blah test

2. Aims & Objectives
 Intro to the purpose of trailers & their importance in a
films marketing campaign
 Start to explore & understand some of the conventions
of trailers
 Understand how trailers are constructed for different
audiences

3. What is s film trailer?
 Look at the statements about film trailers on the
handout, What is a film trailer? With a partner, decide
which statements you AGREE or DISAGREE with.
 Give reasons for your answers.

4. Why is the trailer made?
 Film posters are important in capturing audience
interest but they cannot convey the excitement and
atmosphere of a film in the way a trailer does. When
experienced through the advanced equipment of the
cinema auditorium, a trailer stirs our emotions and
gives us an impression of the film that is impossible
through still images alone.

5.  Look at the following titles of these three trailers:
 Captain America: The First Avenger
 Prom
 2 Days in New York
 Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
 Based on just the titles, what clues are there about the
content of the film? Try to say what exactly you are basing
your ideas on. Is it the associations of a particular word or
phrase? Is it knowledge of other films?

6.  Do the posters help ?

8.  Now watch the trailers. How accurate were your
predictions?
 Trailers help audiences understand the genre of a film.
Referring to the trailers listed above, which ones fit the
following genres?
 Comedy
 Romance
 Action adventure
 Horror
 Do any of the trailers seem to fit more than one genre?
Give reasons for your answers.

9. Who are trailers aimed at?
 Trailers are generally aimed at the same audience as the
films they publicise. Different types of people like
different sorts of films and whilst everyone is an
individual there are certain features that will have wide
appeal to specific groups of people. See if you can work
out what these are.
 Look at the following three trailers:
 Age of Heroes
 Transformers: Dark of the Moon
 Senna
 Use the handout to make notes on your observations.

10.  Use this list of potential target audiences to help you
complete the second column of the worksheet
 Teenage boys and girls
 Families
 Couples
 16-25 yrs skewed to boys
 16 - 25 yrs skewed to girls
 25 - 35 yrs skewed to women
 25 - 35 skewed to men
 35+
 In the third column, note the features that you think
appeal to this target audience.

11. H
How do trailers help to fill cinemas?
 As well as using genre to gain our interest, marketing
campaigns must also show us how a new film is different
to others in the same genre: this is known as the USP
(unique selling point) of the film.
 The USP is what separates one film title from another
released at a similar time or within the same genre. The
USP could be many things, for example:
 the innovative use of special effects
 an unusual mix of genres
 a popular star

12.  Watch each of the three trailers listed below then write
in the text boxes next to the trailer title what you think
is its USP.
Trailer Title
Cowboys & Aliens
Green Lantern
Real Steel
What’s the USP?

13. Where are trailers shown?
 Trailers are shown at the cinema, on TV and online with
poster campaigns and radio campaigns also giving wide
coverage for new film releases.
 Dedicated trailer sites and official film websites often carry
trailers that have been cut for a general audience and are
suitable for viewers of any age, whereas trailers shown in the
cinema usually correspond to the classification of the film
being screened.

14. Discussion
 Where do you see film trailers? Talk with a partner about
the most recent trailers you have seen. Where were they?
Did you watch the whole trailer? What do you remember
about it? Does the place you see a trailer affect how you
respond to it?
 What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages
of the different platforms used to show film trailers?
 Use handout to take discussion further.