Social media (Twitter/Facebook) has become the big thing when it comes to film marketing and film awareness in the last 5 years but this is fueled by content and the key source for this is the film trailer. There is always a huge boost in social media chatter when the trailer in released as after all the hype it’s the first chance for audiences to gave a taste of the film many have been discussing for months before.
Before social media and the internet the first place audiences would get a glimpse of a new film was in a cinema was always exciting to see what trailers we might get to see for the first time. When I was a projectionist at Rank Film Distributors would always try to get trailers of upcoming films to screen before of the staff screening. One trailer I enjoyed screening was Star Wars 1997 re-release trailer as it showed off the power of the trailer.
Similarly when a new film came in from the US was always interesting to see the header trailer attached to the front of the film. Fun for most people apart from the late Alexander Walker film critic remember screening a national press show and the film had a trailer attached to the front he stormed out of the preview theatre shouting the poor publicity assistant so long he missed the start of the film.
The first trailer was showin in US cinema in November 1913 for the musical The Pleasure Seekers. Trailers used to be screened after the feature why they are called trailers. But they were soon moved before the feature as audiences had gone as soon as the feature was over and they didn’t have the 10 minutes of credits that many modern films have. Up to thee 1950’s National Screen Service created the trailers which made them quite generic but then in the 1960s trailers changed due to the television becoming popular and directors like Stanley Kubrick who created unique trailers for many of his films.
In recent years audiences attention spans have shortened trailers are made up with many short scenes that keep the audience engage with impacting music score helping increase the emotional response from audiences. These trailers need to be able to work watching alone as well as on a 70ft IMAX screen with hundreds of other people.
The aim of a trailer is to get audiences interested in the film teasing them just enough but not so much that could spoil the film in recent years many have complained about the amount of spoilers within trailers. There is always the issue between art and commerce with a trailer as filmmakers want the trailer to just tease while studios feel they must do all they can to sell the film and want to show the audience what they will expect to see from the film not leave anything for chance even if doing so might alienate some of the audience who think thy have just seen the best bits in the trailer. But some films need more than others this summer Universal Pictures released Despicable Me prequel Minions as audiences had known the characters from the previous films they could have fun with the trailers.
While Disney had an original animation Inside Out which needed more of an introduction; might of been another Pixar film and was sold on that fact in the trailer but the characters were all new and trailer needed to tease and introduce them.
Minions opened bigged than Inside Out $115.7m (34%) total $333m. Inside Out opened with $90.4m (25.6%) and is currently on $353m. Minions opened at #1 in its opening weekend while it took Inside Out till it’s third weekend to be #1 it’s a very rare for a wide release to climb up rather than down once it’s opened.
This Summer Disney released the latest Marvel adaption Ant Man the film for many years was planned to be directed by Edgar Wright who would of likely brought his unique humour made famous from films like the Cornetto Trilogy but suprised many when he left the project replaced by Peyton Reed director of romantic comedies including Yes Man, Down with Love and The Break Up you would then expect a similar tone from Ant-Man but when it’s first trailer was released it was Marvel by the numbers had all the elements expected from a Marvel trailer there was nothing new underwhelming audiences.
A few months later the Japanese trailer was released and had the humour that you would expect from a film directed by Peyton Reed showing Scott was doing it for his daughter and made it more Honey I Shrunk the Kids meets Inner Space as the tone was much lighter and more family friendly than The Avengers Age of Ultron which had just been released.
Disney are masters of the family film failed to express the family elements in both Ant-Man and Tomorrowland rather highlighting the comic book and sci-fi elements alienated the audience who would of enjoyed it more.
Brad Bird wanted to keep the plot secret but in doing so confused audiences on what they were going to get from the film in the trailers.
Last year Marvel did it so well with Guardians of the Galaxy playing on the humour using the song Hooked on a Feeling and the humour to make it feel a much different Marvel film than many were expecting helping this unknown Marvel comic-book become a massive success far bigger than anyone would of expected. Ant Man starred Paul Rudd who was better known for his his comedy (his break out role was Josh in Clueless released in 1995) more so than Chris Pratt guest starring in 5 episodes of Parks and Recreation.
The film has underperformed compared with other Marvel films as it isn’t a normal Marvel film even though it was being promoted as one.
Similar to often having country and regional trailers if there was also different trailers that could highlight different elements within the film to target different audiences?
Star Wars The Force Awakens opens in December the trailers have been playing since last October but these are targeting the fans who already have mentally booked their seats. The key audience if Star Wars is to match success of either Titanic or Avatar is to get the on-fans interested it is the female audience it needs to attract but the trailers are just playing on the nostalgia element alienating others.
A recent survey by Piedmont Media Research has Star Wars The Force Awakens and The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2 the two most eagerly awaiting films for winter but the female audience are less interested in The Force Awakens than men. With so many “experts” predicting it to beat Titanic and Avatar to do this it must do what they did so well attract the female audience. Disney will be releasing the final trailer soon the millions of fans want to see more footage but it should instead be targeting non fans to get them as excited.
There has been recently a problem with trailers with many directors and fans complaining about the spoilers with them. Terminator Genisys and Jurassic World two that many complained about that featured key plot spoilers within the trailer. A trailer should be there just to tease and audience wet their appetite of what is coming.
Two recent great teasers are Oliver Stone’s Snowden and Zoolander 2 they both don’t reveal any footage from the film but you know exactly what you’re going to get. Similar to the teaser trailers for The Social Network in 2010 and 2008’s The Dark Knight.
Some of these teasers are released before a single frame of the film is shot as the Anchorman 2 trailer. The biggest gap between teaser trailer and film released was Where the Wild Things Are first teaser was released before How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 2000 for Universal but the film was eventually released in 2009 by Warner Bros.
Cloverfield teaser was another great example of how to make a great teaser the film had massive secrecy and the launch of the trailer before Transformers caught many by surprise as many hadn’t heard of the film before. In the world were everything is now tweeted would it be possible to open a film like Beyoncé did with a recent album without anyone knowing about it but its doubtful a studio would be willing to take such a risk.
JJ Abrams teaser for Star Trek was a perfect teaser not showing any really footage using a voiceover by Leonard Nimoy. He also made a perfect teaser for Super 8 created again without the need of showing any spoiler footage.
But then you see other trailers that seem to purposely have many unnecessary spoilers.
A trailer is a careful balancing act with a sequel, comic-book or reboot less is more as you just need to let know the film is coming but for an original film like Southpaw or The Martian a trailer needs to tease the story but not reveal too much as Southpaw trailer did with Rachel McAdams shot and killed in the trailer but this happens a third into the film.
The problem filmmakers today have is audiences want these spoilers but don’t want them it’s a catch 22 situation with many more likely to see the film the more they known. Older audiences want to know more about the plot while younger audiences prefer to not know.
Problem for most directors is they don’t have marketing approval on their trailers so many are as disappointed seeing them as audiences.
The Mission Impossible Rogue Nation trailer was an interesting one as many thought showing the plane scene was going to be a big spoiler but as Christopher McQuarrie tweeted me “you ain’t seen nothing’ as it was the opening scene of the film.
These days there is often a built up to a trailer release with often frames releases days ahead of release or with Ant-Man it was Ant sized version of the trailer online. With Furious 7 Universal held a premiere launch event for the trailer last November which seemed crazy at the time but helped it take $1.5 billion globally this summer.
There are the occasionally trailer tweaks for international over the US the most noticeable recently was for The 33 with the US trailer selling it as Oscar bait with The Great Big World song ‘Say Something’ taking over the trailer half way through.
But the international has a different tone and tune a Chilean song ‘Gracias à la Vida’ translating as Thanks to Life.
It will be interesting to see how the audience reaction is to both trailers and how the film does at the box office it has a limited appeal outside America.
Next year 20th Century Fox release Independence Day Resurgence 20 years after the first film was released the teaser with the White House being destroyed was the key part of the films marketing but unlike many other teasers the exploding White House didn’t spoil what was to come.
20th Century Fox launched an exclusive teaser for Independence Day Resurgence with Terminator Genisys in July and will launch its first proper teaser in December according to Roland Emmerich.
