What is a Trailer?

Codes and Conventions of Film trailers

-The music and soundtrack of the film- this will help to show the genre of the film and may serve as a Unique Selling Point (USP), if a song by a contemporary artist or band is used. 

-A montage of key scenes to give some idea of plot, showing a range of camera shots and camera movement to make the film look dynamic and appealing to the audience.

-Even if scenes are shown in the wrong order the match-on-action and pace is kept to make sure the audience stays interested and does not get time to think too much about each scene. As time to think may give the audience time to think that they do not wish to see the film.

-The release date of the film, this is so audiences can think about arranging to go see the film, when I'm at the cinemas with a group of friends and see a good trailer we arrange to go see it when it is released.

-The USP of the film needs to be included, particularly if it is a sequel- this is so the audience know that the film will not be "more of the same"

-Voice Over/Narration/Copy is used to connect sequences and give ideas again to the narrative and genre of the film.

-The genre will be portrayed through a variety of means: narration, copy, voice over, imagery, key scenes used.

-The production credits are usually shown at the beginning of the trailer, so the audience can see whether the film is independent, hollywood, or independent funded by a hollywood company.

-The cast or crew can be included and may serve as a USP- if members of the demographic like a particular Director or Actor.

-If the genre of the film is fantasy, special effects are very important when marketing, they must be shown to be realistic and exciting; nobody would want to see a film that does not look realistic, it takes away from the quality and believability of the film.

-In trailers released closer towards the planned release of the film, age-ratings will be included- this can also help to show the genre of the film and if a horror film has a low age-rating the demographic may be more disinclined to go see it on the premise that it will be less scary. 

-In some trailers (horror in particular) include reaction shots of audiences, this is to showcase how scary the film is without showing too much of the film. An example of this would be one of the trailers for The Woman in Black:

-Reviews and awards may be also shown in trailers- this encourages other potential audiences to go and see it if it has already won awards. 

-The title of the film is usually shown at the end of the trailer so it stays in the audience's minds and the website is usually also shown at the end for the same reason

-A tagline for the film may me be shown at the end of the trailer with the title or somewhere else in the trailer like the beginning, the tagline is short and memorable and can also help audiences to remember the film and the trailer.

There are three main types of film trailer, they are designed to advertise and promote the film as well as build a following:

The Teaser Trailer 

  Usually released months or even up to a year in advance this is a short trailer designed to 'tease' the prospective audience and give them a taste as to the genre of the upcoming film. Whilst also giving them the basic information such as release dates, production company, director (other cast and crew) and may give a brief outline to the narrative of the film. By releasing the Teaser Trailer so early this gives chance for a following of the film to build up.

A Teaser Trailer contains basic information such as the time of release, this can be vague such as "Summer 2013" or a precise date. If the film is part of series or is a Comic book film, this can make it easier for a teaser trailer to be marketed using iconography- For the Dark Knight Rises (Dir. Christopher Nolan) there was a Teaser Trailer that lasted only a few seconds of the Batman symbol accompanied by the tagline of the film which was "A Fire will Rise".

The "Carrie" trailer features the institution logos of the company that produced the film, as well as the author Stephen King who wrote the original book. There is a continuous shot of the burnt and wrecked town that leads to a blood-soaked Carrie in her prom dress. This is accompanied by non-diagetic narration of different characters as well as an unnerving non-diagetic song. This is a remake so people will recognise the name Carrie and fans of Stephen King will be drawn to the trailer and thus- the film. The narration, music and imagery also leads the audience to know that the film is a horror genre and so the audience will be of an older demographic.

The film had another form of marketing, a coffee shop prank was made and filmed- then posted virally on YouTube. This was a teaser to audiences that a remake of Carrie would be coming soon. This links the trailer to the viral marketing. At the end of a trailer a strobe effect is used showing the character a blood-soaked Carrie. The film contains a hashtag link for Twitter and also the release date, again linking viral marketing and trailers.

Main Theatrical Trailer

Usually shown after the Teaser Trailer; the Main Theatrical Trailer builds on the narrative points, usually using a montage of around 7-9 key scenes- but not necessarily in the right order. The Main Theatrical also includes more information such as the cast and crew (and also awards they have won or previous films they have been involved in), reviews from magazines, age-rating, genre. A voice-over is commonly used so the audience know what to expect when seeing the film, a narration from one of the characters may be used. such as the Main Theatrical Trailer for Snow White and the Huntsman (2012 dir. Rupert Sanders) the Villain narrates the trailer but there is no such narration in the film itself. The Main Theatrical trailer may include more than one song or element of the soundtrack to show more of the genre to the audience. Or there may be a song used in the trailer by a contemporary artist as a USP for the film. Trailers may now include links to social media such as Twitter or Facebook, so people can be virally updated with information about the film's release.

The trailer for Snow White and the Huntsman uses the iconography of previous films made of the fairy-tale, such as the apple and the "mirror, mirror" line. but there are clearly some new concepts about this film, which are shown in the trailer, such as the way the mirror works and the magic of the Queen. This is to show the audience that this film is very dark and gothic compared to other films about the same story. For example the film Mirror, Mirror (2012) was released at a similar time, but took a more comedic approach to the story. The audience is also told through copy that it has been made by the producers of Alice in Wonderland (2010), this is so the audience who enjoyed that film will be led into thinking that they will also enjoy this one.

This film also released a 5 minute preview- this was to give the audience another reminder of the films release and also to encourage anyone who had escaped earlier marketing of the film.

The preview builds on imagery and mood made by the trailers and posters, by linking them altogether the audience will judge the film they are considering seeing by the genre of gothic fairytale/fantasy

 

Short Theatrical Trailer

  This is a shortened version of the Main Theatrical trailer and is shown after the films release to encourage any other potential audience members to go and see the film. The Short Theatrical will include a more brief overview of the narrative and the genre. The genre and narrative will probably be well known after the release due to word-of-mouth (the most effective way of a film being marketed). There may be more reviews included to show how good the film is to the potential audience. Or the awards that the Cast or Crew have won from previous films. The tagline may be coupled with the title of the film to make sure that it stands out from films of similar genre.

This Trailer contains imagery from the films of the same series The Lord of the Rings, into a condensed trailer. As a very short trailer it is designed to remind audiences that they can book tickets to the "movie event of the year". Whilst also reminding them it has the same director of the other films in the series: Peter Jackson.