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| - Somewhere in a dark lab under the streets of Chicago, history was being made.
- In a World... where movie trailers and common phrases collide... one article... describes this practice. That article... is this one. There are certain conventions when creating movie trailers; these differ depending on whether the trailer is for comedy or for drama. Usually, you can tell which kind you're going to get depending on the first few voice-over lines of the trailer; if it starts with "In a World" or no voiceover whatsoever, you can expect drama, especially Speculative Fiction. However, if it begins with cheery music, it's going to be a comedy, even if the soundtrack turns sour as the narrator discusses the plot's primary conflict. In both cases, the voiceover is Always Male.
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| abstract
| - In a World... where movie trailers and common phrases collide... one article... describes this practice. That article... is this one. There are certain conventions when creating movie trailers; these differ depending on whether the trailer is for comedy or for drama. Usually, you can tell which kind you're going to get depending on the first few voice-over lines of the trailer; if it starts with "In a World" or no voiceover whatsoever, you can expect drama, especially Speculative Fiction. However, if it begins with cheery music, it's going to be a comedy, even if the soundtrack turns sour as the narrator discusses the plot's primary conflict. In both cases, the voiceover is Always Male. These archetypes are increasingly becoming Subverted Trope and may even be leaning toward being discredited. The trailer for Comedian does a good job of showing how certain styles of trailer-talk do not mix. See They Fight Crime for this kind of plot-pitching used for Television. Named for a line commonly attributed to "That Guy from the Movies", the late Don LaFontaine, who very likely single-handedly brought this trope into being. Common Dramatic Elements, in order:
* "In a World [Where]"
* And its related forms, "In a Land", "In a Time", etc.
* Or possibly a land before time
* Often (immediately) followed with "...where X and Y collide"
* "When your life is no longer your own"
* "One man/woman/boy/girl [must]"
* "Will change the world"
* "Will embark on a journey"
* "Things are about to get..."
* Or: "...until NOW".
* "A hero will rise"
* Often followed by "... and an Empire will fall."
* Or the other way, "An Empire/Civilization will fall... and a Hero will rise."
* Darker lighting, tends to feature very few speaking portions of the film
* Taglines said/shown one word at a time, interspersed with kickass clips.
* Monologue from the lead character will summarize their struggles.
* It's been 42 Days since...
* I keep on running...
* But I can't...
* "One Woman's Journey"
* "from Milan to Minsk..."
* An increasingly frantic soundtrack for action/adventure movies, abruptly silencing for a character to make an ironic remark, then finishing with one last BUM-BUM-BUM BUMM!!!
* A fairly recent addition has been the use of whooshes (as in sound effects) and plenty of them, usually punctuating cuts from scene to scene or scenery pans. Expect on occasion a boom hit to mix things up.
* Chanting or cheering. Especially common for sports movies.
* Montage increases in speed as the trailer progresses, until what you get is a succession of one-second shots, often followed by a Fade to Black, and then the movie title.
* Whatever the movie's actual soundtrack is, the trailer's own soundtrack will be Carmina Burana, Lux Aeterna or scratchy, tension-filled electronic music.
* Unless it's a Sequel, in which case it will usually use the first film's soundtrack.
* Or a guitar-heavy rock song that doesn't appear on the soundtrack playing over action-packed, fast-cut footage from the movie. This is usually done in TV commercials for the the movie instead of the full trailer.
* A popular choice in films made since 2004 has been the track "Hello Zepp" from the Saw soundtrack. You'll know it when you hear it.
* In the six Saw sequels since then, perchance?
* Paramount/Columbia/Whatever Pictures [proudly] presents...
* When is the film coming? It's usually Coming soon...
* Or it is Now in theaters [everywhere].
* Or possibly
* Often finished with one final tagline and possibly a split-second shot of the titular monster/hero.
* "....and this time, it's serious Business/personal...." Common Comedic Elements:
* "Meet [Character's Name]!"
* "[Character's Name] was just an average [name of profession/title]"
* "...until, one day..."
* More footage of the actual film, almost to Trailers Always Spoil levels.
* Any of the Dramatic Elements used in a way that is subverted.
* The Record Needle Scratch.
* The Overly Long Gag has become surprisingly common, too. Austin Powers might have had something to do with it...
* "Walkin' On Sunshine" is frequently used for the music. Common for both:
* "(Coming) this year/summer/fall/winter/soon (to a (movie) theatre near you)"
* This has since been condensed to simply 'This summer/fall/July/whathaveyou'; in particularly poisonous cases, this is followed several cuts later by an exhortation for the audience to PUNCH CRIME or otherwise do something that the characters in the film will be doing (rather than, more sincerely, exhorting them to purchase a ticket and see their film) They may also be asked to go on an adventure "beyond imagination", or beyond something similar. This was perhaps a fair cop in Zardoz's advertising campaign (well, it was in keeping with the lunatic bombast of the film, at least), but when attributed to the Mummy films, it just looks desperate.
* The trailer often ends in a shot of the movie's title; it may or may not be spoken by the narrator.
* If the title shot isn't the end, there'll be The Stinger with a particularly cool or funny moment from the movie.
* The suggestion that "If you only see one movie this summer/fall/winter/spring, make it..." A Dead Horse Trope now seen only in subversion.
* "All [character, often a child] ever wanted was..."
* "From the creators/producers/director of (movie title) comes a story..."
* Starring [Academy Award winner/nominee] X, [Academy Award winner/nominee] Y, [Academy Award winner/nominee] Z...
* Famous comedian/international action hero/star W1
* And W2, as Fu Manchu/Bunny/The Witch/Dr. Whatever...
* Someone from Rolling Stone/Time/Whatever magazine says it's "Stunning/Awesome/The best film of the year".
* "If you liked (title), you'll love (other title)."
* Sometimes seen in remakes, or sequels of really old moves (Often promising the Duke Nukem effect), Several dark, quiet, or shaky camera shots, followed by a very quick glimpse of something recognizable from the previous film.
* The best example would be the Star Trek movie (2009) teaser, where you couldn't see much, until the last shot showed that it was the Enterprise. Subversions, Parodies, and Lampshade Hanging:
- Somewhere in a dark lab under the streets of Chicago, history was being made.
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