What are Film Trailers and who are they made for?

What are film trailers and why are they made?

Films trailers are a type of advertisement in order to promote and gain publicity for a film months in advanced before the film is released in cinemas. The trailer effectively is a compilation of the film's best moments abbreviated down into approximately a maximum of a 2 minutes and 30 seconds video (this rule was appointed by the MPAA), but refraining from showing any major plot revelations or giving away the narrative. The trailer should give the audience an idea about the film's plot and what the characters personalities are. Trailers can sometimes be misleading, tricking the audience into thinking a major star is one of the main characters in a film in order to convincing the audience to go see it because of the particular star, when in truth they are just a minor character. There are cases in trailers where some of the footage shown is made for trailer-purposes only, and do not show in the full film. 

How do they work?

As trailers are made to advertise a film, their purpose is to engage the audience and make them want to see the featured film. Trailers are commonly structured into three parts. The first part gives the audience an idea of the plot and introduces them to the characters, the second part dives deeper into the plot by revealing the disruption in the narrative and ends on a climatic note. The third part often features a well known piece of music that the audience is bound to recognise. 

Where do we see them? 

When films trailers first started to come out, they were shown at the end of a feature film screening, whereas now they are shown before the start of the screening, this way the audience is bound to see the the advertisements while they are waiting for their movie to start. Trailers would be shown before films of a similar genre, so action movie trailer will be featured before the screening of a full feature release of an action movie as the targeted audience would be the same or similar. You can also find film trailers on popular sites such as YouTube or Facebook, or they will be showed on TV channels in the middle of advertisement breaks. 

When are they released?

Film trailers usually nowadays are released 2-6 months in advance before the film's release date. This is likely to be done in order for the audience to gain an enthusiasm and anticipation for the movie's actual release, so that when the film is finally in cinemas the audience will be hyped up to see the movie. Some films create multiple trailers and release them at different times, sometimes months or weeks apart in order to show new footage to excite the audience with. 

Who are they for?

Trailers are made for people who like to watch films, be it at home or in a cinema. The trailer is usually made for a specific audience depending on the genre of the film for example an animation, family genre film is usually made for children to want to see, whereas an action genre film with lots of violence is made for people in their mid-teens and onwards. The trailer's audience also depends on their gender, a chick-flick would appeal more to females and a superhero movie would appeal more to a male. 

Here are some examples of film trailers that apply to three different audiences:

Big Hero 6 (2014, Directed by Don Hall, Chris Williams)

Big Hero 6 is clearly targeted towards children, one of the main facts that indicate this is that the movie is animated, like most children's films. A majority of the footage shown is of the film's most comical moments of the character Baymax, showing the audience this is a very light-hearted film. The character of Baymax himself is portrayed to be a hug-able, instantly likable robot that every child needs in their life. The trailer has the song 'My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark' by Fall Out Boy playing over the top of the footage. This is a well known song that has gained commercial success worldwide therefore it should be recognisable. Fans of the band would also be attracted to the trailer in order top hear the song featured. There is a point in the trailer where it says 'From the creators of Frozen and Wreck It Ralph'  which can impress the audience if they were fans of these two movies, especially Frozen, and it may entice them to watch this one as it may look to be as promising as the others. There are also a few action scenes featured that make the movie look more thrilling, such as the scene where the protagonists are in a car escaping the wrath of the kabuki-masked antagonist. Even though the film involves action elements, they do not show any violence, so it will be appropriate for those of younger ages. As the cast is primarily male this might appeal more to young boys, however the trailer is made to appeal to both genders as there is no favouritism shown. 

The Avengers (2012, Directed by Joss Whedon)

This trailer would appeal more to a teenage audience for the use of action shown in the footage as there are many scenes that show explosions going off and various fight scenes. This film would also appeal to those who have a general interest in Marvel comics as this movie is an adaptation of one of their stories and features a number of their most iconic characters teaming up to defeat the ultimate evil that threatens the peace of the world, also known as Thor's brother Loki. Unlike Big Hero 6, this trailer does show violence and characters getting hurt therefore this film would be too upsetting or inappropriate for younger audiences, so this will be better suited for a more mature audience. The fact that the CGI is realistic for its time is a selling point for the movie, and would appeal to people who watch films for escapism rather than complex storytelling. They use big name stars in this movie such as Chris Evans, Robert Downie Jr., Scarlet Johansson and Chris Hemsworth so fans of these stars may be convinced to watch the movie because of these actors in order to see their talent of acting in action. 

The King's Speech (2010, Directed By Tom Hooper)

The King's Speech is likely to attract an audience of an older generation as it is a period drama film about the royal family. The trailer reveals the plot of the movie, showing that it is about King George VI who is made king, though he is reluctant about it as he is plagued by a stammer in his speech, and the film goes over how he seeks unorthodox therapy to get over it. As younger audiences are more interested in action and comedies, the older generation typically are more interested in watching a story progress without the distractions of explosions and fist fights. As the movie takes place during the second world war, this attract elders who remember living through that time period.The actors involved in the movie are big names who have won or have been nominated for academy awards, such as Colin Firth who plays the king, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter. The fact that there are big names in the movie will help attract an audience. The trailer is made to be gender-neutral so that it will attract both males and females.