Task 1: What is a Trailer? What is a Teaser Trailer?

The first trailer that I looked at was 'The Secret Life of Pets' Summer 2016

This trailer is of an animation film. I feel as though this trailer has the typical characteristics of this genre of film. For example throughout the trailer there is up-beat music playing. This suggests that the film is a happy one and will make you smile and laugh. The humour in this trailer is also typical of an animation film. I feel this is because these sorts of films attract a family audience so has to keep all different ages entertained. Animations regularly use bright colours and friendly, cute characters; as in this trailer. I feel animation films use bright colours and cute looking characters to attract their younger audience.

This trailer also has the typical characteristic of showing titles of actors that are in the film. However instead of showing the actors names throughout the trailer they just get shown at the end. When the actors names are shown along with the title of the film, they make a quick bold entrance to the beat of the fast paced music in the background. Both the title of the film and the actors names do not appear on the screen for long. They vaguely appear near the end of the trailer but not throughout. The trailer mainly focuses on the content of the film.

During the trailer diagetic and non-diagetic sound is used. All through the trailer non-diagetic sound is used, this is the up-beat background music. This music in the trailer symbolises the humour and happiness of the film. This music becomes even more fast paced when the humans leave their pets, this suggests the pets excitement that they can finally do what they want. Diagetic sound is also used during the trailer. It is used in the form of dialouge when the animals are talking or barking. It is also used to represent the pets getting up to mischief. For example the sound of the electric whisk is used to show the sausage dog receiving a massage. Another example of diagetic sound, is the sound of the fan and the TV that the bird turns on by itself to practice flying.



Overall I feel the producers of this trailer have done a good job as it is very effective. I think this trailer is effective because of the use of humour. As the trailer is so funny it will attract the audience and make them want to come back for more. The humour of this trailer also adds to the effectiveness of appealing to a wide audience. Although this films target audience is probably for younger children I also feel it will appeal to the older market too. I feel this is because everyone loves watching animals doing funny things. In conclusion this trailer is effective because it grabs your attention in wondering is this what my pet does all day?
Olivia

The next trailer to be looked at was Zoolander 2, coming out soon in 2016.

The trailer begins with the Paramount logo, this is a clear indication that the company that produced the film were from Paramount. After the logo disappears the screen goes blank. As a automated voice over starts speaking about the beginning of time. At this point i was surprised because Zoolander is a comedy and this seemed to sound very serious.

The space sequence is shown through top quality animation with the voice playing over all the way through. All the information given is linked with what is shown on screen. The editing done to make the sequence flow is outstanding and lots of money wold have been spent to create it, this would be because of the production company Paramount who have an extremely high budget for their films.

Further on it beings to talk about humans and their creation, however the problem is there is no link the the zoolander film, making it hard to understand what is meant to be advertised. This was clearly done to build suspense for something interesting or funny. At around 1:10 the main character is shown, with an anticlimactic speech.

The film logo is finally shown with a clever spelling 2oolander showing its a sequel to the previous film many franchises do this. As the logo is being shown 80s music plays over.



The whole trailer makes no sense, it doesn't show the basic concept of what the film is about. No story is shown making it hard to create any interest for it and it won't draw you in.

The film is based on Ben Stiller who plays Derek Zoolander. This trailer doesn't show much about his character and how funny he actually is. The film is shown to be released for 2016 with a date to be set. One good aspect to the trailer is its social media connections. Links are shown for their Facebook page and a hash tag for twitter. This can keep people up to date for future trailers and finding out the release date for the film its self. Social media plays a big part in adverting films now and its good to see Zoolander using its full potential. Having a hash tag is very good as people will talk about the film and will use the hash tag creating excitement for the film.

The third film we reviewed is Insidious Chapter 3. 

The start of the trailer shows one of the two production companies Entertainment One. Straight away mellow slow music plays along with the trailer. An establishing shot of the block of flats is shown quickly cutting to one of the main characters in a wheel chair. The music blends well with all the light bright happy scenes. The girl is greeted by her friends and family. Introducing key characters. This is clearly the calm before the storm.

 Theres many cuts in this part of the trailer showing many scenes of the film. The film makes a change when the girl goes to her room. at this point the second company is shown Focus features. The tone of the music slightly changes becoming more haunting. At this point the girl thinks her neighbour is knocking on the wall however this isn't the case. The music drops as the girl notices the guy isn't next door, all is silent when the first cliche scare happens. At this point the film instantly jumps to dark horror. Also the famous song also plays which is associated with Insidious.

 The Trailer picks up, with lots of cuts creating suspense, camera shots shown with many close ups, establishing shots and over the shoulder. Most scenes are dark to go along with the horror theme. A quote used was 'The darkest chapter' for people who enjoy horror it really attracts them to watch the film. Lots of jumping is expected in this film.

The trailer slows down again and has deep drumming in the back. Another jumping scene is shown bringing the trailer to the end with the name of the film. With the release being shown as Summer 2015.

The trailer clearly shows what the film is about and what direction it goes in. However some points that are shown could spoil the film. Too many of the jumpy scenes are displayed here taking out the shock value.

Once again at the end of a trailer social media is displayed, this is always great for adverting any film giving it publicity. What is good about this trailer is that it slowly builds suspense creating an interest in what may happen. The budget of the film seems very good here as the sets look very high quality.

The next trailer that I looked at was 'The Hateful Eight' Christmas 2015

This trailer was very dramatic and included the typical characteristics that most trailers have. For example the use of dramatic music and sound. Throughout the trailer dramatic music is played, I feel that most trailers do this because it keeps the audience enticed and excited about what is going to happen next. It also shows how intense the film will be. Another typical thing that this trailer does is that it shows titles throughout the trailer. This trailer uses dramatic font that fits in with the scene. The titles are shown in time with the beats of the music. The use of titles in this trailer add to the story line making it even more dramatic.

During the trailer sound is used to add to the trailers dramatic effect. Right at the beginning of the trailer just as it is starting the sound of wind is used. This sound is non-diagetic at the start but as we begin to see the snow in the wind it becomes diagetic. I think this sound effect is a clever thing to have at the beginning of the trailer because it makes the trailer become more enticing and mysterious. This is effective because it keeps you wanting to know more about the film.

This trailer also uses camera angles and cuts to add to the drama. This trailer uses lots of quick cuts alongside the fast music in the background. I think these quick cuts are clever because they are almost building up how dramatic the film is by showing us lots of intense scenes. Another intense moment in the trailer is the close-up of Samuel L Jackson's head raising to the suspense sound effect. Once his head is up the music quickly cuts out and he says 'is there room for one more?' This close up along with the sound effect is very effective because it is very thrilling and intense which again makes you want to carry on watching.

Overall I do feel as though this trailer is effective. It is very dramatic which I think is good because it leaves a big impact. The use of sound in this trailer adds to the intense and spooky settings that are shown throughout, for example the snow scenes in which no one is around. I also feel this trailer is effective due to the camera work. The trailer uses quick cuts to add to the drama and focuses on dramatic scenes. The dark lighting throughout the trailer also adds to the spooky and dramatic atmosphere. One problem that I have with the trailer is that it is hard to understand the story line and what is going on. However this could be used for effect as the trailer leaves you intrigued and wanting to find out more.
Olivia

The Last trailer we looked at was The Hunger Games : Mockingjay- Part 2.

The trailer starts with a scene of a wedding with a voice over. The voice in the foreground of the trailer acts as a voice if God, this not only suggests the character behind the voice will be the protagonist in the film but it also influences the audience to be in favour of this character. As this character is featured in previous films the trailer can be attractive as the primary audience will be excited with her presence.

Straight after the voice over ends the trailer becomes very serious as the serious music starts, which is also used in the previous films which
will get the audiences attention and excitement as it is familiar, alongside the name of the production company producing the film in big bold writing. This effect on the text will make it stand out and be unmissable to the audience.
This is then followed by an establishing shot of the major city.


The heroic music alongside the trailer suggests a sense of hope which foreshadows the idea of the protagonists having to defeat an enemy, and succeeding with a lot of resistance. The dramatic sound is played along with an establishing shot of the city again but with smoke coming from all the buildings. This suggests that violence is one of the main factors in the film and the low key lighting also suggests that there is violence and danger present throughout the film.


The close up shot of Jennifer Lawrence holding a bow and arrow pointing towards the enemy suggests that she is the main character and has a very dominant role. From this shot it tells the audience that she is in charge and from the amount of people behind her watching shows she is well supported in the act she is about to carry out. The crowd can also be portrayed as an army that she has made as her costume shows elegance and represents her to be authorities and of higher status. She is also the only person to be in focus, suggesting that it is only her that they want the audience to be interested in.

The trailer ends with a cliffhanger which will encourage and entice the audience to go and see the film. It is then followed by the title of the film along with the recurring tune from the film which is recognisable to following audiences. This is conventional to the franchise of the movies which tells the audience it will follow the same genre and expectations of the film, this will therefore further reinforce the appeal of the film.

In conclusion we feel that a successful trailer includes good sound aspects. This is because it helps to reflect on the genre of the film as well as emphasising key parts. We also feel that camera shots and angles are also important. This is because they show the audience what sort of genre the film is going to be. For example quick shots could be for an action film whereas fading shots could be for a romantic film. We also feel a good trailer uses titles to show what actors and actresses are staring in their film.This attracts the audience to their film if they like the actors starring in it. We also feel a trailer is successful when it shows some of the most important or exciting parts of the film. This helps to 'show-off' the film and make the audience want to see more. It is good when the trailer builds up to a climax at the end of the trailer leaving the audience with a cliff-hanger.