Spring Break
Following the hype: the trailer era
Paresh Jha
Issue date: 11/20/08 Section: Focus
If you knew that the movie "Watchmen" comes out in March, then it is likely that you also saw a trailer for the film. But did you know that the first "Watchmen" trailer was supposed to debut with "The Dark Knight" this summer? If you did, then you were part of a relatively new type of hype. The hype for movie trailers has grown infinitely the past decade or so ,especially with the arrival of YouTube. In fact, it has changed the way pre-production and production for a film take place.
Years ago, the trailer was not nearly that important. Now, thanks to the scrutiny of the Internet and rabid fans, trailers are sometimes as meticulously crafted as films themselves. RottenTomatoes.com had a feature on analyzing the "Watchmen" trailer back in July. It gave a shot-by-shot analysis of the whole teaser trailer. Some might call that going overboard, but others just say it's all in good fun.
"I can understand it," said Heeren Makanji, a 7th-semester molecular and cell biology major. "I mean, trailers are meant to pump you up for the movie but some movies do not necessarily need to be pumped up. I don't think too many people needed the third or fourth trailer to see 'The Dark Knight.' After a while it just becomes cool to watch and discuss."
So it would seem that the hype for trailers is kind of ironic. If the job of a trailer is to hype up the movie, then shouldn't that be its only purpose? What does it mean if a trailer is so hyped up that it technically eliminates the need of the trailer?
"I don't know, I think it's kind of stupid," said Brian Wong Won, a 7th-semester biology major. "I mean, I think you should enjoy a trailer
in regards to looking forward to the movie, but hyping
up the trailers is kind of ridiculous."
It seems as if the hype for trailers is only as fanatic as it is in the virtual world. Message boards on all kinds of Web sites are teeming with rabid fans discussing new trailers and when the next trailer is expected to debut. Is this a good thing? That remains to be seen, but it does seem to only happen in a niche area. The kinds of movies that attract this kind of hype are not films like "Ali" or "A Beautiful Mind;" they are franchise-or comic-book related series like "Spider-man" or "Harry Potter." The first teaser trailer for the upcoming "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" was a simple black screen with one line of audio as the movie title faded into the foreground. While that may sound somewhat pointless, it actually excites the fans like crazy.
Last December, a new trailer and preview scene for "The Dark Knight" was playing at New Roc City in New Rochelle, N.Y. in front of "I Am Legend." There were signs posted all over place warning moviegoers that there would be no ticket refunds after "The Dark Knight" trailer was played. So that means some individuals were paying for a whole movie just to see a two-minute clip before the film played. It's no wonder "The Dark Knight" was a box office smash.
Regardless of how you look at it, trailers are beginning to play more of an important role in terms of how successful a film is going to be. Big time movies like "Star Wars" and "Spider-man" arguably do not even need trailers since they are such big franchise players. But for a movie like "Watchmen," which has been pretty aggressively advertised in front of big movies, it could make all the difference in the world. So hype it up, ladies and gentlemen, the next big hit could be right around the corner.
Years ago, the trailer was not nearly that important. Now, thanks to the scrutiny of the Internet and rabid fans, trailers are sometimes as meticulously crafted as films themselves. RottenTomatoes.com had a feature on analyzing the "Watchmen" trailer back in July. It gave a shot-by-shot analysis of the whole teaser trailer. Some might call that going overboard, but others just say it's all in good fun.
"I can understand it," said Heeren Makanji, a 7th-semester molecular and cell biology major. "I mean, trailers are meant to pump you up for the movie but some movies do not necessarily need to be pumped up. I don't think too many people needed the third or fourth trailer to see 'The Dark Knight.' After a while it just becomes cool to watch and discuss."
So it would seem that the hype for trailers is kind of ironic. If the job of a trailer is to hype up the movie, then shouldn't that be its only purpose? What does it mean if a trailer is so hyped up that it technically eliminates the need of the trailer?
"I don't know, I think it's kind of stupid," said Brian Wong Won, a 7th-semester biology major. "I mean, I think you should enjoy a trailer
in regards to looking forward to the movie, but hyping
up the trailers is kind of ridiculous."
It seems as if the hype for trailers is only as fanatic as it is in the virtual world. Message boards on all kinds of Web sites are teeming with rabid fans discussing new trailers and when the next trailer is expected to debut. Is this a good thing? That remains to be seen, but it does seem to only happen in a niche area. The kinds of movies that attract this kind of hype are not films like "Ali" or "A Beautiful Mind;" they are franchise-or comic-book related series like "Spider-man" or "Harry Potter." The first teaser trailer for the upcoming "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" was a simple black screen with one line of audio as the movie title faded into the foreground. While that may sound somewhat pointless, it actually excites the fans like crazy.
Last December, a new trailer and preview scene for "The Dark Knight" was playing at New Roc City in New Rochelle, N.Y. in front of "I Am Legend." There were signs posted all over place warning moviegoers that there would be no ticket refunds after "The Dark Knight" trailer was played. So that means some individuals were paying for a whole movie just to see a two-minute clip before the film played. It's no wonder "The Dark Knight" was a box office smash.
Regardless of how you look at it, trailers are beginning to play more of an important role in terms of how successful a film is going to be. Big time movies like "Star Wars" and "Spider-man" arguably do not even need trailers since they are such big franchise players. But for a movie like "Watchmen," which has been pretty aggressively advertised in front of big movies, it could make all the difference in the world. So hype it up, ladies and gentlemen, the next big hit could be right around the corner.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Kyle H.
posted 11/21/08 @ 12:39 AM EST
It was the entire opening sequence of The Dark Knight (est. 7 minutes), bit of a difference there : p
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