Film Trailer Terminology

There is a lot of terminology used within film trailers, in this post I will be going over this terminology.

Music: The music that is used within a film trailer is of utmost importance, this is because the music is one of the main tools that can be used to set the atmosphere within the trailer. The music that is used with very dramatically between genres as a Horror film will need a significantly different piece than an action film to set the scene. Lastly a producer can either have a new score produced specifically for a film meaning that the music is bespoke and will suit the trailers needs very well, or they can use an actual piece of music that has been written by someone else, this will be quite expensive as they would have to get the rights to use the music in their trailer which is not cheap to do.

Voice Over: A voice over is once again like the music within a film trailer very important to set the scene and atmosphere of it. This can be done by giving information on the film during the trailer and also giving release information at the end. The voice of the voice over itself can be used to set the scene as a Horror film will focus on more of a dark character to voice it to help set the atmosphere of the film.

Cast Run: The cast run is a list of actresses and actors names that are shown throughout the films trailer. This is done using the big names of the movie to help create the hype and raise awareness of the film through the use of the main stars.

Billing Block: The billing block is mainly used at the bottom of a films poster and includes all of the people who played some of the major roles within the making of the film.

Ident: The Ident is the part of the trailer that shows the production company that was involved in making the film trailer. E.g. Warner Brothers and Lionsgate.

Video Resolution: The resolution of the films trailer is in most cases the same as the resolution of the actual film. E.g. 35mm Reel / Digital Formats. But thanks to the increase of viewing film trailers on the internet most trailers are being posted onto video sharing sites such as Youtube to be viewed in 1080P resolution.

Sound Mixing: Most of the modern film trailers will be using the Dolby Digital Sound Format. This is so that they can use the the sound effects to the greatest potential, helping to create atmosphere within scenes of importance within the trailer.