Film Trailer

What is its purpose?
- The film's calling card
Trailer's consist of a series of carefully selected shots from the film being advertised
-The purpose of the trailer is to attract an audience to the film/ to encourage then to watch the film
- To inform/ encourage/ persuade the target audience of the film - AIDA (to make people aware, to create interest, to crate a desire to see the film and then to take action and go and see the film)
- Film trailer clips are usually drawn from the most exciting, funny, or important parts of the film
- Trailers tend to be part of a marketing campaign which has many other elements to it
- STUDENT MISTAKE - TRAILERS TEND TO LOOK LIKE OPENING SEQUENCES

What other ways are film companies marketing their films?
- Posters
- On cinema sites
- Premiere - media coverage
- On TV shows - chat shows - world tours
- Merchandise - toys - McDonalds
- Apps
- 'leaked' previews - internet
- Behind the scene shots
- Cinemas - cardboard cut outs
                 - food container designs
 - Facebook/ Twitter
- Teaser trailers - series of small trailers that come out before the actual trailer
- Adverts
- Viral video
- Fake political campaign
- Magazines/ newspapers
- Soundtracks
- Themes events
- Billboards
- Flash mobs
- Iron Man really did this

What would you expect to find in a trailer?
- Background music - fast paced to represent a thriller or soft and slow for a rom-com
- Short clips of the film itself
- Introduction to the characters - mainly in rom-coms
- Horror - stars normal, then slowly builds up the tension with weird things
- Titles and release dates, film companies, directors, artists included on the soundtracks and actors
- Exciting or funny scenes - grab the audience, but not give anything away
- Voice over
- Introduction to the narrative, then include montages
- Quotes from the media
- Music/ sound effects
- Classification - ratings
- Quick cuts and edits; faced paces


Most trailers have a three-act structure similar to a similar feature-length film
- Start with a beginning (act 1) -
- Middle (act 2) - drives story further - ends with a dramatic climax
- Act 3 - signiture music - consists of a visual montage of powerful and emotional moments

Todrov Narrative Theory uses this

Tell the story of a movie in a highly condensed fashion must have maximum appeal

Interesting Facts
Originally viewed at the end, but people walked out at the end - now shown at the beginning
- 10 billion trailers viewed online - 08