To start my project I need to do some research into trailers, so that I know what I'm doing exactly. I need to find out the difference between the different trailers and their conventions. I need to find out what a teaser trailer is and what it does exactly. This will help me when I am creating my own. There are three different types of teaser trailers that I am going to look into and show examples of. They are Theatrical Trailers, Teaser Trailers and TV Spots.
Teaser Trailers:
- Teaser trailers are short trailers used to adverise upcoming films, TV programmes, video games or products.
- They are made simply to infrom the audience that the film is coming up soon and to build up the hype of its release.
- Usually they don't show any kind of storyline, they show the unique selling points, e.g. famous actors; directors.
- They are very short trailers; between 30 and 60 seconds.
- One of the reasons for the name 'teaser' is because they are shown usually a long time (one or more years) before the movie comes out, so as to 'tease' the audience.
- Many teaser trailers are similar to TV spots, except that they appear in movie theatres.
Here is an example of what I think is a good teaser trailer:
This trailer is a actually a very good example of a teaser trailer as it shows a completely irrelevant story from the plot of the film. It does however state the release date which isn't conventional of a teaser. I got most of my Teaser information off of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teaser_trailer
Theatrical Trailers:
- Typical theatrical trailers are longer than teasers. They have to be less than two and a half minutes.
- The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a film screening; it is now shown before.
- The purpose of the trailer is to attract an audience to the film - The same as teasers.
- The scenes in the trailers are usually drawn from the most exciting, funny, or noteworthy parts of the film but shortened so as to avoid spoiling the plot.
- Scenes aren't necessarily in the order in which they appear in the film.
Here is an example of a theatrical trailer for the same movie as the teaser:
The difference between the two trailers is noticeable. The trailer is a lot longer than the teaser and it contains details on the actual plot of the movie. I got most of my Trailer information off of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatrical_trailer
TV Spot
- The vast majority of television advertisements today consist of brief advertising spots
- ranging in length from a few seconds to several minutes
- of this sort have been used to sell every product imaginable over the years, from goods and services to political campaigns
- Many feature catchy songs or catch-phrases
- TV spots often use humor as a tool in their advertisments.
- Animation is often used in advertisements. By using animated characters, an advertisement may have a certain appeal that is difficult to achieve with actors or mere product displays.
It will cost institutions more money to create teasers along with theatrical trailers which is one of the reasons why they are normally only made for big-budget, popular films. In the same way, it would only be the big hollywood comglomerates that make them as small independant companies wouldn't have the money needed. However, with the recent development of digital technology it has made teasers easier to distribute online and with a cheaper cost than it would be before a film screening at the cinemas. Production companies can exhibit teasers and trailers for free using www.youtube.com and other websites; again making it easier to distbute trailers.
I got most my information on TV Spots off of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_spot
