Where Might a Trailer Be Seen?

Where might a trailer be seen? How will different formats affect the viewing of the trailer?

In order to attract the attention of their target market, film trailers are shown in a variety of places; publicising them as much as possible.

Cinema- Trailers are shown in the cinema before the film begins. The trailers shown are usually of the same genre of the film they have paid to seen because it is the film's target audience. For example, if someone has paid to see a romantic comedy, trailers of comedy's and love films will be shown. Also, trailers with the same stars or directors may be shown because they are other reasons people chose to see a certain film. The cinema is the best place for a trailer to be shown and to draw the audience in because it can capture the excitement and atmosphere of what it would be like to watch the film, unlike watching a trailer on a computer or television would.

Television- Trailers are also shown on television in commercial breaks and are known as TV Spots. This is because air time is very expensive, and they need to get in as many adverts as possible between programmes, therefore TV spots are very short- about 30 seconds long. TV spots should grab the viewers attention quickly and create impact in a short amount of time. Also, a film having it's trailer on television gets the film known by a massive audience because the majority of Britain own televisions. Furthermore, trailers are shown at certain times, like between a television programme of the same genre, or at prime time (about 7.00pm - 10.00pm) to hit the film's target audience. An example would be showing a trailer of a children's film, like Toy Story 3, at roughly 4.00pm, because that's the time school finishes and children go home and watch television.

Internet- The internet is becoming a vital marketing weapon in this day and age as technology, especially the internet, has become an everyday essential in most people's lives. Trailers can be seen in so many different ways on the internet. One way is on social networking sites, trailers can pop up or be adverts at the top or side of the page. Social networking sites are a prime place to market a film because it hits a film's target audience of 16-25. YouTube is a hugely popular website purely for videos. It has thousands of film trailers, literally every trailer you could ever imagine! Again, it's mostly used by the film industry's target audience, making it perfect for film trailers. Also, trailers can be found on other independent websites like blogs (e.g. slashfilm.com, a blog dedicated to films) or websites purely for trailers (e.g. trailers.apple.com, a website created by the technology phenomenon Apple, that holds hundreds of trailers of future films). Furthermore because the internet is such a huge marketing tool, most film's have their own website with many different things to do with the film: info on the film, games, downloads, and most importantly, the main theatrical trailer from the film. Some film websites before you can even access the website, begin with a trailer, so there is no way you can avoid it. Another way a trailer can be seen on the internet is if a someone watches a trailer online and thinks it looks really good, they can send it to friends, family and colleges via email or sending links using instant messaging or social networking sites. This creates word of mouth, a vital marketing tool that film's rely on to get their film known.

DVD and Blu-Ray- DVD and Blu-Ray disks also play trailers before you can even watch the film you've bought, like at the cinema. Similar to trailers shown at the cinema, the trailers on DVD's are of the same genre or have similarities to the film bought, as this hits the film's target audience.

Example; Hostel 2 (a splatter film) has three trailers at the start of the DVD.

1. Walking Tall: Lone Justice- This film has a similar target audience to Hostel 2 because it is a action thriller. Even though it is not of the same genre, both thrillers and horrors are generally aimed at the male market, therefore both films share an audience.

2. Pumpkinhead 4: Blood Feud- The genre of this film is more monster horror, which obviously will have a very similar audience to Hostel 2 because they are both horror films.

3. Vacancy- Vacancy is a horror/thriller, this film clearly shares a target audience of Hostel because again they are both horror films, just from different sub genres.