Purpose and appeal of a trailer.

The purpose of the trailer is to get across to the audience what the storyline is and who is staring in the film in a space of two minutes. The trailer needs to make the audience interested in the film and to persuade them to go to the cinemas to watch the film when it is released. Trailers are the most common source of media which could make the audience decide whether or not they want to watch the film.

The trailer will tend to appeal to different genders and ages as well as the genres that people might like to see. The sound is also important in appealing to different audiences as the trailer cannot give enough depth of what the film is about in its short amount of time. There is also sometimes a voice-over, which gives information in a very sensational tone, to entice the audience and fill them in on the emotional content.

An example is that horror trailers/ films tend to appeal to 18-24 year olds who like the horror genre. The key aspect of this audience range will attract audiences that like the storyline and it will depend on how grim and scary the film is as some audiences would not like to watch heart wrenching horror as it might be unnerving for them.  An example of a horror trailer is ‘Wrong Turn 4’ the most likely audience that the trailer will appeal to audiences who are in their late teens and early 20’s. Also, as the characters are too in their late teens and early twenties who are student’s and have gone on a ski trip together as friends. This could make the audience relate too and sympathise with the characters in the trailer, which would make them want to watch the film at the cinemas to find out if the characters will survive. Also, ‘wrong turn 4’ is quite gory and unnerving which only would appeal to strong willed audiences who like blood and gore.