TRAILERS

Brooke Rayner

Purpose of a trailerTrailers are used to promote a film that is soon to be exhibited in a cinema. The trailer of a film will allow audiences to grasp the basic concept of the film without giving too much of the plot away; the trailer is supposed to entice but ensure the consumer will still go to the cinema and watch it. Trailers are shown before films but can also be accessed on the Internet. Movie trailers are so popular that the 10 billion videos watched online annually, trailers are ranked third over news and user-created videos.

Where did trailerscome from?

The term ‘trailer’ comes from the advertisements originally being screened at the end of the film’s screening. That didn’t last very long though due to the audience tending to leave the cinema straight after the film ended and not waiting to see the trailers; but the name stuck.

(Ref - http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2270/why-are-they-called-trailers-if-theyre-shown-em-before-em-the-movie)

Definition of a trailer 1Trailers are made up of specifically selected shots from the feature film being promoted. The extracts chosen are usually from the most exciting parts of the film because the purpose of the trailer is to attract an audience. The extracts will also usually be abbreviated form so to avoid spoilers; scenes may also be in a different order to how they are in the film.

Definition of a trailer 2The maximum length of a trailer is less than two and a half minutes long. Each distributor or studio is allowed to exceed this time limit once a year. Some trailers use ‘special shoot’ footage; this is material that has been specifically created for advertising purposes and does not actually appear in the film. This type of footage may bring in audiences but it may prove disappointed for them.

Composition of a trailerMost trailers have a three-act structure: beginning (laying out the story), middle (drives the story further and reaches dramatic climax) and end (features strong piece of signature music – like in Sex and the City 2 with a visual montage of key points in the the film. It may also contain a cast run if the stars are noteworthy enough.)

Music of a trailerIn this particular trailer, the soundtrack consists only of two songs but it makes a powerful impact because of the volume and the muting of the songs at key points of the trailer.

The Back-Up Plan – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAyzwSZ2o48

Inspiration and favouritesTwo ideas I currently have for my film trailer have been inspired by the following trailers either because they are of a similar concept or have good use of ideas and editing

Cloverfield - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvNkGm8mxiM

Sex and the City 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5-aOpznm44