MOVIE TRAILERS.By Joe Price

What is a trailer? A trailer is a short video that lasts about

2 to 3 minutes showing the best parts of the film to attract a large audience. The trailer shows multiple scenes from the film to sum up what it is about. This shows the audience the genre, sub genre and other needed information all aimed at the mass audince.

What is the difference between a theatrical trailer and a teaser trailer? A teaser trailer averages about 30 to 60

seconds and hardly ever shows footage from the film. This is to advertise the film in the early stages of production where as a theatrical trailer is produced in the editing stages of a film so there is more footage to be shown and this allows the director reveal all he wants to attract the largest audience posible.

What is the purpose of the trailer? The trailer is created to enlighten the

audience on what the film is about. This is done through the revelling of the conventions of the film and revealing its unique selling point. If this is successful then the audience will want to watch the film when it comes out.

What is the importance of the trailer? The trailer is an important part in the marketing

campaign for films. There are other ways to market the product however the trailer is the most effective so there is an important step to the films advertisement.

The trailer aims to show the audience what the film is. They show clips from the film to suet the genre of the film. e.g. a horror film may show someone trick or treating or sharp fast clips. However they do not give it all away and only show enough to interest the viewers.

Why is it important for a trailer to show us the genre and how is this established? It is important for the trailer to show the

genre because this will automatically tell the audience what they are getting. Furthermore certain audiences will be attracted to the genres and watch the film because this may be there preferred genre. e.g. people interested in space and the idea of extraterrestrials would prefer Sci-Fi

When is the trailer produced? A theatrical trailer is produced in the

editing stages of the film unlike a teaser trailer what is produced before the film is produced.

What are the conventions? The conventions of a horror movie are: Voiceovers – these are used to tell the audience about the film and the

events that have happened. The actors – of the film are emphasised to inform the audience about

actors who are in the film. The key scenes – this aging tells the audience about the film like the

voiceover however this shows the scenes from the film. One liners – this is done to show short clips without leaving a cliff hanger. Dramatic camera angles – this is done to show the events of the film along

with the genre of film. e.g. a horror film would use fast paste and harsh movements.

Credits – this shows the actors and staff behind the film. Music – this adds to the atmosphere of the trailer. Climax – the trailer will slowly build up to a climax. Montage – the trailer is made up of lots of clips shown in a non linier order.

Why is a voiceover important? A voiceover is a iconic part of trailers

from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. The voiceover is there to inform the

audience of the background story of the film. The voiceover also tells the audience who the stars of the film are.

They set the tone of the film along with reinforcing the title of the film.

Theatrical trailers The two trailers I have chose to look at

are: Evil Dead Sinister

Trailer 1 Title: Evil dead. Director: Sam Raimi. Date of release: October 15, 1981.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtsK7skqk9U 

lighting The trailer for Evil Dead uses high-key lighting on the

characters faces to show the audience here expressions and this contrasts with the rest of the lighting emphasising on the expression.

The remainder of the trailer uses low-key lighting to create a contrast with the high-key lighting along with creating the atmosphere of a horror film.

The colour of the lighting in the trailer is mostly black, blue, white, and red because the black and blue are dark what connotes horror films along with the red and the white is used to emphasise the expressions on the characters faces.

sound Throughout the trailer there is a mixture of non-diegetic and diegetic

sound. These are both used to create an atmosphere within the scene.

Examples of the diegetic sound would be such sounds as the wind, thunder, and the shutters on the window. Also the sound of screams, the tape recorder, chainsaw, and blood splats. Without these sounds the trailer would not seem real and the sound of the weather creates a eerie atmosphere.

Examples of non-diegetic sound within the trailer would be the theme music along with effects such as the heart beats, screeching and acoustic music. This adds to the atmosphere and sets the pace to the trailer. There is also a voiceover in the trailer that tells the back story to the film.

All the sound is matched to the script such as the wind being played during the establishing shot and the tape sounds at the same time he is listening to the tape.

Editing The trailer for evil dead has limited editing

because it was made in the 80s where technology was not to the level that it is today.

Throughout the whole trailer there are only 51 cuts all of these cuts are straight cuts. There is a lack of editing within the trailer however this adds to the realistic atmosphere that it tries to portray. The whole trailer lasts for approximately 1:47 minutes.

Use of camera To make up for there lack in editing they use a wide range of

camera angles. They mix there angles together to tell the story and portray the emotions within the film.

There are 3 long shots within the trailer, one of these is an establishing shot at the beginning. The other two are at the end used to show a chase and make you believe that you are chasing them.

There is also approximately 13 mid shots what are used during conversation and scenes with a multiple people.

To show emotion there are 14 close ups and 15 extreme close ups within the trailer that are used to show the emotions within the film.

They use 11 low angle shots to make the actors look big and brave however there are also 11 high angle shots that create the image of the characters being small and timid.

Trailer 2 Title: Sinister. Director: Scott Derrickson. Date of release: October 5, 2012.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI1yZF6kn3Y   

Lighting In the trailer for Sinister the editor uses high-key lighting during

the day time to show you the time of the day and when he is watching the film to emphasise and create a focus on the film. The other time they use high-key lighting is in scenes where no one is possessed to create a feeling of safety.

They also use low-key lighting during the night time and most of the film this is because it is a basic convention of a horror film. Low-key lighting is also used during possession and whenever the creature appears this is to make it scarier because of the darkness.

The trailer uses a lot of saturated colours because it revolves around films and photos from the past. Along with this there is a use of black what is iconic to horror films and yellow during fire scenes and the day time. There is also a use of black outs towards the end to blend the editing together.

Sound

Sound is an important convention within a horror film because this is one of the key factors to creating an atmosphere in a film. Horror films use the sound to create a sense of fear along with a sense of safety to stere mixed emotions and trick the audience into a false sense of safety, thus creating a scarier film.

Diegetic sound is used to help enhance the reality of the film. The trailer enhances the sound of the film reals going round to create a creepy feel to the film because it is a constant sound that is looped making it feel unsafe. The sound of flames is also enhanced to shock the audience when the car sets on fire.

There is also a wide range of non diegetic sounds what are also used to creat more of an atmosphere within the film. The non diegetic sound is used during the subliminal messages in the trailer as a screech what is sharp and high pitched making it surprising. They also use a deep bass that contrasted with the high pitched screeches to create a fakes safety within the film. The loud screeches are more commonly used when the antagonist appears.

Editing The trailer for Sinister uses editing to its advantage to create a

scarier effect to the film. Editing is very important to a horror film because this helps to make the film scarier. The trailer uses multiple types of editing within the trailer to set the pace to the film along with atmosphere. The film trailer lasts 2:32 minutes and consists of approximately 134 cuts made up of straight cuts, fades and dissolves, used to creat the conventions of a horror trailer.

Within the trailer for Sinister there is approximately 110 straight cuts that are used a lot during the subliminal messages within the trailer this was to creat a faster and cleaner cut making it flash by. This was the most used cut because it is simple and un noticeable.

The trailer also has approximately 23 fades used towards the end between jumps from one character to the other. This creates a jumping affect that causes a faster pace to the trailer. This also creates a scarier affect to the trailer. There is also one dissolve within the trailer that appears from the title to the main film.

Use of camera The trailer for Sinister uses multiple camera angles to create a faster pace to the film

along with showing emotion within the film. All of this is done by manipulating the use of the camera and using different angles.

The film trailer uses approximately 49 mid shots used mainly during conversations and scenes with multiple characters. This is because it is a broad shot that allowed the viewer to get a large overview of the scene and when used right in a conversation such as the one at the dinner table where you feel as if you are in the conversation. There is also approximately 7 long shots used during scenes of the house or out side. This is because it is a larger area and can be used to establish the location of the film and scene which it takes place.

Within the trailer there is also a wide use of close ups and extreme close ups this is because it showers the emotion of the character and has become iconic to the horror film. There is approximately 19 close ups and 13 extreme close ups within the trailer used to show emotion on the characters faces and manipulated to be scary during scenes where the baddy appears in front of the camera in the attic.

The trailer also uses high and low angles to show the prospective position within the film. There is approximately 5 low angle shots that makes the focused characters look big and powerful this is iconic for the baddies within horror films. However ethers is also approximately 15 high angle shots that make the focused character look small and timid what is a common factor within horror films.

Which trailer was the most effective and why? Both trailers use multiple conventions from sound, lighting, editing and camera angle that are

iconic and important to the success of a horror films trailer. Both trailers use these conventions however the trailer for Sinister uses more of the conventions to a better level unlike the trailer for Evil dead what uses a limited amount of conventions.

The Sinister trailer has multiple uses for lighting within the trailer such as the use of high-key lighting to portray safety in the trailer. This is not like the trailer for Evil dead where there is only a basic use of lighting such as the use of high-key lighting to show facial expressions. Also Sinister uses more sound within the trailer from their diegetic sound and the non-diegetic sound. They use screens and static to create a creepy atmosphere within the trailer unlike Evil dead that uses basic theme music to set the atmosphere what doesn't create the same affect. However Evil dead uses a Voiceover what I believe helps a horror film trailer but other people would disagree with this view.

Furthermore there is more editing within the trailer for Sinister. The trailer for Evil dead only uses straight cuts within the trailer what doesn't help create a scary atmosphere or suspense. However Sinister used editing to its advantage by creating a atmosphere iconic to a horror film like the skipping and saturation to make suspense within the trailer.

However both use the camera angles to their advantage by using lots of different types of shots to create a great atmosphere. This helps to make up for the lack of editing within the Evil dead trailer. They use lots of different angles such as low and high angle shots what portrayed the stature of the characters showing who is strong and who is not.

To conclude Sinister is the better trailer between the two however this is because the trailer for Sinister was made 30 years later than Evil dead however Evil dead would have been a good trailer when it was released in 1981.