Structure Of A Movie Trailer

by Rebecca King

 

After watching and analysing many trailers I have found a common structure that most trailers abide by. This structure is prominent through out horror trailers as it builds suspence and tension.

 

First you establish the main characters and the setting. In horror trailers the character's role as either a victim or a villain is obvious through costume, lighting and even sound. During this establishing period in horror movies often we see the happy, content life that the protagonist character leads. 

 

The editing speeds up gradually as the tension increases and there is a disruption of the protagonist's life, which leads to dire consequences. This is done through scenes that unnerve the audience and keep their attention, for example in 'A Nightmare On Elmstreet'we see the obvious danger the characters are in and want to know more. The story is also gradually intergrated into the trailer and leaves the audience with unanswerable questions that hook them making them want to know more.

 

The trailer reaches a climax as faster and faster shots build up, the object being to summarise the movie, leave the audience hooked and make them frightened. After the climax the title of the movie is often shown and the last few shots are slow like the start of the movie. The narative is left open and the audience should want to watch  the movie to answer questions raised in the trailer.

 

Here is a video I found on the subject of structure of a trailer during my research that explains how to edit a film to make a trailer: