To help market the film for high box office ratings
Most films rely on the first weekend it's released for it's success
"Since the purpose of the trailer is to attract an audience to the film, these excerpts are usually drawn from the most exciting, funny, or otherwise noteworthy parts of the film but in abbreviated form and usually without producing spoilers. For this purpose the scenes are not necessarily in the order in which they appear in the film. A trailer has to achieve that in less than two and a half minutes, the maximum length allowed by the MPAA. Each studio or distributor is allowed to exceed this time limit once a year, if they feel it is necessary for a particular film.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trailer_(film)
Several ways marking is developed are: Trailers, posters, magazine and newspaper covers, websites, actors promotion interviews, star names, fansites and games.
These tasks set: Trailer, Magazine and Poster are mirrored from an advertising campaign: "An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). Advertising campaigns appear in different media across a specific time frame." - Wikipedia
Marketing can be seen on the internet, bus stops and busses, magazines and newspapers, on television, in the cinema, before rental DVDs, radio, billboards and film merchandise (synergies).
Factors that makes you want to see a film are: Actors and directors, the genre, new unseen ideas, the plot/storyline, viral marketing, the soundtrack, reviews/critics, the writers, read the book, trailers and controversy.
Let The Right One In - Feature Trailer (1:41) At what point in the trailer are we told the name of the film? Why is this? Again the title is shown at the end of the trailer in order to make sure the audience is aware of the title once they are shown some of the content - so they won't forget the name. The writing is of a striking red colour connoting the blood of which vampires need to survive (a theme in the film). This being my second horror trailer I have seen a large amount of what the trailer/film is about also being represented in the title of the film - it's font and colourings.
Why are we told who is starring in the film? There are no names given in this trailer again, showing that the cast isn't well known entitling the film to rely on it's storyline, critics and content to attract audiences (just like in the 'Haunting in Connecticut').
What information are we given about the film? At what point in the trailer is this information given? The trailer itself is very ambiguous leaving the audience with not any complete knowledge of what is going on. There are, however, a few short shots where subtitled characters speak to another and here the audience gets themes of what the film includes such as vampires, love and relationships. After these shots disequlilbrium of the film kicks in - scenes of beds on fire, blood and characters looking pale and hurt. This ambiguity makes the audience to go and look up more, not just to go and see the film; to find out reviews and stoylines for ourselves.
What type of action from the film do we see? The actions the audience are shown are of a supernatural basis - beds on fire, characters eating from human, shots of dead bodies, people strapped down to clinical beds. All of which are conventions seen before from both horror and vampire films. However these scenes are continuously juxtaposed with the childish nature of other shots - like the two protagnists laughing, riding bikes and simply enjoying eachother company. This editing shows to the audience the lives that modern vampires would have to live with, and also the task of being a young child as well as the mental attitude of a vampire. This idea of conflicting the two helped win the films reviews like: 'The most original vampire movie', 'An imaginative, sympathetic spin on a classic horror theme' and 'This bruised and brilliant fairy tale is one of the year’s true originals' (rottontomoatoes.com)The film would also appeal to audiences because of the different pathway of this vampire horror, and to see what happens to make the two lives she holds so different, and also the story between the two children and how they work together with such contrasting lives.
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How does the music give us as to what type of film the trailer is advertising and does the speed alter through the trailer or does it stay the same? The music in this trailer is very unconventional in the sense it's a lot slower overall then 'normal' horror trailers. However fitting conventions the music is made up of high-pitched string instruments, slow piano melodies and large drums bangs, mixed with diagetic barks, door crashes and shouts. The sound still dennotes a horror film because of the screams and conventional instruments and slow melodies used, it definatly has an eerie, unnatural feel to the sound - just the images have on screen. The diegetic noises of objects and humans are again used to fit into the sounds of the music, making them sound like instruments, a technique seen before in Haunting in Connecticut.
Does the trailer come with a voiceover and if so, what can you tell about the voice being used? There is no voiceover, in fact the only difference about voices used are that they are Swedish, and subtitled for English-speaking countries. However, due to the film being in subtitles the film may loose audiences because of the nesceary reading as well as watching the intense horror.
How does the speed of what we see compare to watching a clip from a film? Why is this? Again, the difference between a trailer and a clip from the film is the overall speed and dialogue within the two. A clip has more to plan out: it builds up characters over a further amount of time and it contains dialogue which will tell us the plot in more depth. The idea of a trailer is to compact intresting parts of the film within a couple of minutes without giving too much away in order for audiences to want to go see the film, thus meaning the trailer gains speed quicker, to include more shots.
What type of audience is the trailer aimed at? How can you tell? Using the comparable profile from Pearl and Dean issued for Let the Right One In it is clear that this film will be succeeding in attracting the '15-24' and '25-34' age ranges, and that more female viewers will attend.
The Haunting in Connecticut – Teasertrailer (1:01)
At what point in the trailer are we told the name of the film? Why is this?
The audience sees the name of the film at the last 10seconds of the trailer as this is the climax of the minute we have been watching. The trailer simply leaves you with unanswered questions and dramatic images then the title of the film so you can then decide whether to look it up and go see it or not. The lettering of the film title is a silver glow which matches stereotypical characteristics of ghosts and spirits - themes that are covered within the film.
Why are we told who is starring in the film?
There are no names given in this trailer sequence mainly because the film used unknown actors to play the roles and, because the film itself has a big enough appeal because of the use of ‘True Story’.
How is this information given to us and why?
The name of the film, the date and the fact it’s based on a true story are given as the trailers pace begins to fasten and disequilibrium shots are shown rapidly. This is because the attention of the audience is now predicted to be caught fully, therefore the audience is immersed within the trailer and we hopefully remember these key facts.
What type of action from the film do we see?
There is a range of action shots in the sequence. the first dramatic action shot the audience is shown is at 20 seconds when a man is grabbed by the scalp by a fast, unfamiliar shadow. Although it isn't untill 0.44 seconds the next action shot is seen, from here on there are shots of things moving without anyone there, group of unknown people surronding the protagonist, the house on fire, smoke coming out of people and hallways smothered in writing and mist. These paranormal activities help show the audience what can be expected in the film, in terms of drama, horror and action in the certificate 15 standard. It also shows what type a horror film the audience can expect - this isn't a physical film but the ghostly and 'other world' experience which may appeal to a completely different audience.
What clues does the music give us as to what type of film the trailer is advertising?
The non-diegetic music is composed of large bass beats and high stringed instruments. The introductory seconds to the trailer the music includes high female voices holding a note which drops once the first action begins, this begins this disequlibrium throughout the trailer - both in the music and on screen. In the music the music is strange and the instruments make squeals and screams making it hard to figure out what instruments they actually are. The personification of the music makes the trailer eerie, and also makes the screams and human noises sound like a part of the non-diegetic soundtrack.
Does the trailer come with a voice over and if so what can you tell about the voice being used? Why do you think the voice was chosen? What effect does it have?
The name of the film is read by the voice over at the end and has a very deep growling voice which fits into the mystery of what this horror involves but if less alarming then what the audience has seen before this shot and therefore brings them back to reality and hopefully a conclusion of whether or not they want to see this film.
How does the speed of what we see compare from watching a clip from the film? Why is this?
The pace of a teaser trailer is very fast (the longest shot lasted about 3 seconds) changing almost at the blink of an eye, whereas an opening allows for more information to be reserved from the audience and shots that can hold for a longer amount of time allowing the audience to build up character profiles and locations before the dramatic plot kicks in.
Does the speed alter throughout the trailer?
Only the first 10 seconds is the trailer in complete equilibrium as we establish the setting and the protagonist’s new surroundings. However the fact that the character is in 'new' surroundings fits into the conventions of a horror (gothic in particular) as they are in unseen and unfamiliar territory. After 10 seconds – still establishing the location with the protagonist is the first sign of disequilibrium, supported with sharp instruments that sound like screams. From here until 26 seconds, sharp gaining stringed instruments compliment the diagetic script e.g. “they held séances in this house” until the non-diagetic soundtrack stops so the full-focus on a character saying “your scaring me” which is the slowest the trailer will get other then the end. From here strange unfamiliar instrument noises escalate louder and faster and the characters become more distressed screaming and shouting rather than talking -“what have you done to yourself?” and the shots are changing on the second showing more disequilibrium to the family in this house. By the noise of a sharp knife or sword the voice over announces the film title and ends the distress.
What information are we given about the film? At what point in the trailer is this information given?
At various points throughout the trailer we are given information. At the beginning we are introduced to a house, with the female protagonist ironically saying ‘it’s perfect and spacious, I’m just wondering where’s the catch’ which puts the idea of disequilibrium in the audiences heads from the start. Furthermore, at the beginning we are introduced to the family with various children and teenagers. The next piece of information we learn is that the house was used for séances by pictures and newspapers underneath floorboards, one of the photos contain a child of which one of the teenagers say he has seen every day since they moved in. Through writing on a blank shot we learn it is based on a true story as the pace of the trailer fastens. The last information is said by a priest ‘there’s something evil in this house, and it wants your son’ which is followed by many shots of the son being tortured by the unknown within the house. Finally the name of the film and it’s rating is read by the voice over. Although a lot of little facts from the plot are revealed, they are still ambiguous by the reason the audience have no idea why it is happening or who is doing it to the family.
What type of audience is the trailer aimed at? How can you tell?
This trailer is held for fans who like the horror/thriller genre and films based on true stories. This is because a lot of the content is of gore and the unknown with flashing shots of horrible things happening to the innocent, which is expected by horror/thriller fans. True stories appeal to a wide range of people and add depth to the film knowing that it actually happened and this is shown via writing in bold letters halfway through the trailer. This defiantly isn’t for under 12’s because of the content of scary scenes which parents would not allow for their children to see. Using PearlandDean.com I found further specific details about the demographic. Using this chart below, it is clear that the highest range of people whom saw this film were 15-24, the next being 45+ and males are just above females in going to see this film by 4%
To see how trailers compare in a genre other then Horror, I looked to the opposite of that genre - comedy. Dinner for Schmucks - Feature Trailer (1:48) At what point in the trailer are we told the name of the film? Why is this? The title is given at the end of the trailer for the same reason as previous horror trailers; because the trailer leads to a high level of suspense having given the audiences enough time to make a decision whether or not they want to go see it. If they do, the title will stick in their mind so they wouldn't have forgotton it. The title is served on a plate to fit in the theme of a dinner as well and the colours are a refreshing mix red and white in a simple text, which compared to horror trailers is light and balanced, connoting the film isn't something you would expect to have gore or terror.
Why are we told who is starring in the film? Two names are given from the cast list: Steve Carell - who is described as "One of American comedy's most popular faces" by IMDB.com casted in hits such as 'Bruce Almighty', 'Little Miss Sunshine' and 'The Office' and Paul Rudd - of whom has been casted in many comdey films and televsion programms including 'Friends', 'Night at the Musuem' and 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall'. These names appeal to comdey lovers as they carry a great background portfolio within the area, they also hit a target audience as these names have a fanbase who will watch their films based on just them. Furthermore, within the trailer names and people are reffered to within sneak-peak shots - actors like David Williams, Lucy Punch and Morgan Freeman. These names still attract audiences without being mentioned, showing a popular castlist and a larger amount of funds.
How is this information given to us? Why? The information is given on a white plain background focusing just on the names about half-way into the trailer. This is because the audience is engaged by then and the speed of the trailer has started growing to a climax allowing the trailer to reveal slightly more to attract audiences to see the film. This is done by showing the actors they may be familiar with, which would hopefully enhance the experience of the film/trailer. The audience also is shown that the director has also directed 'Meet the Parent' which won many comedy and entertainment awards, attracted another audience whom may like the director or previous film and therefore are influenced because of the quality before. This information is all given in hope to attract more audiences other than the storyline of the film itself.
What type of action from the film do we see? The charcters take part in comedic and bizaare actions such as imaginary fighting across a dinner table and fire rising from the table previous shots have been situated around showing that the unkown dinner will not end particulary well. Thebizaare behaviour captures the audience because of the weird hilarity of the characters and situations that audiences won't seein their everyday lives (escapism). Therefore, the market scheme is to attract audiences with the plot's weird and imaginative screenwriting without revealing the funniest parts to intregue audiences.
What clues does the music give us as to what type of film the trailer is advertising? The music at the beginning of the trailer (as well as the image) is very dramatic giving the illusionn of prehaps a film from the action or thriller genre because the non-diegetic noise contains large drum beats and string instruments heard in these genres - not with comedy films; showing how the film plays with genre and subverts it. After the diegetic script reveals the truth of the film the music gets lighter, strings and piano are faster and relaxes the tension there was before.
Does the trailer come with a voiceover and if so, what can you tell about the voice being used?Why do you think this voice was chosen? What effect does it have? There is a voice-over for the first half of the trailer - when the trailer has subverted expectations fooling the viewer into thinking that this is an action or thriller sequence. Therefore the voiceover is deep, well-spoken and reveals sentances slowly - hitting into the connotations of said genres. The sentances are very ambiguous 'They gather in a secret location, they are extraordinary yet their identitie are unknown' this script fools the viewer into thinking the trailer is something that it is not - which many comedy trailers take part in as the comedy is also finding out what the true genre is after this tense false build-up is released.
How does the speed of what we see compare to watching a clip from a film? Why is this? The speed in a trailer alters for comic effect - pausing all other noise and film to silence for a characters particulary funny speech or action. This would be different within a clip from the film - the music wouldn't be as fast so to keep with the tone and pace of the longer shots and there would be a deeper storyline which would pan out far longer then a couple of minutes so the whole tone would need to be changed. This slower pace allows to build the plot and storyline and enable the audience to learn further about it - whereas a trailer is in order to advertise the film and tease the audience to want to see the full-feature and story. Therefore it contains a mixture of emotions in a condensed couple of minutes including names and other information which wouldn't be seen in the film itself.
Does the speed alter through the trailer or does it stay the same? The speed changed various time throughout the trailer in order to enhance the script of certain actions as well as tease the audience with fast unknown clips of action which may not make sense to them now in order to publicise the film. The start is very slow to build tension - the continuous long shot of a table sets the film's focus of 'dinner' and this builds tension and confusion over what the film acutally is. The shots then become faster (as does the non-diegetic soundtrack) to show that this trailer is actually of the comedy genre and roughly shoes parts of the storyline for the audience to get some understanding. At two more points after this does the trailer pause in silence for speech for comedy effect.
What type of audience is the trailer aimed at? How can you tell? This audience is aimed at comedy lovers due to the content of bizaare and wacky behaviour and scriptwrting, also to the fans of the cast's names and reputations. Moreover, using PearlandDean.com we can see profile from the film has a audience base of 15-24 aged viewers showing that the film has a young age range of attraction and only 2% of viewers were abover 45. Furthermore the gender weighed out much more biased then of previous horror films showing that 65% were males showing a huge gap in this genre and particular film.
What are the main colours in the poster and what do they connote?
The main colours are: green, black and red - very dull and mysterious matching the image itself. The lighting of the yellow/green tint seems to fall exactly on the focused man and fades outwards over the house, expressing his importance over the house and in the story. The tint of a dull green connotes imagery of moss and decay matching the exterior of the house, technique of the editing within the poster and disorientation of the plot. In further, green is used to symbolise greed and jealousy which could match the persons meaning to kill.
What symbols are used in the poster? Do you need the audience foreknowledge to decode the symbols?
There are hardly any symblos within the poster, with the knowledge of the film you can figure out the reason for why the two lights at the top of the building are on and how they stare out of the film. However without knowledge of the film it would not be clear.
What are the main figures/objects/backgrounds of the poster and how is attention gained?
The focal point of the poster is the house as it contains the largest amount of the page, however this is overridden by the glowing silhouetted man carrying a large object - these are both shown photographically. As the man overrides the house with help of post-editing shadows and effects - it connotes how the character holds a big influence on the story line and affects the home dramatically. Around the focal point there is an illustrative script on the wall written in scratched, fast font - a convention largely used in the horror industry as it connotes terror, panic and danger. The writing includes “watch ‘em and kill ‘em” ambiguously influences curiosity in the audience in hope to grab their attention and want to go see the film. These writing also link with the silhouetted figure holding a weapon showing that his purpose may be to watch and kill the household within.
Given that all the movie posters have the same purpose - to get audiences to go see a movie - what persuasive techniques are used by the poster?
The techniques are mainly revolved around the plot of the film - focusing on the tag line and ambiguity of the shadowed man.
Which genre conventions are referred to?
Blood red writing is the most obvious horror convention because of the imagery of using the color, as it connotes danger, blood, angst and the devil; all themes conventionally used within a horror film. The large ambiguous man also leads conventions because he is used to show terror without and creates vunerability because the audience has not and probably will not see him fully/see his face. The character has a large build and is armed with a large weapon - all stereotypes of a raged, ‘unnatural’ figure out for one thing - this fear is universal and is used regulary because of this.
Is a star used as a USP?
I think there are two USP’s used within this poster; the first being Michael Bay producer of ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ at the top of the film poster, shows the quality of the film due to his success of past films. The second is the fact it is based on a true story which appeals to certain audiences and is placed under the title to show it’s priority.
How does the tag-line work?
The first film used the tag-line “For God’s sake get out” but the 2005 re-make changed the tag-line to “Based on a true story” using this as a USP. It is also placed under the title of the film (where the focal point is) to gain audience appreciation and market the film.
What are the main colours in the poster and what do they connote?
The main colours are: green, black and red - very dull and mysterious matching the image itself. The lighting of the yellow/green tint seems to fall exactly on the focused man and fades outwards over the house, expressing his importance over the house and in the story. The tint of a dull green connotes imagery of moss and decay matching the exterior of the house, technique of the editing within the poster and disorientation of the plot. In further, green is used to symbolise greed and jealousy which could match the persons meaning to kill.
What symbols are used in the poster? Do you need the audience foreknowledge to decode the symbols?
There are hardly any symblos within the poster, with the knowledge of the film you can figure out the reason for why the two lights at the top of the building are on and how they stare out of the film. However without knowledge of the film it would not be clear.
What are the main figures/objects/backgrounds of the poster and how is attention gained?
The focal point of the poster is the house as it contains the largest amount of the page, however this is overridden by the glowing silhouetted man carrying a large object - these are both shown photographically. As the man overrides the house with help of post-editing shadows and effects - it connotes how the character holds a big influence on the story line and affects the home dramatically. Around the focal point there is an illustrative script on the wall written in scratched, fast font - a convention largely used in the horror industry as it connotes terror, panic and danger. The writing includes “watch ‘em and kill ‘em” ambiguously influences curiosity in the audience in hope to grab their attention and want to go see the film. These writing also link with the silhouetted figure holding a weapon showing that his purpose may be to watch and kill the household within.
Given that all the movie posters have the same purpose - to get audiences to go see a movie - what persuasive techniques are used by the poster?
The techniques are mainly revolved around the plot of the film - focusing on the tag line and ambiguity of the shadowed man.
Which genre conventions are referred to?
Blood red writing is the most obvious horror convention because of the imagery of using the color, as it connotes danger, blood, angst and the devil; all themes conventionally used within a horror film. The large ambiguous man also leads conventions because he is used to show terror without and creates vunerability because the audience has not and probably will not see him fully/see his face. The character has a large build and is armed with a large weapon - all stereotypes of a raged, ‘unnatural’ figure out for one thing - this fear is universal and is used regulary because of this.
Is a star used as a USP?
I think there are two USP’s used within this poster; the first being Michael Bay producer of ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ at the top of the film poster, shows the quality of the film due to his success of past films. The second is the fact it is based on a true story which appeals to certain audiences and is placed under the title to show it’s priority.
How does the tag-line work?
The first film used the tag-line “For God’s sake get out” but the 2005 re-make changed the tag-line to “Based on a true story” using this as a USP. It is also placed under the title of the film (where the focal point is) to gain audience appreciation and market the film.
How is this information given to us? Why?
