What Makes a Successful Film Trailer?

What makes a successful film trailer from lstafford97

The Avengers film trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOrNdBpGMv8

Inception film trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9337-QZuGc

Film Trailers

Trailers

Trailers are one of the most important ways to market and advertise films in the media. They enable a film to be advertised to a wide audience in a short space of time. Often a lot of money is put into making trailers to ensure the quality of the trailer is of a high standard to lure the audience in.

Types of Trailer

There are three different types of trailer:

• Theatrical trailers - These are trailers shown in the cinema before the screening of a film. They are often the longest type of trailer and can be around 2 -3 minutes long. They are extended versions of the teaser trailer where more of the film can be seen with a bit more of the plot given away.
• Teaser Trailer - This is the shortest version of a trailer and will often be shown on TV and the internet. This gives audiences a small segment of the film not giving much away. These are used quite far ahead of the release date of the film. These leave audiences with a sense of mystery about the film as not much is given away, hence the name 'teaser'.
• DVD Trailer - This is released leading up to the release of the film on DVD. They are less important as the film will have most likely already been released in the cinema. The sole purpose of these trailers is to advertise the DVD to a wide audience.

Codes and Conventions

The codes and conventions of film trailers are what makes them unique. The majority of trailers will all have the same or similar codes and conventions and will use them to appeal to the audience. However some films will stray away from using the normal codes and conventions for their trailer but this is only if they are well known and already have a very strong fan base. Often sequels of already critically acclaimed films stay away from the norms in a trailer because of the fan base already built.

Example:

The shining trailer is an example of not conforming to the norms and codes and conventions of film trailers. This film trailer uses a static camera filming the same scene with rolling credits of the makers and stars of the film. There is no movement until the blood flows through and submerges the room. The only sound is non-diegetic music which is repeated throughout. All of the components to this film trailer make it more enjoyable for the audience. The initial shock of the trailer will be unexpected by the audience making them want to continue watching it. Also none of the film plot if given away so the trailer presents a strong sense of mystery and enigma. This teases the audience as they will only know about the film by watching it. I think this is a good way to use simple effects and still create a very strong impact. Although it is so simple it would still be hard for the director to make this so effective.

Short Film: Butterface

Butterface
Mise-en-scene

• view from a moving train - passes by buildings, cars, houses etc. - through scratched window showing the normality or the situation and making it relatable - production company and film title also shown
• inside of normal train - relatable for audience
• camera opposite man and woman sitting next to each other
• man wearing dark shirt/woman wearing oink scarf - showing differences between them
• man goes to bathroom - looking into scratched mirror - basic props that would be seen in everyday life
• woman standing outside train on bare platform

Sound

• constant sound of train moving - diegetic
• man's voice over - as if the man is speaking his thoughts while on the train - thinking about the woman next to him
• doubtful/dull tone in his voice - gives indications to his personality

Lighting

• Natural lighting from window - grey/dull because of weather
• little lighting on train - mostly form windows
• bathroom has darker lighting - contrast in settings from when the man is with the woman and when he is alone

Camera Shots

• point of view shot form opposite the woman and man - medium close up shot - makes the audience feel part of the film
• close up of woman when she is looking out the window - showing the focus of the man's thoughts on her - camera then pans across to look out of the window as well
• point of view shot from man's perspective looking into mirror in bathroom
• camera focuses on the lipstick mark left on the window by the woman - this leaves the audience with an enigma of what would've happened if the man had spoken to the woman
  

Narrative

• man sitting train with pretty woman next to him
• he wants to make a move and speak to her but is too scared
• he goes to bathroom and when he comes back she is gone and is now standing on platform outside waving to him
• then realises the lipstick mark left on the window by the woman showing mutual attraction - leaving the audience with the question of what would've happened between them?

Short Film: Room 8

Room 8
Mise-en-scene

• Set in a prison with few props and a very bare cell - bed and desk is all that can be seen
• Dull costume - dark coloured uniform - emphasises the setting of a prison type of place
• Men seem unclean/dirty and bruised - shows nature of place it is set - dangerous

Sound

• Foreign language spoken at beginning - changes to English between two men in cell
• Eerie diegetic sounds throughout - creaking floorboard and wind - sets a creepy and mysterious tone making the audience on edge
• Non-diegetic music comes in - builds as the characters emotions build - adds eerie tone showing the mystery of what will happen
• Music continues getting louder until prisoner is caught after trying to escape  - suddenly slows down dramatically and gets quieter
• Goes back to foreign language at end as the man tells guards to send the next man in

Lighting

• Lighter outside cell but darker inside, this can be seen from window - shows the idea of being trapped in there
• Low key lighting - dark and dull
• shadowing is used to create suspense with audience and they mystery of what the man is doing with the match boxes

Camera Shots

• Medium/medium close up shots used when the men are in conversation
• Zoom in on man's face when dramatic point occurs emphasising his shocked expression
• Bird's eye view shot of drawer the man is putting the match box in as the audience are shown many other match boxes highlighting that this happens a lot and this adds more mystery because the audience don't know why he does this adding enigma at the end

Narrative

• Story shows a prison that captures people run by a man in the cell
• Confusing concept of space as they appear to be life size but then one man becomes tiny as he climbs out of the box/room
• Man in cell then captures the tiny man in a match box and puts him in a draw along with many other match boxes

Short Film: The Ride

The Ride
Mise-en-scene

• Typical shops with car park outside, white/old car
• Bare landscape, not very busy
• Setting of a small town
• Costume - normal, day to day clothing - trousers and denim jacket/cardigan and top - man changes, wears balaclava at end

Sound

• At beginning there is no dialogue - just diegetic sound can be heard, road/traffic/radio
• Dialogue begins with woman and man - Australian accents - conversations indicates there is history between them
• Woman starts screaming when men in balaclavas get into car - dramatic change from the conversation previously with the man on his own

Lighting

• Washed out colour with bright day light from bleak sky
• Lighting doesn't indicate any drama so it is unexpected when the drama unfolds at the end
• This also shows a contrast between the lighting and plot of the film

Camera Shots

• Long shots near beginning enable audience to familiarise themselves with setting
• Medium close up shots in the car when a character is talking
• Frequent use of reverse shots in the conversation with the man and woman
• Extreme long shot used at end as car is driving away - shows the drama was compacted into the car only and outside of the car everything appears normal

Narrative

• Story of a couple, who have broken up, meeting again while the man is waiting for his friends
• They get talking and the man offers the woman a lift home
• Then his friends get into the cra wearing balaclavas and holding bags from what looks to be a robbery and the man drives off

Todorov's Theory

Narrative Theory
Todorov produced a theory explaining the narrative of a film. He stated that there are different stages which the narrative goes through; equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium. He also mentioned several techniques that can be seen used in films:
Mode of Address - How the audience is addressed through the film. This may be through direct address/dialogue, voice over or written narrative.
Enigma - Presenting a puzzle that needs to be solved and so teasing the audience.
Action Code - Narrative device where a resolution is produced through action.
Linear Narrative - Plot that moves forward in a straight line with no flashbacks or discretion.
Parallel Action - Cutting between two scenes so they are seen as happening at the same time.
Anti-narrative - When there is a deliberate disruption to the narrative flow to achieve a particular effect, this could be through the repetition of images or disruption of a chronological sequence of events.

Examples in a Short Film: The Last Man On Earth
The short film 'The Last Man On Earth' shows some of the qualities mentioned in Todorov's theory.

At this point in the film there is a mode of address seen through the eye contact made by the character. The audience can empathise here and feel a deeper connection with the character. The character's eyes show sorrow and despair which makes the audience feel this also because of the eye contact.

Here there is a use of enigma in the short film where the audience are teased. The phone rings which makes us think the man is not alone on Earth. But the audience are teased as the man doesn't answer the phone so we don't find out if he is the last man on earth or not.

The short film also has a linear narrative running through it. The plot flows throughout and isn't disrupted by any other narrative. The story of this man's last few moments on Earth are told as he thinks he is the only person left. then his phone rings but it's already too late as he has already taken pills to kill himself.

Film Trailer: The Impossible

I have chosen 'The Impossible' film trailer to start my research into film trailers. I decided to use this trailer as I had seen it before and it made me watch the film which I thought was really good. The trailer begins with emotive non-diegetic sound in the form of music, the tune played by the piano is fast paced which establishes a dramatic tone to the trailer but as only one instrument is used it is shown in a simple way. There is some diegetic sound, as the music plays, of conversation in the film, this portrays the normal family relationships that are shown in the beginning of the trailer. The sudden stop to all sound draws the audience in with a sense of dramatic mystery. At this point a mixture of non-diegetic music and diegetic dialogue and sound from the film are used together. The music is mostly a piano that provides an emotive tone throughout which makes the audience empathise. The dialogue gives the audience snippets of the narrative of the film without revealing too much information. There is a lot of editing and camera work that has been used to create an effect on the audience. A bird's eye view shot shows a good overview of the most dramatic part of the trailer, when the tsunami hits, this instantly catches the audience's attention. At the scene of the dad walking down the road at night the focus of the camera is used to add importance to this shot as it shows us what has happened after the drama. Slow motion is also used at another point which gives the scene a higher impact on the audience. Throughout the trailer clips from the film are dispersed between black screens with text on. The typography is a very simple white font making it easy for audiences to read. This provides more information for the audience and also tells them that the film is based on a true story which would lead to them having stronger emotions towards the film. Overall I think the trailer is very emotive with its strong use of different conventions.

Introduction to Task

The task that I have been asked to do is to create a promotional package for a new film including a trailer along with two of the following three options:

• a website homepage for the film
• a film magazine front cover, featuring the film
• a poster for the film