History Of Film Trailers

Film trailers have evolved a lot since the first trailer was shown in the U.S. in 1913. Due to a clearer understanding of what attracts a wide audience, there is a distinct difference in trailers for different genres from different decades. Since the late 1990’s there have been various types of trailers being created due to the development of technology and animation techniques. It has also been easier and cheaper for companies to produce and distribute film trailers because of the internet and sites such as YouTube and IMDb.

The traditional ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ is a romantic fantasy film, which is also enjoyable for the whole family as it is also an animated musical. It was the first trailer to be produced by Disney, which was released in 1937.

• As trailers were a fairly new concept in the media industry, it lacked a lot of qualities which are used in trailers nowadays. This meant the trailers were not as effective as they are now: the main reason the film was so acknowledged was because it was 'WALT DISNEY'S FIRST FULL LENGTH FEATURE PRODUCTION'. 
• The traditional ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ trailer relied a lot on Walt Disney. He reports the information throughout the trailer, which means not much is learnt about the plot of the film. The trailer tells the audience a lot about the making of the film and the characteristics of the Dwarfs instead. We learn about the character's, conforming with Propp's Character Types, as the Dwarfs are mentors for Snow White.
• A lot of voice over is used within the trailer from a strong voiced male. This could have been seen as rather intimidating by many, or as males were highly regarded in the late 30’s they could have been more influenced to go and see it. Also, many superlatives are used as a way to convince to public to see the film.
• Due to a lack of understanding, this early trailer is heavily texted. This makes the trailer boring compared to more modernised trailers as it doesnt involve the audience much. Therefore the film is not portrayed to be a family film, as it doesn't appeal to children as much as trailers now-a-days.

‘The Sound Of Music' is a romantic musical drama from 1965.

• The soundtrack is footage for the film, portraying the musical genre.
• The trailer is voice overed by a strong accented male, which would have been seen as influencial in the 60's.
• The trailer is heavily texted, conveying a lot of information about the film instead of using a voice over. This shows how the technology is modern trailers is a lot better.
• The voice over tells us a lot about the making of the songs for the film, and the background history.
• Superlative are used, 'The perfect motion picture', to create the idea that it was the best film so far in the history of films.
• The footage used within the trailer is very long, this shows how there is no mystery within the story. We are greeted to the whole cast, although we are not told who is who.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ was rereleased in 1987 with better video resolution and sound quality. Therefore the created a new trailer to promote it.

• A better insight of the film is seen within the rereleased trailer. A lot of clips from the film are used to portray what the film is about, rather than how it was made like the original trailer.
• Although a whole new approach was used when making this version of a ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ trailer, there have still been some concepts reused. Such as the masculine voice over and we’re introduced to all the Seven Dwarfs, as well as Snow White (Propp's theoretical Hero). This reminds the audience that the film is the same, just advanced more due to better technology in the 80’s compared to the 30’s.
• The trailer still includes quite a lot of text which shows some information about the film which makes it more highly regarded, such as the fact it’s ‘the motion picture event of the year’ and ‘the 50^th Anniversary’. The use of the colour gold within the text on a black background makes the film seem rather luxury, as well as emphasising the fact it's the golden anniversary.
• This version of the ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ trailer shows clearly that it is a family film. It attracts a child-like audience due to the bright colours and use of the well known song ‘Heigh-Ho’ which is associated with the film.
• The use of the voice over conveys how the film is suitable for all the family, as well as many different countries as it was shown in '42 countries worldwide'.

Pearl Harbor is a 2001 American war film that mixes action and romantic drama.

• The voice over is used throughout the trailer, as it tells the story easily. Actual film footage is also used.This is a convention commonly used within modern trailers.
• It creates a sense of the war genre through the war footages. The romantic genre is also portrayed as well see close relationships throughout the trailer. This attracts the audiences who are fond of the genre.
• A close of up actors creates a wider audience using Richard Dyer's Star Theory, another key convention within modernised trailers.
• Similar text is used within the 2001 film as 'The Sound of Music' which is a 1960's film. This sets the mood of the film and emphasises the era it is set, attracting to those who enjoy old fashioned films.

 In 2012 ‘Snow White and the Huntman’ was released. As this is an action adaptation of the fantasy 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs', the trailer has an extremely different feeling compared to the original trailers because of the change in genre.

•        Actual film footage was shown throughout the trailer, which doesn’t happen within older film trailers. This helps the audience understand the film a lot more.
• A lot of quick shots are used within this modern trailer to convey the action genre. This makes the trailer a lot more exciting compared to older trailers.
• Close ups are used throughout to show Richard Dyer's Star Theory. It displays very famous actors/actresses to attract a wider audience. The billing board also displays that the 'Producer of Alice in Wonderland' has worked on the film, taking the theory further.
• Heavy voice over is used, however you're never shown whose voice it actually is, creating a sense of myserty.The action shots use a lot of slow motion, to emphasise the violence and tension  within the film.These features convey a lot of information about the film