Research for teaser trailer

For my film teaser trailer it was important to look at several examples of teaser trailers to be able understand what the connotations (what you would expect and what makes a something good in that genre) are for that genre. I was looking at several trailers both from the Action and Action Thriller genre to give me some inspiration for my story and to get a feel for the connotations of an Action Thriller so that I could decide to either meet them or challenge them. I made sure to pick trailers where the films had received 4 star or 5 star ratings. This meant that i would be learning from the best. I went through each of the trailers below and made detailed notes which I used to gather ideas from. Below each video is a brief summary of my notes.

To play the trailer videos simply click the play button located in the middle of each window

The Bourne Legacy Teaser Trailer

Above is the Bourne Legacy Teaser Trailer. The Bourne films have the same kind of story plot as my film and they are all Action Thriller Genre. I am briefly going to discuss what we see in this teaser trailer and extract some ideas that i can use in my filming.

Have seen all three films i noticed one thing very quickly. This trailer actual has shots from all three of the Bourne films which is very unusual. They have also opted to have very little camera shots in the trailer at all, they only have a few, the trailer is mostly dominated by prolonged text segments for example showing who the director is and the lead star Matt Damon and finally the title. In the few camera shots that are present we can get an idea of what you can expect from this serious spy film. Every one has very serious business like mannerisms and faces. All the camera shots are either close ups or mid close ups. This helps give the feeling of an isolated world or secrets. The teaser trailer is quite long at 1 min 35, the average for a teaser trailer generally being around 30 to 60 seconds. However i have seen a shift in the length of teaser trailers. I personally think they are becoming slightly longer pushing that one minute marker.



The Bourne Ultimatum teaser trailer

This more like a common teaser trailer being 32 seconds long. Its also done in a way that challenges the normal conventions. They have opted for the trailer not to be a series of different shots but instead a graphically generated interface system that hints to the tracking of a target named Jason Bourne. This is a very interesting method and I would have liked to try something like this. Unfortunately being a Media Studies student I do not have access to or the money for any advance video editing software which would allow me to create a trailer similar to this one.


The Bourne Ultimatum First Trailer

This isn't actually a teaser trailer but rather a short trailer. I can still look at this trailer however to get an idea of the types of camera shots used and what the content is like.
There is a lot to get out of this trailer. In the trailer they use very little dialogue. The audience is told some brief information about the protagonist with each piece of information being followed by a relating clip. In this case its shots from the previous two films. We also see a lot of action condensed into a short time. all the transitions from one clips to another are very fast passed, this keeps the pace going in the trailer and the pace builds and builds until it climaxes with the title of the film at the end which is followed by the release date and website address. There is a lot of faced paced action as the trailer progress, we see several fights, firefights and various stunts.
For camera shots we again see several mid closeups / closeups and wide shots. Everything towards the end of the trailer is fast paced action oriented where as the start of the trailer is much slower descriptive shots. The music supports this starting off slow but progressing in to much faster paced music.


Below are some other trailers I looked at to gather some more ideas though I did not go into as much detail as the Boune trailers

The Manchurian Candidate trailer

Enemy of the state trailer


Traitor Official Trailer





Teaser Trailer Codes and conventions

A teaser trailer is a shorter version of a main trailer usually released several months before the actual trailer and film is released. They are usually very short, lasting between 30-60 seconds although some films may have a lengthier teaser. They usual contain very little footage from the film itself. Some teaser trailer are however a shortened version of the main theatrical trailer. The purpose of the teaser trailer is in the name. It’s designed to show an idea of the film long before it’s due to come out and thus teases the audience.

Teaser trailers are not used to give the audience an idea of the actual content of the film. It’s designed to let the audience know that the film is coming out in the near future and to excite them so they look forward to its release. A teaser trailer is usually made while the film is still in production or being edited. On the other hand the teaser trailer may just be a cut down of the main theatrical trailer. Sometimes (more commonly these days) the teaser trailer may include actual clips from the film, but will usually not be placed chronological order as to not give the story away. A teaser trailer will almost never include and pot twist or major points in the film, this ensures that the plot twists and major points are still exciting for the audience (they haven’t already seen it).

For my teaser trailer I will for the most part follow the codes and conventions. I will keep the length of my teaser trailer between 40-60 seconds. I will use a mixture of footage, some that would be in the actual film and some that would not. This would still offer that teasing effect for the audience but at the same time establishing the type of film. I will be doing an action thriller because I feel out of all the film genres; it’s the most exciting and appealing for me.

So to summarize what a teaser trailer is I have made a few short points

A teaser trailer is a short trailer advertising a film or may be a shortened version of the main theatrical trailer.

They are usually very short, anywhere between 30-60 seconds (this may vary).

The purpose of a teaser trailer is not to tell the audience a great deal of information about the film, but rather to tease/entice them to want to watch the film when it comes out several months later.

They are generally released several months before the film or main theatrical trailer.