Conventions of an Action Movie Trailer

An action movie trailer is often catergorised by its use of extensive scenes with action qualities in them to appeal more to the target audience. Action movies are usually made by a large production company and include the big name actors and actresses to allow the audience to relate the film to other successful films the actors and actresses have been in. An action movie usually has some sort of sub-plot to help emphasise the storyline and also relate to a larger amount of people, this usually revolves a round romance as where the character eventually wins their desired love. The action movie genre is often used alongside another genre this could be:

• sci-fi
• romance
• adventure
• thriller
• comedy

The action genre also uses a wide array of camera shots and angles to portray the necessary storyline and practical effects to appeal to the audience and entice them into watching the film. The main character is often portrayed as a dominant and brave character whom always survives the impossible, whilst the majority of action movie heroes are usually male which may play into the idea of a masculine stereotype whom the protagonist must save the supposed 'damsel in distress' and so the trailer would portray this. The trailer normally includes some sort of large stunt scene as to show the action movie qualities whilst also highlighting the major plot of the movie. The characters whom are largely used in the trailer is the protagonist, love interest and some sort of friend whom normally integrates a comedic style to the movie trailer. Various camera shots are used throughout the trailer as they are used to make the action sequences more effective and also add emphasis on what the characters are doing, this includes:

• birds-eye view, usually in the establishing shot
• panning shot in the action scenes when vehicles are involved
• zooming shot
• high/low angle shot depending on the character shown
• shot-reverse shot when dialogue is used

One of the main features of an action movie trailer is to entice the audience into watching the film and so they would incorporate the necessary action scenes into the film. This would normally involve some sort of practical effects or cgi to add a sense of difference into the trailer so that it has something unique compared to other action movies. These scenes are usually used alongside a brief pause from the action to help us empathise with the character, whilst the end of the action sequence usually ends with a fade to black to add effect on the effects shown.