There are 2 different types of trailers, a teaser trailer and a theatrical trailer. A teaser trailer is a small edit played in cinemas and places at the early stages of promotion. It is shorter than a theatrical trailer and is initially used to grasp the audience and tease them so to speak. For example the teaser trailer for the new inbetweeners film gets across the genre and type of film we expect by simply showing the characters telling a few jokes. It hints at the storyline and if people are aware of the programme this is something that will interest them. Also it can reach out to a new audience. A theatrical trailer is also played at cinemas but closer to the release date. Usually within 3-4 weeks. They are also used in campaigns for the film but not very often as air time for a theatrical trailer can be very expensive. The Dark Knight’s theatrical trailer is very powerful as it is a short montage of all good characteristics we expect from an action film. You have the special effects, big names, explosions, car chases and hero villain vibe. A theatrical trailer is used to reassure the audience that they will love it.
Trailers aim to create a word-of-mouth hype as they build up anticipation amongst the film world. By reaching a large audience they are very powerful in terms of the media and they can enlighten people as to different types of film. Trailers are targeted directly at specific audiences to get the most out of the production, for example The Dark Night is target at comic enthusiasts, teens and anyone with an interest in the past batman films. This helps to generate success with the film. If it was directed and advertised on a daytime television programme, they hype about it would be limited as many watchers would simply show no interest. So then the promoters turn to cinema, film conventions, specialist magazines and general billboard adverts.
Trailers also have some conventions, certain things we as the audience will expect to see from a future blockbuster. This is things such as: The best bits, we expect to see a main talking point from the film, if it is a comedy like Inbetweeners we will see a main joke or catchphrase that we expect to take off and become common. They tease us by showing snippets and some clips which we can’t quite figure out, they do this as a sort of cliff-hanger effect which gets us hooked ad want to watch the film in order to figure out what is now bugging us in our head. One liners are common feature, particularly between the big names as are the dramatic scenes these usually take place in. the camera angles used will be very intimate with the characters in order to make us feel involved and the voiceover will narrate over that to make sure we stay on track with our thought. Sometimes the voiceovers will be dialogue from the film which is another interesting aspect of a trailer, something different which you won’t get to see in the original. Music is a vital addition to a trailer. It can set the atmosphere, manipulate the audience’s emotion and help the flow of the visual aspect. Another feature which makes the trailer stick in your head is the fact that they show the title at the very end. As you watch the actual trailer you build up an image and have an idea what it might be, when it tells you what it is it sticks in your head more as it required thought. The climax the trailer builds helps aid this, but it will never reveal the actual climax of the story.
Other things we can expect from a trailer include a variety of shots, film specify dialogue, titles at the end, famous characters, comedic shots more upbeat than horror for example and certain films have certain traits. Action films such as Die Hard will use darker colours to set the mood and feel, they will be heavily dependent on action sequences and effects from fire to car chases and they will have an element of threat, destruction and danger.
Promotion plays a big part in the success of film trailers and it takes place in many different forms. Trailers are the main way but along with this there are film posters, billboard posters, standees and simple cardboard displays you see around shopping centres and in leisure centres. Other companies and types of retail can boost promotion of films by putting on special deals, such as 2 for 1 cinema tickets with orange Wednesday, meal vouchers from McDonalds and Facebook deals.
TV and radio also have a big part to play as they are the main distributors of advertising. Films such as the Blair witch Project conducted hardly any promotion neither did the first twilight, but word of mouth and books allowed these films to gross millions in profit. Another advantage of film and radio is that it provides us with talking points when we are in groups, if this then become about films it then becomes free advertising and promotion, it also spreads very quickly as the film industry is a fast moving environment. TV also broadcasts entertaining features such as interviews and exclusive clips which makes viewers feel special and obliged to take an interest in the film. Usually this works as it becomes the Fashionable thing to do. The internet is extremely powerful as it is so modern, so quick and can reach such a large audience virally. Inbetweeners received lots of promotion through Facebook as it started a group and got the audience involved through giveaways, competitions and exclusive snippets. Certain websites such as imdb will allow you to get a detailed overview of what to expect and tell you that little bit more about the film. This also helps create a cult following of true fans which adds to the anticipation of the film, making sure it lives up to its expectations in its all important first week.
Horizontal integration is a method use to distribute a particular production through many forms of media in many industries. It involves T.V, radio, magazines, games, newspaper, podcasts etc. For example the Spiderman film can be distributed as a film, made into a game, have its own merchandise or have its own board game. This is very powerful and beneficial in terms of things such as advertising. For example, a newspaper company will not only print an article in an actual paper, but could post it online which allows it to become viral. This is called synergy when films can promote themselves through games and posters. Vertical integration is more focused on the distribution of the film, ‘Lock, Stock’ is distributed by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Gramercy Pictures which would be distributors we would look into or approach with our own film.
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