Completed Teaser Trailer: Katy Jackson

Here is the final version of my teaser trailer for a music documentary i  completed using my own editing software, Movie Studio Platinum. This teaser trailer consists of only a small percentage of footage i filmed myself and instead uses a lot of footage from the covers that are already on Katy's YouTube channel; the same goes for most of the videos of her performances, except from one which i filmed at Chacombebury festival.

In reflection, i think the edits are effective for this trailer because the use of fades and cuts juxtaposed together helps to create a calming atmosphere, also suggesting that like the slow fades, the steps to career success are just as long and dark; yet hard work will inevitability pull people through, as shown through how i've tried to make it look as if Katy is trying again and again, putting as much effort and passion into what she does in order to succeed. The sound is used to advertise the music artist, Katy, where not only are we provided with snippets of her songs and covers, but in the background i have chosen to play one of her original songs; music is thus extremely relevant to my teaser trailer. Looking back at the teaser, if i could have improved the teaser trailer i would like to have fixed up some of the fades, both for the shots and sound. Also i would probably play around with the music in the background a little more scrupulously since towards the end of the teaser trailer you can hear the music play alongside the sound of Katy singing a cover, something that is a minor distraction but nevertheless slightly annoying. Furthermore, if i had more time and more specialised software i would have liked to alter and improve the credits and title by making them a less cliché and using font and colour that is both effective and eye-catching.

Actor Consent Form

Here is a consent form i roughly drew up for Katy to sign. Even though she isn't acting in the teaser trailer, for the purpose of shooting the documentary it's good practice to gain consent to film the person the film is to be based on.

Storyboard

Self-assessment, peer-assessment and teacher feedback on the presentation

Presentation

Here is a video of a presentation i forwarded to the class, discussing which teaser trailer i liked the most out of what i had researched and not without explanation to how this relates to how i will shoot and edit my own teaser trailer.

Documentary teaser trailers: Music

I have decided for this preliminary task that i will look at creating a music documentary. The music documentaries that i have looked at include 'One Direction: This Is Us', 'Katy Perry: Part Of Me' and 'Justin Bieber: Never Say Never'. These were the only recent music documentary teaser trailers which i could find on YouTube since previous films are more outdated so it is difficult to find any footage online, that is why i have only selected 3 teaser trailers rather than 5.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLb5nMCsioE (Can't be embedded)

Narrative

A teaser trailer for a music documentary will usually follow a narrative where it will tell the tale of the music artist, from when they first had an interest in music to how they've risen to stardom. This will usually include footage of the artist when they were younger and will have the artist or other people close to the artist talking about how this interest has developed on a phenomenal scale and yet explain how their success hasn't come easy e.g. haters, paparazzi, relationships etc.

Genre

There are many ways in which these teaser trailer convey the genres of music documentaries, some of which include:

• Footage of the artist when they were younger
• Comments made by friends/family
• Voice-over of music artist talking
• Footage of concerts
• Artist shown in their home environment
• Artist acting weird, or doing something funny
• Screaming fans
• Fades
• Cuts
• Titles interspersed throughout
• Extreme long shot
• Track shots

Representations

There are many ways in which an artist's story is conveyed and represented through a teaser trailer. This may involve:

• Discussing a troubled childhood
• Explaining the passion the artist had for music as a child
• Showing that the artist, despite their huge success, is the same person, unchanged by the fame
•  Picturing the degree of success the artist has, determined by the mass of fans

Audience

The audience for these films are primarily music fans, particularly those who belong to the artist's own fan base e.g. One Direction's directioners. So the artist can be assumed to talk about how they are indebted to their fans who have enabled them to have the career they do. It is not necessarily the way the trailer has been edited or designed that would specify it appeals to music fans apart from the fact the main people are music artists. However not everyone appeals to the music artist these films were made about which means it is not the editing or visual appearance of the trailer that affects their love for the film but the artist themselves. Yet in Justin Bieber's teaser trailer, for example, the colour scheme is purple which is a feminine colour suggesting that it intentionally aimed more towards girls. 

Trailer Conventions

Some of the main conventions of a trailer include:

• Important, key events in the plot of a film, but ones that do not give away the whole story
• The trailer will usually start with an the main production companies' ident
• The trailer ends with the film's title and a release date
• Some films will include a form of narration, such as credits or a voice-over
• The main characters will be introduced
• The music is significant and varies according to the genre e.g. a horror will use fast-paced music whilst a romance will use calm and relaxing music
• Camera editing also differs, so where you have a romance a lot of fades, slow motion and cuts will be used but an action adventure will use quick-cuts, cutaways and extreme long shots/establishing shots

Teaser trailers very similarly use the same conventions as theatrical trailers however since they are much shorter, such things as editing and music have to be emphasised to put across the genre. If you have a horror theatrical trailer the conventions usually include: quick cuts, glitches, a dark filter, low key lighting, ominous music, incidental music, sound motifs, a main antagonist, scared/weak protagonist who we think we overcome the protagonist but won't, supernatural force, screams and usually it will end with silence before something happens to scare us. In a comedy you will notice how there is jolly music, a funny/idiotic main character, high key lighting and the music might stop as a joke is made. A romance on the other hand may use very relaxed music, fades, slow motion editing and explore the relationship between two people that has been disrupted by an event, accident or jealously. An action adventure will usually use quick cuts, fast-paced music and include a protagonist and antagonist who will engage in some death-defying fight.

What do teaser trailers do: implications and impact

Essentially the main aim of a teaser trailer, as said, is to build hype for a film. By doing this the film company can reach wider audiences who will watch the film, thus raising the profit of a film. But whilst this is a good marketing strategy many independent film companies lack the capital to invest in creating teaser trailers to build hype meaning it is harder to raise as much money as the conglomerates are able to achieve. With the advancement of digital technology trailers have been made more effective (see history) and it has meant that teaser trailers can be distributed and exhibited in various ways. Conglomerates will both implement teaser trailers across the internet, as a TV promotion or at the cinema and can therefore promote their film on a wider scale to a large, tent-pole audience: as they have the money to do so. However, even if an independent film company has the capital to invest in marketing and distributing a film they will only be able to distribute on a smaller scale, to a specific, niche audience. So although digital technology has enabled us to create teaser trailers that are exceptionally efficacious it has made it possibly harder for independent features to be noticed as well as conglomerate films. Nevertheless technology is still enabling independent film companies to be noticed in how they have direct access to the target audience.

History of Trailers

• November 1913- first trailer shown in a US cinema
• 1914- Nils Granlund introduced a trailer using slide technique to promote and advertising a film starring Charlie Chaplin at Loew's Seventh Avenue Theatre in Harlem
• Before the 1950s trailers were produced by the National Screen Service consisting of mostly narration rather than the heavily visual-based trailers we have today.
• It wasn't until the early 1960s that the conventions of trailers changed. With the arrival of 'Hollywood' editing techniques montage editing and fast-paced cuts became very popular and the use of narration and credits soon became less poplar. 
• One person to begin creating theatrical trailers this way was Stanley Kubrick who made trailers for such films as '2001: Space Odyssey'
• Most trailers would have been made for short animation films however theatrical trailers are now much longer and complex, shown in many multiplex cinemas.
• Where trailers would only have been shown in the cinema, they can now be seen on DVD and Blu-ray as well as advertisements before watching videos on YouTube- this is mostly known as pull marketing. Although most commonly we can view these trailers simply online- push marketing.

Teaser Trailers: what are they?

A teaser trailer, different to a theatrical trailer is most notably disparate in the the time it lasts. A teaser trailer usually runs for under a minute and will introduce the audience to some of the main characters and provide us with a basic plot. The main aim of having a teaser trailer is to create hype so that the film will grab the audience's interest and make it more likely for them to want to go watch the film. A theatrical trailer on the other hand will give us greater insight into the plot and develops the characters further. These trailers last around 3 minutes and are a large part of the deciding factor for whether we will go to the cinema to watch a film or not.