Research & Planning: Teaser Trailers

I have conducted some research into what makes teaser trailers so great for film promotion. I believe my trailer for a rom-com film 'Double Ex' will work best as a teaser trailer; as, traditionally, audiences do not want to be given too much information about rom-com films, as it tends to ruin them. The key thing about rom-com's benefitting from teaser trailers is that it gives a production company the chance to show off that their rom-com is different by only showing small significant parts of the film. Me and my partner made the mistake of giving away too much information in our original trailer (we learnt this through a lot of audience feedback). By creating a teaser trailer, the audience is more intrigued and likely to go and see a film at the cinema once it is released. Also, because teaser trailers are around a third of the time of full-length trailers; my trailer will be perfect for advertisement on TV (ad-breaks). This will help us reach a wider audience, and boost our chances of taking more money at the box-office.

A teaser trailer is defined as:

"A teaser campaign is an advertising campaign which typically consists of a series of small, cryptic, challenging advertisements that anticipate a larger, full-blown campaign for a product launch or otherwise important event. These advertisements are called "teasers" or "teaser ads". A teaser trailer for an upcoming film, television program, video game or similar, is usually released long in advance of the product, so as to "tease" the audience."

Below I have looked into two of the most successful teaser-trailer campaigns, and analysed them for techniques and tips that I can employ in my own rom-com teaser trailer.

1. Friends With Benefits

This is the teaser trailer for rom-com film ‘Friends With Benefits’. As an audience, we are challenged by the stereotypical conventions of the rom-com genre. Much like most rom-com films (including mine), the film is based upon a man and a woman that, coincidentally, end up together - usually battling some kind of obstacle along the way. In the case of Friends With Benefits, the obstacle is their professional relationship.

Things I will consider when making my own trailer, based on what I have seen in this one:

• Have a short delay on the background music
• Use fast transitions on the graphics
• Include comedic moments
• Lots of different angles / shots
• Introduce main characters (max 3/4)
• Montage of clips with voiceover

2. The Break Up

Unlike most romantic comedy films, 'The Break Up' does not have the stereotypical 'happy ending' in which the two main characters get together. In fact, the resolution in this film is that the two main characters end up separated but living happy lives away from each other (with no 'hard feelings' towards one-another).

Things I will consider when making my own trailer, based on what I have seen in this one:

• Have a best-friend to provide context and humour
• Keep it short, this one is only 33 seconds long
• Warm lighting
• Mixture of long shots and close ups
• Clothes are neutral - don't call for attention
• Lots of fade to black transitions being used between scenes