TRAILERS -> STYLES

After watching Dan Skinner on the Film Space website, I have found out that there are different types of trailers and different styles depending on many factors. Trailers are created to provide the same appeal to the same audience for the film. One of the main things about trailers which interest me is the fact that they are produced to give the audiences questions which can only be answered by watching the film. I also experienced the professional talk about how the style of a trailer is affected by a number of factors including where it will be seen, who by and for how long. 

The Teaser Trailer

The teaser trailer is a very short glimpse of the film; It normally lasts around 10-30 seconds. It does not necessarily mean that there is a cut down story line, but it does consist of perhaps the best shots or small scenes in the film; There could even be unfinsihed shots which are used in the teaser that turn out to be great to grab the audience and make them come back to see the main trailer.

The Main Trailer
The main trailer is slightly longer than the teaser due to being around 2 minutes long. However, this is because it focuses mostly on more discrete parts of the film as well as how spectacular it is. For example, in a Paramount Film such as one of the Transformers sequels, the director would use part of the opening to the film as the base line to the story for the trailer which the audience can grasp on. Then shots or scenes with the starring actors in like Mark Wahlberg - who plays the main role in the new Transformers movies - which adds to catching attention of a target audience because the audience love that specific actor or becasue of the films they have previously been in. Dan Skinner mentioned in an interview that one of the aims in the main trailer is to speed up to the end, not slow down. By this, he means towards the end of the trailer, there will be a montage displayed which are many shots that last a couple of seconds - this increases the tension and suspense of the film; A great example of this is the new film Transformers: The Last Knight.

TV Spots
TV spots vary in length from 10 seconds, 20 seconds and 30 seconds. The reason these times vary is because of the high costs of advertising on TV but also the short attention span that most people have, we have a 'snackable' attention span. A 2 minute film trailer on TV would not succeed due to the fact that people would lose interest along with a variety of other factors, for example background noise from around your house, you might have left the room during the advert break. 


Using Graphics
There are two types of graphics use din a trailer.'Copy' helps tell the story of the film and usually includes writing as well as a voice over.