Trailer comparison
- 2. • The Teaser shows a train wreckage after a truck crashes into it. • The production companies are shown • There are title overlays giving a background into the story (1979, Area 51) • Director JJ Abrams and producer Steven Spielberg also have title cards. • Little narrative, and is likely to be early footage. • Title shown through a graphic of a Super 8 camera • No character’s are shown, and the only sound is diegetic relating to the wreck.
- 3. • The Dark Knight Teaser features nothing onscreen but flashes of light, which is revealed at the end to be behind the iconic logo. • However, there is non-diegetic dialogue between Bruce and Alfred. Towards the end of the teaser we hear the Joker speak and laugh. As this happens the logo is destroyed by light and a joker card appears
- 4. Similarities Differences Both under 1 minute 45 Super 8 uses video footage, the Dark Knight is just a graphic Neither use music in the trailer Super 8 uses diegetic sound without dialogue, the Dark Knight uses voice clips Both use graphics and title overlays The Dark Knight introduces its characters in a way, Super 8 does not Very little narrative given Super 8 talks about the involvement of JJ Abram’s and Spielberg, the Dark Knight makes no mention of Chris Nolan Show production company
- 5. A TYPICAL TEASER TRAILER • A normal teaser trailer will do that: tease the audience. Very little information is given, and is usually between a minute and a minute 30, although some are slightly longer. • Characters are not normally introduced, and footage will have been filmed early on or new, because these trailers are made while the film is being made • They often reflect the directors style (Abrams have unseen monsters, Nolan never gives out much information about films)
- 6. • We see shots of different locations • The Theatrical trailer shows us clips of the main characters, but we do not learn their names • There are title overlays for Steven Spielberg and JJ Abrams • Introduces the agent of change and the problem: A train wreck occurring while a group of children are filming on a Super 8 camera. • The threat is referenced but not seen, keeping some mystery • Music taken from the soundtrack • Logo and tagline are shown at the end
- 7. • Opens with a location shot of a city, either Gotham or Shanghai, where we see Batman glide away • The music is composed by Hans Zimmer, who also composed the film. • Introduces the majority of main characters. • Much of the focus is on Heath Ledger and the Joker, partly because he is an iconic character, but also due to the actors death before the films release. • Not much of the story is given, but we know that the Joker is causing chaos. Harvey Dent is not shown as Two Face. • The final shot of the film is used (the Bat-signal being smashed) but it’s not in any context.
- 8. Similarities Differences Discover the films location Super 8 does not reveal the threat, whereas the Joker is the main part of the Dark Knight trailer (however the secondary villain is not revealed in The Dark Knight) Introduced to most of the main Most if not all of Super 8’s characters are revealed, characters whereas the Dark Knight trailer does not feature either Jim Gordon or Lucius Fox. The Problem is shown, and quest The Dark Knight uses the final shot, although not in referenced, but resolution is not given context, whereas Super 8 only uses clips from the opening/middle of the film Quick cuts are used to get information Super 8 makes references to famous crew across (Spielberg), but The Dark Knight has no credits other than the title logo. Music is used either from the Soundtrack or by the composer. Use logo’s
- 9. A TYPICAL THEATRICAL TRAILER • Theatrical trailers will give characters, part of the narrative and details of the film. Unless there is no context to the shot, we will not see part of the resolution. • This is sent out after the film has finished production, so actual film clips will be used, and it will be at least 2 minutes, normally up to 3 minutes 30
- 10. NARRATIVE OF TRAILERS • The narrative of trailers will vary, but neither will normally go past the beginning/middle of the quest, and teasers normally have no narrative, unless its a prequel to the main film (like Super 8). • Character archetypes like the hero, helper and blocker are often introduced in the theatrical trailer, but not the teaser. Hero Problem Quest Resolution Agent Of Change