What is a film trailer?

First and foremost, I have to establish what a film trailer is. Especially as they are an important part of a film’s marketing campaign, essentially an ‘advert’ for film. They are necessary to inform potential audiences about the film with the purpose of evoking a response from people while encouraging them to view it at the cinema. A film trailer can even be designed to complement its poster, however this isn’t always the case as either cold be alluding to something else completely. For example; a genre that wasn’t conveyed on the trailer/poster, used as a hidden USP (unique selling point).

Due to film trailers having a fundamental place within marketing campaigns, it’s important that film companies invest wisely, they need to create a trailer that with attract, intrigue and eventual ‘hook’ an audience. They have to achieve this within an approximate two-minute slot, possibly including the intro, middle and conclusion of a film, without revealing too much that it ‘spoils’ it for viewer. The format in which a film trailer is shown is also important as they shouldn’t only be screened in cinemas. These formats include the internet (imdb, YouTube), DVD’s/bluray’s as well as on television. The time slot is dependent on the rating given by BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) as an 18 or Mature rated film’s trailer cannot be shown before the watershed, due to exposure to young children. However it is also common for high rated trailers to be edited to conform to these standards, this allows it to be viewed earlier and exposed on a daily basis before the film’s release – although this can be misrepresentative to young people who want to see the film because of this “exposure”.