What are film trailers?
Film trailers are practically commercial advertisements for an upcoming film that will be released in the future to be viewed either in the cinema or any other device.
Why are they made?
They are made for their target audience to 'hype' their film, increase the chances for sales and showcase best cinematic moments without fully revealing the story. Film trailers have been produced since 1913 (first trailer was produced for the musical "The Pleasure Seekers") and first film (or motion pictures) were produced in 1895. Granlund was also first to introduce trailer material for an upcoming motion picture, using a slide technique to promote an upcoming film featuring Charlie Chaplin at Loew's Seventh Avenue Theatre in Harlem in 1914.
How do they work?
A lot of the trailers have a voice over, including a rating card (to indicate the rating of the film which are usually decided by professional critics.) When the trailer begins, it is creatively cut short (without giving away the story itself) to fire up the audience. There are bad trailers that give away the whole story and even the ending, these type of films tend to do worse as they told the whole film story in few minutes.
Who are they for?
They are made for typical people, specifically for those who watch any videos, films or series. The audience could also depend on the age as some films have age restrictions such as PG ratings that include parental guidance.
Where do we see them?
Typically, trailers are shown as 'preview' in the cinema before the actual film starts, they tend to show approximately 5 trailers before showcasing the film itself. Other films with big budgets promote their films on television. At the moment, YouTube is a great way to promote a film as the advertisements work similar to the 'preview' in the cinemas with an option to skip. Sometimes, we don't see trailers but we see posters instead on various places such as on a public transport and in the cinema itself. It seems that it is quite efficient to promote a trailer through a cinema as a lot of people gather that would suit their target audience (as they already spent money to buy a film ticket). By producing a poster, it increases the chances that the audience will type the upcoming film's name into the search box of the internet.
When are they released?
Many trailers can be put together before the film's final cut. Producing trailers before the film could make it misleading depending on the producer.
Genre Theory
I've researched three people and found out how films are put into categories, I analysed some films based on that knowledge.
Trailer Analysis for Target Audience:
I will be analysing three trailers whilst having 'Target Audience' in mind.
The first trailer I've chose to analyse is "Snow White and the Huntsman Trailer" This is a fantasy action film with a slight romance.
It is stated that this film is PG-13 and it shows violence. Violence is seen in the trailer (the knights killing each other). However, I believe that this film had a particular audience in mind as they are recreating a popular and old fairy tale that is usually told for children. They changed the story to be more fitting for adults because they added more action than the film actually needs. Nonetheless, the film did not get a great rating (6.1) but the trailer seems rather impressive.
The second trailer I have chosen to analyse is "The Sixth Sense". This is a 1999 drama/mystery/thriller film about a young boy who can see dead people and it's set as PG-13. It's a ghost story yet it does not rely on special effects and CGI to portray a good plot within the movie. As the movie is scary, it is not suggested to be watched by small children as they can be influenced by this film and believe that ghosts will do them harm (technically terrify them). Therefore, it is more likely that this film is made for teenagers and above who like this type of genre. This is a quite popular film with good ratings (8.1/10) suggesting that CGI isn't necessary to tell a good story.
The final trailer I've chosen to analyse is "Gone Girl" The genre of this film is Mystery/Crime/Drama and the plot is about a husband who's wife disappeared and according to the trailer, he might not be innocent (psychopath killer). This film is rated R meaning that it's not supposed to be seen by younger audience (preferably 18+). The reason why it's for mature audience is because there is violence, dead bodies and most likely swear words. Overall, the film is targeted towards people who find mystery, crime and drama exciting and interesting which are more likely adults rather than children. The film has a good rating (8.1/10) meaning that the story is quite good.
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