Teaser Trailers and Theatrical Trailers

The main difference between theatrical and teaser trailers are the length of them. Theatrical trailers are longer at about 2 minutes 30 seconds, whereas teaser trailers are usually between 50 seconds and 1 minute 30 seconds long. Theatrical trailers are usually released quite soon before the film comes out, whereas teaser trailers are released a couple of months before the actual film is released. All trailers are used to advertise the film and persuade people to go and watch it; therefore they contain the most exciting parts of the film, however in a way that is not too revealing.

Teaser trailers usually contain little, if any actual footage from the film as they are made when the film is still in production or still being edited. They don't usually give away much of the storyline; however they are used to "tease" the audience. Their purpose is to tell the audience about the films content, show the genre of the film and to make them aware that the film will be released in the near future. Theatrical trailers show more footage from the film and show more of the storyline. They also use voice overs to give the audience a better understanding of the plot of the film. More of the characters are shown and there is more dialogue in these trailers.

Both theatrical and teaser trailers follow the same structure. They all have the name of the companies that distributed them at the beginning, and at the end. Also the title of the film is shown and date or the month that the film is released is shown at the end. Throughout the trailer there is usually writing to give the audience an idea of what the film is about. However they do not usually write a lot to keep the audience guessing. Also if there is a well know actor in the film that has been in other popular films, their name is usually shown to advertise the film further. Most trailers have a billing block at the end of them, which is a list of the actors appearing in the movie, the directors and producers, the companies producing and distributing the movie (by name and/or logo), and artistic and technical crew.

Theatrical trailers show things from the whole film; they usually have longer scenes in them to show more of what is happening and the scenes are not usually in the order as they appear in the film. However, teaser trailers usually have quick takes of a couple of seconds to attract the audience and make them want to see more. Both types of trailers usually always include music that links with the genre of the film, for example in a horror trailer, music that builds up suspense is used.

Overall, all trailers follow similar codes and conventions as they have the same basic structure. The main aim of all trailers is to attract the audiences to the film and persuade them to go and watch it. Theatrical trailers show enough footage to give a general idea of the film without giving too much away and teaser trailers "tease" the audience and leave the audience guessing.