It’s amazing to see how movie trailers have evolved in the last century when you think about how they started out. Back when they were first used they were little more than intros used to bring in something that was innovative and new, but as of now they’re what the public looks forward to more than the movie at times. How the movie trailer has been used over the years really hasn’t changed much, but the idea that they have been adapted to give away so much of the movie seems a bit insane. Back in the day they were basically to announce that the movie was coming out and to give just a basis of what they were about. Now however they’re sometimes too long and far too revealing.
The whole trick of a movie trailer is to get the audience hyped to see it, not to give away too much of the plot or even the ending. As it goes with a lot of movie trailers in the current era there is simply too much being given with some and thankfully not enough with others. Those that give away too much tend to kill a lot of interest in the movie and thereby destroy the chances of the box office numbers being anything too impressive. Why would a person see a movie if they’ve already got a good idea of how it’s going to go and how it will end?
Another way to entice people to see the movie has to do with the presentation of the trailer. If it’s a long, continuous scene being delivered in the trailer it becomes a little boring and once again too revealing. But by giving just the barest glimpse of something that might be important and then moving on to another part of the movie the viewer then wants to know what they didn’t see and will be more likely to attend. Plus, the music used can play a big factor in drawing up an emotional response to the film that a person feels they can only really fully experience upon seeing the movie. A lot of what is used to draw people to the theater is very psychological and has been used as a formula for a while now to bump up ticket sales.
The interesting thing is the fact that it works. The more anticipated a film is the more likely it is that people will be unable to help themselves and will go see it just to prevent their curiosity from running too wild. People want to be amazed when they go to the theater, they don’t want a recap of a film they can already guess a lot about from the trailer. That’s why the movie trailer needs to be short and to the point but also give away just enough to seem interesting. This will create the necessary hook that is needed to draw people in and convince them that they really need to see this movie.
