The
first film trailer was shown in U.S theatres in November 1913 for the film
"The Pleasure Seekers". Since then trailers have increased in used up
to the point where almost every feature film has a trailer of some kind. Some
of the common conventions of the early trailer remain the same such as key
scenes being shown, large text describing plot points and stentorian voiced
narration. With the introduction of home video and the VHS, film trailers from
the same company as the VHS would be shown during and after films. This saved
money from TV advertising. Then with the introduction of DVDs, films could now
more easily be skipped and also were featured more as a bonus feature. Now with
the introduction of the internet and sites such as youtube, trailers are widely
accessible on demand with little to no cost. Sometimes, trailers can even make
money for a film due to advertisements features before or on screen during.
Trailers
usually include the most funny, exciting and noteworthy scenes but usually
without including spoilers. The scenes are generally not in order they appear
in the film. Trailers are usually under 2 minutes 30 seconds as this is the max
the MPAA allows. However, once a year each studio is allowed to exceeded this
if they believe it is necessary for a particular film. Some trailer feature
scenes that are not even in the final cut of the film or were not intended to
be in the film at all were made specifically for the trailer. This is usually
for a teaser trailer, a very short trailer shown a long time in advance of the
actual film release.
