Studying Trailers: An Introduction

Aims & Objectives

Intro to the purpose of trailers & their importance in a films marketing campaign

Start to explore & understand some of the conventions of trailers

Understand how trailers are constructed for different audiences

What is s film trailer?Look at the statements about film trailers on

the handout, What is a film trailer? With a

partner, decide which statements you AGREE

or DISAGREE with.

Give reasons for your answers.

Why is the trailer made?Film posters are important in capturing

audience interest but they cannot convey the

excitement and atmosphere of a film in the

way a trailer does. When experienced

through the advanced equipment of the

cinema auditorium, a trailer stirs our

emotions and gives us an impression of the

film that is impossible through still images

alone.

Look at the following titles of these three trailers:

Captain America: The First AvengerProm2 Days in New YorkAbraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Based on just the titles, what clues are there about the content of the film? Try to say what exactly you are basing your ideas on. Is it the associations of a particular word or phrase? Is it knowledge of other films?

Do the posters help ?

Now watch the trailers. How accurate were your predictions?

Trailers help audiences understand the genre of a film. Referring to the trailers listed above, which ones fit the following genres? Comedy RomanceAction adventureHorror

Do any of the trailers seem to fit more than one genre? Give reasons for your answers.

Who are trailers aimed at?Trailers are generally aimed at the same

audience as the films they publicise. Different types of people like different sorts of films and whilst everyone is an individual there are certain features that will have wide appeal to specific groups of people. See if you can work out what these are.

Look at the following three trailers:Age of HeroesTransformers: Dark of the MoonSenna

Use the handout to make notes on your observations.

Use this list of potential target audiences to help you complete the second column of the worksheet

Teenage boys and girlsFamiliesCouples16-25 yrs skewed to boys16 - 25 yrs skewed to girls25 - 35 yrs skewed to women25 - 35 skewed to men35+

In the third column, note the features that you think appeal to this target audience.

H How do trailers help to fill cinemas?As well as using genre to gain our interest,

marketing campaigns must also show us how a new film is different to others in the same genre: this is known as the USP (unique selling point) of the film.

The USP is what separates one film title from another released at a similar time or within the same genre. The USP could be many things, for example:

the innovative use of special effectsan unusual mix of genresa popular star

Watch each of the three trailers listed below then write in the text boxes next to the trailer title what you think is its USP.

Trailer Title What’s the USP?

Cowboys & Aliens

Green Lantern

Real Steel

Where are trailers shown?Trailers are shown at the cinema, on TV and online with

poster campaigns and radio campaigns also giving wide

coverage for new film releases.

Dedicated trailer sites and official film websites often

carry trailers that have been cut for a general audience

and are suitable for viewers of any age, whereas trailers

shown in the cinema usually correspond to the

classification of the film being screened.

DiscussionWhere do you see film trailers? Talk with a

partner about the most recent trailers you have seen. Where were they? Did you watch the whole trailer? What do you remember about it? Does the place you see a trailer affect how you respond to it?

What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of the different platforms used to show film trailers?

Use handout to take discussion further.