HOW DO TRAILERS HELP FILMS?

Trailers are always at the center of a films marketing campaign, this means that they are the most effective method of advertisement that a films marketing team have. All of a films advertising builds up until the trailer, and after the trailer all of the buzz generated from the trailer is built up until the films theatrical release. A films trailer is the piece of advertising that gets the most views on social media, the most hype is generated from the trailer, a survey taken by Odeon found that 78% of people that watched a film at a cinema found out about it because of watching the trailer on Youtube. The average film trailer is viewed 7.5 million times. Some bigger films however generate even more views with MARVEL'S Thor Ragnarok being viewed 38 million times and Star Wars: The Force Awakens being viewed 98 million times. These trailers massively contributed to the films commercial success and therefore trailers benefit films hugely.

WHO ARE TRAILERS AIMED AT?

Trailers are aimed at the films audience or target market, the trailer will also be specially adapted to appeal to their target market. This will be done by soundtrack or by the speed and tempo the trailer is set at. The marketing team will also use their star studded cast to market their films and to advertise the film, as well as convince filmgoers to watch the film.

For example for War of the Planet of the Apes the trailer was fast paced with very loud SFX and high production values, VFX, Woody Harrelson as one of the star cast members. Due to it being an action various action sequences can be seen in the trailer. This would make the film further appealing for action fans as well as fans of the previous installments of the franchise. As in all trailers their is a cliff hanger as it will further entice potential customers to watch the film as they will want to see what happens next...

WHY IS THE FILM TRAILER MADE?

The purpose of a marketing campaign is to make the films audience aware that the film is coming out but furthermore to build hype or buzz for the film. The purpose of the trailer is to make the most hype for the film as it is the first glimpse the audience for the film have to see what the film will be like. This makes the trailer the most important element of a films marketing campaign because if it is not successful then the film will most likely flop commercially, however if the trailer is successful then the film will most likely be commercially successful.

Trailers are the key element of a films marketing campaign and they play the biggest role in  filling cinemas. A films marketing campaign will use its USP as a way to gain as much attention as possible, this USP will be at the center of all of the advertising.

TRAILERS: GENRE RESEARCH WHAT?

What are Trailers?
I investigated the trailer genre by using the Film Space's new Teaching Trailers resources

A trailer is a very effective method in marketing films, in my view. The idea of a film is try and convince their audience to watch their film. They do this by using puffs and five star reviews, star marketing, fast paced editing.
I then watched the trailer for King Arthur: The Legend of the Sword.

The trailer was very effective in persuading me to see the film, it used high production values and VFX to make the film look appealing but at the same time it clearly conveyed elements of fantasy, life Arthurian times and clearly signaled the genre of the film. The use of fast paced editing made the film seem very appealing through the hard cuts during battles and the enigma regarding the Legend of Sword. The extensive use of VFX made the large scale battles seem all the more attractive. Despite the countless themes and plot lines explored in the trailer; that of danger, romance, royal families, war, dictatorship, battles, enemies and quests. The story still remains a mystery and the enigma of the film remains un-tarnished as well as the suspense of the story.

The trailer contained all of the institutional information, for example the release date, links to social media platforms, director, studio names and the name of all of the key actors names.
As well as this the trailer also used persuasive techniques such as "From the director of..." which would influence my decision heavily because if the film that was made reference to was one that I liked then I would be more inclined to watch King Arthur.

WHAT IS A TRAILER?

There are multiple elements to a marketing campaign for a film, first there are teaser posters followed by a teaser trailer, then a full trailer is released alongside a series of posters and finally close to the theatrical release of the film the cast of the film have to do publicity (interviews) to promote the film and market the film.

The trailer for a film the most effective marketing method that a film has to offer, it uses a series of short clips from the film, almost like a highlight reel, to make the film as a appealing as possible to their audience. These short clips are put with usually fast paced music and titles to advertise the cast that the film has, this is also known as star marketing. The whole purpose of  a trailer is to tell a section of the story, not too much to give away the plot but enough for the audience to want to watch more/ the rest of the film.

I took a questionnaire in which I discussed with a partner the following statements and decided whether we agreed with the statement or not. I then watched the trailer for King Arthur the Legend of the Sword (2017). From seeing the trailer it was fairly easy to distinguish what genre the film was going to be, action, historical with elements of fantasy. It was also very clear to see that the film had high production values with very high quality VFX, star studded cast including Jude Law.

Another tactic a film trailer will use is 'The Director of ...' this means that people who have seen that film will most likely want to watch King Arthur. For example it states in the trailer 'The Director of Sherlock Holmes' this means that fans of Guy Ritchie and Sherlock Holmes will most likely be enticed to watch King Arthur.

RESEARCH: FILM EDUCATION: CONVENTIONS

In order to learn more about the conventions of Film Trailers, I did an activity on the FilmSpace website that required me to match the conventions of trailers with the key word, which was extremely useful in giving me a general knowledge about why certain conventions are used in trailers and the effects they have. Below is my activity, where I got 10/10