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.
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