What Is A Film Trailer?

A film trailer is an advertisement, which is usually less 2 and a half minutes long. This is the maximum length allowed by theaters. However, each studio or distributor are allowed to exceed the time limit once a year.
         The trailer is used to highlights key parts within a film to advertise and attract an audience, using a series of selected shots without giving away too much about the story. However there are no spoilers within the trailer, and the scenes are not necessarily in the order in which they appear in the film. 
           'Special shoot' footage is sometimes used for some trailers. A famous example of this is 1960's thriller Psycho: the director Alfred Hitchcock gives the audience a guided tour of the infamous Bates Motel, arriving at the shower where he reveals Vera Miles behind the shower curtain, screaming.

1960 trailer for Psycho

               Trailer's are usually being made while the film is still being shot. Therefore, the trailer editors have to use dailies- which are the unedited footage shot during the making of a film- to create the trailer. The trailer's created by agencies such as:

• MOJO
• The Cimarron Group
• Aspect Ratio
• The Ant Farm
• Trailer Park

To conclude, film trailers are ranked third in the most watched videos online. The trailer influences the majority of the audience to go and see/buy the film, as it shapes their first impression. Therefore the trailer has to be relevant, and include all the right information without giving the film away too much.

2012 trailer for Great Expectations