Film Trailer Key Techniques

·         Voiceovers are used to tell the story and give credit information.

·         The stars of the film are show cased.

·         Key points are sometimes conveyed through titles.

·         Conversations between characters often consist of one-liners.

·         Dramatic camera angles may be chosen to show events or characters.

·         Action builds to a climax, where it ends.

·         Music gives the idea of pace to add to the tension or action.

·         The film’s title may not appear until the end.

·         The trailer is often used to highlight the most dramatic, humorous or fat-pasted aspects of the film.

·         Montage (a series of shots from different points in the film, edited together) is interspersed with actor or director credits on screen.

Film Trailer Information

Who? – The film trailer would be shown to the target audience which is based on the ratings given by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification). The rating of the trailer needs to be the same as the film itself to stop any money loss, if products such as games and toys are made.

What? - A film trailer a method of promotion a film in distribution, using small clips from the film and edit them together to introduce an audience to the film, therefore creating hype which, as a result, causes word of the mouth and proliferation through social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. A full length trailer (extended version) can last at least two minutes, while a teaser trailer (short version) can last a matter of seconds.

When? - The trailer can be shown mouths or even up to a year before the film is released, depending on how big the film is. The film trailer is released further back, if the film company believe they can create hype for this length of time.  

Where? -  The target audience would often see trailers in a number of places. This number has increased greatly as technology has improved; giving films more attention than they would have in the past. Trailers are traditionally seen in the cinema, displayed as posters on buildings, and buses and bus stops, on the television and heard on the radio. When looking at radio advertisement however, it is impossible to view the trailer, giving it a disadvantage. A trailer can also be viewed on DVD and (if looking back to the past) on VHS. Trailers can also be seen on social networks, sending a video viral on websites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

How? - Film trailers give information about a film to create attention without spoiling the ending. Some trailers give very little to make the audience what to watch the film to learn more.

Why? - The reason why film trailers are made is to create a large amount of hype before the film is released, to give the film itself attention, therefore making more people want to view the film and by products related to the film. This can therefore create a large amount of profit.

 
BBFC Ratings:
U - Suitable for all 
PG - Parental Guidance                                                                                                        
12A - Cinema release suitable for 12 and over
12 - Video release suitable for 12 and over
18 - Suitable for adults only
R18 - Adult works for licensed premises only

Media Schedule

My Intentions

My name is Chloe Taylor and this blog contains posts for A2 Media Coursework Advanced Portfolio in Biddulph High School Sixth Form. This is my first post on this blog and will therefore give my intentions for my final product. There two choices on what I can create either a music video or a film trailer, with a form of advertisement (poster, album case, magazine advert). There is more new songs being created that are shown on music channels and television, I also watch a large amount of films. Either way, it is not often that I view a music video, while seeing more film trailers on websites such as YouTube and on television. I find it at this moment in time, difficult to decide which I should create. On the other hand, I feel that if I was making a music video, the genre would most likely be Pop I feel it can be explored further in the form of a music video and links in well with my previous course work on a music magazine. If I were to choose the film trailer, I would use the genre of horror. This is because horror is very popular and can be crafted with more open opportunities to make an effective, new trailer for a made-up film.

The idea of both of these projects has also brought choices of the overall style. I personally warm to the idea of creating an animation if looking at a video as; when in a drawing anything can become possible with lack of sense in cartoon logic. There are examples of this in famous music videos such as “Yellow Submarine” by The Beatles in which the band explore worlds in dreams, bringing to mine something perhaps in “Alice in Wonderland” as it is so strange, making it unique and for more recognisable when looking back on it. Another example of this is the new version of the song “Bang Bang” (My Baby Shot Me Down) originally sung by Nancy Sinatra in 1966.The modern version was created by David Guetta featuring Skylar Grey in an animated music video based on the Wild Westin the style of Pop Art. This fits perfectly with the lyrics “Bang bang my baby shot me down”.

For a Film Trailer live action would be more appropriate for a horror film as it is more gritty, gripping and more realistic, relating to the audience creating more tension with the idea of the events affecting them and asking: “What would I do in this situation? Would I survive?” This has a greater impact overall.