4 Reasons Film Trailers Are More Exciting Than The Films Themselves

It has been a good week for movie trailers, has it not? With the ever-likeable Chris Pratt looking concerned throughout the Jurassic Worlds and Recreation teaser, and yesterday’s big Star Wars nerdgasm that apparently drove everyone mad in supermarkets, 2015 looks to be an interesting year for blockbusters. To me, however, what is unequivocally more interesting is the fervent anticipation for the next trailer, whilst fans analyse the latest ones frame by frame. This phenomenon isn’t about the movie itself any more...

1) Trailers Aren’t Indicative Of Quality

I would argue that film trailers have evolved even more than films themselves over the last few decades – check out this 6 and a half minute trailer for Psycho if you haven’t before (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTJQfFQ40lI). It’s the filmic equivalent of a historical tour, with Hitchcock himself as the star of the show. Nowadays, it’s all about mood, invoked by ambient soundtrack that builds to a dizzying crescendo, multiple fades to black and menacing diagetic voice over. We go nuts for it every damn time.

Trailers have a unique power to sway our opinions about something that probably isn’t even finished yet. If we’re expecting a movie to be terrible before we’ve seen anything, we’ll either find validation in a poorly made teaser, or surprise and hope if the trailer actually looks half decent. This level of emotional response is rarely equalled by the films themselves, simply because they’re longer and have more important things to deal with than just looking awesome. This often leads to films with amazing trailers being disappointing (haven’t seen the latest Godzilla yet, simply out of fear that it won’t live up), or terrible trailers being surprise hits (the fact that they were able to make a stunning film like Drive look like another Fast and the Furious is just downright upsetting).

2) Trailers Don’t Just Sell The Film

You watch a film. “So... that was a film”. You watch a trailer. “HOLY CUMBERBATCH, IT LOOKS LIKE IT COULD BE INCREDIBLE”. Why is this? Because it’s not the visuals or the actors or the soundtrack it’s selling, it’s the possibilities. People group up, analyse, argue, quote and review (?) every trailer going these days, because they’ve seen the money shots and now try to build their own stories around them (if the trailer hasn’t spoilt the entire movie already, that is). This sort of communal speculation is exactly why people were disappointed with the end of LOST (for the record, I totally wasn’t disappointed, but that’s an essay for another day) – anything the filmmakers come up with just won’t be as cool as what you had in your head for months.

On a more literal level, film trailers can actually sell entire franchises to people. This time last year, I recall wanting to see the Hunger Games: Catching Fire because the trailer actually made it look pretty good (turns out it was pretty good, so kudos for a surprisingly accurate trailer). I hadn’t even seen the first one, because, ultimately, I wasn’t impressed by that trailer. So, I watched the first one and then immediately went to the cinema to check out the new one. Now, with the third movie hitting the screens, coupled with even better trailers again, I’m in the bizarre position where I feel “franchise loyalty”, despite not being a diehard fan from the start, or any real anticipation beyond what the trailers give me.

3) Trailers Present Opportunity For Change In The Finished Product

Think for a moment about how television works, particularly in America. They have a “pilot season” whereby they show the first episodes of new shows to audiences, and, based on the reception, judge whether or not the series will be picked up for a full season order. Films don’t have this particularly brutal luxury of “quality control”, as production of the film is pretty unanimously a fixed amount of time to achieve the entire piece. While a system where the industry only ever makes trailers and then decides whether to make the full films based on audience reaction is fun in theory, it doesn’t really make much sense logistically.

Instead, however, any controversy or universal flaw pointed out in a film trailer can sometimes lead to change within the film itself, provided it’s still in production. Take the voice of Bane in The Dark Knight Rises – reportedly the sound mix changed from trailer to trailer and from test screen to test screen based on continually baffled audiences, and you still need a PHD in Listening to understand the final film. Not everything can be “fixed in the edit” though, as a string of recent film trailers have taken flack for “whitewashing” characters (there were boycotts for Noah, and possibly will be for Exodus: Gods and Kings and for Rooney Mara playing Tiger-Lily in Pan). I guess my point is, logistics aside, the opportunity is there...

4) Trailers Are Free To Watch

Sure, this point may be a little reductive, but the main purpose of a trailer from an audience’s perspective rather than a marketer’s is simply to decide “do I want to pay money to see this movie?” I’m not going to get into a one man debate about the ins and outs of illegal downloading here, so let’s stick with the classic “cinema going” model (and what a fine model she is). As cinema prices get higher and higher, the majority of society is becoming less inclined with rolling the dice and seeing a movie they know nothing about on a whim. Cinemas sell themselves as an “event”, and rightly so, given the unbeatable feeling of witnessing movies on the big screen, with the sound pounding against your chest like a music festival.

But that setting needs to be earnt by the film in our eyes. How many times in the last year have you said to a friend / family member / enemy, “it looks pretty good, but I’ll probably see it on DVD when it comes out”? We have to be selective about what deserves our money and time, because there’s simply so much to choose from these days. Reviews can be useful, but are usually too divided to get a clear picture, which is why you see everyone plastering new trailers over social media rather than Mark Kermode’s latest musings. They’re free to watch, free to share, barely take up our time and can create hype beyond what the film itself can do. It’s like being more excited about your Christmas present while it’s still wrapped up under the tree.

James Cottle, after studying Scriptwriting for 4 years, is now an embittered real life freelance writer, and seeks to unlearn everything he knows. But he needs your help... Follow him on Twitter @Jxmxsc and share this blog to help spread his anarchic plight for reform amongst the writing masses.