Codes and Conventions of Trailers

The trailer for the 2007 American supernatural horror film known as 'Paranormal Activity' features numerous codes and conventions that successfully advertises the film. Trailers for all films have the similar concept as theatrical posters, they are designed to tease the audience into wanting to eventually attend a screening of the film when it is released in the cinemas. 

Like all trailers, the companies behind the production and distribution of the film are shown at the beginning, in this case; Paramount Pictures. Since this is a horror film, the reaction from the audience is key in showing the extent of fear that this film has to offer. Because of this, the makers of the film have included cameras inside one of the first screenings of the film before its initial release, showing the reactions of the audience. Throughout the rest of the trailer, various scenes that are regarded disturbing and frightening are shown, backing up the multiple comments and quotes from reviews published by popular film sources.