Movie trailers are film advertisements for films that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema, on whose screen they are shown; they are commonly known as previews of coming attractions. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a film programme. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the theater after the films ended, but the name has stuck. Trailers are now shown before the film (or the a-film in a double-bill programme) begins. Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... Generally speaking, advertising is the paid promotion of goods, services, companies and ideas by an identified sponsor. ... The double feature was a motion picture industry phenomenon that brought an eventual end to the commercial viability of two-reel short subjects. ...

Trailers normally consist of a series of selected shots from the film being advertised. Since the purpose of the trailer is to attract an audience to the film, these excerpts are usually drawn from the most exciting, funny, or otherwise noteworthy parts of the film but in abbreviated form and without producing spoilers. A trailer has to achieve that in less than two and a half minutes, the maximum length allowed by theaters. Each studio or distributor is allowed to exceed this time limit once a year, if they feel it is necessary for a particular film. A spoiler is a summary or description of a narrative (or part of a narrative) that relates plot elements not revealed early in the narrative itself. ...

Trailers are not just a selection of shots, but very carefully constructed mini-stories that derive their power from key dialogue lines accentuated with strong visual moments and effects. The underlying narrative story-thread is as important as the visuals chosen to illustrate the range of the movie.

Some trailers use "special shoot" footage, which is material that has been created specifically for advertising purposes and does not appear in the actual film. The most notable film to use this technique was Terminator 2: Judgment Day, whose trailer featured elaborate special effects scenes that were never intended to be in the film itself. One of the most famous "special shoot" trailers is that used for the 1960s thriller Psycho which featured director Alfred Hitchcock giving viewers a guided tour of the Bates Motel, eventually arriving at the infamous shower. At this point, the soft-spoken Hitchcock suddenly throws the shower curtain back to reveal Vera Miles with a blood-curdling scream. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (commonly abbreviated T2) is a 1991 movie directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, and Robert Patrick. ... Psycho is a 1960 suspense/horror film directed by auteur Alfred Hitchcock from the screenplay by Joseph Stefano. ... Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE (August 13, 1899 – April 29, 1980) was a highly influential film director and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres. ... Vera Miles in Alfred Hitchcocks Psycho Vera Miles (born August 23, 1929) is an American actress. ...

The people who create trailers often begin their work while the movie is still being shot. Since the edited movie does not exist at this point, the trailer editors work from rushes or dailies. The trailer may be created at the agency while the movie itself is being cut together at the studio. Thus, the trailer may contain footage that is not in the final movie, or the trailer editor and the movie editor may use different takes of a particular shot. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Film editing. ... Rushes refers to the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... This article needs cleanup. ...

Some trailers that incorporate material not in the movie are particularly coveted by collectors, especially trailers for classic films. For example, in a trailer for Casablanca the character Rick Blaine says "OK, you asked for it!" before shooting Major Strasser, an event that does not occur in the final film. Casablanca is a 1943 romantic film set during World War II in the Vichy-controlled Moroccan city of Casablanca. ...

Parts of a trailer

Trailers tell the story of a movie in a highly condensed, maximally appealing fashion. In the decades since movie marketing has become a large industry, trailers have become highly polished pieces of advertising, able to present even poor movies in an attractive light. Some of the elements common to many trailers are listed below.

• A green band is an all-green graphic at the beginning of the trailer, usually reading "The following PREVIEW has been approved for ALL AUDIENCES by the Motion Picture Association of America," and sometimes including the movie's MPAA rating. This signifies that the trailer adheres to the standards for motion picture advertising outlined by the MPAA, which includes limitations on foul language and violent, sexual, or otherwise objectionable imagery. Trailers that do not adhere to these guidelines may be issued a red band, which reads "The following PREVIEW has been approved for RESTRICTED AUDIENCES ONLY by the Motion Picture Association of America," and may only be shown before an R-rated, NC-17-rated, or unrated movie. The MPAA also mandates that trailers not exceed two minutes and thirty seconds in length, and each major studio is given one exception to this rule per year.

• Usually studio logos are featured near the beginning of the trailer. Until the late 1970s, those were put only at the end of the trailer. Often there will be logos for both the production company and distributor of the film.

• Most trailers have a three-act structure similar to a feature-length film. They start with a beginning (act 1) that lays out the premise of the story. The middle (act 2) drives the story further and usually ends with a dramatic climax. Act 3 usually features a strong piece of "signature music" (either a recognizable song or a powerful, sweeping orchestral piece). This last act often consists of a visual montage of powerful and emotional moments of the film and may also contain a cast run if there are noteworthy stars that could help sell the movie.

• Voice-over narration is used to briefly set up the premise of the movie and provide explanation when necessary. Since the trailer is a highly condensed format, voice-over is a useful tool to enhance the audience's understanding of the plot. Some of the best-known voice-over artists are Don LaFontaine, Andy Geller, Hal Douglas, Mark Elliott, George DelHoyo, and Ashton Smith.

• Music helps set the tone and mood of the trailer. Usually the music used in the trailer is not from the film itself (the film score may not have been composed yet). The music used in the trailer may be:

Music from the score of other movies

Popular or well-known music, often chosen for its tone, appropriateness of a lyric, or recognizability

"Library" music previously composed specifically to be used in advertising by an independent composer

Specially composed music, which may include knock-offs of recognizable (but expensive to license) songs

• A cast run is a list of the stars that appear in the movie. If the director or producer is well-known or has made other popular movies, they often warrant a mention as well.

• Most trailers conclude with a billing block, which is a list of the principal cast and crew. It is the same list that appears on posters and print publicity materials, and is the same list that usually appears on-screen at the beginning of the movie.
• Sound Mix Many Movie Trailers are presented in Dolby Digital or any other Multichannel sound mix . Is very probable to hear dramatic explosions and music in multichannel sound during a movie trailer.
• Video resolution Movie trailers are presented in the same resolution as the feature firm. In HDTV Channels (such as Universal HD) movie trailers are presented in HDTV and Dolby Digital 5.1 Sound.

The MPAA film rating system is a system used in the United States and instituted by the Motion Picture Association of America to rate a movie based on its content. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Production company refers to a company responsible for the development and physical production of a film or television program. ... A Film distributor is an independent company, a subsidiary company or occasionally an individual, which acts as the final agent between a film production company or some intermediary agent, and a film exhibitor, to the end of securing placement of the producers film on the exhibitors screen. ... A voice-over is a narration that is played on top of a video segment, usually with the audio for that segment muted or lowered. ... A voice actor (or voice artist) is a person who provides voices for computer and video games, puppet shows, amusement rides, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, stop motion, and animation works (including cartoons, animated feature films, animated shorts), and radio and television commercials. ... Don LaFontaine (born August 26, 1940 in Duluth, Minnesota) is a voice actor famous for recording over 5,000 movie trailers, television commercials, network promotions, and video game trailers. ... Hal Douglas is a voice actor who has lent his deep voice to many movie trailers and television commercials. ... Ashton Smith (born circa 1962) is a voice actor famous for recording many movie trailers, television commercials and network promotions. ... Allegory of Music on the Opéra Garnier Music is an art form that involves organized sounds and silence. ... Authors set a tone or mood in literature by conveying an emotion or emotions through words. ... A film score is the music in a film, generally written for the film and often used to heighten emotions provoked by the imagery on the screen or by the dialogue. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... A movie star is a celebrity who is well known for his or her starring, or leading, roles in motion pictures. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... A film producer creates the conditions for making movies. ... Billing is a film term denoting the amount and order in which film credits information is presented in advertising and on the film itself. ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke while waiting between takes during location filming An actor or actress is a person who acts, or plays a role, in a dramatic production. ... Film crew and equipment on a location shoot. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with List of common resolutions. ...

Creation of a trailer

Studios may create trailers in-house or may "farm out" creation to one or more advertising agencies. Agencies that specialize in creating trailers are known as trailer houses. Depending on the amount of influence the filmmakers have with the studio, they may or may not be involved in the creation of the trailer for their film. Some choose to closely supervise the process, when possible. They usually don't get involved until a version of the trailer has been approved by the studio internally.

The producers and editors of a trailer will be given material from the studio to work with, which may include the movie itself (if it has been edited together yet), rushes, and/or computer graphics shots (as they are created during the film editing process).

The trailers that are seen in theaters have been through an extensive process of revisions and approvals by a variety of studio marketing executives. The revision process often includes information from market research conducted at locations all around the country. Version is a state of an object or concept that varies from its previous state or condition. ... Research is the search for and retrieval of existing, discovery or creation of new information or knowledge for a specific purpose. ...

Movie trailer editing benefits greatly from the use of a non-linear editing system. Note: Please see National Latin Examination for the standardized test that is also abbreviated NLE. A non-linear editing system (abbreviated NLE) is a video editing or audio editing system that can perform random access on the source material. ...

Beside creative and unique trailer creation, there are several experimental approaches to generate movie trailers automatically using artificial intelligence. University projects like SVP (University of Bremen, Germany) analyze the movie and try to create a trailer based on typical structures and rules of trailers.

Trailers that want to have an MPAA rating must submit the trailer for their comments and official rating. This process may take days to weeks. In addition, the trailer must go through TASA certification to regulate sound volumes across theaters.

Commercial considerations

Studios can usually attach a trailer to the print of another of their films, so that the theater will show their trailer directly before the film. (Usually, exhibitors choose the other trailers that show before a given film.) To maximize the audience for certain trailers, studios often work to attach highly anticipated trailers to films that they expect will draw a large crowd. Filmmaking is the process of making a film. ...

This practice can also affect when films are released. An extreme example of this is Miramax's decision to delay the North American release of Hero by two years, mostly so that they could widely advertise the film before Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. Miramax is a Big Ten film distribution and production company. ... Hero (Chinese: 英雄; pinyin: ) is a film first released in China on October 24, 2002. ... Quentin Jerome Tarantino (born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, actor, and Oscar-winning screenwriter. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into articles entitled Kill Bill: Vol. ...

This advertising is especially valuable as it can be carefully targeted. Movies appealing to one age group or demographic will have trailers for films targeting that same group.

Trailers have spread to other media as well. Trailers for computer games have especially become popular. A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ...

Criticism of trailers

This article or section may contain original research or unattributed claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the talk page for details.

Movie marketing copy is often accused of being clichéd. The creation of trailers has been honed over decades to a very precise art, and certain clichés are useful because in a very short space, they are the most efficient way to communicate a given idea. Record scratches that stop the music to deliver the punch-line to a joke are a very common feature of trailers, but they are continually used because they remain effective. Image File history File links Circle-question. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Trailers are also criticized when they incorporate shots that do not exist in the actual movie. When the trailer is edited from rushes this is practically unavoidable. In extreme cases, scenes may have been shot that were later cut from the release version of the movie, but may still exist in the trailer. Usually these scenes are similar in tone or content to material that does exist in the movie.

In other cases, trailers may use stock footage to convey, in shorthand, a concept that takes longer to explain (or is less visually dynamic) in the movie. In still other cases, shots or dialogue may be rearranged to create situations or exchanges that do not exist as such in the movie. Often this is done to mask a perceived shortcoming in the movie while maximizing the potential of the footage. Stock footage, also termed archive footage, library pictures and file footage is film or video footage that is reused in a film. ...

How much to give away in a trailer is a controversial question. Filmmaker Robert Zemeckis argues that a trailer should tell everything about a film, since, he claims, audiences will not want to pay to see films unless they know exactly what they are paying for. Many filmmakers disagree and believe that a trailer should show no more than is needed to convince the audience to see a film. From a studio marketing perspective, the most interesting, funny, arresting parts of the movie should be in the trailer -- the theory being, showing only less interesting material will attract less of an audience. Robert Zemeckis (born May 14, 1952) is an Academy Award-winning American movie director, producer and writer. ...

Awards for trailers

Every year there are two main events that give awards to outstanding movie trailers: The Key Art Awards, presented by the Hollywood Reporter, and The Golden Trailer Awards. While the Golden Trailer Awards allow only trailers to be entered in the competition, the Key Art Awards pick winners in all creative parts of movie advertising, from trailers and TV spots to posters and print ads. The yearly Key Art Awards ceremony is held at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. The Hollywood Reporter is one of two major trade papers of the film industry in the United States, the other being Variety. ... The Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. ...

• Key Art Awards
• Golden Trailer Awards

Trailers that break form

• The Comedian trailer satirizes voice-over clichés.
  • Comedian

• One trailer for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy satirizes many of the most common features of movie trailers.
  • The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

• The Minus Man trailer is a "special shoot" that features no actual movie footage. It consists of two unnamed characters discussing the movie.
  • The Minus Man

• The Strange Days trailer consists of Lenny Nero (the main character played by Ralph Fiennes) speaking directly to the audience, advertising his "business", which is the selling of experiences, and memorably dubbing himself "the Santa Claus of the subconscious".
  • Strange Days

• The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind trailer is another that is constructed to initially appear to be a commercial for a product instead of a movie advertisement.
  • Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

• The Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny trailer features Jack Black and Kyle Gass attempting to record a voice over for a trailer, but stumbling on the opening line ("this summer" to "this fall" to "this thanksgiving" to "November 22" to "some time this year coming up soon"). Also both the lines they use in the voice over and the voices they affect both satarize the typical voice overs found in movie trailers
  • Tenacious D in: the Pick of Destiny

• The trailer for Monty Python and the Holy Grail also satirizes trailer forms yet at the same time advertises the film. The trailer functions over a background and auditions voiceovers for the trailers with the first three rejected until a Chinese man is selected for the voiceover. He then goes on to say that while movies like Seven Samurai, Ivan the Terrible and Bergman's The Seventh Seal were landmarks, the Monty Python film is barely comparable concluding by stating that audiences could do worse than the film. The trailer ends with an advertisement for a Chinese restaurant.

• The trailer for Toys featured Robin Williams dressed in character, in an expansive grassy field, urging filmgoers to see the film. This was parodied by The Simpsons episode Burns' Heir, when Montgomery Burns, dressed as Williams did, relayed his search for an heir (before singing Let's All Go to the Lobby.)

• The trailer for The Aqua Teen Hungerforce Movie Film for Theaters opens with a list of things that do not appear in the film, including "A mythical kingdom", "A child with a secret", "A galaxy torn asunder", and "A secret, mythical, ancient, hidden, tomb... guy... who runs the tomb". Near the end it names its crew with such undignified titles as "From the 1st assistant director of the 2nd unit of Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth".

A documentary by Jerry Seinfeld. ... 1867 edition of the satirical magazine Punch, a British satirical magazine, ground-breaking on popular literature satire. ... The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is a science-fiction movie based on the book of the same name by Douglas Adams. ... 1867 edition of the satirical magazine Punch, a British satirical magazine, ground-breaking on popular literature satire. ... The Minus Man is a movie that opened October 8, 1999. ... Strange Days is the title of a 1995 science fiction film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and produced and co-written by her ex-husband James Cameron with the assistance of Jay Cocks. ... Ralph Nathaniel Fiennes, (IPA pronunciation: ), born 22 December 1962 in Suffolk, England), is a Tony Award-winning, Academy Award-nominated and Genie Award-nominated English actor. ... A typical depiction of Santa Claus. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is an Academy Award-winning 2004 romance film by Michel Gondry that uses a science fiction element to explore the nature of memory and love. ... Jack Black (born Thomas J. Black, Jr. ... Kyle Richard Gass (born July 14, 1960) [1] is an American actor and a member of the bands Tenacious D (along with Jack Black) and Trainwreck. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Seven Samurai (disambiguation). ... Nikolai Cherkasov as Ivan the Terrible in Eisensteins film of the same name Faina Ranevskaya as Princess Staritskaya in Ivan The Terrible, Part I (1942) Ivan The Terrible was a film about Ivan IV of Russia in three parts made by Russian director Sergei Eisenstein. ... Ingmar Bergman   (IPA: in Swedish) (born July 14, 1918) is a Swedish stage and film director who is one of the key film auteurs of the twentieth century. ... The Seventh Seal (Swedish: Det sjunde inseglet) is an existential 1957 Swedish film directed by Ingmar Bergman about the journey of a medieval knight (Max von Sydow) across a plague-ridden landscape. ... Toys is a 1992 Comedy film. ... For other persons named Robin Williams, see Robin Williams (disambiguation). ... Simpsons redirects here. ... Burns Heir is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons fifth season, first aired on April 14, 1994. ... Charles Montgomery Burns (also known as Mr. ... Lets All Go to the Lobby (also called The Clock) is a 1957 musical animated short feature. ... Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters is an upcoming animated film based on the Adult Swim animated series Aqua Teen Hunger Force. ... Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth is a film released September 11, 1992, directed by Anthony Hickox. ...

See also

• Teaser trailer
• Re-cut trailers
• Trailer (book)

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Trailer (film). ... Re-cut trailers refers to a re-edited film trailer that is created by re-editing footage from that film, or possibly just from that films trailer. ... A book trailer is a film or video advertisement for a book which employs techniques simliar to those of movie trailers. ...

External links

• A Comprehensive History of the Form
• SVP: A university project aiming for automatic trailer generation

Movie trailers

• Movie Trailers on apple.com
• The IMDb "Movie Trailers" website