RESEARCH - HOW TRAILERS HELP FILL CINEMA?

RESEARCH - HOW TRAILERS HELP FILL CINEMA? 

The FDA resource “Teaching Trailers” suggest that whilst a film should cleary indicate a genre in order to further help audiences make decisions about whether they would enjoy the film. But the marketing ccampgain and the film trailer should also be important factors that offer audiences new experiences that make the film fresh and different from others within the same genre. This is also known as a Unique Selling Point USP.

The USP is what separates one film title from another released at a similar time or within the same genre. The USP could be many things, for example:

• the innovative use of special effects

• an unusual mix of genres

• a popular star

Given three trailers, I identified what was the USP in each:

The Lion King 

The first trailer I watched was called The Lion King. A cub, Simba is forced to leave the Pride Lands after his father Mufasa is murdered by his wicked uncle, Scar. Many years later, he returns as a young lion to reclaim his throne. The lion King is the highest-grossing hand-drawn animated feature film of all time, with a total box office of over  $986million. One USP is that animals, as the main character in the trailer. And the talking animals, are very realistic. Another USP for The Lion King, is that the animation is of high quality, to make it extremely realistic. 

Late Night

The second trailer I watched was called Late Night. Late-night show is forced to hire a female writer because of her decline in popularity/fame. Soon things go upside down when her personal emails are leaked. The USP (unique selling point) would include the Star Talent: Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling. Giving strong, positive connotations of female empowerment and equality in the workplace. Creating a unique selling point for Late Night. 

Spies in Disguise 

The third trailer I watched was called Spies in Disguise. Lace Sterling, a secret agent, finds himself transformed into a pigeon. He then sets out with his associate Walter to stop a villain who is using Sterling’s disguise to carry out a dangerous mission/plan. Again, the USP for Spies in Disguise would include the star talent: Will Smith and Tom Holland. The second USP would be the use of special effects in the film and high quality action/movements that we see on screen. The final USP is the narrative (not the typical plot/narrative according to the genre), where the spies turn into pigeons. Hence the title of the film “Spies in Disguise.”