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Task 3
What is a trailer?
A trailer is a video based advertisement that allows the audience to see different sneak
peaks of the full filmthat would come out in a couple of moth time after this is released. A
trailer show the best bits of the upcoming film, and this makes the audience who watch it
want to see the full film. The trailer doesn’t tell the whole story but they use a theory called
the equilibrium theory this is where there are steps in a trailer, most trailers used this
theory. The steps of the theory start off with everything being a balance then the next step
there is a disturbance in the balancing, this is when we realise that something is wrong and
not right such as in the trailer Kong where the music drops and you see the gorilla
destroying a helicopter. After this step the 3rd step is where the characters start to recognise
that there is something wrong and the 4th step is where they try and fix it. In trailers they
hold all of these steps except where they actually find the resolution of fixing the
disturbance because this would just ruin the film and people would not need to see it in
cinema when it comes out at a later date. Most trailers only last around 2 and a half minutes
this is enough time to show the audience a brief summary of the film.
Why are Trailers used?
Trailers are used to get the given target audience more interested in the film and what it
holds if they see it in cinema when it is out. Having a poster attracts the audience more than
just using a poster because it hold not only more information but it also holds more footage
of the film that can attract more of an audience. The marketing campaign is designed to
raise audience awareness and interest in a filmin advance of, and during, its cinema release.
When a trailer is released it helps the audience get an understanding of what the genre of
the film is. They are to attract the audience to see the3 film when it is out in the cinemas.
They use all the best parts of the film and put them into small clips to allow the audience to
get an understanding to see if they want to see the film or not. Trailers are used to make
people aware of when the filmis going to be released and what actors are in the upcoming
movie. Trailers are used to allow the audience to understand what the story of the
upcoming film is about, this can create a larger audience.
Trailers often follow a certain theory called the Equilibrium theory (1963). This theory is a
narrative theory that is split up into 5 stages, these stages start off with everything is in
balance where everything is going normal and everything is equal. The second stage of the
theory is where there is a disturbance in the filmwhat needs to be fixed. The 3rd step is
where they find out that there is something wrong and there is a disturbance in the story.
The 4th step is where they are trying to fix this problem, this is what a trailer shows, it would
not show the ending on how they solve the problem because they would want people to
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see what happens in the cinema. The final step is where they get everything back to normal
and fix whatever was wrong, They don’t show this in a trailer because it would ruin the film.
Conventions of a trailer all include thing such as:
Titles
Logo’s
Release date
Age rating
Fast cuts
Text on screen
Narration
Production company
To establish certain characters
Identifiable title:
Most films have their own identifiable title that allow the audience to know what this title is
from, an example of this is with harry potter where the name is made out of stone and in
the shape of a lightning bold, this allows us to identify what the logo is from and what film it
relates with. If all films were in one font it would not look professional. Also another is if you
have an identifiable title it can relate to a certain genre, for example the logo for the lord of
the rings can be used for game of thrones because it works well and share the same genre.
Having an identifiable title allows the audience to know what the film can be about, if a title
is different to another title it is easier to identify so
people will know what film they may be showing. An
example of an identifiable title is used in the trailer
Kong Skull Island (2017), in this trailer they have their
own type of logo so the audience know what title the
film is from. The stone colour in the title represents
that the island is old, the style of the writing in the
logo also represents as Kong being strong and a king
of the island. The title includes tribal marking to show there are tribes in the film, we see
these people in the trailer so having this in the title allows us to know that these people
have a part in the movie that may be important. In parts of the film where the titles for
different words came out, it could fade in from orange smoke and this represents fire
meaning that something’s wrong. The colours of the title are dark and masculine because it
shows the audience that it’s strong, if the colours were pink it would not look dangerous
and people wouldn’t think Kong is strong. In the movie Rings they also do things to their title
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to allow the audience to identify it, for example
in the film rings the title represents a TV this
links to the video used in the filmand the people
would be able to notice it. Also in the title of the
movie they include the logo so the people would
be able to know what the movie is just from
looking at it. The film also uses its own font
because it links to the movie, the title is thin and
it looks like someone has scratched it out, this can link to the film because the evil character
is a girl and scratches on the walls.
Another trailer that I looked out was called get out, this film had a good identifiable title
because it looks like it’s see through to make it look like you are looking straight through it.
The “Get” in the title looks very bold and bright to show something is strong in the house,
the title tells us that someone is trying to escape. The “out” looks very dull and thin meaning
it might not be important because it’s hard to see. The “out” is very hard to see so this can
make us feel that there is no way out in the house
where the film is based, this could be correct
because the other word “get” is very bold and easy
to see. The film uses its own font to make it
identifiable for the audience, the colour of the title is
dark and blue making it feel scary and to show this
film is not a bright happy film.
One last trailer is called alien Covenant, this title is very different because it is very plain but
has a deeper meaning for it, The Letters Alien are very spread out to show that each letter is
isolated such as the people who are isolated on the ship. The colour of the title is plain and
white to show that it’s nothing because the people on the ship may not know anything
about the aliens. The old films from the same trilogy have the same type of time with it all
being separated, this makes the audience feel that it is all related and they want to keep the
same feeling and suspense from the old films. The other word “covenant” is not that
noticeable, but it is in a different colour to show
that it means something else such as an alien. It is
green to represent space and alien life, this can
make the audience wonder what to expect in the
film.
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Company Logo:
Company logos shows the audience what companies are
involved in the film, the usually include the companies that
produced the film and the company that distributes the film. An
example of company logos used is used in the film rings, we see
from the trailer that the people who produced the film was
done by vertigo production and the distributors were
paramount pictures. There are different distributors for
different locations, for example in England warner bros may be
more popular there than in china, so the producers in china
would not be the same, they would be people more well known
in that country so when the audience watch the trailer and see
the film were produced by these people they would think
because of this producer who made the the filmmust be good
and worth seeing in cinema. It is all about building a reputation
so other films would get more of an audience. In the film Kong
the company logos fits the atmosphere of the film, this is quite
unique because it makes it look like it’s done onto a projector
that is shown in the film. The colours of the logos are bright
showing a happy mood linking with the music. As people see
warner brother’s people know that it is going to be a good filmbecause it is a well-known
company that make a lot of good expensive films. They make to company logo’s look old to
set the mood, the filmis based in the 60s so this is good because it allows the audience to
know straight away, the logo looks like a cartoon to show its old. One company named
legendary is known for their action films so the audience will be able to know from seeing
the trailer that it includes action. The last company named Tencent is not that big and well
known but the films the company make are from comic books and the film Kong comes
from a comic book. In the movie rings there is only one company logo but it allows us to
understand the film and it shows that this film is scary. When we are shown the logo of the
company paramount people know it’s a good film because of the other films they have
made, but as we are shown the logo it twitches like a TV would and where the starts are it
shows the ring from the film so the people know the filmis scary and it shows it can happen
to the audience, this is to scare them. As the logo changes
so do the colours and this looks very dull and scary setting
the mood that it’s a horror film. In Get out we see at the
sart that the film is made by universial studios and this is a
very well known company for a lot of their good films so
this puts a good message out to the audicne saying that
this film must be good because of the producers that have
created the film. The logo of universial studios cuts quite quickly because they want to get
straight to the point about the trailer not being what you think it might be.
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Another trailer that uses company logos in films is gost in a shell, they use the company
logos very well and it matches the film in a way of it being in the future, they do this by
making the logo’s twitch while moving to show something is wrong and the filmis all
tecnological. The two companies used in the
film are paramount and dream works, thses
films are very well known so people will know
this film shjould be good. The logo’s use a
different colour in the background to show
that the filmis quite dark and sad, like
something has gone wrong, we also know this
because of thew glitching when shown the
logog’s making the audience feel that something is not right. The film is about robots and
the glitxching in the logos can represent them and letting the udince know that something is
not right with the robots and something has gone wrong.
Music and other sound:
Music in trailers are usually fast paced to build suspense for the audience to make them feel
more engaged in the filmmaking them want to see it when it is out in cinema. Sometimes
they use narration in trailers to help explain the storyline in filmbut this is not often used
anymore, most companies make the filmvery fast paced and engaging for the audience. In a
trailer you get a mixture of both non-diegetic and diegetic sound, tis builds more tension in
the trailer dragging the audience in so this would make them want to see what happens
next in the film so they will want to pay and watch the filmin the cinema. Usually in trailers
the music starts quiet and low, this sounds like
humming, and after something happens the music
starts to build up and the action starts the music
becomes much louder and faster, this makes people
want to see the film because it builds the tension up,
giving the audience a good feeling about the filmand
what they would be in for if they go and see the film
when it is out. The filmKong starts off with very
happy music setting the tone of everything is good but after a bit when something bad
happens the music drops completely building tension, the happy music at the start is to
pump up the soldiers as they go out to the island not knowing what to expect. The song that
is played is a joyful happy song but is about something
bad, so this gives us the idea that when you may think
everything is ok there still could be something wrong
and you need to look out for it. There are a lot of very
sharp sounds like an alarm to show something is
wrong showing panic and emergencies. When there is
dialogue in the film the sound drops lower allowing us
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to hear the actors speak. As the trailer starts the happy music makes us feel that we are
welcome and nothing bad is going to happen. In trailers is it unconventional for music to
change straight and this is what they done in Kong, having this worked well because the
audience didn’t see it coming. The violins used in the trailer make the filmsound very
sinister and scary, this made the audience realise who that bad person is. The trailer uses
dramatic irony because the audience know something is wrong from the sounds used and
the characters can’t hear these sounds so we know something is wrong where the
characters don’t. At one part of the trailer they use synchronous sound, this is when the
sound drops when the shovel hits the ground, also they use a heartbeat to match the
helicopter in slow motion when it hits the ground, and it is very conventional for a trailer to
have synchronous sound. This trailer doesn’t have a lot of asynchronous sound because the
audience need to focus more on the dialogue and music. All sound in the trailer matches the
editing in a way with the cuts the beat changes, this brings some atmosphere to the trailer,
because the trailer is fast paced there are more cuts and the music can match the cuts with
the beat.
However in the trailer rings it starts off with dull dark bass music so the audience
immediately know something is wrong, this is
unconventional for the trailer. As the TV turns on the
beat of the music rises and this also happens when
the girl comes out the TV, they also use match cuts for
this, the beat drops as she comes out the TV also
when the blood starts draining out the TV the music
starts to get darker and louder allowing us to know
something bad is going to happen. After the first part
of the trailer we are brought back in time where the music is happier and not dull, this is
very unconventional because we already know that something bad is going on. One part of
the trailer when we are shown the movie the music starts to build up and as soon as the
person presses the movie to beat changes to static sound and back to the beat again. They
also stop the music at pats to say the dialogue, as
soon as the dialogue is said the beat turns into a bang
showing something bad and giving the audience a
fright because they don’t see it coming. One part of
the Trailer when we see the girls has watched the film
the music lowers and we hear a heartbeat behind the
narrative building up tension and as the girl picks up
the phone the heart beat stops and we hear a bang to catch the audience. As soon as we are
shown day one the trailer the music starts to get louder and faster and we hear someone
repeat 7 days very fast in the background starting tension and making the audience feel
uncomfortable. The rings uses asynchronous sound so the audience know they need to
focus on the dialogue and music, at parts they only have a black screen and dialogue in the
background so the audience can only focus on that.
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At the start of the trailer get out the music is very calm and happy showing a good mood,
the dialogue is used over the music to make the audience focus on what is being said. We
know that the start of the film is happy and joyful because of the calmmusic and the bright
lights. The music starts to get louder so slightly through the trailer, the music is still joyful
and happy, showing the characters are in a good mood. But as soon as something hits the
car we hear a bang letting the audience know that something is wrong and the movie isn’t
all good. Also as soon we are shown the credits the music becomes very dark and scary
letting the audience know this isn’t the type of filmthey may have thought it was. This all
follows the Equilibrium theory because at the start everything is going well and then
something happens and then need to try and fix
it. Throughout the trailer the music starts to
build up and becoming uncomfortable, the music
feels dark and scary and not like a normal movie.
When something is shown in the trailer the
music rises making the audience know that
something is wrong and whatever happened doesn’t feel right. The trailer uses synchronous
sound for when one character is chopping something and the beat drops, this makes the
audience feel that something is bad. When the tea is shown in the trailer being spun with a
spoon, you start to hear the sound after in the background this makes the audience feel that
they are waiting on something to happen, this can make them feel uncomfortable. At one
part of the trailer the music completely stops and you can only hear the dialogue and this
can make the audience feel that something is going to happen, when the music comes back
it sounds as if you are sinking into the ground so scare the audience, they use this sound
because someone is shown sinking in a bed in the trailer. They use a lot of banging to catch
the audience out when they don’t see it coming.
The sounds in la la land match the sounds used in the filmbut are in the background, at the
start of the trailer we hear a piano playing in the background to show calmness and nothing
is wrong but as we see someone enter a building
we are shown someone playing the piano. The
sounds change from non-diegetic to diegetic, not
a lot of films do this because this can be
unconventional for a trailer but in this it has
worked very well, and this allows the audience t
know that the music being used in the trailer
links and could be in the film. After Ryan Gosling
finishes playing the piano there is silence and we start to hear dialogue without music to
show whatever is being said is important to the film. As soon as the two characters kiss the
silence stops and to music starts to build up and become louder and happy music starts to
play letting the audience know whatever has happened is good and joyful. The music allows
the audience to know that this is a very happy and joyful film and the film doesn’t include
any bad or scary content. Throughout the trailer the music starts to build up louder and
louder until the end of the trailer when it shows the name of the film, this is to build the
suspense of the film and to entertain the audience to make them want to see the film for
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when it comes out. When we are shown he credits the music beats to emphasise it and
make the audience aware for the date of release.
Age Certification:
Age certification allows people to know what rating the filmis when it is out in cinema and if
it suitable for a certain age group. In the UK trailers usually don’t show the age rating unless
it’s an 18. In America they have different types of trailers that allow the audience to know if
it’s suitable for their age ground, firstly one of the trailers they use is a green band trailer
that allows anyone to watch it. But the other trailer called the red band trailer allows us to
know that this trailer includes violence and things that might not be suitable for a younger
audience. Firstly in the movie Kong we are not shown an age group, so this trailer is suitable
for all ages to watch because there is no age certification. This allows anyone to watch the
trailer but this doesn’t mean they can watch the filmin cinema when it comes out because
it can be a different age group. By watching the
trailer you know that this filmis going to be rated a
different age when it comes out. In England they
don’t give an age rating on the trailer because they
haven’t shown any bad violence that may cause
them to do a rating. Usually the film is yet to be
rated because the BBFC haven’t watched over the
film and given it a rating. In the film rings we are not
shown any rating but by watching the filmwe know
that this filmis not suitable for a younger audience
we know this because we are shown some graphic
scenes that are not suitable for a younger audience,
we are also shown some violence for a car blowing
up and people shouting, this allows us to know that
this film could be a 15 because it also doesn’t show any proper graphic scenes like sex so we
know that this film cannot be an 18. We also know that the film is quite dark and scary
because of how it is set allowing us to know the filmis not suitable for a young audience.
We are also shown by the way the film is presented with the title that the film is not suitable
for children because it looks quite scary and like something has done it, this allows us to
identify that this film can be scary and is suitable for a more mature older audience. The film
get out doesn’t show any signs of the film having a rating but we can tell that this filmis
suitable for teenagers, we know this because at the start it includes some kissing, at this
point the film is still suitable for kids but later in the trailer it starts to get dark and faster, at
this point we start to realise the film isn’t suitable for kids and as we start to see the boy cry
we know something is up and this is suitable for a more older mature audience. The film
isn’t an 18 because it doesn’t show any bad violence in the trailer or any sex so the film
must be a 15. The trailer is still suitable for all ages but this still doesn’t mean it is suitable
for everyone to watch in the cinema when it comes out.
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The Logan trailer doesn’t have an age restriction but it includes both a green band and a red
band trailer meaning that the film is not going to be suitable for all ages but people can still
watch the green band trailer knowing that they may not be able to see the film. We can tell
that this filmis not for all ages because of the violence it includes in the red band trailer, this
allows us to know that the film is going to be for an older mature audience. The film
includes killing blood and violence and people would not want their children who are
younger to watch this film, This is why it includes both and green and red band trailer, The
red band trailer includes violent scenes in the film that they don’t want younger viewers to
see. The green band trailer doesn’t show any type of fighting and violence so we know that
anyone can watch this trailer and it is suitable for all ages, but the filmis not suitable for all
ages.
Social Media Information:
A convention of a trailer is to add social media
information, this is because it allows the
audience to find out more information on the
upcoming film, this can include behind the
scenes and other entertaining things to look at.
Usually most movies have a website to promote
their upcoming movie but nowadays they often
make Facebook or twitter pages because that is
where their target audience are usually on the
most. Having all these websites and Facebook allows the audience to become more hypes
for the film for when it comes out making more people wat to watch it, But sometimes this
can over hype the movie and this is when we think that the film is going to be amazing from
all the news we have been told and when we end up seeing it we are disappointed from the
result. In the movie Kong they show social media logos at the end for example they show
#KongSkullIsland and this allows us to know that if we type this in on social media stuff will
come up that relates to the movie. Also at the end of the movie we see all of the social
media pages with their logo’s, they show this without their names but people know what
social media it is because most of their target audience has seen it and can identify it. We
know that the target audience for the filmare mostly teens because they are the people
that are mostly to use social media the most so they would understand what to do and how
to follow the company. The movie Kong shows a wide range of social media platforms to
follow because they want to spread their target audience and want more people to see the
film, the trailer doesn’t show a website url and this is because most people use social media
nowadays and if they wanted to see the website there would probably be links on the pages
on social media.
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Furthermore in the ring they don’t show a lot of social media because their audience is
aimed at a more mature audience that might not use social media as much as a younger
audience. They include a website at the end of the
trailer that allows people who are interested in
looking at more information about the film but
other from that they don’t include any other ways of
finding out more information about the film. Like
other films they include different social media pages
for the film to allow the audience to view and show
friends but this film they don’t do this, this might be
because they want to make the film more disclosed so the film doesn’t become over hyped.
Not getting a lot of information about the filmmay make people want to see the filmmore
because they may have lower expectations than it turns out, making more people go and
see the films from the reviews. Just like the movie Rings
Get out doesn’t include any social media platforms but
it gives us a hashtag that allows the audience to
communicate to other people who are interested in the
film to communicate to each other, the people who
made the filmhave maybe done this to make the film
more of a secret to make it more exciting for when the filmcomes out, that is because
people may not know a lot about the film so when they see it they are very surprised by the
result. Lastly the Spiderman homecoming trailer includes some social media information
that get the audience involved with this film, this includes a hashtag that can be used on any
social media devices even if the filmdoesn’t have a designated page for that film, this allows
the audience to talk to the people who are interested in the film and to also create more
awareness of the film. The filmincludes a Facebook logo with the words SpiderManMovie,
this allows the audience to know that on Facebook this film has a page designated to the
movie, the audience will be able to know this because they are very into social media and
this is the target audience of the film.
They don’t use a lot of options for social
media so they are not expanding their
audience as much as they could but
having Facebook does still create a bigger
audience because it is a very well-known
social media device.
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Release Date:
Having a release day allows the audience to know when the upcoming film is going to be out
in cinema, filmusually have a date that links to a holiday depending on the genre. For
example if a horror movie is being released the date would usually be released on
Halloween this is the same for other film category’s like a romantic film, this would most
likely be released on valentine’s day, a movie that done this was fifty shades darker. Telling
the audience a release date for a film allows them to join the countdown until the film
comes out. In the film Kong it was released on the
8th of March, they released it on this day because
in the past the other King Kong was released on
that day in (1993 this shows that they kept the
date consistent through the films. In the trailer
rings we are told that it is released on the 28th of
October and this date is on Halloween so the
people who watch this know that is most likely a
horror filmbecause of the date is being released. In the trailer get out they don’t give a
release date but they say a month such as February, this makes the film more secret, they
done this because they want to surprise the audience for the release when it comes out.
The filmdecided to release it in February because they wanted to surprise their target
audience because people may not think it’s a horror film.
One last trailer is fast and furious 8, this trailers release date is on the 12th of April, this is a
half term for England so the audience they are aiming it at can see the film at that time. All
the fast and furious films are released around the same time, for example the last fast and
furious was released on the 3rd of April, it’s not the same date but it is near the same time,
they have done this to keep the consistency for the films dates so they all don’t just come
out at different times. Then first filmwas released at a different time (January) but as the
series became more popular they have made it contestant and released the film near
enough the same time each year.
Credits:
Usually at the start of trailers the crew are more focused than the actors because they have
become more popular because of their work in the film. Nowadays the filmusually shows
the producers and the makers in the trailers because the audience are able to see if the film
is going to be good because if the maker has made other films that are well known and
good, the audience are going to know the filmis
going to be good and entertaining to watch. They
do this in Kong, they don’t show a lot of credits but
in one of the trailers they show that the makers of
this film produced another well know film named
Godzilla. People notice that the film is made by
warner brothers so people will think that the film
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is going to be good because the other films warner brother have created have turned out
very good. It is conventional to have credits in a trailer because it allows the viewers to
know who the creators are, and if the producers are good they would have high
expectations for the film. The trailer doesn’t need to show the actors names because the
audience will be able to recognise the actors when they are shown in the trailers, such as
Kong when they show Samuel L Jacksons face, we immediately know who he is and that he
is a good actor because of the previous films he is in. Another example of credits used is in
the film Rings where they show day 1 to day 7, this shows the audience that they are
running out of time and everything starts speeding up, this gives the audience more context
to what is happening in the film, giving the audience more of an understanding of the film
and what is going on. Having the days counting down makes the audience feel very
uncomfortable because it is speeding up and shows
them how if you watch the video 7 days can go away
very quickly. The get out trailer show credits to allow
the audience to know what other films the
producers have made, this is exactly what they
include in the trailer. They tell the audience that the
film get out has also produced good well known
films such as the visit and insidious, this allows the
target audience to expand because the people who have enjoyed these other films they will
want to see this film. They also include the writer in the credit but instead of just saying the
writer they say “the mind of” making you feel uncomfortable just what the creators want
you to feel. The background of the credits is dark and unidentifiable this makes it feel very
nervous and this shows the audience that the filmisn’t a happy joyful film that the audience
will find funny, the film is a horror and we can see this because of the background and the
colours used.
The filmpassengers uses credits in the trailer to drag the audience into the film and making
them want to see it, The credits of this film are very thin and plain but they zoom the words
out, the words make the audience feel tense because it says every moment counts showing
that the people on the ship don’t have a lot of time and this makes the audience nervous.
The background of the credits is plain and all black to represent space and nothing, meaning
that no one is out there to help you. As they bring out the name of the filmthey do this very
slowly and calm to make the audience feel that they are waiting for something. They use a
bit of light on the writing to show that even though they are alone in space there is some
good and not everything will turn out bad. The writing also
looks like it’s very new and futuristic making the audience
know that this film is based in the future. When they show
the 3 words on they do this in different parts, this builds the
suspense for the audience up to figure out what the
sentence fully says and what it may mean.
