M3 Meeting codes and conventions

MY TV TRAILER AND HOW IS ADHERES TO CODES AND CONVENTIONS

Conventions: The commonly accepted way of doing things. Conventions are expected ways in which codes are organised in a product. These can and most often will be genre and type-of-product specific.

Codes: Signs within a product that an audience can recognise and find meaning in. These can be symbolic (allude to meanings without specifics), technical, codes created through the way equipment is used to produce a product and written (language used, dialogue).

Convention 1: Montage of clips:

Official industry TV trailer

MY TV Trailer

Some conventions of TV trailers are that they include a variety of clips from the show within the trailer to draw the audience in. In the trailer above which is an industry standard trailer from Netflix, they do use a variety of shots of different locations to allude to different plot points and characters. To make sure my trailer matched these conventions, I made sure to use a variety of clips as well from different locations to give my potential audience an idea of what to expect.

Convention 2: Voiceovers

TV SHOW

 

MINE

As per the convention that Tv trailers must have voiceovers, (as shown in the Netflix trailer above) my tv show had a voiceover at the end to tell the audience where and when to watch the show. Including a voiceover is a technical code of TV trailers so to conform to this expected part of the genre, I included a voiceover at the end. 

Another part of the technical code of voiceovers is that they divulge information about where and when to watch it typically at the end of the show. As you can see from my trailer, I did the same and therefore have conformed to this technical convention. They could be put at the end because for TV, most people watch the entire thing, whereas on social media for example, these are typically put at the beginning in case the viewer loses interest.

Convention 3: Fade In/Out

TV SHOW

MINE

Another technical convention of TV shows is that they use fade in and outs to seamlessly integrate scenes together and present them as an overarching narrative instead of different unrelated scenes put together. 

As my TV show was a crime mystery drama, I decided to use less fades between my clips, opting for cuts instead. However, to make sure it looked similar to industry standard products which used fades, (went with expected conventions), I used them to fade my ident in and out. I believe doing this makes the overall product look stylish and professional. 

Convention 4: Text on Screen

TV SHOW

MINE

As you can see, I used text on screen for the hashtag #FaceThePast at the ending of my trailer. I purposefully chose to put this at the end along with my voiceover so that the audience can see how to follow alongside the show at home. Typically, text on screen is used to engage the audience by giving them something else to look at. It is used to hook the audience and maintain their attention. 

By using these, I am conforming to the technical code often used in TV trailers. Therefore, my finished product is up to industry standard. 

Convention 5: Dialogue from the show

TV SHOW

MINE

I used dialogue to fit the conventions of the drama genre as these shows wouldn’t be able to exist or engage an audience without excessive use of dialogue and exposition from the characters to create the ‘drama’ and ‘conflict’. 

I adhered to the technical conventions of the genre as well by putting dialogue straight from my TV show into my trailer as well as selecting a variety of dialogue from throughout my show to give the audience a selection of what to expect from the narrative chronologically without giving too much away.

Convention 6: Music

TV SHOW

MINE

The technical code of: using music within my trailer. I sourced copyright free music from freesound.com and sound effects throughout my trailer to keep the audiences attention while watching (which is what music is normally used to do). 

I also maintained the TV Drama Trailer convention of using building music with beat heavy ending. This is to keep the audience engaged and invested within the story as it mirrors the building plot throughout the episodes. The use of music is in itself a genre convention of TV trailers as you can see from the Netflix one (that similarly uses building music). Me doing this shows that I am looking and matching the codes and conventions.

CODES

TECHNICAL CODES

During the editing process, as I’ve mentioned, I used jump cuts to stitch the clips together to add to the drama genre of the TV show as well as using the music as a template to transition between them on the beats of the music. If there is a hard cut, the show presents itself as more intense whereas fades are a softer approach. This should explain why I opted for more hard cuts than fades although fades are more often in the genre.

I opted to use close up shots of different actions such as a character (dressed in black to match the expectations of a crime drama) cocking a gun or a character opening a door. By not giving things away by using these close up shots, this could lure more of the target audience into watching my show. Additionally, it conforms to the crime/drama conventions the audience expects to see. I used match cuts throughout my trailer along with a continuous zoom in on the main character which I separated into segments and input throughout the trailer to further the interest in what could have got that character so introspective. 

I used high angles aiming to imitate a POV shot of the criminal character to portray the main ‘body switching’ aspect of my show subtly whilst not giving much away. I added a darker effect during the editing process as I was only able to shoot my scenes during the day time due to Covid regulations. This darker effect adds intrigue and mystery into my trailer which appeals to my genre. 

The backing music builds in volume through my trailer as the scenes get faster. I believe this highlights the frantic nature of my TV show and brings attention to my show, telling the audience there’s more than meets the eye.

My TV trailer was an industry standard 1920x1080 with 48kHz stereo sound.

SYMBOLIC CODES

 My main filming locations were a large open field and the front of a house. The house is essential to my TV trailer as it is the main location that kicks off the plot and the time loop. It represents the main conflict of my show and acts as a catalyst for all the events that follow it. 

Having the house as the main focus was important as houses are normally thought of as places of security and safety whereas framing it as the main source of the conflict may interest the audience as it goes against their expectations.

My other footage included a character cocking a gun. Obviously, guns connote violence, fear and disruption as they are often use to defend and hurt other people. Instantly through this association, conflict is introduced into my TV trailer that could get the audience interested. 

The main character in my trailer is exclusively dressed in black and has remained purposefully ambiguous so that everyone from my diverse target audience could relate to the character. The differing sharp cuts between the clips could by symbolic of the disjointed timeline that the character is living through and time discourse as a whole, two main themes of my show.

WRITTEN CODES

I added dialogue that featured within my actual TV show script (dialogue that would be featured if the show was actually made). This way you could hear how each of the characters would sound so the audience might start to relate to them more by seeing them less as characters and more as people. This way the audience is more likely to become invested in the show and therefore keep watching it. 

Adding dialogue gives the audience another thing to engage with other than the visuals which would be perfect for people who are unable to see the visuals (blind or visually impaired people). Featuring dialogue is also an expected convention of TV trailers so I have achieved that as well. 

The voice over acts as a call to action with a formal yet conversational tone to not seem too strict for the target audience. It says where and when to watch my show so the audience know where to find it.