Marketing

A teaser trailer is a marketing tool for a film. They are generally shown on television and are approximately 30 seconds long. They are used to advertise and generate hype about the new release of a film, telling the audience about the film by showing them scenes from it and letting them know when it's going to be released. Sometimes they show the trailers before the film has been made, in order to get the audience talking about the film, making them want to watch it when it comes out.
Trailers can also be shown at the cinema and are called theatrical trailer. This type can be up to 2 minutes long, giving the audience a wider knowledge of the narrative of the film and more previews of the scenes. Advertising a film within the cinema is a very good way of targeting it at the target audience, as they will only show them to an audience that are waiting to watch a film of a similar genre. For example if you went to the cinema to watch a horror movie that was certificated 15, then the trailers that will be shown will be for viewers of a similar age group for example 15 and 12. The genre may also be horror or a thriller because the cinema know that the audience will enjoy them types of films as they are waiting to watch one of a similar narrative.

Posters are another good way of advertising a film and are mostly seen within a cinema. Most posters (otherwise known as teaser posters) will advertise a film that has not yet released a trailer and will no come out for a while. they are designed to give you a slight "taster" of the film, usually with recognisable actors, the purpose being to incite awareness and again generate hype.

Magazines help to promote a film by printing a review of the film (generally a good one, as otherwise it is not promoting the film) and by having an interview with one of the cast members of the film (most of the time it will be a main character and in horror it is generally the victim and very rarely with the actor that plays the villain- this is purely because the audience are supposed to dislike the villain). An interview will help to advertise the film as the actor will talk about it and their experience of shooting the film, it will also mention the plot of the film within the article which will help the audience to decide weather or not they will enjoy it. The article is designed to promote the film and therefore will not focus on any negative press the film may have received.
It is a good way to target an audience, as magazines will advertise a film that they think that there target audience will enjoy.

Websites are there to give the audience more insight into the film and it also gets them to be more active, unlike a trailer which can suggest the audience is passive linking the the hypodermic syringe model. Most movie websites are accessed by the audience after they have seen the film as they will be able to buy the DVD or merchandise on the website, it may also allow them to play games featuring the film. it is a good way to advertise the film as it will explain everything about the film including, the cast, crew, plot, pictures and reviews.