RESEARCH: WHEN ARE TRAILERS SHOWN?

Most trailers are made at the same time as the film is being produced. The timing of a trailer campaign is vital as it has to be shown far enough in advance to generate a large amount of excitement about the film's release, but not so early that the film is out of people's mind by the time it comes out. 

Toy Story 4:

Sequel in the Toy Story series. Has an established fanbase so featuring the nostalgia of the franchise is effective as people will look back at their childhood with fond memories of Toy Story. This film would have been released during summer, to create a summer feeling about the movie, during summertime. This allows the viewers to relate to the film and translate the occurrences into that of their own life. Additionally, the music chosen to feature in the movie supports the summer feeling behind the trailer. I believe this film is targeted towards children, who of course have to be accompanied by their parents when they watch the film. Boys are able to relate to the film due to male characters such as Buzz Lightyear and Woody. Female audience can relate to the character through the strong independent woman of Little Bo-Peep. The trailer also shows the American caravan in the film. This is popular amongst many in America, appealing to a wider, mainstream audience and allowing more people to relate to the trailer. 

Yesterday:

This film is a feel-good film about a man who has woken up from an injury, in a world where popular music artists "The Beatles" do not exist, and he is the only one who knows of them and their songs. People who are a fan of The Beatles might be intrigued to watch this film as the film is based around how genius the songs were and how much of a hit it was. This might also attract older viewers as although they might not have been huge fans of The Beatles, their impact was huge so would have reached a lot of people's minds. I believe the film was released in summer to target audiences going to festivals during the summer holidays. This creates excitement and allows them to relate the film to their everyday life, creating a personal connection between their life and the film. Not only will the film target fans of The Beatles, it will also target fans of Ed Sheeran and James Corden as they have small cameos in the film. In addition to this, there are well known actors in the film such as Joel Fry, who might attract viewers from his many fans. 

The Brink:

The Brink is about Steve Bannon, far right politician with policies and beliefs which offend many people around the world. The film targets a right wing audience who are generally far right. Audiences may feel they are getting closer to the truth, with an insight into Steve Bannon's personal life and his failures in being former-President Donald Trump's advisor. This film was released 2 months after elections were held. I think this was done as it means that audiences get to see what happens behind the scenes, gaining more knowledge on Steve Bannon, his beliefs and his relations with other expressive politicians. I believe it is targeted to more of an American audience as it is about the insights of American politics and what occurs. 

RESEARCH: WHERE ARE TRAILERS SHOWN?

Film Space Resources: Where?

Trailers are displayed at the cinema, television, online poster campaigns and advertisements through radio. Official film websites will generally show a version of their trailer which appeals to a mainstream audience, to attempt to gain the widest audience possible. On the other hand, trailers shown in cinemas will be tailored to the film that is on display, making the film look like it appeals to the viewers of said film.

When people watch TV, I believe their full focus is not with the TV when adverts are being shown. This is because they are aware that businesses are trying to engage them to buy their product/service and because generally the adverts are not entertaining. The average viewer uses this as a time to have a break; do something they had thought of doing before the TV comes back on. When trailers are shown in these advertisement breaks, the few viewers who are still watching the TV might see this trailer and think they want to see the film. This is because the trailer will be tailored to the genre of the television programme going on at that time, so the general viewer of it would be intrigued to watch it. This could be seen as more effective than advertising in cinemas as people watch TV more frequently than cinema. However, when advertising to a specific movie in cinema, you can tailor the trailer to exactly what the audience of the film would be interested in. Advertising on DVD's is not effective because of how much a thing of the past DVDs are. I think this as channels such as Netflix and Prime Video are more preferred now due to their easy compatibility and accessibility, allowing users to watch media anywhere. Linking these trailers from a film website would boost viewers of the trailer immensely, as people are interested to see the contents of the film and what it is like.

RESEARCH: WHO ARE TRAILERS AIMED AT?

 I watched the trailers for three films: Vita and Virginia, Frozen 2 and Apollo 11 on the Teaching Trailers FDA teaching resource

Trailers are typically targeted to the same audience as the film is targeted towards. Everyone has different preferences and opinions in films, however, there are some features which different groups of audience may share, which is what production companies hone in on. I watched and analysed each trailer and assessed which of the target audience below the trailer was targeted at. 

Vita and Virginia

I believe the target audience is skewed towards a more prestige audience. Additionally, it is also targeted towards couples. I think this as the trailer is about a couple and how they battle the various challenges they face. I also think women of all ages, who are interested in the history of women's rights, and what it was like to be a woman in the 1920s would be interested in the film. The trailer also draws in a homosexual couple audience due to the couple in the trailer being lesbian. Admirers of the National Trust may also be intrigued to watch this film because of the high budget that was spent to make this film look the way it is; classically rich. The furniture in Sissinghurst, where it is filmed, looks exquisite, just what those who are interested in National Trust property would admire.

Frozen II

I believe the primary target audience for Frozen is children under 15. I think this because of the style of animation, the themes featured in the trailer and the fact that it is produced by Disney. More specifically, I think it is targeted at young women under 15 because of the fact that the main characters and the heroes of the story are women. This empowers the young girls that watches this and sets them a role model. The idea of action may attract young men under 15, broadening the target audience for the film. Parents may also be obliged to watch the film as their children may want to watch the film, meaning they have to accompany them. The target audience in general is a Disney audience.  

Apollo 11

The fact that it was selected for the Sundance film festival gives the viewer the idea that it is directed to a more prestige audience as this film festival generally features more indie films. It is also revealed that the film is a documentary. This may attract people interested in spacecrafts and the history of them who want to see inside the event. In addition to this, the trailer may attract an American audience that is interested in the history of the operation. This is because it is a fairly patriotic trailer, showcasing one of America's proudest events. This is later enforced by the inter title "We Were One" implying that this event was the last thing that brought the country together and made it united.

RESEARCH: HOW TRAILERS HELP FILL CINEMAS

The FDA resource 'Teaching Trailers' suggest that whilst a film should clearly present the viewer a genre in order to help audiences decide whether they would enjoy the film. In addition to this, the marketing campaign and the film trailer should also offer the viewer new experiences that sets the film apart from others in the same genre. This is known as a unique selling point or USP.

I have looked at three trailers and identified what the USP was in each of the trailers. 

Inception (2010)

The trailer for Inception showed how the concept of the film was different to any other film produced. The viewer felt excited to be visiting these dystopian events in the trailer. The USP is the concept of the movie. Going into someone's dreams had never professionally been done in a film; before Inception. The viewer feels baffled by the concept and how they would go about doing it. 

La Haine (1995)

La Haine's trailer gave the audience a taste of what the film was like. Film noir, spoken in French and the gangster-like behaviour of the main characters. The USP of La Haine is that it is in black and white and that it is spoken in French, not English like most popular films. This sets it apart from the general mainstream film audience, targeting a more prestige audience.

Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)

Star Wars went against the grain that the other films being released in 1977 were following. The believable CGI and futuristic scenes are the revolutionary aspects of Star Wars. This is because no other production company was doing this in 1977. The visionary concept and superb execution were the USP's of Star Wars. 

RESEARCH: WHY IS A FILM TRAILER MADE?

I looked at three trailers on the teaching trailers resource supplied by the FDA online in order to further my understanding of why trailers are made and how they signal the film's genre. 

The Mustang

The trailer for Mustang indicates it is a film for adults. The main theme is the man getting his life back on track through taming a feisty and aggressive horse which everyone else struggled to do. The genre is action/adventure

Fast and Furious

The trailer for Fast and Furious presents to the viewer how action packed and fast paced the film is. Gun shots, people being hit in the face, cars flying in the air. This film is aimed at people over the age of 15 due to the violent themes and visual gore. The genre is action. 

Artemis Fowl

Clearly from the start of the trailer, this film was aimed at children. This was because of the main actor being a child and the film being produced by Disney, the popular children's television company. The genre for this film is action/apocalypse.

RESEARCH

 I have started further research into trailers using the FDA's teaching trailer online course, from which these resources have come. 

I watched the trailer for Booksmart before considering the following questions about trailers in general

Film space questions on trailers

1. What do you think the major elements of a film marketing campaign are?

I believe the major elements are digital and physical elements. Digital can be broken down into media adverts such as television or radio, social media campaigns and the film website, containing convergent links. An example of this is with Black Panther, that utilised all of these aspects extremely well, spreading word about the film effectively. 

Physical marketing strategies include billboards, posters and other kinds of visual adverts. Black Panther also used these in its marketing campaign, featuring posters of the film in Hollywood, Los Angeles and London.

2. Where might you expect to see different parts of the marketing campaign

Social media, billboards, television and radio adverts are amongst the most popular forms of marketing and would most likely be the place where most people see the film and are enlightened on it. Billboards will feature still images of the film, whilst social media accounts for the film might display trailers and clips of the film.

3. What factors make you want to go and see a film? How do you decide which films to see?

For me, the video clips I see of the film on social media are the biggest factor that makes me want to see a film. This is because it shows the plot line, events that occur in the movie and generally presents the viewer with what genre the film is. 

The way I decide which films to see is through word of mouth, such as recommendations from friends, family or online film critics. This is because when I see many good reviews for a film, I am interested as to why it is rated so highly, so want to go see why everyone likes the film so much.