Trailer Research

Trailers are composed of the very best parts of a film, it's made to entice the audience into paying for a ticket and sitting through a full 2 hours of cinema. This is a lot to ask of a person so the trailer has to be very exciting and give the audience a strong idea of what kind of film they're going to be seeing. Depending on the films budget they may choose to show incredible graphics or locations because that's what's best about the film or lower budget films may choose to show exquisite moments of acting and focus on characters rather than CGI or locations. I've chosen a wide variety of trailers to look at ranging from high end hollywood blockbusters to arthouse films made for only $500'000 and have tried to highlight the differences and strong points of both trailers. 

Man of Steel from acclaimed producer Christoper Nolan & Director Zack Snyder

This trailer is a perfect example of the summer blockbuster, an estimated $225million was spent on making it and therefore the trailer reads big. The entire point of the trailer is to excite and convey the epic proportions on which this movie was made. Specific shots such as the opening shot which immediately shows explosions and a world in turmoil, setting up the storyline in the first 8 seconds.

The film focuses on action and effects rather than characters and acting, the actors in the film are known but few are A-List actors, Henry Cavill who plays the lead is certainly an up and coming talent. Therefore the films budget has clearly largely been spent on the spectacle and look of the film and this is highlighted in the trailer.

The entire trailer is set to a soundtrack that slowly increases in rhythm, pace and volume to emphasise the climatic storyline and suspense involved. The trailer builds to a climax at 2:55 when we finally see the title appear in bold letters across the screen and we are left wanting to see the film and anticipating the story. This kind of trailer is made to wow the audience and send people running for the cinema.

Silver Linings Playbook Directed by David O. Russell

Silver Linings is a love story between two mentally ill people. Only $21 million was estimated budget for this film. The genre of the film is a cross genre, this is the first USP of the film, its a comedy but also a romance and socially realistic. The trailer clearly displays this by starting with comedic moments that are accompanied with breaks in the soundtrack to highlight it. The trailer ends with a more serious soundtrack and the title of the film is said by the lead character to suggest a resolution to the story that we find out if we watch the film

It's set in one town and the locations are very basic, meaning that the focus is on the actors. Several award winning actors were hired including Robert De-Niro and Bradley Cooper. The trailer therefore focuses on these actors and specific moments between them, very few shots are shown of landscapes or locations.

This trailer entices an audience primarily with A-List actors and a unique new genre. Then focuses on specific moments in the film between characters that are either funny or romantic to give the audience a clear idea of what to expect.

Open Water Directed by Chris Kentis

Open water was shot on just $500'000, a tiny budget for a film. It's a horror/thriller set in the middle of the ocean where two divers are left behind overnight after a deep sea dive. The trailer uses a basic format of word association, it uses titles like 'leaves two divers behind' followed by a shot of two divers surfacing from the water and this format creates immediate stories in our head, we don't see the action but are frightened by the thought of how easily a scenario like this could occur.

The trailer uses atmospheric sound of water and eerie notes to intensify the trailer and effectively scare you into seeing the film. Unlike the other trailers the film is clearly shot without tripods or high quality cameras and this gritty docudrama style is displayed strongly in the trailer by not showing any clear shots, everything is moving and brief. The edit of the piece also strongly contrasts the opening shot of the sunlit beach and steady camera with the final shot of a shark fun hitting the free-hand camera.