Layout of trailers

International

Layouts of trailers

Although I have analysed over 15 trailers, something which I didn't focus enough on was editing and therefore before finalising the layout of our trailer I thought it would be good to research the brief layout of other trailers of successful action films.

Spectre - setting scene, comedy line, iconic soundtrack kicks in over titles (0:19 - 0:22) 2 production titles then establishing shot London, clips of bond, dialogue over the top - re-establishing bond

another establishing shot at 0:42 (new location) 0:50 another establishing shot - new fancy location

montage until 1;17 then setting scene more, music dies down around 1;30, 1;45 montage until end then film titles

Hitman: agent 47 - inside building no establishing shot, see characters head, titles (0:11 - 0:14) 1 production title, setting scene, montage starts 0:52 - 1;10, 1st establishing shot 1:03, dialogue over montage setting scene more,2nd establishing shot 1:49, final montage, impressive cgi scene to end 10 seconds long then film titles

Taken - titles to start (0:05 - 0:08) 2 production titles, setting scene until 0:22, things turn for the worst, 0:50 girl been taken, slow montage begins building in pace with dramatic monologue over the top, finishes 1:36 film titles at 1:40 then actors names listed, heavy breathing in background - date for film

Gangster Squad - establishing shot, antagonist, montage, titles at (0:24 - 0:26) 2 production titles, low pitch music begins, more shots of antagonist, pretty girl seen, shooting, 'good' team established, montage of guns, good guys, fights, 1st tagline (1:12), love interest, more violence, change in music, montage, "not anymore" 2nd tagline (1:36) date, explosions, love interest, antagonist, shootings, gun shot in time with music beats, 3rd tagline (1:51), car chase, explosion, 4th tagline (1:54), violence, montage, actors names, date

Taking lives - setting scene up to 0:15, 2 production titles, introduced to protagonist

From this research I have found that most trailers start with an establishing shot - something we plan to begin our trailer with as it helps in setting the scene and is a clear signpost for where the character is in the world. Montage's are also key with trailers including 2-3 fast paced montages of action shots including shootings, explosions, fights e.c.t. Something which surprised me was that in 2 out of the 5 trailers the actors names were listed individually near the end matched with shots of the actors in the movie, this may only be when the actors are part of the unique selling point of the film so we will probably not include this in our trailer. There are also changes in music to signify a change in pace in the trailer whether its switching from dramatic scene to back story or vice versa and is something we expect to use in our film trailer.