Research into Teaser Trailers

As soon as I was informed that we were going to be studying and producing teaser trailers this year as part of our A2 Media course, I went onto the Internet to research my favourite teaser trailers I have viewed in the past, alongside other successful teaser trailers.

As I was researching teaser trailers, I did not restrict myself to viewing just teaser trailers for moving picture productions; I also viewed teaser trailers from video games, to ensure I had viewed and collected as many conventions of a teaser trailers as possible.

I begun by searching on Youtube for a teaser trailer I had viewed in the past that I was particularly impressed with - the teaser trailer for the forthcoming video game 'WET'.

This teaser trailer begins by informing the audience of the institutions - or in the case of video games, the developers and / or publishers - and then begins the game footage using a continuously moving camera. We are shown the setting - a dirty and abandoned aeroplane - through an establishing wide pan shot. The shots that follow use a consistent style as we are shown mise-en-scene and introduced to the character. All of the shots throughout the teaser trailer fade into one another to give a flowing and relaxed feel, which strongly contradicts the action being shown on screen. A cliffhanger is used at the end to both shock and intrigue the audience, as we see a beating heart in an ice box. Throughout is music which represents the main female character, which is relaxed and lazy, yet with intense lyrics. This well portrays the female character, who, from the teaser trailer alone, we see is feisty and violent, but at the same time very stylish and chill. The teaser trailer ends with the title of the game, the year of release, and the website, so the viewer can find more information if they want to.

The second teaser trailer I viewed as part of my research was a teaser trailer for another video game, this time the forthcoming 'The Secret World'.

This trailer again begins very briefly informing the audience of the video game institutions, before beginning the teaser trailer. As an audience, we are very quickly informed that everything isn't alright as we hear the unusual noises from the opposite end of the corridor. A long zoom shows us the female is alone, initiating the suspense, followed by a close up as we see her reaction and concern to the odd noises. Nevertheless, we begin to forget this as she ignores the noises, enters her apartment, and continues as normal. Up until now, the pace has been quite slow, but speeds up with fast cuts as she makes herself a smoothie. Suddenly we are thrown back into the action as she casually turns around to find a hideous monster staring her in the face. The action begins again, complimented by fast-paced music. I particularly liked this trailer as although it previously hinted to the audience of foreboding events, nothing occurred until later in the trailer, thus shocking us with the action. I also like the cliffhanger with graphics stating "to be continued", followed by a website for the viewer to visit if they desire more information. The website address is the slogan for the game, thus making it easier to remember than even the name of the game itself.

A very successful motion picture this year was the recent 'Terminator Salvation'. I was very impressed with construction of the film, and so searched for the teaser trailer on Youtube. This teaser trailer excellently represents the feel and narrative of the overall film, and introduces the audience to the new characters, without giving away the storyline.

The use of fast cuts and fast pace - often with blocked vision so the audience cannot see the threat present in the shot - draws in the audience, as the tension is heightened throughout the teaser trailer. The intensity of the teaser trailer is created through the brief action we as an audience get to see throughout the clips of the movie shown. All of the clips are brief, yet each one shows a different type of threat or horror: in one, a man is running through a dark building; in another, trees are being destroyed at an abnormal rate; in another, a man is hanging from a broken electricity pylon. These shots will both disturb and intrigue the audience, informing them of the genre of the production, yet inviting them to find out more. The music throughout the teaser trailer definitely has a huge impact on the audience, heightening the tension of the piece. The font of the graphics is key to audience-identification of the genre of the movie - in this teaser trailer is it obvious that the genre is science-fiction; the fonts are bold, metallic grey, and futuristic. Moreover, it is important to note the use of edited institutional logos to fit the dark, futuristic theme of the movie. This convention is used well, and prepares the audience for the remainder of the teaser trailer.

One of the other trailers I viewed was a teaser trailer for the final instalment of the Resident Evil trilogy, 'Resident Evil Extinction'.

This teaser trailer challenges the conventions of most other teaser trailers by not first informing the audience of the institutions of the production. Instead, this trailer goes straight shots of a glamorous Las Vegas, showing the audience shots of casinos, luxury sun, and exciting night-life. The voiceover is smooth and alluring to the audience, as the shots fade into one another, presenting a positive and attractive life-style. It is then a shock to the audience as the camera reverse-zooms to reveal the position of the television on which the advertisement is playing - in the middle of a deserted wasteland where nothing but official army-style vehicles pass on the ground below. As the camera continues to reverse-zoom, the tension is heightened through the use of blocked vision as dust passes the camera. It is only when the dust and dirt clears that the viewer discovers this is Las Vegas, but broken and ruined. The camera continues to reverse-zoom, with the music continuing to heighten all the time, until the camera leaves the Earth's atmosphere and stops at a satellite presenting the familiar Umbrella Corporation logo. As the teaser trailer begun, it was not obvious what genre film it was presenting, until it quickly contradicts any assumptions the viewer may have made and throws them into a ruined, deserted, and empty future. The teaser trailer then continues with very fast action shots from the movie, before ending with the graphic title, a website, and some institutional reference.

COMMENT: Beauchamps Media said -

Excellent research Luke - an interesting idea to explore video game teasers as well as film.