A trailer (also known as a preview, coming attraction, or attraction video) is a short advertisement, originally designed for a feature film, which highlights key scenes of upcoming features intended to be exhibited in the future at a movie theater or cinema. It is a product of creative and technical work.
Movie trailers have now become popular on DVDs and Blu-ray discs, as well as on the Internet, livestreaming and mobile devices. Of some 10 billion videos watched online annually, film trailers rank third, after news and user-created video.[1][needs update]
The trailer format has been adopted as a promotional tool for television shows, video games, books, and theatrical events/concerts.
The first trailer shown in an American film theater was in November 1913, when Nils Granlund, the advertising manager for the Marcus Loew theater chain, produced a short promotional film for the musical The Pleasure Seekers, opening at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway. As reported in a wire service story carried by the Lincoln, NebraskaDaily Star, the practice which Loew adopted was described as "an entirely new and unique stunt", and that "moving pictures of the rehearsals and other incidents connected with the production will be sent out in advance of the show, to be presented to the Loew's picture houses and will take the place of much of the bill board advertising".[2] Granlund was also first to introduce trailer material for an upcoming motion picture, using a slide technique to promote an upcoming film featuring Charlie Chaplin at Loew's Seventh Avenue Theatre in Harlem in 1914.[3]
Due to trailers initially being shown after, or "trailing", the feature film, the term "trailer" was used to describe the promotion; despite it coming before, or "previewing", the film it was promoting. This practice was found to be somewhat ineffective, often ignored by audiences who left immediately after the film.[4] Later, exhibitors changed their practice so that trailers were only one part of the film program, which included cartoon shorts, newsreels, and serial adventure episodes. Today, more elaborate trailers and commercial advertisements have largely replaced other forms of pre-feature entertainment, and in major multiplex chains, about the first 20 minutes after the posted showtime is devoted to trailers.[5][6][7]
Until the late 1950s, trailers were mostly created by National Screen Service[4][8] and consisted of various key scenes from the film being advertised, often augmented with large, descriptive text describing the story, and an underscore generally pulled from studio music libraries. Most trailers had some form of narration, and those that did featured stentorian voices,[9] a practice that would wane in the 2000s.[10]
Many home videos contain trailers for other movies produced by the same company scheduled to be available shortly after the legal release of the video, so as not to spend money advertising the videos on TV. Most VHS tapes would play them at the beginning of the tape, but some VHS tapes contained previews at the end of the film or at both ends of the tape. VHS tapes that contained trailers at the end usually reminded the viewer to "Stay tuned after the feature for more previews." With DVDs and Blu-rays, and live streaming and mobile devices, trailers can operate as a bonus feature instead of having to watch through the trailers before the film.[citation needed]
Beginning in the mid-to-late 2010s, many trailers have begun to incorporate a short 5- to 10-second preview of the trailer, sometimes called a "micro-teaser", at the very beginning of the video for the trailer itself. This has been explained as being a way to grab the viewer's attention quickly, so that they do not choose to skip the full trailer on streaming sites.[13]
Definition
Trailers consist of a series of selected shots from the film being advertised. Since the purpose of the trailer is to attract an audience to the film, these excerpts are usually drawn from the most exciting, funny, or otherwise noteworthy parts of the film but in abbreviated form and usually without producing spoilers. For this purpose the scenes are not necessarily in the order in which they appear in the film. A trailer has to achieve that in less than 2 minutes and 30 seconds, the maximum length allowed by the MPA. Each studio or distributor is allowed to exceed this time limit once a year, if they feel it is necessary for a particular film.[14]
In January 2014, the movie theater trade group National Association of Theatre Owners issued an industry guideline asking that film distributors supply trailers that run no longer than two minutes, which is 30 seconds shorter than the prior norm.[15] The guideline is not mandatory, and also allows for limited exceptions of a select few movies having longer trailers. Film distributors reacted coolly to the announcement. There had been no visible disputes on trailer running time prior to the guideline, which surprised many.
Some trailers use "special shoot" footage, which is material that has been created specifically for advertising purposes and does not appear in the actual film. The most notable film to use this technique was Terminator 2: Judgment Day, whose trailer featured an elaborate special effect scene of a T-800 Terminator being assembled in a factory that was never intended to be in the film itself. Dimension Films also shot extra scenes for their 2006 horror remake, Black Christmas - these scenes were used in promotional footage for the film, but are similarly absent from the theatrical release. A trailer for the 2002 blockbuster Spider-Man had an entire action sequence especially constructed that involved escaping bank robbers in a helicopter getting caught in a giant web between the World Trade Center's two towers. However, after the September 11 attacks the studio pulled it from theaters.
One of the most famous "special shoot" trailers is that used for the 1960s thriller Psycho, which featured director Alfred Hitchcock giving viewers a guided tour of the Bates Motel, eventually arriving at the infamous shower. At this point, the soft-spoken Hitchcock suddenly throws the shower curtain back to reveal Vera Miles with a blood-curdling scream. As the trailer, in fact, was made after completion of the film when Janet Leigh was no longer available for filming, Hitchcock had Miles don a blonde wig for the fleeting sequence. Since the title, "Psycho", instantly covers most of the screen, the switch went unnoticed by audiences for years until freeze-frame analysis clearly revealed that it was Vera Miles and not Janet Leigh in the shower during the trailer.
In the United States there are dozens of companies, many of which are in Los Angeles and New York City, that specialize in the creation of film trailers. The trailer may be created at agencies (such as The Cimarron Group, MOJO, The Ant Farm, Ben Cain, Aspect Ratio, Flyer Entertainment, Trailer Park, Buddha Jones) while the film itself is being cut together at the studio. Since the edited film does not exist at this point, the trailer editors work from rushes or dailies. Thus, the trailer may contain footage that is not in the final movie, or the trailer editor and the film editor may use different takes of a particular shot. Another common technique is including music on the trailer which does not appear on the movie's soundtrack. This is nearly always a requirement, as trailers and teasers are created long before the composer has even been hired for the film score—sometimes as much as a year ahead of the movie's release date—while composers are usually the last creative people to work on the film.
Some trailers that incorporate material not in the film are particularly coveted by collectors, especially trailers for classic films. For example, in a trailer for Casablanca the character Rick Blaine says, "OK, you asked for it!" before shooting Major Strasser; this line of dialogue is not spoken in the final film.
Over the years, there have been many instances where trailers have been purported to give misleading representations of their films. They may give the impression that a celebrity who only has a minor part in the film is one of the main cast members, or advertising a film as being more action-packed than it is. These tricks are usually done to draw in a larger audience. Sometimes the trailers include footage not from the film itself. This could be an artistic choice, or because many times, trailer editors are given dailies, basically individual clips, instead of a cut of the whole film. Often, the film is still in production while the trailer is in the works. While the intention is not to be misleading, due to the nature of dailies being easily replaced, sometimes certain shots that are present in the trailer are nowhere to be seen in the final film.[16] Furthermore, trailers could be misleading in a 'for the audience's own good' kind of way, in that a general audience would not usually see such a film due to preconceptions, and by bait and switching, they can allow the audience to have a great viewing experience that they would not ordinarily have. However, the opposite is true too, with the promise of great trailers being let down by mediocre films.[17] An American woman sued the makers of Drive because their film "failed to live up to its promo's promise",[18][19][20] although her lawsuit was dismissed.[21][22] In August 2016, an American lawyer attempted to sue Suicide Squad for false advertising over lack of scenes including Joker.
Composition
Trailers tell the story of a film in a highly condensed fashion to have maximum appeal. In the decades since film marketing has become a large industry, trailers have become highly polished pieces of advertising, able to present even poor movies in an attractive light. Some of the elements common to many trailers are listed below. Trailers are typically made up of scenes from the film they are promoting, but sometimes contain deleted scenes from the film.
The key ambition in trailer-making is to impart an intriguing story that gets film audiences emotionally involved.[23]
Most trailers have a three-act structure similar to a feature-length film. They start with a beginning (act 1) that lays out the premise of the story. The middle (act 2) drives the story further and usually ends with a dramatic climax. Act 3 usually features a strong piece of "signature music" (either a recognizable song or a powerful, sweeping orchestral piece). This last act often consists of a visual montage of powerful and emotional moments of the film and may also contain a cast run if there are noteworthy stars that could help sell the movie.
Voice-over narration is sometimes used to briefly set up the premise of the film and provide explanation when necessary, although this practice has declined in the years after the passing of voice-over artist Don LaFontaine. Since the trailer is a highly condensed format, voice-over is a useful tool to enhance the audience's understanding of the plot. Hollywood trailers of the classic film era were renowned for clichés such as "Colossal!", "Stupendous!", etc. Some trailers have used voice over clichés for satirical effect. This can be seen in trailers for films such as Jerry Seinfeld's Comedian and Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny.
Music helps set the tone and mood of the trailer. Usually the music used in the trailer is not from the film itself (the film score may not have been composed yet). The music used in the trailer may be:
Music from the score of other movies.
Popular or well-known music, often chosen for its tone, appropriateness of a lyric or lack thereof, or recognizability. The most often used of these is O Fortuna from Carmina Burana by Carl Orff,[24] as well as the works of E.S. Posthumus and Beethoven. Popular music may be selected for its tone (i.e. hard rock for an action film, lighter pop for a romantic comedy), or to establish context (e.g. the trailer for a film set in the 1940s might use big band swing).
Specially composed music. One of the most famous Hollywood trailer music composers, credited with creating the musical voice of contemporary trailers, is John Beal, who began scoring trailers in the 1970s and, in the course of a thirty-year career, created original music for over 2,000 film trailer projects,[25] including 40 of the top-grossing films of all time, such as Star Wars, Forrest Gump, Titanic, Aladdin, Braveheart, Ghost, The Last Samurai and The Matrix. He is considered by the New York Times as the pioneer of original scores for film trailer music,[26]
A cast run is a list of the stars that appear in the movie. If the director or producer is well-known or has made other popular movies, they often warrant a mention as well. Most trailers conclude with a billing block, which is a list of the principal cast and crew. It is the same list that appears on posters and print publicity materials, and also usually appears on-screen at the beginning (or end) of the movie. Studio production logos are usually featured near the beginning of the trailer. Until the late 1970s, they were put only at the end of the trailer or not used at all; however, Paramount Pictures was the first studio to use its actual studio logo at the beginning of its trailers in the 1940s. Often there will be logos for both the production company and distributor of the film.
Many trailers are mixed in Dolby Digital or any other multichannel sound mix. Scenes including sound effects and music that are enhanced by stereophonic sound are therefore the focus point of many modern trailers.
Trailers preceding feature films are generally presented in the same format as the feature, being either 35mm film or a digital format. High bandwidth internet connections allow for trailers to be distributed online at any resolution. Since the advent of Digital 3D, it has become common for a 3‑D feature film to be preceded by one or more trailers that are also presented in 3‑D.
One relatively recent trend among trailers is the incorporation of "bumpers", which are very short fast paced edits placed at the beginning of the trailer that give a small tease of what will be shown. Due to the spike of short videos across social media, bumpers are intended to grab the viewer’s attention quickly so they keep watching the whole trailer.[27]
Collections
National Screen Service contracts required that trailers be returned (at the cinema's expense) or destroyed; however, it required no proof of destruction, and depositing them in a waste bin counted. A market for trailers evolved as it became clear that some had a commercial value to collectors. Many of the trailers for films like the Star Wars series reported as 'destroyed' were taken back out of the bin and sold by cinema staff. As they cost about $60 each to make (1981 estimate) and were hired to the cinema for $10, such losses led to NSS increasing its rental charges, which led to a decrease in the number of trailers rented and shown to audiences.[28]
Some cinemas also began to show "trailer trash" programs of trailers without a main feature. Similarly, several DVDs containing nothing but trailers for films, typically from exploitation film genres, have been produced for sale.
Other types of trailers
Beginning in the late 1990s to early 2000s, and along with the development of the Internet and sites such as YouTube as well as animation techniques, more types of trailers began to be created due to easier and cheaper costs to produce and show trailers.
Video game trailers
In the late 1990s to early 2000s, more video game trailers have been produced as they become more mainstream to entice viewers to purchase the game. There are two main types of video game trailers: cinematic and gameplay. Cinematic trailers are usually made entirely separate from the game engine and rely more on CGI. Even though cinematic trailers do not represent actual gameplay and are a divisive promotional tool in the gaming community, they are commonly accepted as part of the advertising necessary to get a game to sell.[29] Gameplay trailers, sometimes referred to as "in-engine" trailers, are made using the game engine and take place inside the game's actual environment. In theory, this implies that actual game footage is recorded and acts as a "what you see is what you get" demonstration, though it is not always the case. For example, Cyberpunk 2077 failed to deliver multiple features it had included in trailers,[30][31] and the trailer for Aliens: Colonial Marines featured graphics that were of a higher standard than the game that was eventually sold.[32]
TV spots are trailers for movies shown on television that are often shortened to 30–60 seconds. These trailers are similar to green band trailers and have content "appropriate" for the channel.
While not initially prevalent in television, TV show trailers started as a common form of advertisement in the late 2000s. They are often trailers advertising a new TV series, episode, event or marathon premiering on television. Trailers for the next episode of a TV series are often shown during or following the closing credits of the show.
Book trailer
A book trailer is a video advertisement for a book which employs techniques similar to those of movie trailers to promote books and encourage readers.[33] These trailers can also be referred to as "video-podcasts", with higher quality trailers being called "cinematic book trailers".[34] They are circulated on television and online in most common digital video formats.[35] Common formats of book trailers include actors performing scenes from the book akin to a movie trailer, full production trailers, flash videos, animation or simple still photos set to music with text conveying the story.[36] This differs from author readings and interviews, which consist of video footage of the author narrating a portion of their writing or being interviewed.[37] Early book trailers consisted mostly of still images of the book, with some videos incorporating actors,[38] with John Farris's book trailer for his 1986 novel Wildwood incorporating images from the book cover along with actors such as John Zacherle.[39]
In September 2007, the School Library Journal established the Trailie Award for the best book trailers. There are three categories: author/publisher created, student created and librarian/adult created. The award was announced at the School Library Journal Leadership Summit on the Future of Reading on October 22, 2010, in Chicago.[40]
In 2014, Dan Rosen and CV Herst established BookReels, a website dedicated to allowing publishers and authors to post book trailers and other multimedia, culminating in the annual BookReels Awards. BookReels lets readers browse and rate trailers, post comments and reviews, join discussion groups, and share BookReel discoveries.[41]
Cinematic book trailers have become standard marketing tools used by publishers to promote more commercial titles or novels with film potential.[42][43]
Fan-made trailers
For popular movies, fans often make trailers on their own. These are unofficial videos by fans utilizing audio or video of a movie, studio trailer, animation techniques, or fan-acted scenes replacing the video of the official trailer.
Awards
Every year there are two main events that give awards to outstanding film trailers: The Key Art Awards, presented by The Hollywood Reporter, and the Golden Trailer Awards. The Golden Trailer Awards and the Key Art Awards pick winners in all creative parts of film advertising, from trailers and TV spots to posters and print ads. The Golden Trailer Awards are currently expanding to add a sister event, The World Trailer Awards, to be a kickoff to the Cannes Film Festival in France, 2013. The yearly Key Art Awards ceremony is often held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. The Film Informant also recognizes movie marketing media and held the first annual TFI Awards in early January 2012.[44] The site is the first to officially start recognizing and rating movie marketing media on a daily basis.
Film promotion is the practice of promotion specifically in the film industry, and usually occurs in coordination with the process of film distribution. Sometimes this is called the press junket or film junket. Film promotion generally includes press releases, advertising campaigns, merchandising, franchising, media, and interviews with the key people involved in making the film, such as the film's actors and directors. This process is an important part of any release because of the inherent high financial risk; film studios will invest in expensive marketing campaigns to maximize revenue early in the release cycle. Marketing budgets tend to equal about half the production budget. Publicity is generally handled by the distributor and exhibitors.
The Motion Picture Associationfilm rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion pictures are the responsibility of the Motion Picture Association (MPA), previously known as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) from 1945 to 2019. The MPA rating system is a voluntary scheme that is not enforced by law; films can be exhibited without a rating, although most theaters refuse to exhibit non-rated or NC-17 rated films. Non-members of the MPA may also submit films for rating. Other media, such as television programs, music and video games, are rated by other entities such as the TV Parental Guidelines, the RIAA and the ESRB, respectively.
A movie theater or cinema ,also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater or simply theater, is a business that contains auditoriums for viewing films for public entertainment. Most are commercial operations catering to the general public, who attend by purchasing tickets.
Rotoscoping is an animation technique that animators use to trace over motion picture footage, frame by frame, to produce realistic action. Originally, live-action movie images were projected onto a glass panel and traced onto paper. This projection equipment is referred to as a rotoscope, developed by Polish-American animator Max Fleischer. This device was eventually replaced by computers, but the process is still called rotoscoping.
A teaser trailer is a short trailer and a form of teaser campaign advertising that focuses on film and television programming. It is a videography pre-release film or television show advertisement. Short in length, teaser trailers contain little material from the advertised content to be released.
Entertainment Weekly is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular culture. The print magazine debuted on February 16, 1990, in New York City, and ceased publication in 2022.
Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and streaming television. In the United States, subscription television began in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the form of encrypted analog over-the-air broadcast television which could be decrypted with special equipment. The concept rapidly expanded through the multi-channel transition and into the post-network era. Other parts of the world beyond the United States, such as France and Latin America have also offered encrypted analog terrestrial signals available for subscription.
Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screenwriting, casting, pre-production, shooting, sound recording, post-production, and screening the finished product before an audience, which may result in a film release and exhibition. The process is nonlinear, as the director typically shoots the script out of sequence, repeats shots as needed, and puts them together through editing later. Filmmaking occurs in a variety of economic, social, and political contexts around the world, and uses a variety of technologies and cinematic techniques to make theatrical films, episodic films for television and streaming platforms, music videos, and promotional and educational films.
A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dialogic process.
BloodRayne is a 2005 action horror film directed by Uwe Boll, from a screenplay written by Guinevere Turner. It is based on the video game franchise of the same name, from Majesco Entertainment and game developer Terminal Reality, of which it acts as a loose prequel to the first game. It is also the third video game film adaptation made by Boll, who previously made House of the Dead and Alone in the Dark. The film stars Kristanna Loken, Michael Madsen, Matthew Davis, Will Sanderson, Billy Zane, Udo Kier, Michael Paré, Meat Loaf, Michelle Rodriguez, Ben Kingsley and Geraldine Chaplin.
Snakes on a Plane is a 2006 American action thriller film directed by David R. Ellis and starring Samuel L. Jackson. It was released by New Line Cinema on August 18, 2006, in North America. The film was written by David Dalessandro, John Heffernan, and Sebastian Gutierrez and follows the events of dozens of venomous snakes being released on a passenger plane in an attempt to kill a trial witness.
Pirated movie release types are the different types of pirated movies and television series that are shared on the Internet. The quality and popularity of pirated movie release types vary widely, due to the different sources and methods used for acquiring the video content, the development and adoption of encoding formats, and differing preferences on the part of suppliers and end users as to quality and size-efficiency.
A post-credits scene is a short teaser clip that appears after the closing credits have rolled and sometimes after a production logo of a film, TV series, or video game has run. It is usually included to reward the audience for having the patience to watch through the credits sequence; it may be a scene written for humour or to set up a sequel.
"Sæglópur" is a song by Sigur Rós, released in 2006 as a single from the 2005 album Takk.... Parts of the song are in Icelandic, although a lengthy portion is in Hopelandic, a "language" of nonsense words selected by the band that sound similar to Icelandic.
The Golden Trailer Awards are an American annual award show for film trailers founded in 1999. The awards also honor the best work in all areas of film and video game marketing, including posters, television advertisements and other media, in 108 categories.
A film, also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay, or flick—is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally accompanied by sound and other sensory stimulations. The word "cinema" is a shortening of the word "cinematography" and is used to refer to either filmmaking, the film industry, the overall art form, or a movie theater.
The Cinematic Symphony is a musical ensemble based in Austin, Texas. The group is composed of volunteers and is dedicated to preserving and performing the music of film and television.
CinemaSins is a YouTube channel created by Jeremy Scott and Chris Atkinson. The channel produces the "Everything Wrong With..." series that offers critique and commentary on movies. As of April 18, 2024, CinemaSins has approximately 9,170,000 subscribers and over 3.8 billion video views. Its slogan is "No Movie Is Without Sin". The channel's founders have since established a stand-alone website, CinemaSins.com, operating concurrently with the YouTube channel.
Oscar bait is a term used in the film community for movies that appear to have been produced for the sole purpose of earning nominations and/or winners for Academy Awards, or "Oscars", as they are commonly known. They are usually released just in advance of Oscar season, late in the calendar year, so as to meet the minimum eligibility requirements for the awards and be fresh in the minds of Oscar voters. The prestige or acclaim the studio may receive from the nomination or award is often secondary to the increased box office receipts such a film may garner; some films may even be depending on it to turn a profit.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a 2022 action-adventure comedy film based on the video game series Sonic the Hedgehog published by Sega. The sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), it was directed by Jeff Fowler from a screenplay by Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington, based on a story by Casey and Miller. Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, and Jim Carrey reprise their roles, with Idris Elba joining the cast. In the film, Sonic and Tails must find the Master Emerald before the villainous Dr. Robotnik (Eggman) and his partner Knuckles the Echidna.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
