A trailer is a vehicle that attaches to the back of a truck, car or other traction engine and is used to haul oversized freight transport loads. Trailers are usually classified into several classes depending on their weight and dimensions such as the O1 class for trailers that are up to 0.75 tons in weight, the O2 class for those that are between 0.7 and 3.5 tons and the O3 for those that exceed 3.5 tons. Various types of trailers are available to fit different types of loads including flatbed, lowboy and high-cube units.
A good trailer will hook an audience and keep them coming back for more. It will build up the characters and reveal important moments from key scenes in the film and it should also end with a cliffhanger. This will keep audiences asking what is going to happen next and it can be a great way to build up hype for the film.
The most successful trailers use genre as a selling point, relying on the audience’s knowledge of the subject matter to give them a taste of the film and build up excitement for it. For example, an action movie trailer will show plenty of explosions and fight scenes to draw in viewers who are interested in these kinds of films. This is a tried and tested strategy that works well for many films.
Using star power as a selling tool is another common technique and this can work really well for some films. If there are any big-name actors in a film, then it makes sense to showcase them in a trailer as this is often what sells the film to potential audience members. This can be especially effective for a smaller film that relies on the talent of a single actor or director to draw in an audience.
It is also common for trailers to feature music that does not appear in the movie itself. This could be a purely artistic decision or it may be a way to create more buzz for the film. A film composer is usually hired for the movie’s soundtrack long before the trailer has been created so if they have a song on the trailer that doesn’t make it onto the actual soundtrack then it will not raise any questions about copyright issues.
A good trailer will include a cast run which is a list of all the main actors that appear in the movie along with any big-name directors, producers or writers who are involved. This usually appears in the final act of the trailer as it is reaching its climax and it is also the listing that will appear on posters and print publicity materials. It is also a good idea to include the studio production logos at the beginning of the trailer. The trailer is also typically finished off with the film title and a tagline. A shortened version of the film’s synopsis is sometimes included as well.