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Trailers are usually about two minutes long. During this short space of time, the trailer must give an idea of what the film is about, show the genre, tell the audience whether or not there are any big stars in it or a popular director and lastly, show what visual style the film will take. If all this is included in that short space of time then the audience will have a good idea whether or not it is a film that will appeal to them.
Another thing that should be taken into account is when to show the trailer. There is no use putting on the trailer to a ‘U’ rated animated Disney film like ‘The Emperors New Groove’, before an ‘18’ rated horror film like ‘Ring’. It would be much better to put the trailer on before a similar film is about to start. That way, the target audience will be the ones who see it rather than people who are not likely to be interested in that particular genre.
Different shots are used different types of trailers which relates to that particular genre. Jump shots for example, are used a lot in trailers for fast paced, action films since they giver a sense of speed and action. Mixed shots and fade shots on the other hand are used much more in the trailers for romantic films. They are much slower than jump shots and are therefore much more suited to the genre.
There are two different types of trailers. There are teaser trailers that are released a long time before the film is due out in the cinemas. These ‘teasers’ are1 very short and their job is just to give a small taster of what to expect from that particular film. They give a very sketchy release date and usually pose questions about the film, which will only be answered when either the film or full trailer is released. This is the second type of trailer, the full trailer. These are much longer than teaser trailers and give a much more specific release date for the film as they are released very soon before the film itself comes out in the cinemas. Since these trailers are much longer, more can be fit in. The genre of the film is expressed to the audience by what is in the trailer. The actors will be written on screen, either in the small text at the end of the trailer or, if the stars are well known, then they will usually be written during the trailer in large text so they are seen and instantly recognized. (If there is a voice over, then the stars names will usually be spoken aloud.) The basic plot outline is usually told as well although not always.
Imagine if there were no movie trailers. How would we ever get to know about new films if trailers did not exist? We would never get to see films which did not have a lot of hype like Memento for example. Quality film, but would you have seen it were it not for the trailer you saw? So you see, trailers are vital but we don't see just how important they really are. Without them, we would never see some great films (and probably never see some poorer ones either).
Also, as adverts, trailers aren't ever going to show you what a film is really like. I would never ever ever ever go to a film soely because of a good trailer. Never.
Best trailer of receint memory is undoubtedly Magnolia's. Sheer class. The internet trailer for Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back also has a suprisingly high number of laughs for a 60 second snippit.
At the risk of sounding like a patronizing old fool - do you not think you are simplyfing thing to a rediculous level with the jump cuts bit?
:)
> Meka! Thats just what I was thinking!
What happens when he's on
> holiday? No more trailers.
What happens when he's off sick? No
> more trailers.
The guy used to be a train driver in London I think. His name is Red or something.
What happens when he's on holiday? No more trailers.
What happens when he's off sick? No more trailers.