What is the purpose of film trailers?

What is the purpose of film trailers?

When film trailers first came out, they were only viewable in the cinema. However with the creation of ‘web 2.0’- and with it social media such as YouTube, Face Book and Twitter - the importance of trailers has quickly changed. Not only can you pick and choose what trailers to watch, but feedback may also be given, influencing other members of the publics view on such films. This means that film trailers have become more and more important in selling a film to the audience, as one review can influence thousands of people’s preconceptions of a film – for the good or the bad. As there are now so many different films out there, film companies have to work hard to make sure that their trailer stands out to the audience in a positive way. In the cinema, trailers that are shown tend to be within the same genre as the film in which the audience are about to watch. This is used to entice more people who are already fans of the genre to go and see this new film, whilst trailers on the internet and on private televisions are used to enlarge the target audience.

Film trailers are not typically created by the same producers of the film – the film material is given over to the marketing team. This means that the studio no longer have authorial control. This may result in a different meaning being put across from the trailer than the producers of the film intended, sometimes making the trailer look better than the film its self. This highlights the important role that film trailers play in terms of making money for the producers – they may not get DVD profits, but they can gain profits from thousands of people going to the cinema to watch the film, which may or may not be better, or even similar to the trailer.

Film Music Keywords

Film Music Keywords

Diegetic:

·         Sound that the characters in the film can hear such as a radio etc.

Non-diegetic:

·         Sound that the characters in the film cannot hear.

Instrumentation:

·         The way in which instruments are used in the music.

Sync-Points/Hit Points:

·         A hit point is used to highlight a certain action in the film.

·         A sync-point is music which directly mirrors the action on screen.

Leitmotifs/Themes:

·         A leitmotif is a recurring musical idea associated with a person, location or event which is repeated during the film when a character comes on screen, a location is shown or when a specific event happens. These are often overlapped.

Mickey Mousing:

·         When the action in the film is directly mirrored in the music. Often seen in cartoons and comedies.

Orchestral/Electronic:

·         Orchestral is the choice of instruments used.

Emotion/Atmosphere:

·         Created by the music heard – sometimes through underscoring. Forces the audience to feel a particular emotion and changes perceptions of some scenes/events/characters.

Score/Cue:

·         A score is the overall film music.

Underscoring:

·         Background music that the characters cannot hear (non-diegetic) which adds to the mood of the film as well as the dramatic impact of the action.

Analysis of 'Confessions of a Shopaholic' - 2009 Trailer

‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ (2009):

• Romantic Comedy

• The trailer starts with a voice over from the main protagonist introducing when she first started getting into fashion. The voice over is accompanied by shots of a little girl in a shop, looking around in wonder. This shows how she finds clothes ‘magical’ which she says in the voice over.
• Non-diegetic music starts in the background with shots of New York, which then goes into a mid shot in slow motion of the central character. There is a voice over, again by the actor introducing herself as the main protagonist.
• Text then comes onto the screen informing that the film is based on a novel, meaning that the film already has a pre-made audience of people who are a fan of the books.
• There is then a kind of repeat of the previous scene – shot of New York, slow motion on her walking – as the voice over compares falling for a guy with going into a store. This highlights her love for shopping and fashion, which is the main plot in the film.
• This is followed by a montage of her shopping and the look of delight on her face as she looks through the different clothes. Again, this highlights to the audience her love for fashion.
• The non-diegetic music then stops as there is a close up on a credit card, followed by one of the characters saying ‘credit card declined’, thus setting the rest of the film up for the audience.
• A close up of someone slamming a pile of bills down on a table. This suggests that the protagonist is in a lot of debt. This is confirmed by a close up on a sum of money of $9,412.25 and a close up of ‘Final Notice’.
• A voice over says that she is ‘turning her life around’ suggesting that the film will be about her doing just that.
• There are then a series of shots of her in board meetings, accompanied with a voice over saying that she took a job as a financial advisor.
• Her friend then says that it’s ironic that she’s advising people on how to save money when she’s in some much debt. This is highlighted to the audience by a montage of her frantically fighting over a Gucci boot at a fashion sale.
• Text alternates with shots of comedic moments in the film, as well as romantic moments, telling the audience the genre of the film to be a romantic comedy.
• Text with the name of the film then comes on to the screen, with a voice over telling the audience the name of the film. The title is at the end of the trailer so that the audience has to watch the whole trailer to find out the name of the film.
• A final comedic scene is shown after the name comes onto the screen.
  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1093908/?ref_=sr_1
  
  

Analysis of 'Blade: Trinity' - 2004 Trailer

‘Blade: Trinity’ (2004):

• Action/Adventure/Fantasy
• Trailer starts off with a burst of loud non-diegetic sound, at the same time as an establishing shot of New York. Voice over of a radio transmission tells the audience that the film includes vampires – the people in the film think that this is a hoax. Sets up the mood for the film.
•  After the word ‘vampire’s’ is mentioned. A quick cut to what the audience will assume is a vampire in the film.
• Cuts to New Line Cinema logo and then to Marvel – there is a ready made audience of people who are fans of the comic books – and informs the audience of the films origins.
• Zoom up on the centre of the R in Marvel and the camera then goes through it, straight into a scene of a car chase. The audience are immediately put into the action, which will retain the audience’s attention.
• The voice over talks of a ‘psychopath’ who is killing vampires – the main protagonist of the story. We do not catch a sight of him until first speaks 40 seconds into the trailer and says ‘Because the world isn’t nice’. The camera zooms into his face at a fast speed and there is no sound as he says this line. This creates suspense for the audience.
• There is then the diegetic sound of a blade before a series of fast paced images – a building exploding and someone throwing a two bladed shuriken. This highlights the action in the game and retains the audience’s attention.
• It is then cut to a wanted poster of Blade and a voice over informs the audience that he is ‘public enemy number one’. This sets up the majority of the film, promising the audience action as it is obvious both from the action and the voice over that the police will be after the central protagonist
• Fast paced non-diegetic music then starts to play in the background as a voice over starts to tell the audience of the back story to Blade’s life. As this happens, text comes onto the screen and says the same thing as the voice over.
• There is then a series of shots which inform the audience of what will happen after Blade gets caught by the police and that vampires want to capture him. This tells the audience basically the whole of the start to the film, as well as setting up the rest of the film as a fight between Blade and the vampires.
• The words ‘until now’ flash onto the screen and we are introduced to two new characters which will accompany the main protagonist in the film.
• Fast rock non-diegetic music is then played whilst the main plot to the story is revealed through a voice over by the three main characters. Several action shots of the main characters are shown as well as text that comes onto screen to tell the audience who the actors are, giving the film star quality.
• Fast paced action shots are shown to the audience before the title of the film is shown to the audience – ‘Blade: Trinity’ – meaning that the audience has to watch to the end of the trailer to know the name of the film.
• A brief scene is shown at the end of the trailer which almost gives a comic relief to the trailer and the film.
  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0359013/?ref_=sr_1
  
  

Analysis of 'Drag Me to Hell' - 2009 Trailer

‘Drag Me to Hell’ (2009)

• Horror
• The trailer starts off with an establishing shot of rush hour in America.
• Soft non -diegetic music in the background with shots of who the audience assume is the main character.
• The first third of the trailer sets the film up for the rest of the events – it gives away the entire start of the film.
• The music then changes to something more sinister, telling the audience the genre of the film.
• Trailer changes to a faster pace to highlight the fast pace of the film.
• Voice over of one of the characters telling the audience what will happen to the main character – gives away the plot to the film.
• Text on screen tells the audience what other films the director has directed – gaining an audience who are fans of the director’s previous films. The actors in the film are not a-list celebrities, meaning that the director is the main selling point of the film.
• Fast paced until the end of trailer, ending with the title of the film slowly coming on the screen – the audience has to watch the whole trailer to find out the name of the film.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1127180/?ref_=sr_1 

Analysis of 'Hamlet' - 1996 Trailer

‘Hamlet’ (1996)

• Drama/tragedy
• Beginning of trailer opens with the production company logo (Columbia) with a drum beat in the background and then cuts to Kate Winslet screaming. The effect of this creates tension and makes the audience want to see the film to find out what happens – they are immediately drawn into the plot.
• There is then a montage of dramatic events – such as someone opening a coffin and someone being threatened with a sword – all of which occurs in the film, all of which flash on screen in time with the drum beat.
• The music then stops and Hamlet says the famous line ‘To be or not to be’, which even if the audience did not know that it was from ‘Hamlet’, most would know that it is a Shakespearian quote.
• There is then a voice over a montage of images in the film – such as soldiers running to war and a formal ball. These two things contrast greatly, possibly to highlight the images being shown to the audience. The first thing that the voice over says ‘Castle Rock entertainment proudly presents Hamlet’ suggesting that this is the selling point of the film.
• There is a ‘star run’ in the trailer showing the different actors in the film, with a voice over saying who they are. This is a way in which the company will gain an audience – by giving the film star quality.
• The title of the film is given at the end of the film in text, although the audience already knows the name of the film from the voice over.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116477/

Film Trailers Have Got Worse Over Time?

Trailers have got worse over time?

Film trailers have definitely changed over time, but have they got worse? In the early days of film advertising, trailers used short clips from different key points in the film, as well as shots of all the famous actors in the film to entice the audience. This gave away none of the actual film's storyline and yet still succeeded in pulling the audience in. This is something that many feel that film trailers have lost now – trailers now give away most of the storyline in an attempt to get potential audience members to the cinema to watch their latest film.

Whilst there is a big difference in films now and the original film trailers, there is also a big difference between films in the present and films from the 60s, as well as films from the 60s and the original film trailers from the 1920s. This is mainly because the style of film changed, which in turn changed film trailers. 'Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb’ is a good 60s film trailer to compare to original concept of a film trailer. A series of fast shots with text flashes onto the screen with a voice over saying the words – all questions about the film - with a quick series of shots from the actual film is all that the audience sees. The trailer asks more questions than it answers, which I think is a better way to get the audience interested in the film than trailers today.

Even though 'Psycho' is made in the same time as 'Dr Strangelove', the two trailers are very different – although they both leave the audience with more questions than answers. In ‘Psycho’, no actual scenes from the film are shown. Instead we are given a tour of the motel and house in which it is set by Alfred Hitchcock himself. At the time, Hitchcock was a celebrity in his own right – therefore people would go and see his new film, purely because it was a Hitchcock film. This is a perfect example of how the mere mention of some stars in the film can bring out the crowds, into a cinema, without even seeing the trailer. On the other hand, although modern trailers do include a ‘star run’ in trailers, too much of the story is given away, something which ‘Psycho’ does not.

In many people’s eyes – mine included – modern day film trailers give the audience the entire plot of the film. This could possibly be because the audience has changed and we now feel that we need to know what happens in the film so that there are no surprises, pleasant or otherwise. An example if this is the 2010 rom-com ‘Life As We Know It’. This trailer gives away the whole plot of the story through a combination of voice over’s and text in the trailer, leaving viewers with the sense that they had already seen the film. Even though this is the general consensus between a lot of critics and general audience, producers and marketing teams are continuously producing trailers which do exactly that, whilst also relying on the celebrities to give them their audience.

In response to the original question, I feel that yes, film trailers have gotten worse over time. The audience has gone from going to the cinema to see a film full of suspense as they have no idea what the film will be about – they have a unique cinema experience – to discovering that you have already seen the majority of the film in the trailer, leaving many movie goers disappointed.

Propps Narrative Theory - 'Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'

Propp’s Theory of Narrative – ‘Lord of the Rings’

Propp’s theory of narrative in film trailers says that there are seven main ‘stock’ characters, which either disrupt or maintain the idea of equilibrium, or peace. These stock characters can have some cross over – characters can have more than one function.

One of the most well known stock characters is the hero of the story. This character is usually male and is the main protagonist of the text. This character normally has the main job of restoring equilibrium to the text, in which the villain has upset. In ‘Lord of the Rings’ the main hero Frodo who is charged with destroying the ring, which will return equilibrium to the text, which he must embark on a quest to do so. Propp differentiates between two types of hero – the victim hero, who is at the centre of the villain’s intentions and the seeker hero, who is trying to protect innocents from the villain’s wrath. The villain is the person who purposefully disrupts the equilibrium of the text. In terms of Lord of the Rings’ the main antagonist would be Sauron.

There are other ‘stock’ characters which are not as well known or thought of which appear in narrative texts. For example, the donor, who gives something – either an object to aid the hero in some way or the quest its self. This is an example of when there can be cross over between two stock characters – the dispatcher is a character which gives the hero the quest, which the donor may also do. In terms of ‘Lord of the Rings’, Bilbo Baggins would be the donor, as he gives Frodo a sword which will tell him when Orcs are near. Elrond would be the dispatcher as he gives Frodo the quest to destroy the ring.

The ‘stock’ character of the ‘helper’ is the character which helps the hero in their quest to restore equilibrium. In ‘The Lord of the Rings’ the main helper is Samwise, who constantly travels with Frodo in his quest to destroy the ring. However, there are other helpers such as Legolas and Aragon, who also help in the quest. This suggests that there may not be only one character assigned to each ‘stock’ character.

In the ‘Fellowship of the Ring’ there is not a ‘princess’ stock character. The princess is the person who needs to be saved from the villain – they are the person most threatened. There is usually a romantic sub-plot between the hero and the princess, which in the conclusion of the text, there is a wedding between the two.

There is one final ‘stock’ character – the ‘false hero’. This is the character that appears to be on the hero’s side up until the ending of the text, in which it is revealed to be an evil character. In ‘Fellowship of the Ring’ there is not exactly a false hero. The character of Boromir displays some false hero traits, such as the fact that he tries to take the ring from Frodo. However, he still turns out to be on the side of good, as he dies defending Frodo from an army of Orcs. This suggests that there are some holes in Propp’s narrative theory in modern day film.

Timeline of Tasks