a film trailer as this is required to represent the film itself and the genre in which it is representing, therefore exciting and dramatic extracts are featured in the film to thrill the audience.
To represent the genre the main conventions are used; such as dark lighting/dullness, remote areas, frantic screams and mysteriousness would be used in a horror trailer.
However if the genre was romantic/comedy the lighting would be very bright and a happy atmosphere would be created by featuring light colours and perhaps in the summer season.

LIIAR of Horror trailers

Language

The language used in horror trailers is like any other it requires a persuasive voice over, however the voice over used in horror trailers often has a mysterious and creepy tone to their voice which helps the narration to become more fearful and specific to its genre. This couls possibly be viewed as being stereotypical.

Institution

The institution of horror trailers are muchly the same as other trailers those being 21st Century Fox, Universal, Paramount Pictures and other successful institutions.

Ideology

The ideology for horror trailers could perhaps be seen as a reflection of the producers of the film, for example if the producers wanted to reflect society today they can reflect this through film and in this case reflect through the use of the horror genre.

Audience

When producing my horror trailer I will firstly take into account the target audience in which I would like my horror trailer to be aimed at, as i will be featuring mainly teenagers it will perhaps be targeted towards teenagers/young adults.

Representation

To represent the horror genre I will be considering the key conventions required to create a successful horror trailer. Therefore examples being dark lighting, a creepy and mysterious voice-over, key phrases and diegetic voices, non-diegetic sound to reflect the genre of the trailer and many other key conventions required.

The history of film trailers

The first trailer was shown in a U.S movie theatre in November 1913 when Nils Granland produced a short promotional film for the musical 'The Pleasure Seekers'. Granland also introduced trailer material for an upcoming motion picture for an upcoming film which featured Charlie Chaplin in 1914.

Up until the late 1950s the film being advertised often consisted of the main key scenes with large writing describing the story. Most of the trailers had some form of narration and those that did featured loud, dramatic voices.
In the early 1960's there was a new trend, this was montage trailers and quick editing which became extremely popular. In 1964 Andrew J. Kuehn distributed his indepently produced trailer for 'Night of the Iguana' using stark, high-contrast photography fast-paced editing and a provocative narration. This form of trailer was a huge success.
Kuehn opened the west coast office of Kaleidoscope films in 1968, he became a major part in the trailer industry. As Hollywood was producing bigger blockbuster films and investing more money into them, directors such as Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, Barbera Streisand began on Kuehn and his company to create the best trailers which film/theartre goers could view.
The contrast between film trailers now and in the early 1900s is huge this is because trailers were only part of the entertainment which included catoon shorts and serial adventure episodes, These earlier trailers were much shorter and often consisted of little more that title cards. However, today trailers are much more elaborate and have replaced other forms of pre-featured entertainment, also twenty minutes after the posted showtime is devoted to trailers.

The purpose of a trailer is simply to attract an audience to the film, the trailer has to achieve this in two and a half minutes. It usually features the most exciting, dramatic and funny parts of the film without producing spoilers. This is created by not neccessarily featuring the scenes in order as they are in the film. By achieving to pick dramatic scenes from the film the people who create the film trailers often begin their work while the movie is still being shot, therefore the trailer may contain footage which is not featured in the final movie. A common technique is including music on the trailer which does not appear on the movie's soundtrack, this nearly always occurs as many trailers or teasers are created long before. It also helps set the tone and mood of the trailer. Aswell as featuring music which is not neccessarily in the final product it can also feature footage of scenes which are not featured in the final movie. Most trailers have a three-act structure similar to a feature-length film. They start with a beginning, middle and usually ends with a dramatic climax. To add to the tension, voice over narration is used to briefly set up the premise of the movie and provide explanation when necessary, it is also a useful tool to enhance the audience's understanding of the plot.

The studio production logos are usually featured near the beginning of the trailer, however this has only happened since the late 1970s as they used to always be featured at the end of the trailer.
The MPAA- Motion Picture Association of Anerica film rating system mandates that theatrical trailers not exceed two minutes and thirty seconds in length, and each major studio is given one exception to this rule per year.
However in the last decade film trailers have advanced because of the on-going technological improvements, trailers featured today always have a voiceover as this provides the audience with an added narrative element and creates added suspense, vital pieces of text also help the voice-over project a short sneaky preview into the synopsis of the film. The music featured in the trailer is one of the most important devices as this immediately can set the tone of the trailer and reflect the genre to the audience. The studio production logos are often featured at the beginning of the beginning of the trailer, often there are logos for the production and distributer of the film.

Sources used www.wikipedia.com

Brief

2. A Promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer, together with two of the following three options:

• A film magazine front cover, featuring the film;
• A poster for the film.