The Hangover teaser trailer analysis

As with all of the trailers that I have viewed the first thing the viewer sees is the production companies name and logo, I would look to add this to my teaser trailer as i think it gives it a more professional look.

The opening scene is a car speeding down a road, the camera is at a medium angle, which puts the viewer on the same level as the people in the car, this really gives the impression of great speed and means the trailer starts off with excitement this goes on until 0:04, when the setting changes to Las Vegas and we begin to see signs of casinos and other Las Vegas style things.

By looking at the first few scenes I can already tell that this film is aimed at a mostly male audience probably between the age ranges of 16 to 35.

Until 0:19 the trailer is framed in a letterbox style with "the hangover" and "in cinemas now" at the bottom with neon style lighting which is reminiscent of the Las Vegas setting

We then see a quote from a favourable review which gives the film 5 stars, the tempo of the trailer then changes and the length of the scenes go dramatically down with the drop in the tempo of the music, which in this case is by Wolfmother.

At the end of the teaser we see "In cinemas now" in the same neon style lighting which we saw previously in the title of the film, we also see throughout the trailer huge contrasts in colours with darker backgrounds and light neon style signs as seen on 0:06 with the review which is very similar to the scene where we first see Las Vegas.

The tag line used in this trailer is also quite effective which is "some people just cant handle Vegas" this shows the audience that the film is set in Las Vegas.

I have also noticed that throughout the film we only see male characters, this supports my view that the film is targeted at a male audience.

The Hangover teaser trailer

Inglourious Basterds teaser trailer analysis

The trailer starts from 0:07 to 0:10 with shouting from an American Colonel/lieutenant, this immediately sets the pace for the rest of the trailer, after 0:10 we hear a bullet and the sudden cut to a white background with blood spattered against it with text explaining the basic premise for the film “once upon a time in Nazi occupied France”, I think this has been done in order to set the scene as a kind of fairytale even though we know it has a violent edge to trailer, that as well as the use of the blood splatter shows us that this trailer is going to have a very violent theme, especially as we now know its based in world war 2.

The camera angle at the beginning of the first scene is a high angle pointing down, this allows the viewer to see the 7 soldiers standing in a line as well as another man who is not line up who we assume is of a higher rank than the 7 soldiers, the shot is then of Brad Pitt in the centre of the screen framed by two soldiers either side of him, this immediately shows us that he is important in this film and is the main character.

The Brad Pitt character then introduces himself on 0:17, we then quickly cut between more blood splattered words and the soldiers stepping forward together, the next important part to the trailer is where Brad Pitt tells the soldiers (and the viewers) what will happen, he says “were going to be doing one thing, and one thing only….. Killing Nazis” this is all around the 30 seconds mark, that scene then ends with the 7 soldiers all saying “yes sir” together this establishes that they are all together.

Then on 0:33 the music starts it is rock music and has a heavy beat, Brad Pitts characters speech then carries on and is dubbed over the action scenes of the Nazis invading Europe, the intensity of Pitts characters speech then intensifies to match the more action orientated scenes and music.

The blood splattering then changes to a kind of painted on blood on a wall with the text still their, the music then goes up a notch with a higher tempo which is matched by scenes such as someone running while shooting a machine which is shot from a low angle to show the danger and power that the soldier possesses while doing this, we then see violent scenes including a soldier hitting a Nazi over the head with a baseball bat which begins the splattering blood again.
The teaser trailer ends with the tagline “a basterd's work is never done", which is something I would like to add to my teaser trailer as a tagline would really make my trailer stand out and a more important feel to the trailer.

Inglourious Basterds teaser trailer

Questionnaire

I plan to hand out 30 questionnaires in order to get some feedback on what genre of film to create a trailer for the style of the trailer, the music and voiceovers that should be used as well as the pace of the action and other elements which will help me when creating the teaser trailer.

Depending on the feedback given for what genres of music should be used if at all,
I will put up 5 different samples of music corresponding to the genres suggested in the questionnaire.

I will then get people to vote on what song to use, obviously the songs will all be uncopyrighted.

After recieving the results from the questionnaire I should have a much clearer idea on what style of trailer I should do which will allow me to begin the actual task of planning, before I begin filming in the summer.

2nd draft Teaser trailer questionnaire

I have created this questionnaire for me to gather quantative data from my participants.

2nd draft Teaser trailer questionnaire

What gender are you?

•Male
•Female

How old are you?

•10-15
•16-21
•21-30
•31-45
•45-60
•60+

What genre of film trailer would you like to see created?

• Drama
• Comedy
• Horror
• Thriller
• Action
• Romantic comedy
• Sci-fi

How long do you think the teaser trailer should be?

• 30 seconds
• 30 seconds to 1 minute
• 1-2 minutes
• 2-3 minutes

Do you think there should be music in the background of the trailer?

•Yes
•No

If yes to the previous question, what genre of music should be played?

•Rock
•Classical
•Pop
•Hip-hop
•RnB
•Other………………………………………..

Do you prefer movie trailers to be..

•Slow paced a gentle introduction to the movie
•Quickly showing you the story and the characters
•No preference

Would you like in the teaser trailer to…

•Be introduced to the main characters
•See action scenes
•Be told the basic premise to the film

How much of the basic storyline do you think should be given away?

•None of it
•A small part of it
•The whole storyline
•No preference

What elements do you look for in a good film?
(Circle up to 2)

•An interesting plot
•Comedy sequences•Action sequences
•Scary scenes
•Real life situations
•Relationships between characters

Step brothers teaser trailer

In this trailer we are introduced to the two main characters on 7 and 8 seconds, I would look to introduce my main character(s) in this same way.

I have also noticed the use of symmetry on 4 seconds, 5 seconds, 9 seconds, 13 seconds and 19 seconds; this is done to show the similarities between the two as well as the differences in order to contrast the two main characters.

The music used in this trailer is also very well used with rock music used in the scenes where the two main characters are fighting compared to a more upbeat style of music used later on to match their new found friendship.

The over the shoulder shots used between 10 seconds and 12 seconds also show the contrast between the two main characters which seems to be the purpose of the trailer up to 20 seconds, we also see the story develop within the teaser with the main characters fighting at the beginning of the trailer up to around 45 seconds when the relationship changes between the two.

The scene lengths throughout the teaser trailer are consistent because they stay almost the exact same length compared to previous trailers I have analysed such as Valkyrie and Rush hour 3 which begin slowly and then speed up near the end to match the pace of the action the reason for this is that both these films are more action based compared to Step brothers which is a comedy.

However as the teaser trailer I am going to produce is not going to be a comedy so I will therefore be using the more action based tempo of scene length seen in Valkyrie and Rush hour 3.

Rush hour 3 teaser trailer analysis

This teaser trailer will provide an influence on my teaser because I like the way its set out, the first scene is a pan shot of a city.

The reason for this is the way that between the start and 18 seconds into the film it builds the film up as being dramatic and serious, before quickly changing and showing the two main characters as not being as serious as the first 18 seconds imply.

I would look to add this feature to my film as I believe it would improve the trailer by bringing a more light hearted approach compared to the Valkyrie trailer which is a lot darker and dramatic.

This is shown through the lighting of the first 18 seconds which is dark and has gradual fade out which creates a dramatic effect, this then contrasts.

On 8 seconds, 12 seconds and 16 seconds there are fade outs which go into break up the scenes and create a dramatic edge with words used such as “lies a deadly threat” and “there’s only one hope, this creates a very dramatic effect which then crescendos into the more light hearted scenes which begins on 18 seconds and ends on 20 seconds I would like to create this effect in my teaser trailer.

Valkyrie Trailer

Valkyrie film trailer

Before the teaser trailer starts there is the logo of the production company which in this case is mgm and the name of the production company which is something I would look to include in my teaser trailer,as this is a convention of a teaser trailer.

The first few scenes in the trailer are establishing shots to show that the first few scenes are set in the desert this continus until 33 seconds.

Between the scenes at the start there is a long fade out between shots, this builds up the tension and makes everything more dramatic, also provides a useful stop gap between the shots by breaking up the scene.

The action scenes in this sequence at the beginning of the teaser are in slow motion this emphasizes the action and dramatises these events in the film.

We then see the consequence of this first set of scenes in the second part of the trailer, this is done to link the trailer together, the main comparisons between the desert scenes and the second set of scenes is in the lighting, the desert scenes are bright compared to the much darker more dramatic later scenes.

Between 39 seconds and 44 seconds we are introduced to 2 more characters as well as both times seeing the main character.

We then see between 46 and 59 seconds a gun and extensive shots of a bomb, this shows us that the film will be heavily focused around the bomb and weapons in general.

The scenes after 1 minute 20 seconds are then sped up to increase the tempo of the trailer and this matches the tempo of the scenes including the car chase at the very end of the trailer , this carries on going getting faster and faster until the screen goes black at the end and we see a gradual fade in of the title of the movie.

I would like to include this last feature in my teaser trailer as it increases the drama in the film and really emphasizes the title of the film.

I also like the background music i this teaser beacause it increases the tension with its tick tocking as well as emphasizing the heavy focus around the bomb.

After the title of the film fades out "coming soon" fades in as well as the web address and the logos of the production companies, I could either have coming soon or a release date for the film.

1st draft of teaser trailer questionnaire

1st Teaser trailer questionnaire

What genre of film trailer would you like to see created?
• Drama
• Comedy
• Horror
• Thriller
• Action
• Romantic comedy
• Sci-fi

How long do you think a trailer should be?
• 30 seconds
• 30 seconds to 1 minute
• 1-2 minutes
• 2-3 minutes
• 3 minutes +

Do you think their should be music in the background of the trailer?
•Yes
•No

If yes to the previous question, what genre of music should be played?
•Rock
•Classical
•Pop
•Hip-hop
•RnB
•Other………………………………………..

Would you like in the teaser trailer to….
•Be introduced to the characters
•See action scenes
•Be told the basic premise to the film