Trailer Research

1. What makes an effective
teaser trailer?
By Eldaa, Victoria & Sherai

2. Character
In Columbiana the hero is Zoe Saldana who plays
‘Cataleya’. As the trailer unravels, we understand that
she is seeking revenge after witnessing her parent's
murdered.
In the beginning of the trailer, we see a flash back of a
little girl who has been portrayed innocently. The idea that
she is glaring into the camera with teary eyes, and she is
appeared dressed in her school uniform whilst witnessing
a group of assassins invading the house and killing her
parents, effectively creates a sense of sympathy from the
audience towards her. Therefore, as for the audience we
are inclined and emotionally attached with Cataleya, and
support the idea of her growing up to be a stone cold
assassin. As a hero Cataleya restores the equilibrium by
killing her parents assassin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCxPLlFWdFo 0:33

3. Character
In Lucy it is evident that she is the hero. Like in Columbiana, the audience are
instantly inclined to the Lucy from the beginning. The idea that we see a young girl
who has traveled abroad from America to China, to deliver a mysterious briefcase,
emphasis that she is vulnerable. Moreover, Lucy is not aware of what is in the
mysterious briefcase, this depicts to the audience that she is naïve.
As Lucy is captured and turned into a drug mule, In this scene is where audience
begin to sympathize with Lucy. This close up shot of gives the audience of insight of
Lucy emotions at this current moment. The fact that she is tied up against three
men, looking helplessly we audience begin to emotionally incline with Lucy. We are
instantly concerned about her safety, and want her to escape from the danger in
order for her to seek revenge.
In these two scenes, Lucy is continuously portrayed has helpless as she is
victimized . However, as a role of a hero Lucy finds strengths and seeks to restore
the equilibrium by collecting all the harmful synesthetic drugs which has been
implemented inside people's bodies, and effectively destroys them and kills the
assassins and drugs dealers

4. Character
In the beginning of the Kill Bill trailer, the audience are introduced to a
high low angle shot of the Bride in coma lying in a hospital bed.
Automatically the audience are eager and concern to find out what had
resulted to the cause of her being in for four years. Additionally, the fact
that she is by herself with no visitors reinforces the idea that she is
lonely and vulnerable. Therefore, as for the audience we emotionally
feel sympathize with her as we also learn that she has lost her child
after being in comma for four years.
Furthermore, as the trailer unravels the audience are exposed to different
scenes of The Bride, fighting her opponent which are predominately male.
This idea effectively challenges the stereotypical perception of women in
society. This also creates the impression that the Bride is the hero because
she carries on preserving by men who supposedly look more stronger and
powerful then her

5. Excitement
All four movies Columbiana, Mr and Mrs Smith, Kill Bill
and Lucy engage to the audience by offering exciting
visual views and storylines to keep the audience
enticed to movie.
For example The Mr and Mrs Smith film is classified as
an action romance comedy, therefore the mix of genre
suggests that the pace of the film may fluctuate
depending on the state of equilibrium.
In the beginning of the trailer, the pace of the film
travels in a slow pace to emphasize a state of
calmness. There’s a consistent range of shorts cuts
and long shots, which allows the audience to focus
more on the characters expression and study what
type of people they are. A cross dissolve transition is
effectively used to show a continuity and a build up to
the disruption

6. Engima
What keeps the audience engaged and interested in the
trailer is the storyline. For examples in Mr and Mrs Smith,
the audience learn that they are both assassins who
works for competing agencies. However, the fact that in
the characters in the movie are not unaware of their
partners occupation makes the audience even more
eager to carry on the film. Likewise, in Kill Bill the
audience eventually learn that the people who were
attempting to overthrow the Bride was her own apparent
close friends, which leaves the audience in disbelief due
to the betrayal in the storyline.

7. Editing Colombiana
The Colombiana trailer communicates narrative just like every other trailer through the use of
shots and sounds. Due to the chosen shots of the narrative, the story is revealed. We know that
Cataleya is seeking revenge for the men that killed her parents when she was a child. Because
the audience is provided with the story there is an absence of enigma. There isn’t anything that
the audience need to find out other than will she get away with it however due to our knowledge
of revenge centred films , we already know that she will. With this being said, the trailer is still
effective in terms of the action provided. Referring to Todorovs narrative theory, the complication,
transference and struggle are shown. These are used to portray excitement, action and to
engage the audience.
The editing within the trailer is fast paced throughout. The number of shots are put together with
what is known as cuts. This is when one image is suddenly replaced by another, without a visible
transition.Everytime the shot changes is a cut. The main editing techniques in this trailer are
montages and wipes. In a montage, different images are assembled to build up an impression.
The impression given off by the montage in this trailer is that there is a lot of killing taking place. A
wipe is when one images replaces another with a distinct edge or separation between the shots.
Unlike a cut, the transition in a wipe is visible. There are frequent cross dissolves and fades
during the scenes of Cataleya as a child. One image dissolves into another to create a sense of
time passing by. In a fade an image gradually fades in or out. There is a match cut that is used to
show the growing of age of Cataleya the female protagonist.

8. Cutaways are used to interrupt a continuous scene
of action with an insert of a shot of something else.
This is used to give the audience a break from the
action. In this trailer there is a cutaway to a pan of
the city skyline. A common editing technique used
is continuity editing. This is when sequences are
edited so that time appears to flow, uninterrupted,
from shot to shot. It is used to create a sense of
reality.

9. Mr and Mrs Smith
In Mr and Mrs Smith the title and text are present throughout the trailer. From the start
the title and text reflect what the voice over is saying. They appear in shots with stills
from the film and on occasion on their own.
The narrative is communicated to us through dialogue, use of text and scenes. Just like
The colombiana trailer, the story is completely given away in the trailer therefore there
is an absence of enigma. With the information given out in the trailer the audience know
what to expect. Due to genre we know that they will live happily ever after however the
audience will watch it in order to see that happen.
At the beginning of the trailer there is a series of slow paced fades. This is done to
prepare the audience for the action. This is followed by a series of cuts and continuity
editing. There is a continuous use of wipes which establishes the states of equilibrium.
A cross dissolve is used also in effect with the wipes. A cutaway is used to break away
from the state of equilibrium to a shot of action and also the cutaways to the title
screens.
Overall the trailer is fairly slow
paced, I think this is done to
reinstate the romantic
element of the genre.

10. Editing
Kill Bill
The text used in the kill bill trailer is used as a
marketing technique. The first text given to the
audience is the distributor and then it reads ‘the 4th
film by Quentin Tarantino’.

11. This would instantly alert his fans to watch this movie. The text also
tells the audience who the main star is. At the end of the trailer the
text communicates narrative. The text tells us that in 2003 Uma
Therma will Kill Bill. This gives the audience an introduction of whats
happening. The use of her real name in reference to the title also
makes the audience feel closer to her as a character.
There aren’t a different range of editing techniques used in this
trailer compared to the others we looked at. Cuts are used
throughout the entire trailer except the beginning where there is a
series of fades. The editing was also slow paced. Although there is a
lack of editing techniques the trailer is still effective based on the
excitement that the title and text provide and the enigma .This trailer
communicates narrative just like the others however the absence of
the story creates a huge enigma for the audience. The audience
want to know who bill is and why she wants to kill him.

12. Lucy
Cross dissolves are used at the start to represent the
hallucination of the character. A number of very fast
paced cuts are also used. The effect it had on me was
that the character was being overwhelmed with
information and things had just happened so fast. It as if
the editing is used to make the audience experience
exactly what the characters are feeling. There are a
number of cutaways to buildings to give the audience a
break from the instant display of action. Wipes are used
to compliment the swift movements of the character on
screen. For example the shots used with the wipes are of
Lucy changing her appearance.
The audience is provided with Todorovs 3 middle steps of his theory
which display action however this is also parts of the narrative that
reveal the story. The enigma in this trailer is – how it all ends?

13. Sound
The use of sound effects in the 2014 Lucy trailer
enhances the action displayed on the screen, it gives the
action a more dramatic impact. What makes this an
effective trailer is the insight it gives the audience and an
idea of what violence to expect in the actual film. An
example of this can be heard as she’s fighting her
opponent, the sound is exaggerated as she grabs him
closer to her and pushes him away.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVt32qoyhi0 0:48
The dialogue used is brief and only gives the audience
enough information to get an idea of what the film is
about. 1:28

14. Excitement
This engages the audience and creates excitement and
anxiousness to see the film. This can be compared to 2011
Colombiana trailer in the aspect of using dialogue to give an
idea of the story. Though the dialogue is spaced out and
appears shorter than in Lucy, the choice of using rapid jump
cuts and images more or less tells the story and the dialogue in
a sense confirms it.
The soundtrack unlike other trailers stops when there is
dialogue and then continues as some trailers play the
soundtrack as well as having dialogue. The use of sound
effects fills this gap and is used to accompany the onscreen
minor action whereas the soundtrack accompanies important
clips from the film.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCxPLlFWdFo

15. In the Kill Bill 2003 trailer the use of a voice over
gives the trailer a more organised narrative. The
voice over appears to tell the story as well as the
action shown on the screen, which gives more
information about the film than seen in both trailers
of Lucy and Colombiana. However in the Mr and Mrs
Smith trailer a voice over is used also, it gives the
action shown on the screen more emphasis and
intrigues the audience, it creates an idea that the
film itself is just not an ordinary action film but
something bigger. The uses of sound effects are
similar to both Lucy and Colombiana and are used
exactly in the same to enhance the action displayed.

16. Engage the audience
The most important element in making a teaser trailer or
a trailer is to engage the audience and in order to
achieve this action needs to be displayed. Through my
research of the four trailers I’ve analysed one feature
they all have in common is the appearance of action, a
form of explosions or a source of violence. This is
continuously shown throughout but yet do not show the
audience too much, the source of action grabs the
audiences attention and intrigues them into watching the
film.
Examples of action presented in the trailers.