A trailer is a wheeled vehicle designed to be pulled by a car, truck or other motorized vehicle. A trailer can also refer to a film preview or advertisement that theaters show before a movie, and it is sometimes used as a marketing tool for television shows, video games and books as well as movies.
A successful trailer is a great marketing tool and can help boost ticket sales and get audiences excited about a film. It is important to remember that a trailer should not give away too much about the film, and it can be helpful to include quotes from fans or critics that will add to the buzz.
Trailers are also often edited using sound effects to liven up scene transitions, quick cuts to highlight action and a variety of editing techniques to create pace and tension. Music is also often added to a trailer to help set the tone, whether it’s suspenseful orchestral music for a thriller or lighthearted pop music for a romantic comedy. Trailer music is usually purchased from stock music libraries as opposed to being composed specifically for the trailer.
As the internet has become a new way to promote films, the popularity of trailers has increased. Film studios are able to release “red-band” trailers that cannot be shown on television, develop ad campaigns that feature countdowns and teasers for the movie’s release, and post the trailer on YouTube where editors can play with it. They can even create recuts of famous films like turning Mary Poppins into a horror movie and The Shining into the feel-good family film of the year.
Some movie trailers have been criticized for giving viewers a misleading impression of the film. For example, some trailers may lead viewers to believe that a celebrity who only has a small role in the film is one of the main stars, or that the film is more action-packed than it really is. These misleading trailers are often done to attract the attention of a specific audience or to compete with other films that might be in the same genre.
A trailer is a great way to promote a film, but it can be difficult to get the attention of an audience in such a short amount of time. It is important to keep a trailer short and sweet, and to use it to encourage people to buy tickets or sign up for a mailing list. It is also a good idea to use a call-to-action button on social media platforms, such as YouTube or Facebook, so that it is easy for people to find and access the trailer. It is also a good idea to release teasers of the trailer over time, either as a video on social media or as short gifs posted on your Facebook feed each day, counting down to the trailer’s premiere. This will help to build anticipation and drive traffic to your website. This can be a highly effective and low-cost marketing strategy.