Looking at all of the different genres made me want to try and create my trailer in any one of them. But I have to consider the options realistic to me and my situation. This being, i have a camera; have to film in an easily accessible location with as many actors as are willing to volunteer. By the time I start filming, it will be winter and quite dark very early.
With these options I have decided to do a sort of psychological thriller teaser trailer.
Knowing this I decided to do more research, this time focusing on that genre of film. Here are 5 teaser trailers of popular Psychological Thrillers. I looked at a lot of these trailers so that I could find out if there was a difference between the different genre of films and whether there are any particular conventions of this genre. They are also good for inspiration; I can take idea's from these trailers for transitions or titles or anything.
The beginning of the clip begins quite straight forward, showing clips of the start of the film. As viewers watch, the trailer becomes more confusing, asking then answering its own questions but leaving most unanswered. It shows fast montage sequences which viewers cant make out and shocks them with some of the clips which contrast with the norm at the start of the trailer. It gives viewers the general idea of the plot, seeming to give away quite a bit whilst really only giving a taste of the film. As the monatge grows quicker toward the end of the trailer, viewers can see it showing scenes from all different parts of the film, not showing them in the correct order, but mixing them together in a confusing pattern of scenes.
The genre of the film is established early on in the trailer. The very first clip fades into black within the first 2 seconds and works with the soundtrack to create a warning vibe straight away. The edited clips that look like a mixture between water and fire help to emphasise this by the soundtrack. It sounds like the wind blowing a chime but it creates a foreboding effect as it sounds ghostly. The soundtrack and the transitions basically establish the genre in this trailer - the use of fading to black and flashes suggests quick action and reactions necessary, making it overwhelming and scary. I don't think the text helps to establish the genre, it is pretty plain, its objective only to give viewers a message. The text is white and the font simple. The shots are only ever 3 seconds or shorter long, giving the trailer a disjointed feel which makes it seem a bit scarier.
All of these trailers use text heavily to present the tale. They show clips that give nothing away of the plot and they mostly show a big montage. The Blair Witch Project was a bit different, showing/playing a single scene throughout the trailer whilst putting text on the screen for viewers to to look at. Inception actually shows very few action scenes, focusing mostly on the lead actor and the special effects, identifiable to the film. I fount that interesting and it is something I will think about within my own ideas.
This is actually the theatrical trailer of this film but I wanted to include one to show the difference between the two trailers of the same genre. I wanted to see what a theatrical trailer does differently to a teaser and I thought it could still provide inspiration.
