Trailer length…(For this project a part of the specification is to have our trailer at around two minuets however for the purpose of research I am going to ignore that for this post and give the

reasons for and against the different time lengths used for trailers.)

TeaserTrailers that are between these two timings are usually classified as teaser trailers.

They are given this name as it is used to tease the audience by having minimal visuals, dialogues lines without giving away too much of the movie. Teasers work well to build up anticipation. These are usually released before a ‘trailer’ to gain

initial interest in the film, they then continue on to watch the trailer and then hopefully the whole film.

As I am going to be making a trailer not a teaser trailer I think it would be best that I didn’t use this length of time. The reasons being although I want to leave my

audience wanting to know more I do not feel that within 15 to 30 seconds I will be able to give them enough information to really want them to come and see my film.

Trailer A trailer is normally between 2 minuets to 2 and a half minuets long approximately,

they will have more dialogue and sometimes communicate a message to the viewer. In some trailers there will be narration over the trailer revealing more of the

storyline.

Comparing the two types of trailers, Teaser and Trailers will mix and match footage, dialogue from different parts of the film that they see as significant. Therefore I

think I will chose to do a trailer not a teaser as it allows myself to have more material and I will be able to push myself and my creative skills as well as my editing

and compilation of footage.

Introduction of characters…When looking into characters it’s a broader topic than some as you have to think:• Who• When• How

But you also have to take into account how much of their character do you introduce, do you give a brief life story or do you just give away the name. Well, I personally think that this depends on which character you’re introducing… if you are introducing the main character normally you will give a brief overview or a slight insight into their life. P.S I Love you being a good example in the trailer you meet Hilary Swanks character and just from the trailer you know that she married you but her husband also died very young and that in the film you will follow her life, on the other hand when Lisa Kudro is introduced you know that she is a friend of Hillary’s character but that is pretty much it even though you can argue she is one of the main characters in the film.

From watching many a trailer I have gathered that the characters that are shown or introduced in trailers are

predominantly the main characters and then they introduce already famous people even if their role is

miniscule but they probably do it as that person can be a unique selling point for the film and boost their views

potentially in the future.

When/How?Different trailers take different approaches to this, but its safe

to say that the main character/s is introduced in the first scene and then after this the secondary or famous actors character’s will be introduced. In some trailers all of the famous and main characters are introduced in a series of

consecutive flashes with their actual name not their character name. , an example being In the P.S I Love You

trailer they introduce Kathy Bates as ‘Academy award winner Kathy Bates.’

Who?

Titles and credits/Plot…Like the introduction of characters trailers and credits you have to look at the same type of things like the when and who and how. Do you give credit to everyone who was on the crew or for the trailer do you whittle it down to the most important and leave the full credits for after the actual film?

Titles&credits

From researching and watching trailers I believe this is the case in contemporary films however if you are to look further back into history you will find that all of the credits would in the trailer even if they were all squished on to one page they would all be there. Depending on which type of romance I finalise on it will depend if I decide to put all of the credits at the start or just the most important, yet at this point I am swaying to a more contemporary film trailer.

PlotThe biggest mistake some film makers make in my opinion is that they give far too much away in the trailer about the film or they will show all of the best bits so when it comes to the actual film the audience are disappointed as they have already seen all of the highlights, however, it is an extremely clever marketing strategy. By showing the audience all of the best bits it makes the film look amazing so obviously people are going to want to see it which is actually the purpose of the trailer, on the other hand giving too much away in the trailer is not a great strategy in my eyes. If you're giving far too much away in the trailer about the storyline what is the point of going to see the film if you know how its going to end or the main spoilers. I personally think that a really good trailer will end of a cliff-hanger and wont show too much of one or any scene, keeping it to snippets or flashes.

Camera angle and Soundtrack…

I think that in any moving picture whether it be a trailer a film or a TV series the first few shots in the episode or film are the most important, so by having the perfect first few camera angles you are going to have the perfect opening or in my case trailer.

Some of the trailers that I've watched that I believe to have been the most effective trailers are the ones that open with an establishing shot or a close up, even though these are two completely opposite shots they have the same effect in a way. Opening with an establishing shot will give the audience an idea of where the film is set but it can keep the characters a mystery, whereas on the other hand by using a close up you are straight away aware of who the character/s is yet you do not know the location or time period. So when it comes to making my own I would like to think that I am able to open my trailer with either one of those shots to get the best reaction for my trailer.

Camera angle

Soundtrack in a way soundtrack is the same as camera angles you can either have one extreme or the other, you can either go silent or you can have a track playing throughout but it really depends on what type of atmosphere you’re trying to create for your audience. My genre being romance its likely I will have a soundtrack to my trailer due to the fact that without one it could come across are eary of sad as silence has those connotations. Typically horror or thrillers will have moments if not full silence during their trailers to create this atmosphere, whereas when there is noise ( happy sounding) it can generally bring up your mood and I think I will be doing a happy romance film, if I don’t I will most likely still have a soundtrack but a more solemn one instead.