Focusing on teaser trailers

As our brief was to create a teaser trailer, as well as looking at trailers for inspiration and shot ideas, I'm also researching the conventions of a teaser trailer specifically and the ways in which it differs to the usual theatrical trailer.

I found a good definition on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teaser_trailer
'Teasers, unlike typical theatrical trailers, are usually very short in length (between 30–60 seconds) and usually contain little, if any, actual footage from the film. Sometimes, it is merely a truncated version of a theatrical trailer. They are usually released long in advance of the film they advertise. One of the reasons for the name "teaser" is because they are shown usually a long time (one or one and a half years) before the movie comes out, so as to "tease" the audience.'

The most obvious difference between the two trailer styles is in length, so the teaser trailer I'll produce will be shorter than typical theatrical trailers and so it is even more important in this case that the shots are short and powerful. However this may be considered easier to do for a teaser trailer as it can be ambiguous with very little or no cohesive narrative.

Storyboard and target audience

Having developed a synopsis earlier in the week, we have also begun to storyboard some ideas for actual footage in our trailer. We thought of many different shots that we could include and have started to develop some into a more complete storyboard. Some that we have considered to use include shots at night of a chase, this would create a very eerie and thriller element to the text to build tone and drama. We also want to include some POV shots of people being watched, we think this will be effective to build tension and will look very authentic in the trailer. We have also compiled various other possibilities but have yet to develop this and create a final storyboard.
However we have thought about our target audiences. Because of the action/thriller elements and the probable use of a young protagonist, our primary audience is likely to be a younger more modern audience perhaps between late teenage years and early thirties, both males and females. However, as the protagonist is female, a female audience may have a better personal identity gratification or feel a stronger personal interest in the text, making it a more female audience. However the use of action, conflict and thriller elements may add a more typically masculine edge. However it may also appeal to a secondary older audience. Once the storyboard and concept are more established we will be able to get a better idea of the audience gratifications and there appeal to our target audience.

Development of ideas and synopsis

Earlier this week me and my partner discussed and developed some of our basic ideas for our own trailer project. We decided to stick with the action/adventure genre, as this seemed realistic and achievable and we had some good ideas for this area. We have decided to base our film on missing persons cases. We want our story to follow the experience of a single person and that of their family and loved ones to add action, emotional interest and drama to the story.

This is the synopsis we developed from our ideas:
Based loosely on the disappearances of many people each year, our story will follow the fictional disappearance of an individual and their experiences and trauma as well as the experience of their family and loved ones. It will follow the detective process and methods used to search for this individual and the workings of the authorities on all missing persons cases. Giving an insight into this very real phenomenon.

Although we have developed quite a wide synopsis our trailer will not follow all aspects of the story as the limited time available to make maximum impact would make it unadvisable to include too much. Instead we will focus on the more exciting chase and action influences to gain interest and make a more memorable and intense teaser trailer. The phrase in bold will be the synopsis or focus for our trailer as opposed to the whole film.

Some Trailer Research findings

Throughout this week I've been continuing with my research into trailers, with a focus on the action/adventure genre which will be a key influence on my own work. From all the ones I watched, I selected some I considered particularly effective to make some more detailed notes and analysis on. However, the majority of the trailers feature some key conventions that are common to many trailers for modern audiences. They tend to use a voiceover from a western male that has a very booming tone to build the atmosphere and drama of the text as well as provide key information and comments on the plot and content of the text. The music is used similarly as it crescendos which is effective and important to add excitement and tension at key moments of the trailer. Also very quick and abrupt edits or jump cuts are used to increase the tempo and therefore drama of the shots which are predominantly high action, with fewer narrative shots included to build the structure of the text and introduce the plot. I've picked out two I thought had some particularly effective points:

The Bourne Identity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD-uQreIwEk
This trailer like many other action/adventure genre trailers uses very fast and abrupt edits between shots to increase the tempo of the text and to heighten the sense of drama and excitement. I chose this one as it has a particularly effective transition between the lat shot of the protagonist characters face and the title of the film, using his image shown through the scope of a gun which is then a signature image shown on the iconic title and logo of the entire advertising campaign, to give adhesion to all the pieces of the promotional campaign, which is important in creating an idenitiy for the film. These very iconic props and stereotyped action scenes are useful in conveying the genre and tone of the trailer, this could be a very useful idea for our teaser trailer as we have a limited time to convey this mood.

Angels and Demons:
This was a notable trailer as although it was very effective it used less shots and less obvious action than many of the others which may be a more achievable idea with our limited budget and resources. It had one prolonged moving shot showing the key setting at night and instead used sound as a media tool to build the drama of the text. It used what sounded like radio footage to add authenticity and it used the familiar male, western voiceover to create tension and introduce the themes and plot. The music was atmospheric and the sounds of thunder created an eerie and dramatic tone. The weather shown in this trailer was effective as the stormy skies connoted danger and conflict. Towards the end of the trailer it showed several key shots in quick succession to heighten the action and add interest to the text. This trailer only being 1 minute and 14 seconds is also more similar to conventions of a teaser trailer.

(to watch with sound, click on below hyperlink)
http://www.screenrush.co.uk/video/player_gen_cmedia=18845226&cfilm=124371.html

Beginning trailer research

As the teaser trailer we must create is the primary practical component of our marketing campaign, I have begun some research into trailers. I aim to gather some knowlege of the conventions of trailers, particularly in the action/thriller genre which is a genre me and my partner have selected for our own product . I am also searching for inspiration for effective shots and edits that can create the most impact in the limited time typical of teaser trailers. I am using the websites:
http://www.youtube.com/
http://www.screenrush.co.uk/