Trailer Rules

A classic layout of how a trailer works is to tease the viewer into wanting to know more about the film, consequently resulting in the viewer going to watch the film. All trailers start with an equilibrium. This is where it introduces you to the main characters, and in most cases the major stars in the film. In this trailer of Due Date, this is Robert Downer Jr, and Zach Galifianakis (a famous comic actor).

The trailers then usually follow on with clips of the main content of the film. This is where the viewer will find out what Genre the film is from. These clips will be taken from significant events in the film. In this case, the film is a comedy, and so the main majority of the trailer will be funny moments in the film, and a these are to give the viewer a small taste of what the film will be like.

In the film, the disequilibrium would usually follow the significant events. In trailers they will show bits of this disequilibrium, just to get the viewer anxious to know what the next stage of the film will be about. However, in trailers, they only show small amounts of the disequilibrium.

The last part of a film is the new equilibrium. In trailers, they deliberately don't show any of this stage. The reason for this is because it leaves the viewer hanging, not knowing what the outcome of the film is, and consequently wanting to find out. If in a trailer they did show this, there would be no reason for the viewer to want to watch the film.






The trailer for 'The Last Exorcism' is a typical trailer in the way that it is starts off with the equilibrium. In this trailer, it starts of with the father and the daughter having no issues, being happy together, and seemingly moving house. However, the trailer then seems to descend into darkness. IT introduces the characters to the audience, and gives you a brief understanding to the characters background.

The trailer then continues to go into the significant events. This is also typical of a trailer. So in the case of this trailer, you begin to see that the girl is actually possessed by the devil, or a demon of some sort, and that the film is going to be about how they are going to use exorcism to get rid of this possession. You see some major points in the film, where anything could happen. For example, you see one point where the father may kill the possessed daughter, but the trailer doesn't show the outcome. This section also introduces the audience to the genre, in this case a horror.

The trailer then finishes with small parts of the disequilibrium, where you hear the priest trying to attach the demon, however much like every other trailer, it finishes hear, leaving the audience hanging without knowing what will happen next.







This trailer of Tron is another classic example of how trailers are made. For example, again the trailer starts with the equlibrium, of the boy speaking with his father in bed, and the viewer then being told that his father had gone missing. You then get the son twenty od years later, being told that there is suspicion that his father is still alive.

You then have the significant events. These come thick and fast in this trailer, refusing to give to much information away, except for that in the TRON world, the key is surviving. This carries on, introducing the viewer to a possible love prospect, what looks like diffeent teams and also the person who could be the boys father.

The trailer is then wrapped up with the disequlibrium, of the boy saying, 'dad, is that you? .... long time!', however the trailer ends hear, leaving the audience wondering if it was his father or not. This is the suspence that makes the viewer want to see the film.