Film theory

Why are they made?• Trailers are part of the film marketing campaign and are

designed to complement film posters as do they posters for trailers. Trailres inform and excite potential audiences to encourage them to see the film.

• As there's several elements to a marketing campaign for a film, from public transport posters to viral marketing, a trailer is an important factor in the campaign to raise audience awareness and interest in the film before its released.

• If you were just given the names of a film, you would have to guess what the film is about basing your ideas on associations with the particular words from the name.

• Therefore trailers are made to help the audience understand the genre of the film and what its all about.

Who are they aimed at?• The audience that the film is aimed towards, the

trailer will more than likely be aimed at the same audience, for example tinker bell the film, the film is aimed at pre-teen girls from the ages 3-9 so the trailer would also be aimed at the same genre by showing all the ‘girly’ fairies and sparkly things to attract the target audience.

How do they fill cinemas?• Trailers are shown on TV, at the cinemas, online. on TV and online • As well as the trailer being shown through the media industry,

poster and radio campaigns are also around giving a wide coverage for new film releases.

• Online there are specific trailer sites and official film websites which carry trailers which have been cut to be suitable for a general age, instead of the trailer shown at the cinema which usually correspond with the classification of the film being screened.

• Trailers fill our cinemas because they grab the attention of the audience, because of the use of USP (unique selling point) of the film. A USP which separates one film from another could be because of

• The use of a popular actor or star• A mix of genres• The use of new and innovative special effects

When are they shown?• They produced whilst the same film is being

edited, using clips from the film to build the trailer up. Its very important for a trailer campaign to acknowledge timing. The trailer should be shown far enough in advance to create excitement about the film being released but not too early so that they forget about the film before it comes out.

• For example a companies who's target audience is children will want to get there film out around the summer for when children are out of school. Also a company doesn’t want to bring a Christmas film after Christmas as people wouldn't be as interested, timing is key!