Film Trailer Details

Alice Sophie Turrell

Genre

For my film trailer, I have decided to use the horror genre. This is because I can excel most with this genre, and be more creative in all aspects of the process such as story, casting, mise en scene, setting and editing. This will allow me to get a better overall trailer as I can be more creative and can come up with different ideas.

In terms of sub genre, I will most likely go for slasher and make it quite bloody and gory, as this I think is the best direction for me to go with a horror film, with influences from films such as the Saw and Hostel series, and Hills Have Eyes.

What type of trailer

The two options for trailers are theatrical and teaser. I am planning on doing a teaser trailer instead of a theatrical one for a number of reasons.

Firstly, a teaser trailer is short and therefore cuts will be faster and sharper, creating more suspense. These fast cuts would really enhance the promotion of a horror film as it can show some of the scariest and goriest scenes in the movie well creating suspense and putting fear into the viewer.

Another reason I plan on doing a teaser is because I think they are more crucial to the promotion. This is because theatrical trailers tend to only get shown in cinemas or on YouTube, whereas teasers reach a broader audience on TV and internet adverts. This means that they play more of a part when it comes to determining whether people will watch the film.

Who is the target audience

The target audience for this trailer will be fans of horror films, including films such as Candyman, Saw and I Spit on Your Grave. This would be the target audience as they are quite bloody, violent films and therefore would like the ideas in my film. This would also attract fans of general horror films as well.

Due to the strong horror, violence and gore themes, the trailer would be for aged 18 and over. Both males and females would be interested in this film, but , probably be slightly more interest from males due to the violent themes.

How does the trailer relate to the target audience of the film itself?

The aim of the trailer is to attract an audience for the film and to make people want to go to the cinema to see it. Therefore, it has to be identifiable to the target audience as a horror. This is so it grabs the audiences attention as a film that they enjoy and can recognise. This means that the trailer plays a very important part in selling the film.

This means that the trailer has to be tailored to the audience that will see it. For example, if the trailer was going to be shown on TV in between popular shows, then my trailer would focus more on the more general theme of horror rather than the slasher elements to gain a wider audience. But, if the trailer was shown in the adverts of a slasher horror, such as a Saw film, the trailer would focus more on the slasher elements as those watching would be interesting in bloody films and therefore attract them.

What key genre elements will be applied?

As I am planning on using the horror sub genre of slasher, I will focus on using key elements mainly to do with this genre rather than the horror genre more broadly.

The elements I plan on including are; • Victim, possibly female or blonde to play on the

convention that females and blondes are weaker.• Violence, in form of some sort of torture similar to films

such as Saw etc. • The story will take place at night in a dark, desolate

place perhaps in a woods or remote industrial area/farm, similar to films such as Cabin in The Woods, or House of Wax.

• A lot of blood will be used to create a realistic, gory effect.

• The antagonist would most likely be male, and wear a mask to keep his identity which is evident in popular films such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

What will the point of the trailer be?

As I will be doing a teaser trailer, the point will be to sell the film, and get people interested. I am planning on making the trailer to show some of the best parts of the film showing, but not all. I want it to be obvious that it is a horror, and obvious that it will contain a lot of blood and violence in the film as that can determine the audience and the appeal to them. I also want some of the story line to be clear, but not the ending or parts that would give the story away, just enough to create suspense and put questions into peoples head to make them want to see the film.

What studio company will the film be assigned to?

As I plan on making my own production company for the film, I also think it is a good idea to use a major company as well, so they work together to market the film more. If a major company is used and mentioned during the trailer, then people may be more inclined to watch it and see the film. This would be because they recognise the company and may like work of the same or similar genres that company have been a part of.

Some possible companies could be; New Line Cinema (Nightmare on Elm Street), 20th Century Fox (Jennifer's Body), Metro – Goldwyn – Mayer (Hannibal).

What will the marketing points of the film be?

To make the film sell better, I need to include marketing points to attract the audience more than a film without selling points. For example, a film featuring Brad Pitt is more likely to attract more of an audience than a film with an unknown due to his fan following and acting skills.

One potential marketing point for my trailer would be to advertise the stars as multi award winning. For example, putting “Oscar for best performance” after their name on the trailer. Another point could be “based on a true story” which would grab peoples attention and create more fear.

I could also use a popular song or artist in the background. For example, the Iron Man trilogy used AC/DC songs as the soundtrack throughout.

Another selling point would be to add quotes or star ratings from reviews, as that would grab attention and people would see that movie critics think the film is good.