Conventions of a "Found Footage" Trailer

Conventions of a Found Footage Trailer

I looked at Paranormal Activity, Grave Encounters and Quarantine as these are all highly rated found footage films. 

At the beginning of all of these trailers, the production company is shown to tell the audience who made the film. This is paired with a disclaimer to certify the age rating of the feature film. 

There is an introduction to all of the main characters featured within the film. E.g. Paranormal activity - the audience are introduced to Katie and Micah. This is done so that the audience become familiar with the characters before they see the film in order to feel more empathetic for them.

Horror films tend to have either a voice over or parallel non-diegetic sound. A voice over is included to give the audience a basic idea about why the characters are in this specific situation. The parallel non-diegetic sound is used to build tension and suspense - making the film appear scarier than it actually is. 

The directors, producers and actors names appear throughout the entire trailer. The tension of the storyline is interrupted in order to show the credits. This builds suspense and creates tension for the audience watching the trailer. They also tell the audience what they have starred in or been part of creating before. This means, if the audience recognise a name, they may be more inclined to see the film.  These credits usually appear in the second half of the trailer, once the audience are hooked on the film. 

There are a series of different clips throughout the trailer that have been taken from the film in order to give a brief overview of what the film is about. For horror films, there are usually slow transitions for the beginning and end of the trailer, but during the middle, where all the tension lies, the transitions tend to be quicker and the music tends to be louder. A fade to black transition is used in order to make the credits fit better and to make the trailer flow together smoothly. 

The final convention to appear is the real ease date and title. The title usually appears first, followed by the release date. The release date is usually within a few weeks but close enough that the audience can start planning to go and see it. 

Within horror films, the authority of good and evil is usually established within the trailer, so that the audience know who is who when they go to view the film. The location is usually shown as well. This tends to be an isolated location where the murders or paranormal activity happens. The music mirrors the tension happening on screen so although it tends to be non-diegetic music, it is usually parallel. 

Most trailers include three main types of camera angles - close ups, long shots and establishing shots. The close up shots are used to show emotion within the characters on screen. The long shots are there to display a dramatic scene e.g. if there is someone behind the protagonist. Finally establishing shots are used to show the audience the location in which the film is set. These tend to be isolated places e.g. a cabin in the woods or a campsite in the mountains etc.