Conventions of a Teaser Trailer for a Film

[Scorsayzee]

This will be of great help for research for my media studies project for A2



Cheers



Ben

[Rowdon]

name='Scorsayzee' timestamp='1284364502' post='473770']

This will be of great help for research for my media studies project for A2



Cheers



Ben

What will be? Can you break down what you mean a little bit?

[Scorsayzee]

name='Rowdon' timestamp='1284365345' post='473777']

What will be? Can you break down what you mean a little bit?

Sure, the task is to produce a teaser trailer, poster aand magazine cover for a film (the film being ours)



We haven't decided on a genre, so any tips and help will be great

[will.15]

Do what Hitchcock did for Psycho (and teaser trailers work best for horror films)

[orpheum]

I personally prefer the old style trailer.Plenty of titles flashing across the screen and loads of imaginative optical wipes.Lots of superlatives...cast of thousands...years in the making....rights cost 5million.Todays trailers bore me to death and actually persuade me not to go to a film.

[Rowdon]

The conventions are one thing - and they've changed in, say, the last ten years, so that now they are more or less all the good bits of the film just to reassure you that you won't be wasting your money (it's like DON'T WORRY! THERE WILL BE BLOOD! BUT DON'T WORRY! SHE WILL TRY TO GET REVENGE! BUT DON'T WORRY! IT WILL GO WRONG AND SHE WILL BE CAUGHT! BUT DON'T WORRY! SOMEONE WILL TRY TO SAVE HER! BUT DON'T WORRY! YOU'LL ALSO GET TO SEE HIM TORTURED!) just to ensure that NOTHING in the movie comes as a surprise. An attention-grabbing movie trailer may well be another thing altogether - maybe you should - as orpheum has suggested - go back to other times when people were just bombarded with statistics flashed up on to the screen, or a series of questions (Is he the love of her life? Or is he a mental case? And if he is, what KIND of mental case? and what's in his bag?...) plastered across the screen as we see one-second shots of action that could be pretty much anything ...



First you have to decide if you want to summarize the story (modern convention) or whet the audience's appetite (older convention). A third option I've seen is to put in quick jokes and jolts which don't actually happen in the movie, but why bother?



I imagine you've done this, but why don't you all separate, spend two hours watching (ancient and modern) trailers on youtube and elsewhere (try 'trailer 1930', 'trailer classic' (that gives you "Classic movie trailers", for example) or whatever), then get back together and with your individual top fives? It's a starting point.



For example - I found this one by searching "Bogart trailer" - it's too long (90 seconds) but contains a bunch of conventions that you just don't see these days...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eJ0oF1sJWk



and this British one ... with NARRATION!!!!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8qFD2s0Fwg



or this ... like a bridge between the past trailers and the new ones ,,,



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8Bi9mGv1J8

[zettel45]

You'll need to find someone with a really deep voice to do the narration. And he'll have to say "In a world where.... [something, something, something], one man... [something, something else]."



So a trailer for It's A Wonderful Life might go:



"In a world where greed runs riot [clip from bank], one man [clip of Stewart] has the courage to say: ENOUGH! [clip of Stewart jumping off bridge] It's a Wonderful Life: this summer death is just the beginning...."



But a trailer for American History X might go:



"In a world where racial tension runs riot [clip from basketball court], one man [clip of Norton] has the courage to say: ENOUGH! [clip of Norton stamping on black guy's head]. American History X: this summer Racism is the new black...."



Simples.

[GoggleboxUK]

I agree with Will, teasers for horror films are the simplest to produce.



If it were my project I'd be tempted to cross genres with no explanation in the trailer at all. For example....



Girl at funfair all happy and smily.

Good looking boy eyes her up.



Narrator says ""When two people's destinies collide...."



A few fast moving shots of love, joy and happiness. Kisses and cuddles. (So you're thinking this is anothwe girly romantic chick flick)



Narrator says "Two people who were meant to be together....."



Brief shot of girl having a ring placed on her finger.

Glowing happy smiling girl.



Narrator says "Commiting the rest of their lives to each other."



Enormous deep bassy boom.

Pictire goes black.

Blurred shot of dark cellar comes into focus.



Narrator says "Eternity may be too long."



Blood splat, screams, micro seconds of gore, epilepsy inducing strobed horror.



Narrator says "Falling in love might just be the death of them."



Deep bassy boom, title shown on screen, released date/ Coming soon.



All the best trailers leave you with questions and wtf? is the best question ever!

[orpheum]

Great trailers Barbara.Marked Woman is a really good film and a great trailer.Hell Drivers "Hurtling down the road to destruction".Oh i just love it.Both those trailers wont to make you go out and see the films immediately.By the way Mraked Woman was based on a true case.

[CaptainWaggett]

The best trailer I've seen recently isn't actually for a film but for a play (increasingly common). Deathtrap. Ingenious because obviously it can't use anything from the actual play.

[Scorsayzee]

All your posts have been very very helpful, thanks a lot guys!

[Rowdon]

name='orpheum' timestamp='1284389502' post='473906']

Great trailers Barbara.Marked Woman is a really good film and a great trailer.Hell Drivers "Hurtling down the road to destruction".Oh i just love it.Both those trailers wont to make you go out and see the films immediately.By the way Mraked Woman was based on a true case.

Barbara?