My Questionnaire

This is my questionnaire that I will give to 50 males and 50 females that are within the age bracket that I am aiming my teaser at. The results will help me to identify the best routes of exhibition suited to my teaser as well as a brief overview of what to include in my trailer and ensure that the decisions I have made already such as creating a Psychological Thriller for an audience including both males and females have been suitably made.

History of Demographics - Thrillers

Using IMDB I have analysed some of the demographics for previous films that suit the genre of my teaser trailer. I chose a film from the 1920s, 40s, 60, 80s and 00s so I could see if their was any dramatic changes in the gender of audience throughout the years and as you can see this is not the case and the male audience has consistently been the primary sex to have watched thrillers.

The Lodger [1927]

Stranger on the Third Floor [1940]

Bunny Lake is Missing [1965]

The Firestarter [1984]

The Eye [2008]

My initial ideas were that a teaser for a thriller film with a female protagonist as well as themes of reality TV, would attract a predominantly female audience. However looking at previous thrillers, such as these, has shown me that in terms of IMDB stats thrillers have been mostly popular with males. Looking at the popularity of these films with the age group 18-29 year olds has determined my target audience age group but as well as taking these factors into account I will also do a market research questionnaire with a sample of 50 males and 50 females from this age bracket to learn more about what they want from a teaser but also how popular the genre Thriller really is with each gender.

Post-modernist Film Review

Because I am aiming to create a teaser for a film that questions that expresses ideas of post-modernism I wanted to look at an iconic postmodern director Quentin Tarantino. His film 'Pulp Fiction' is full of references to different eras as well as iconic movies which he has used for inspiration for multiple scenes as well as plot devices. It is therefore a film with typically postmodern conventions.

Freidrich Jameson said, ''Postmodernism is a gratuitous eclecticism cannibalising the styles of the past'' and therefore I want to illustrate how the film does this for my own understanding of Freidrich Jamesons' views.

Because my teaser is for a film that questions postmodern values through the focus of Reality TV, I also wanted to see if I could draw inspiration of how I can use certain clues (such as props, shots etc.) to guide the audience through my teaser or even for my movie poster or magazine cover. I now want to find props, shots and lines that are iconic because of there association with reality TV. I can then look into possibly using these for either my main product or ancillary products.

Themes/Representations in Reality TV

As you can see I've noted that one of the major themes is glamour and this has inspired some of the ideas for shots within my teaser that I will go on to put together in a storyboard. The aim is to exploit these themes within my trailer to really promote the post-modern message within what would be the full feature film.

Reality TV - Real or Fake? [Theme in my Teaser]

Example - The Hills

The Hills is another Reality TV show of the modern age that is based heavily on their glamorous lifestyles whether it be their jobs in fashion, public relations or the music industry as well as the dramatic problems between friendships. The audience never got to know the families of the young adults very well and throughout it's life on MTV we only see them if they are being asked advice on relationships, friendship problems or just to spur on the next narrative of the show.

In the final scene of the final series the show confronted questions that had been posed during its history of whether it was real or fake. Flashbacks of all series' are shown until a shot of Brody standing infront of the Hollywood sign is zoomed out to reveal that the scene was filmed on a set. Director Adam DiVello commented on the final scene with:

 ''When we set out to make the show, it was a reality show without the conventions of a reality show... [Viewers wondered,] 'Were these things shot on soundstages or were they shot in their apartments?' But I think everyone knows it was a reality show, obviously.''

This is one of the main themes that has spurred on the storyline of my teaser trailer. Friedrich Jameson said the following about Postmodernism, 

• ''In a postmodern age we are living in an hallucination, a reality evaporating into mere spectacle- we are fixated on products, commodities and on image''

This particular quote can sum up modern day reality shows in a sentence, commenting directly on reality it describes exactly how unreal it can actually become in this era - ''an hallucination''. It also comments on the concern with image, something that seems to be the theme promoted in most reality shows nowadays. 

I want to focus on the fact that in these modern shows the reality is not actually the reality in most cases and instead the cast are manipulated into certain situations by directors. As someone who watches reality shows such as The Hills religiously I understand how it is to be sucked in by what you know is unlikely to be a reality because of its sheer entertainment. Because of this I want my teaser trailer to question peoples' choices in supporting something that creates 'instant celebrities' through their ability to be part of what is ultimately a façade.

VISO Trailers [EXHIBITION]

• "One of top FIVE entertainment channels on YouTube''
• "Ahead of popular channels including BBC
• "Over 260k channel subscribers"
• "YouTube's leading sources of movie trailers"

It's clear from this article that VISO trailers as an exhibition format is a very good option for movie trailers because of its sheer popularity, the hundreds of thousands of subscribers waiting to see the next trailer or the  background advertising technique where the film is plastered all over the sites pages.

VISO Trailers is a YouTube channel that shows all sorts of movie trailers as well as special features for recent releases. The channel, being YouTube's leading source for movie trailers would be perfect for the exhibition of any teaser as whilst watching any trailers on YouTube, the related videos bar includes multiple trailers uploaded by this channel therefore increasing the chances of an increased viewership.

VISO Trailers also has its own facebook page, recently created, but still reaching 16,251 likes. The facebook page provides direct links to trailers, the chance to discuss movies, photos of recent releases (Movie Posters, film stills, etc.), polls that can be answered by the pages viewers as well as a link to their Twitter page which has 7,216 followers. All of this comes together to provide a great viral marketing scheme for all different trailers, viewers have the option to share the trailer in multiple different ways whether it's via facebook or just interacting with the information they see so that this activity can be observed by their friends or they can retweet the tweets from VISO Trailers twitter account. 

Exhibition of Teaser Trailers

As said in the previous post; most teaser trailers are created before or during the actual production of the full film itself. The most common way of exhibiting a teaser trailer is to attach it to a film with a similar genre during it's exhibition in a cinema. Doing this hooks the audience immediately as they will have come to see this particular film because of its genre and therefore the teaser would directly meet their interests. An example of this is when The Incredibles had a teaser trailer that was attached to Finding Nemo 18 months prior to the films release...

   

The films are similiar in several different ways..

• They are both distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and use Pixar Studios.
• They are both animated.
• They are both aimed at the same audience: Young Children and Family Audiences.
• Both have elements of comedy and adventure.

As most movies have official websites specifically created for the audience interested in the film, teaser trailers are often shown there. For example, Inception shows all of the trailers shown to promote the film on the video section of the website. 

For TV exhibition, teasers for movies (or TV Spots) are shown during the usual ad breaks. A most recent film that does this is Contagion which shows several different teasers which can all be viewed on the WarnerBrosPictures YouTube channel as well as between TV Programmes. As you can see the WarnerBrosPictures has themed their channel around the release of the film even a few weeks after the actual release date.

In the USA, exhibitors will pay millions of dollars to secure a 30-second ad break during the Super Bowl because of it's high viewership (in the past reaching 50% of households). Also, playing TV Spots during a break for a programme that may hold similarities to the film that is attempting to be promoted would increase interest much like the attachment to similar genres in cinema exhibition.

However, recently the exhibition of teaser trailers has modernised and, as well as using these techniques, video sharing websites such as YouTube have allowed a new way for exhibition. 

As you can see here, most distributors such as Sony Pictures will exhibit the teaser trailers for the movies that they distribute such as 'The Social Network'. The trailer was released in June whilst the film was not released in the UK until October and was available for anyone who searched any words related the the movie. As well as those who deliberately searched for footage concerning the movie, there are those who could be watching other trailer from Sony Pictures and could be directed to this through the Related Videos bar on the right hand side. 

Teaser Trailer Techniques

Clues to the Narrative

During my analysis for the teaser trailer of Inception I noticed that, throughout, themes that are closely related to the narrative are shown. The fighting scenes that defy gravity, the spinning top and the text 'Your Mind' come together to show the balance between the control we have and the control we don't have over our minds which is perfectly suited to the film about those who can create dreams within dreams with the power of their mind.

Music/Sound [For flow or to dramatise the narrative]


In most of the teaser trailers I have looked at, loud sounds accompany the text shown on screen instantly dramatising the information given to the audience.

Sound is also used to emphasize the genre of the film. For e.g the sound effects in the second teaser for Inception gradually speed up, building suspense until the climax of the trailer. Each shot is faded out whilst dramatic beats are again sounded all in which create a more exciting experience for the audience.

What is a Teaser Trailer?

After researching into Teaser Trailers, via Wikipedia as well as watching them online, I have noted the conventions of what I believe a teaser trailer does for an audience. Some basic facts are...

• Firstly they are usually between 30-60 seconds in length.
• They can contain little, if any actual footage from the film. This is often because they are made whilst film is still in production so instead they may feature alternate scenes or scenes created specifically for the teaser.
• The teaser trailer is part of an entire campaign and is used as a tool to start of the full blown-campaign.
• They create hype around the movie they are advertising, they act as a device of intrigue. To achieve this they often contain puzzles, hints or clues as to the narrative of the film. This can be done with text, clips, voiceovers, images, etc.

De-constructing Teasers

2012

The teaser begins with production company titles, Columbia, which is instantly accompanied by eery sounding music that are the first signs of the building suspense. The long distant establishing shot sets the scene whilst also tracking a person we can see in the distance. The close up shot of the man running whilst the sound of their panting is played continues to build up suspense. Their is mystery around who the person is or why he is running but the music as well as the shots coming from behind the person and the camera moving quite fast in the same direction creates tension as if their is something causing us as well as the character to run. 

The mystery around his actions are heightened as he dramatically enters a building, the shots of the teaser fade in and out with the beats in the music, whilst the tempo increases, again building tension. The close up of the monk establishes the character and his actions of hitting a bell hold connotations of an event about to happen or a warning being made. Footage is shown whilst also cutting to a simple black screen, the final one with white text over the top, ''how would the governments of our planet prepare six billion people for the end of the world''. The text hints at the narrative of the film whilst directly communicating with the audience. 

Sound effects are uses as a huge flood comes over the mountains in the final extreme long shot, the music then comes to a dramatic stand still whilst the line ''THEY WOULDN'T'' is presented on screen followed by the title of the film. Another line is then presented ''Find out the truth, google search: 2012'' which acts as a technique of viral marketing, giving the audience an outlet for the intrigue that's just been created around the mysterious teaser trailer.

Inception

Beginning with the distributors logo, Warner Bros, the logo is built out of a birds eye view of a city which sets the scene of the film. The camera view gets closer and closer to the logo as we are plunged into the city. We're then shown a spinning top which cuts to the directors name before it stops, mystery is created as we are not aware of why it is shown or who has spun it. An establishing shot of the city is then shown followed by the first shot of the protagonist, played by Leonardo Dicaprio, with a concerned look on his face. We are then shown what he is looking at with a POV shot of a man being dragged away, the first sign of action within the film revealing what the audience may get to see if they watch the film. The next shot shows a glass, inside of which is water tipping to one side even though the glass is stationary on the table. This is something that adds to the mystery begging questions in the audiences as to why this might be happening. 

The camera then shows a computer generated city with the line 'YOUR MIND' that also tilts to one side whilst the view is exploring the streets followed by 'IS THE SCENE OF THE CRIME'. The cutting of the shots then increases in pace between a fighting scene juxtaposed between fast moving scenes and slow moving scenes such as the man coming out of water. It then shows Leonardo Dicaprio once more as if he is waking up from a dream and the final thing we see is the title 'INCEPTION' created out of the city that the camera has just zoomed out of, slowly revealing a huge maze followed by loose facts of the release date 'SUMMER 2010'. The music throughout the trailer features beats the match the editing of the shots slowly building suspense.

The Dark Knight

This trailer again begins with the Distribution and Production titles/logos, however, again they are slightly altered such as the black and white Warner Bros logo so that the theme of the trailer is instantly set. We are then shown a black screen accompanied by dialogue whilst flashes of light slowly reveal the batman logo. The logo then begins to crumble and towards the end a Joker Card is revealed as one of the pieces of the logo as it crumbles away. This is shown just as the sound of the Jokers' laugh can be heard. Overall, the trailer reveals no footage from the film and again shows loose facts concerning the release of the film, limiting it to just the season and year 'SUMMER 2008'. 

Because of the cult following of Batman this trailer includes several things that are instantly recognizable such as the logo which would create excitement to the viewer trying to work out what it is. The voice of actor Michael Caine as the film is a sequel to the first modern Batman film that he also starred in. The joker card is also recognizable especially as it is accompanied by his signature laugh. The dialogue reveals some of the action within the film such as 'death' and mad laughter but what builds suspense throughout is the background noise of a clock ticking as well as the dramatic sound of beating drums. The music gets more dramatic and fast paced towards the end of the trailer when the Jokers' dialogue is being spoken, it then returns to only the sound of the clock and one final drum beat as the title and release is revealed.

New Idea Pitch