Media Studies: Trailers

A slightly tongue-in-cheek explanation of how to make a movie trailer...

Action

• "In a world ..." before those ironically grandiose E4 continuity announcements, all you needed was a strong, sonorous voiceover to set the tone for any big-budget actioner. Nowadays, you have to be more inventive. Try assembling fake news footage into a glitchy, distorted montage, and be sure to include words like "epidemic", "catastrophic" and "unexplained". The Cloverfield crowd will go apeshit.

• You haven't got much time to introduce your characters, so aim to sum each one up with a single line of stereotypical dialogue. Loose cannon? "I don't take orders from nobody!" Nerdy scientist? "You don't understand! It's simply not possible!" Female character? "I'll wait for you."

• When it comes to music, the old standards – please rise, Carmina Burana – just won't cut it any more. Dubstep is increasingly becoming a viable alternative, with sub-Skrillex warblings lazily plastered over trailers for films as disparate as franchise smash-'em-up Transformers: Dark Of The Moon and second world war race-relations epic Red Tails.

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• Don't give too much away. Offer only brief glimpses of your most impressive CGI set pieces, accompanied by a quick fade-out and that irritating foghorn noise (or "BRRRRRRAHHHHMM" as it's become known) from the Inception soundtrack.

• Single words written massively across the screen are more impactful than whole sentences, so break your tagline up into its component parts and sprinkle them throughout the trailer. It doesn't matter if they're so far apart that nobody can piece together the meaning; chances are, they're not paying attention anyway.

• You don't want to blow your load too quickly, so take a brief pause for thought just before the climax and let one of your characters say something witty. Good luck bettering Jason Statham's timeless words from the new Expendables 2 trailer: "I now pronounce you man and knife."

• Don't forget, the title is the bit you want people to remember. Put aside at least ten seconds at the end for an agonisingly slow reveal.

Comedy

• Chances are you'll be switching between at least five songs during your two-and-a-half minutes on screen, so don't worry too much about each track. Just make sure they're all upbeat, contemporary and by Katy Perry.

• Record scratches are the easiest way of signposting your biggest and best jokes, but sadly overuse has rendered them less effective over time. Luckily, interrupting the music with the sound of someone falling into a dumpster/down a flight of stairs/off a trampoline works just as well.

• If, as is likely, your stars are all middle-aged white men, laying a hip-hop track over the trailer should score you some points with the irony brigade. Avoid the word "nigga", though

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• Improvisation is very hot right now, so don't be afraid to insert a few ad-libbed moments, especially if they relate to contemporary pop culture or anything vaguely sexual.

• With the increasing popularity of so-called Red Band trailers – which allow for more extreme sex, violence and language – there's no longer any need to include your "smart" material. Trust us: a few well timed F-bombs and a misplaced bikini will sell far more tickets than any amount of sophisticated wordplay.

• It can be hard to build dramatic tension when most of your trailer is comprised of jokes, so you might want to consider ending on a physical fight. This will align you with more anarchic Hollywood comedies like The Hangover and Project X, and give you an advantage over your more timid peers.

• In case of indie comedy, follow these rules but be sure to add plenty of Vampire Weekend, Sundance acclaim and Helvetica.

Drama

• A second not soundtracked by emotive piano music is a second wasted, so get that shit down straight away. Pianos are cinematic shorthand for both melancholy and euphoria so they're perfect for any dramatic scenario.

• Feel free to include all your most heavy-handed dialogue in the opening 30 seconds. This clues the audience in to the movie's key themes and messages, and requires very little effort on their part. If you can illustrate said dialogue with shots of light streaming through trees, even better.

• Any mention of the Oscars will grant your film instant credibility. Even the words "Academy Award nominee" are likely to bolster a movie's reputation, which is great news for Jonah Hill's career.

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• If you're lucky enough to have a real-life subject at the centre of your film, you'll want to make a big deal out of it. Avoid the phrase "true story" though; "real events" is much more 2012.

• Certain subjects might not cause a problem for critics, but could hurt your box-office take once the film goes on general release. Trailers for mainstream gay-themed movies like Brokeback Mountain and J Edgar often hide their homosexual leanings behind a veneer of artificial heterosexuality, just like FHM readers.

• When you finally unveil your title, the reveal needs to be stirring, emphatic and – most importantly – in a Serif font. Accept no substitutes.
• Finally, remember to always – and we mean always – put a funny bit at the end. Your audience needs to know that however gut-wrenching your war film/cancer drama/Holocaust epic might be, at least one moment is guaranteed to be chucklesome.

Charlie Lyne, The Guardian, 16 June 2012

Trailer Analysis

Some things you might consider:

· How long is it? Is it a theatrical trailer (approx 1m 30 or longer) or a teaser (1 min approx.)?

· What genre is it? How can you tell?

· Representation: Who? What? Where? When? How? Why? (‘why’ is the meaning for the audience)

· Do studio/production company names appear at any point in the film? If so, when and why?

· Do credits appear at the end? What?

· Is release information given? When? Why that time of year?

· Is there certification information? What would the likely audience be?

· Is there a voiceover(s)? What information does it give and why? What sort of voice is used?

· Is dialogue from the film used? What and why?

· Are you directly addressed by the trailer?

· Is music used? What style? What effect does it create? Does it change?

· What is the editing pace? Does it change?

· Are there graphics or any narrative text? What and why?

· How is a mini-narrative constructed? Is the trailer split up into sections?

· Is film slowed down or sped up? Why?

· Are freeze frames used? Why?

· Are there any noticeable transitions such as fade to black, fade in, dissolve, white flashes etc.

To structure your analysis you could use the following headings:

sound
editing
camerawork
mise-en-scene
genre
representation
audience
institutions

THE PURPOSE OF A TRAILER

What is a marketing campaign and why is it needed?

When a film is released at the cinema it has only a short space of time in which to become a ‘box-office hit’. The marketing campaign plays a vital role in informing the potential audience about the film and in encouraging them to come to the cinema to see it. The company who own the film and loan it to the cinema to show for a period of time are called the distributors, because they distribute the film around the country.

The distributors are keen for the film to be as successful as possible so they create a

marketing campaign which aims to raise awareness of the film and arouse interest. In this way the distributors stand the best chance of making a profit on the film.

What are the major elements of a film marketing campaign? Where would you expect to see each of these? What makes you want to go and see a film? How do you decide which films to see? Why is the trailer important?

The trailer is a powerful weapon in the marketing campaign. Posters are important in

capturing the initial interest of the audience and drawing them into the cinema, but they

cannot convey the excitement and atmosphere of film in the same way as a trailer does. The combination of moving image and sound, both experienced ‘larger than life’ through the advanced equipment of the cinema auditorium, is an exciting experience. In this way, the trailer stirs our emotions and gives us a ‘flavour’ of the film that is impossible through still images alone.

When is the trailer produced?

Most trailers are created and produced at the same time as the film is being edited. Many of the films we see are from the US and the trailers have been created there, hence the use of American vocabulary and accent in the voiceover. On occasion the trailer may be re-cut for the audience of the country in which the film is to be released if for instance the style of humour is different, or they may not be aware that the film is based on a classic book in another language. However, re-cutting the trailer is rare, due to the expense involved. Even though the film will have different release dates in different countries, the same trailer will probably be used. How does the information on the trailer ‘get around’ this?

FUNCTION AND FEATURES OF TRAILERS

What types of trailer are there?

A distribution company may decide to release more than one trailer for a film, particularly if it is a big production with a substantial budget for marketing. A teaser trailer may be cut and played in cinemas in the early stages of the promotional campaign. This will be shorter than the theatrical trailer and, as the name suggests, is designed to ‘tease’ the audience and whet their appetite for more information. A word of mouth campaign will thus be started, as people talk about the film to their friends, and an air of anticipation is created. The teaser trailer will be followed by a theatrical trailer, which usually plays in cinemas three to four weeks before the film is due to be released. Trailers may also be used in TV advertising campaigns, but as air time is expensive, these will be very short cuts of the trailer, designed for impact in as short a space of time as possible.

How are trailers chosen to preview before certain films?

An enjoyable part of the whole cinema experience is watching the trailers that preview the main feature. The exhibitor (cinema manager) uses their marketing knowledge to select trailers aimed at a similar target audience to that of the main film, in the hope that the forthcoming attractions will appeal to them and bring them back at a later date. When they return, the process is repeated and in this way a regular audience is established. Classification is also an important factor in what is shown. Trailers are given a classification in the same way that films are, so a trailer for a 15-certificate film, for example, cannot be played before a PG film. However, sometimes trailers designed for older audiences are cut to make them suitable for younger viewers with the idea that accompanying adults will return to see the film on their own.

Why is it important for a trailer to show us the genre and how is this established?

A trailer aims to give the audience information about the film – what the story is about, who the stars are and what genre or type of film it will be. Genre is important in film marketing because our decision about what to see will partly depend upon whether we enjoyed other similar films. When we view a trailer we are automatically ‘decoding’ the things we see and hear to work out what genre the film is. For instance, if we see dark shadowy figures and hear scary music we recognise that this will be a film of the horror genre. Animated images and bright colours will usually indicate a film for children, a rapid beat to the music means suspense, and so on. We call these recognisable sounds and images conventions of the genre. Occasionally, a film will be a hybrid of more than one genre and then it may take more time for us to decide what it is. This adds to our enjoyment, as our expectations are taken first in one direction, then in another.

Another indication as to the genre of a film is the stars. As a cinema audience we are used to associating certain stars with certain genres, for example Jack Black with comedy. A trailer will always ensure that we are made aware of who the stars are, as this will encourage the audience to see the film and help them recognise the genre.

Whilst the marketing campaign uses genre to gain our interest it must also show us how this new film is different to others in the same genre. The trailer must make clear the USP or Unique Selling Point of each film. The USP might be linked to the genre in that it is an unusual mix – say a musical horror, or a star who usually plays a different role or it might be something distinct like the innovative use of special effects.

What are the features of a trailer?

Trailers are not ‘mini-films’. They are a genre in their own right and have their own set of easily recognisable conventions. Trailers are designed to capture our attention and hold it for a short space of time. They create a mood or atmosphere and heighten our anticipation of what is to come. In some ways watching a trailer is like doing a jigsaw puzzle - we’re given some information as to plot and character and our task is to guess at the missing pieces. The style in which the information is conveyed is often fast-moving and requires our attention one hundred per cent of the time. To watch a film at this pace would be impossible - we could not cope with the input and would ‘switch off’. However, we enjoy the roller coaster effect of a trailer and the mental challenge it presents. Sound is very important in a trailer, particularly the music, which can manipulate our emotions and create a specific atmosphere. The voiceover, a feature of advertising, is used to summarise aspects of the story and emphasise credit information where appropriate. Like every other element of the trailer, the voiceover also looks to promote the film by building our anticipation.

Conventions

Here are some of the more recognisable conventions of film trailers:

they highlight the ‘best bits’ of the film; the very funny, very sad, action-packed, bizarre etc.
they showcase the stars of the film
some visual images barely stay on screen long enough for us to recognise what we are seeing
conversations between characters often consist of one-liners
dramatic camera angles may be chosen to show events or characters
action is interspersed with credits on screen
voiceovers are used to tell the story and give credit information
music plays an important role in creating atmosphere
the title may not appear until the end
the trailer builds to a climax, where it ends

THE FUNCTION OF THE VOICEOVER

The voiceover is one of the most frequently used conventions of a film trailer and has several functions:

It helps us make sense of the narrative by giving us background such as where the action is set, who the characters are etc.
It showcases the stars appearing in the film
It gives us information about important production personnel such as the director and producer and their previous work
It helps to build a sense of anticipation about the film’s release
It reinforces the title of the film
It sets the tone for the film

Here is an example of a straightforward analysis of a trailer: