TRAILERS: STYLES

According to Dan Skinner of Film Space, there are different types of trailers and a trailer’s style will depend on a number of factors. It will be crafted to appeal to the same audience as the film. The trailer will establish a number of questions which audiences can only solve when they watch the film.

I watched Dan Skinner explain how the style of a trailer is affected by a number of factors including where it will be seen, who by and for how long.

For example:

• THE TEASER TRAILER
• THE MAIN TRAILER
• TV SPOTS
• USING GRAPHICS There are two types of graphics used in a trailer: copy (copywriting) helps tell the story of the movie. particularly if the narrative is complicated. Copy refers to information that helps audiences understand the narrative, such as intertitles. Often the copy directs our attention to aspects of the story that the film makers want us to pay attention to. Pedigree refers to elements of the film's heritage, such as the production company, the director, the stars. Audiences are often swayed by knowing that the film is (say) a Ken Loach, Guy Ritchie or Tarantino film. There may be references to other movies that the director has worked on ("From the director of.."). Equally, they may be fan of a writer or an actor's work and be persuaded to watch a film because they admire (say) Helen Mirren, Brad Pitt or Melissa McCarthy.
• TRAILERS IN THE DIGITAL AGE