Rachel's Research into Teaser Trailers and Promotional Campaigns

Teaser Trailer Research : 

Teaser Trailer Research By Rachel Bugg As this year we are not only making a teaser trailer but a promotional campaign for our film I have researched existing teasers and also the movie posters, magazine covers and websites surrounding each film. This will give me an insight into the conventions of all of them and will help me when coming to construct our own.

Slide 2: 

Teaser vs. theatrical trailer. Teaser Theatrical A teaser trailer usually lasts anything up to 90 seconds and shows a very limited amount of action from the film. A theatrical trailer is longer than a teaser trailer and usually contains more footage from the film that appear for longer. The teaser trailer for twilight lasts a minute and is very fast-paced showing little bits of action but hardly giving anything away. The theatrical trailer is almost three times as long with longer sequences and a lot more dialogue from the actual film.

Romeo and Juliet : 

Romeo and Juliet Genre – Romance/Drama http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsQadf9xEZo The first 14 seconds of the trailer shows dramatic sequences cut from one to the next very quickly which creates an intensity. After this, there is then a juxtaposition with shots of the romance side of the film which is accompanied by the film’s theme song which is slow and sombre. After a few titles have been shown a shout is heard and the action soon turns back to dramatic including shots of a gun being fired and a police chase. Then the end of the trailer goes back to being romantic with the theme song once again and shows the main actor and actress of the film and then ends with a memorable quote from the Shakespeare play. This trailer represents young couples but as it is set a long time ago it may not appeal to young teenagers as much. These shots show the juxtaposition using a shot of drama followed by a shot of romance.

Slide 4: 

Romeo and Juliet promotional campaign. Film posters – The first 2 posters have a focus on romance but also have the juxtaposition of the guns and violence that bring in the drama element. Whereas the third poster is more simplistic and focuses simply on the 2 main characters.

Slide 5: 

Alice in Wonderland Genre – Action/Adventure http://current.com/144sm4c The beginning of this trailer really grabbed my attention. It began with a low level close up shot of the girl’s feet which faded to black and then became a mid shot of the girl running which again faded to black and then became a long shot of the girl running. This builds intensity right from the very beginning and represents the young girl as vulnerable and running away. The music of the trailer starts off quite dream like and as soon as the action changes to Alice falling down the rabbit hole it immediately picks up pace and sounds like a typical action film soundtrack. There is also a voiceover by Johnny Depp’s character. I particularly liked this point of view shot from Alice falling as it has limited lighting and creates a sense of adventure. Most of the main characters of the film are introduced in this teaser with all being of central framing to make them the focal point. This title cleverly incorporates the Cheshire Cat character into it.

Slide 6: 

Alice in Wonderland promotional campaign. Film posters – There are 6 posters that are separated into two main themes. Although very different both focus on a wonderland theme with them being quite dream like. Magazine cover – This magazine cover for Total Film magazine focuses on Johnny Depp’s character as he is the major star in the film and the actor most likely to sell the film to its audience.

Slide 7: 

Alice in Wonderland promotional campaign. Film website – The film’s website is consistent with the film’s posters and the magazine cover with it’s main feature being on Johnny Depp. The homepage of the website also features the film’s theatrical trailer which aims to pull in an audience.

Slide 8: 

Sex and the City 2 Genre – Romantic Comedy http://amygrindhouse.com/sex-city-2-movie-official-teaser-trailer.html This trailer plays on it being set in New York and it being a chic and fashionable film by showing quite artistic establishing wide shots of the city, including a fantastic Birdseye view which really grabbed my attention. All of the main characters are shown using mid shots in the trailer. There are a lot of shots that suggest plot lines from the film for example people dressed formally for a wedding but it is not revealed whose. The music in the trailer includes the title music and also includes a popular song that fits the trailer well. There is also a voiceover by the main character. There is also nice titles that follow a consistent theme of being silver and sparkly to fit with the genre. This trailer effectively represents it’s target audience of middle aged females. I liked this shot as it shows all of them from the back as to not give anything away. I liked this shot as it shows they go on an adventure in the film.

Slide 9: 

Sex and the City 2 promotional campaign. Film posters – The two film posters both feature Carrie as the focal point. But they are quite different in their colour schemes. The first ties in very well with the trailer with it being silver whilst the other is more colourful and ties in with the website. Magazine cover – This magazine cover for Entertainment Weekly shows the four main characters as a unit – there outfits tie in with the colour scheme of the trailer and the first poster. Website – The website for the film has the trailer as the main feature on the home page and the background of the home page is the same as the second poster.

Slide 10: 

Inception Genre – Thriller http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DwuVKfjctk This teaser trailer contains no dialogue an d is simply accompanied by music that adds tension and builds and gets louder as the trailer goes on. The teaser trailer for Inception contains shot that are used to provoke interest and show that this film is something different. There are a couple of really interesting shots in this teaser including a spinning top and a glass of water which don’t add anything to the storyline but show that the film is something different. There is also a shot of the characters floating mid air, shots like this are aimed to get the audience interested and wanting to know more about the film. There is also a theme to the trailer where most of the titles are pictured with city scenes as seen below. This shot of the streets zooms out to become the teaser’s main title.

Slide 11: 

Inception promotional campaign. Film posters – The film posters follow a similar theme to the magazine covers in that their colour scheme is blue and red and they are based around city streets etc. Magazine covers – Although for different magazines these covers are quite similar in that they follow a blue and red colour scheme and have Leonardo DiCaprio as the main focus. On the Empire cover, the rest of the cover’s stories are placed at an angle which fits in with Inception’s theme that everything is not normal.

Slide 12: 

Inception promotional campaign. Website – The website for the film is in keeping with the colour scheme of blue and red used throughout the rest of the promotional campaign. The shot chosen to be featured on the site’s homepage is one that shows the action of the film and shows what kind of film this is, instantly attracting a target audience. It’s use of good reviews at the top of the page is used to provoke interest.

Slide 13: 

Toy Story 3 Genre – Animated Comedy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f-MYl-HzNw This teaser trailer is unusual as it actually doesn’t show any action from the actual film. Instead, as Toy Story is a known brand and the characters are well known the characters are re-introduced again. This is effective for this type of film where it is the last of a series of films as the characters are well-known and will probably be why people go to see the film. Therefore basing it around the central characters it is effective in creating hype about the film. In the teaser the accompanying music is the film’s familiar theme song. There is a nice shot in the teaser that has a split screen effect, showing two different versions of a title for the film. These shots show the main characters being introduced.

Slide 14: 

Toy Story 3 promotional campaign. Film posters – There are a lot of film posters to accompany the Toy Story 3 promotional campaign. They all follow a similar theme and rely mainly on the characters of the film as the Toy Story brand is an established brand.

Slide 15: 

Toy Story 3 promotional campaign. Website – The website for the film is aimed at children, and shows all the familiar faces of the other two Toy Story films. The main homepage centres around the film’s theme of friendship and a community. It’s colours are bright and attractive and aim to draw in attention. I think this is a very effective website homepage as it draws you in to it and keeps your attention.

Slide 16: 

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Genre – Action comedy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr91Y42MEsA The teaser trailer for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World starts off with quite a romantic feel as it introduces the two main characters. The title appear in white and it is quite a romantic setting. It then switches to action with a lot of special effects being used during the fighting scenes, meaning it takes on quite a cartoony feel. There is a nice shot in the trailer that is split into sections and shows the 7 characters and there is also a nice split screen at the start of the teaser. The music starts off softly to match the romantic action and then when the action sequences starts gets more fast-paced and has sound effects in the fight scenes.

Slide 17: 

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World promotional campaign. Website – The website for the film follows on from the theme of the trailer which suggests it has a sort of video game vibe with the special effects etc. This is brought into the website. The homepage features the same shot that is featured in the trailer but with other characters in as well. This shot is also featured on the main film poster. Magazine cover – This magazine cover that features Scott Pilgrim vs. the world focuses solely on the main character and has a special effect in it. It follows a red colour scheme.

Slide 18: 

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World promotional campaign. Film posters – There a lot of film posters for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and apart from the main poster that features all the characters, there are a series of posters that show each of the people he has to ‘defeat’ in the film. This is an effective promotional campaign as if you see one it makes you want to see them all therefore creating more advertising potential for the film.

Slide 19: 

Kick Ass Genre – Action http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKjycnhKxY4 This teaser trailer is accompanied by a narrating voiceover by the main character of the film. The trailer starts with a really nice Birdseye view which shows a “superhero” standing on top of a building. I really like this shot as it establishes the scene in an interesting and relevant way. Also in the trailer the main characters are introduced in a comic book strip superhero way which includes a close up of the character and text to introduce who they are. I think this is effective in introducing the characters in a way that is relevant to the plot of the film.

Slide 20: 

Kick Ass promotional campaign. Website – The website for the film shows the trailer and has a link to buy the film on DVD and has similar pictures that show the four main characters. Magazine cover – This empire cover for Kick-Ass has the main character as the focal point and another two characters drawn on in a comic book style behind him which follows the comic book theme. The colour scheme is also consistent. Film posters – There are two film posters and both of them focus on the four characters being a team. The second is in more of a comic book style and both use the same colour scheme that is focused in the trailer the website and the magazine cover.

Slide 21: 

The A-Team Genre – Action/Adventure http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTVtRnacok8 The A-Team teaser trailer is packed with short segments of film and fades to black numerous times after each slice of action, most of which last for only a second. This is effective as it doesn’t give too much away but still shows the intense action involved in the film. A limited amount of dialogue from the film is aired and there is a short voiceover. The parts of the film that are shown quite often involve explosions or something dramatic to make the film look interesting and of high energy. The teaser trailer lasts for approximately 1 minute 39 seconds and is this short amount of time there at least 90+ frames used which shows how many different sections of the film they have packed into the trailer to create excitement. This nice low angle shot introduces the A-team and shows they are powerful.

Slide 22: 

The A-Team promotional campaign. Film posters – The three film posters follow the same theme of featuring mainly on the team itself. It mainly just introduces the characters. Magazine cover – The magazine cover that features the A-team again focuses mainly on the team itself. In the background of the cover there is fire presumably from an explosion which ties in with the action sequences shown in the trailer.

Slide 23: 

The A-Team promotional campaign. Website – The website for the film has a really nice loading page for whilst the main homepage is loading. It comes up with pictures of the characters and phrases and words related to the film. Then when you come to the main page of the website it is split into four sections which shows the four characters and each part navigates to a different section of the website. When your mouse hovers over each section an action sequence begins to play behind the character. It follows consistently from the trailer and other promotional material in that it uses similar colours etc.

Slide 24: 

The Dark Knight Genre – Thriller http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68dJHWpz4u4 The teaser trailer for The Dark Knight is an example of one that doesn’t actually include any action from the actual film. Lasting only a minute, the teaser gradually shows the Batman logo whilst having dialogue from the film played out. This is an effective teaser for a film that is part of a series, as the background story is already well known and the teaser just gives hints from it’s dialogue as to what will happen in the next film.

Slide 25: 

The Dark Knight promotional campaign. Magazine cover – The magazine cover for The Dark Knight features The Joker as it’s main point. It includes the Batman logo like everything else but goes against the blue/grey colour scheme. Film posters – There are a series of posters to accompany the Dark Knight trailer. All of them feature the Batman logo but in different ways and all follow a blue/grey colour scheme that is similar to the trailer. Website – The website for The Dark Knight again features the Batman logo and uses the same colour scheme.

Slide 26: 

Buried Genre – Thriller Buried’s teaser trailer is extremely effective in making the audience interested. The majority of the trailer is in the darkness and you can hear the character on the phone to the emergency services. Then nearer the end of the trailer you hear a lighter being used and you very briefly see the character is inside a coffin. This really makes the audience want to know what is going on and is an effective teaser trailer that lasts a little longer than a minute. Again, this trailer provides very little action from the film and leaves the audience intrigued. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxvtTQpsJw This is the only small piece of action you see in the whole teaser, therefore leaving a lot of unanswered questions that interest the audience.

Slide 27: 

Buried promotional campaign. Film posters – There are two themes to the film posters that accompany Buried. Two of the posters link in well with the teaser trailer with them being mostly black with a flicker of light that shows a limited amount. The other two posters are more sort of maze like but still represent the kind of claustrophobic theme that they all follow. Website – The website focuses mainly on a main image and by using such a close up shot that are still tying in with that claustrophobic feel that both the teaser and film posters follow.

Slide 28: 

Valentine’s Day Genre – Romantic Comedy The teaser trailer for Valentine’s Day includes a few sequences from the film and shows the famous cast members. As Valentine’s Day includes quite a famous cast it relies quite heavily on that being it’s selling point. Therefore the trailer is really advertising who is in the film rather than what the film is generally about. Considering it is quite a high profile cast, this is probably the best way to pull in an audience. The accompaniment to the trailer is a popular song is upbeat which suggests the tone of the film is happy. The scenes shown are usually quite funny to show it’s a comedy. There is a nice Birdseye shot in the trailer that shows people making a heart in a field. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q314XQZ4sF4&feature=related

Slide 29: 

Valentine’s Day promotional campaign. Film posters – There are two posters in the Valentine’s Day promotional campaign. Both of theses posters again rely heavily on the all star cast of the film. This is a good way to get people interested. They follow a similar colour scheme of black, pink and blue with pictures of the cast. Website – The website for Valentine’s Day again mainly focuses on the high profile cast taking a similar approach to the posters with small pictures of the cast members in amongst navigation links for the website. It again follows a colour scheme of black, pink and blue.

Slide 30: 

The Runaways Genre – Drama The Runaway’s teaser trailer becomes quite fast-paced and uses a series of rapid cuts to create it’s rock vibe. The action then slows down slightly before becoming fast paced again at the end. The music of the trailer is part of the film and matches the action of the trailer and there is also a short voiceover to accompany the trailer. The trailer also shows the two main actresses of the film as they are quite well known, shots of them are accompanied by animated titles. The teaser trailer is good at producing the tone of the film and gives clues at what it is about without really showing much action from the film. The sequence that uses rapid cuts shows a lot of frames and shots in a small amount of time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjZ4G7wUQl8 Where rapid cuts are used there is also a strobe lighting sort of effect.

Slide 31: 

The Runaways promotional campaign. Film posters – There are three posters for The Runaways and all of them follow the same colour scheme of red and black that is also seen throughout the trailer and on the website homepage. This colour scheme is to tie in with the rock and roll theme of the film. One poster also focuses on the two main actresses much like the trailer itself. Website – The website for The Runaways again follows the colour scheme of red and black and also focuses most of the attention on the two main actresses of the film.

Slide 32: 

The Social Network Genre – Comedy Drama The teaser trailer for the Social Network contains no accompanying sound at all. It is extremely simple, it is zoomed right in on a picture so it is pixelated. Words appear on the screen, which are to do with the film. The picture behind the words gradually zooms out and becomes less pixelated so you can make out his eye and then nearer the end of the trailer it zooms right out so you can see his whole face. This teaser trailer is quite strange and definitely leaves you intrigued as it doesn’t give much away at all. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2zrusByZ3E

Slide 33: 

The Social Network promotional campaign. Film posters – These are the two posters for the film The Social Network. The first poster is extremely similar to the teaser trailer using the same picture and a phrase that is seen in the teaser trailer therefore the style of these is quite consistent. The other poster has a similar feel using a montage of pictures to spell out social. Website – The website for The Social Network also uses phrases that are seen in the teaser trailer. The homepage of the website takes on a similar montage of photos feel that is seen in the second poster for the film.

Slide 34: 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Genre – Fantasy Adventure The teaser trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows shows mostly fast-paced action from the film. It’s accompanied by the film’s well known theme tune. The first shot is a good establishing wide shot. There is a really nice shot in the teaser that is low level and shows Harry Potter lying on the ground which suggests that he is danger. There is also nice shots of running which are used to create a sense of adventure in the film. The teaser trailer uses snippets of action from the film that create interest without giving away too much information about the plot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HTRLRvR4Lk

Slide 35: 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows promotional campaign. Film posters – There are two posters in the Deathly Hallows campaign and both don’t show characters but just show a setting with the film title – this is probably because it is an established brand and doesn’t need introducing. Magazine cover – The magazine cover for Deathly Hallows focuses mainly on the main character but also cleverly has pictures of the other characters in the shards of glass.

Slide 36: 

Up Genre – Animated Comedy The teaser trailer for Up is another that doesn’t include any action from the film. The start of the teaser shows a couple of stray balloons floating and then you see more and more balloons before seeing the house being held up in the sky by balloons. The only sound in the trailer is the main character saying ‘Afternoon’ as the house floats up in the sky. The title of the film is then left in the clouds once the house has gone. This teaser trailer is really effective as it doesn’t give anything away and addresses the audience directly. It definitely sparks interest in the film as it is entertaining and makes you want to find out more about the film. The bright colours in the teaser trailer show that it is a children’s film and grabs your attention. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE_V0g9q4g0

Slide 37: 

Up promotional campaign. Film posters – The posters for Up are all similar and are like the trailer in that they focus on the floating with balloons and introduce the main characters as well. These make the film seem like an adventure. Website – The website for Up has a running animation at the bottom of the screen which shows them walking through a jungle which shows the film is an adventure.

Slide 38: 

Marley & Me Genre – Comedy Drama The teaser trailer for Marley and Me is made up of one long action sequence. The sequence shows the dog running along the beach with its owners running after it. The only thing this trailer gives away is the idea that this is a troublesome dog which is what the film is based around. The shots of the dog running along the beach are really nice as they set the scene as well as showing the action. The action is also accompanied by a well known piece of music that often accompanies slow motion running in films. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHOR1qFKVKo&feature=related

Slide 39: 

Marley and Me promotional campaign. Film posters – The posters for Marley and Me follow the same colour scheme of white and red and are similar to the trailer in that they focus mainly on the dog and the two main characters. Website – The website again has a white and red colour scheme and focuses on the dog and includes the trailer. Magazine cover – This magazine cover is less a magazine cover for the actual film but shows Jennifer Aniston who plays one of the main characters advertising the film through appearing in the magazine. Therefore advertising for a film doesn’t always have to focus around the film itself.

Slide 40: 

Eclipse Genre – Fantasy Romance The teaser trailer for Eclipse shows the romantic side of the film first and then at the end of the trailer becomes more fast paced as it shows the danger involved in the film, this is where the music gets louder and there is a loud noise after each fade to black. There are some really nice shots used in the teaser trailer including one of Bella and Edward in a field of flowers at the start of the trailer and also one of Victoria jumping between two rocks that I really like. As this film is part of an established brand it doesn’t really explain much as it is the third film of a series. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wUvHQS9ODs

Slide 41: 

Eclipse promotional campaign. Film posters – The posters for Eclipse all follow a similar colour scheme of black, grey and red and then two of them feature characters from the film which are all heavily focused on in the teaser trailer. Magazine cover – This magazine cover is of a special edition of People magazine that focuses on the film however it uses pictures of the actors in real life rather than pictures of their characters. Website – The website uses the same black, grey and red colour scheme and uses the same picture from one of the posters.

Slide 42: 

Ice Age 2 Genre – Animated Comedy The teaser trailer for Ice Age 2 includes a character that isn’t a main character in the film but has small sections of the film that is an ongoing story of him trying to get this acorn. As this has already been established as a story line in the first film, it is used in the teaser to create excitement for the next film in the series. The only sound in the trailer is the sound effects that match the action that is occurring in the sequence. A teaser trailer like this, similar to Toy Story 3 in that it relies on already formed characters from prequels, can only be used in a series of films otherwise they won’t really make sense and won’t drum up much interest. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfYaJBzolBI

Slide 43: 

Ice Age 2 promotional campaign. Film posters – The posters for Ice Age 2 all follow a colour scheme of blue and white which is also seen in the trailer and the website. The posters also focus on the main characters of the film, however only one focuses on just the character seen in the trailer. Website – The website uses the same blue and white colour scheme seen in the trailer and the posters. The website focuses mainly on the character featured in the trailer and has the other characters on the home page also. Therefore as the film is an established brand it relies on the well known characters to advertise the film.

Slide 44: 

The Last Airbender Genre – Fantasy Adventure The teaser trailer for The Last Airbender is quite ambiguous. The first part of the trailer shows a boy in a ring of candles and special effects are used to show his powers. This part of the trailer is accompanied by a voiceover. It then shows a nice establishing shot of outside where he is and then music starts up that builds tension as we see boats firing things aimed at where the boy was. This suggests a conflict and makes you want to see the film to find out what is going on. I think this is a successful trailer in building up interest. It also has credits that show who director is as he is a well known and established director which will make fans of his want to see the film. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W1dhqc-JBs

Slide 45: 

The Last Airbender promotional campaign. Website – The website uses a blue colour scheme which can also be seen in one of the film’s posters. The website focuses mainly on the character seen in the teaser trailer. This is therefore quite a coherent promotional campaign as all three things tie in closely with each other. Film posters – The posters for Ice the Last Airbender seem to represent a contrast between fire and ice in their colours. Here they have separate posters and a poster where they are combined which suggests conflict like seen in the trailer.

Slide 46: 

500 Days of Summer Genre – Romantic Comedy The teaser trailer for 500 Days of Summer has some really nice shots in it. The whole teaser has no dialogue but has a voiceover and an accompanying song. Some shots in it that I really like is a shot that turns to look like a drawing. There is also a nice split screen effect at one point. There is also use of time lapse photography when he is standing on the balcony of a building which is really nice. Another nice shot is a pull focus where the focus to start with is on her in the background and then the focus is pulled to a little hanging ornament. And also a shot that shows loads of different versions of her sitting on the bus. This teaser is made up of lots of short segments from the film. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILCB_f0IIyI

Slide 47: 

500 Days of Summer promotional campaign. Website – The website uses a similar photo montage style as a couple of the posters and focuses mainly on the two main characters. Film posters – The posters for 500 Days of Summer are all in similar colours using blue and white. Two of the posters have this photo montage sort of style that is also seen on the home page of the website. The other posters focus on the two main characters and showing the romance side of the film especially with the close up of half of her face which is also a shot in the teaser trailer.