Teaser Trailers
Independence Day - 1996
The independance day trailer is slightly different to the other one, the first 23 secounds is dialogue and then goes into the soundtrack. The soundtrack is also different, it matches the genre well, it was eerie and mysterious almost like the sci-fi genre. The teaser then continues by having a lot of close ups and reation shots, this emphasises what event is happening and how seriosus it is. The trailer also has titles throughout, which helps tell the story, that is something that we are considering as it makes it easier for audinece member to make sense of the trailer and what is happening. Our trailer may be quite confusing and so to help make it easier for the audience we may have titles on screen. Another thing that is quite different is that there is no change in pace, the pace is constantly the same and hardly changes, the only time it changes is when after we see the spaceship, that is mostly becuase there is no action on the screen. Therefore it would be different for us, as we would be having action on screen.
Inception - 2010
Inception was a teaser trailer that was of a different genre to ours, however looking at things like the editing and the soundtrack. The soundtrack is something that we have noticed is important, it has to match what is going on screen. Inception creates that mysterious feel to the trailer and is, it starts of slowly and starts to speed up and get louder becoming more dominant and made what was on screen seem more serious. The tittles that come on screen while the trailer is running is interesting as it is an idea we are considering, having titles on screen means making sure that what goes on screen makes sense and is relevant to what is happening. The film tittle comes at the end of the trailer, like a lot of the teasers so we have an idea now where to place our title and if we do then a release date. With this teaser, we are introduced to the main character especially as he is on screen the most and is clearly the most dominant, so when creating our film, having the main character on screen is important.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - 2011
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was an interesting and a slightly different teaser trailer, usually the fast pace and quick cuts would be to do with one scene, or the audience member would know what is happening on screen, whereas with this teaser it was just a bunch of quick cuts and shots from various parts of the film. The fact that there was so much happening on screen was a both positive and negative thing, in one way, it creates tension and mystery leaving the audience wanting to know what all that was and draw them into watching it. However, it could have a negative effect because there could just be too much going on scree and the audience member could just loose interest. So it is important to make sure that its not too much, because that can lose the audiences attention and their attention is important to grab through the teaser trailer.
The soundtrack went really well with what was happening on screen, if the soundtrack was wrong, the teaser would have been wrong. The soundtrack was up beat, fast matching that tension building teaser. the soundtrack is something you have to get right, so we have taken that into consideration when creating our teaser.
The soundtrack went really well with what was happening on screen, if the soundtrack was wrong, the teaser would have been wrong. The soundtrack was up beat, fast matching that tension building teaser. the soundtrack is something you have to get right, so we have taken that into consideration when creating our teaser.
James Bond - Skyfall 2012
When analysing the James Bond- Skyfall teaser trailer, things like whether genre was evident and if the story line is clear, was already cleared up for most audience members that have watched a bond film. Most know that Bond films are all about the guns, girls, money, danger, adventure, etc. Regardless, the teaser trailer still manages to introduce main characters on screen, and got the things like soundtrack on point. The Skyfall teaser trailer is an interesting one, especially because its an intriguing one, mainly due to the fast pace which is what we are looking for. In our teaser trailer we are hoping to build the same amount of tension through the fast pace and quick cuts in the trailer.
For the first 30 secs the teaser is slightly slower, fading to black in duration between clips and then after that things start picking up, towards the end of teaser, which is the best part to pick the pace up so that it builds that tension and immediately catches the eye of the audience member. By incorporating that idea into our teaser, we would hopefully be able to grab the audiences attention.
For the first 30 secs the teaser is slightly slower, fading to black in duration between clips and then after that things start picking up, towards the end of teaser, which is the best part to pick the pace up so that it builds that tension and immediately catches the eye of the audience member. By incorporating that idea into our teaser, we would hopefully be able to grab the audiences attention.
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Previous Teaser Trailers
Scarred
Looking at Scarred as an example of a teaser, we picked up a few things that were similar to our idea, such as; fast cuts, quick pace, unusual images on screen. This teaser was more along the lines of a psychological thriller, whereas we want to go for more of the horror/thriller genre, having said that, the editing was crucial to look at in this clip because its very similar to the idea we have at the moment. For example, with the girl walking to the screen with her headd slightly down, we wanted to do a scene like that where there were a few men/women attacking that house and they all walk over in that similar way. Another thing was the way it was edited, the way that everything going on was quick and snappy, is exactly want we want to achieve with our teasers so that the it builds that little bit of tension so that member knows.
Gangsters Hustle
Gangster Hustle was another previous A2 teaser we looked at and it was far off something we want to achieve, however it did make us see the things not to do that would make our teaser a better and more professional one. There were parts of the trailer where they were good, for example where the guy was beating someone they had just kidnapped, the effect they used to make his face slightly blurry and it gave that effect of being lost and confusion and that effect is something we could incorporate into ours when our main character is confused as to what is happening to her.The parts in the teaser such as clear camera change and average mid shots, is something we would make sure we wouldn't do, we would want a wider range of shots.
Wrong Number
Wrong Number was also a good teaser to look at in order to see how the genre we have picked has been executed through A2 students so we can see what we are capable of. This teaser had a lot of good shots and the blood is significant especially because we will most likely be using a lot of blood in our teaser and so seeing how they have used the blood and make it seem realistic is something we will need to be able to. Also, the shots of the phone in her hand and her face makes the teaser seem a lot more effective as your seeing the blood...your seeing the character and its tense, your wanting to know what happened. The shots are something that we can take away from this teaser and see if we can change them slightly but still have that effect.
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Inspirational Teaser Trailers
Rec - 2007
Rec's teaser trailer is a very simple yet effective trailer which does not give too much information away but the right amount. In the trailer they used information between each scene making the trailer more understandable. We found that this fitted our idea of our teaser trailer because we want limited information however we want the audience to understand the situation. As we watched the teaser trailer for Rec we found that there was very limited amount of soundtrack, which meant that the trailer relied on the text and on the natural sound such as the heavy breathing from the firemen. These natural sounds meant that the audience had a real feeling of horror as the characters in the trailer are scared making the audience scared along with them. This linked into our idea as we wanted to make our teaser trailer to be relied on the sound to make the horror genre as effective as possible.
This screenshot from the teaser trailer that has inspired us for a scene in our idea. It is a high angle shot showing the vulnerability of the firemen, also showing them that nothing at the top of the stairs can be a good thing. The high angle shot also allows the audience to see the darkness of the stairs. The use of shadows from the stairs shows the danger within the building. Also the shadow of the stairs can reflect with the fireman's emotions, contrasting their fear and how they feel. Also the use of two firemen shows the isolation of the building and also bring a sense of tension towards the scene. This scene has given our group the inspiration to have the isolation of our main character to give a horror feel to the audience.
In this scene, the lighting and sound are the key elements into making this scene as effective as possible. The dark lighting shows the darkness of the scene and also brings tension to the audience and we are not aware how this has happened or if anything is going to follow up. For our idea we looked at how effective the lighting in the scene was. The lighting builds panic more than anything for the audience. This has inspired us to include this in our idea as it brings tension and panic towards the audience. An unexpected object opening shows the danger side of the scene. It builds tension for the characters as well as the audience as the tension gets carried through the scene towards the people that are watching.
In this scene, the lighting is the key element to make the scene as effective as possible. The lighting in this scene relies on the shadows of the character and the lighting coming through the door. Also from the shadow we can see a small child which is a convention of the genre, horror. It is also effective because the characters along with the audience do not know who the child is and why they are there.
This screenshot from the teaser trailer that has inspired us for a scene in our idea. It is a high angle shot showing the vulnerability of the firemen, also showing them that nothing at the top of the stairs can be a good thing. The high angle shot also allows the audience to see the darkness of the stairs. The use of shadows from the stairs shows the danger within the building. Also the shadow of the stairs can reflect with the fireman's emotions, contrasting their fear and how they feel. Also the use of two firemen shows the isolation of the building and also bring a sense of tension towards the scene. This scene has given our group the inspiration to have the isolation of our main character to give a horror feel to the audience.
In this scene, the lighting and sound are the key elements into making this scene as effective as possible. The dark lighting shows the darkness of the scene and also brings tension to the audience and we are not aware how this has happened or if anything is going to follow up. For our idea we looked at how effective the lighting in the scene was. The lighting builds panic more than anything for the audience. This has inspired us to include this in our idea as it brings tension and panic towards the audience. An unexpected object opening shows the danger side of the scene. It builds tension for the characters as well as the audience as the tension gets carried through the scene towards the people that are watching.
In this scene, the lighting is the key element to make the scene as effective as possible. The lighting in this scene relies on the shadows of the character and the lighting coming through the door. Also from the shadow we can see a small child which is a convention of the genre, horror. It is also effective because the characters along with the audience do not know who the child is and why they are there.
Strangers - 2008
After watching the teaser trailer for the movie The Stranger we analysed the editing techniques used. We took inspiration from the quick cuts used and the impact it has on the audience. The teaser trailer uses fast pace shots like a film strip of different images of houses accompanied by a title. However the pace decreases as we get a close shot of the couple. Once again the pace dramatically increases like a film strip taking snapshot of what's to happen. It captures the audiences attention as we suddenly get an insight to who is on the other side of the door and what there going to do. We incorporated this in our idea, so instead of holding long scenes we wanted quick shots that would tell the story without giving to much information away. As it is only a teaser trailer and we want to leave the audience in anticipation. In correlation to the editing techniques is the sound track, which played an important part. The non - diegetic soundtrack is a screeching screaming noise, it loops continuously as we see snapshots of the events that are going to occur. After the screaming noise it holds the shot for an extra few seconds to emphasise its importance within the trailer.
After watching this teaser trailer it reinforces the idea that the soundtrack is just as vital as the editing techniques. We automatically knew that without this soundtrack the trailer would not have been as efficient. The lighting goes from high key lighting used within the pictures of the different types of houses at the start of the trailer. However it starts to fade to darker duller colours as the trailer progresses. As we get to the scene of the house we get low key lighting created by one or two lights. It leaves a brown dark lighting. This creates a mysterious and a sinister atmosphere. It is typically used within the horror genre. The noticeable prop used within the teaser trailer is the masks. As shown in this picture, we assume the main antagonist is the person placed in the middle. Due to the fact that he has a different mask then the other two characters. Within our idea we wanted to use a male figure wearing a distinctive mask, so we took inspiration from this teaser trailer and the use of masks. We were able to see how effective its is to have antagonist identity hidden.
After watching this teaser trailer it reinforces the idea that the soundtrack is just as vital as the editing techniques. We automatically knew that without this soundtrack the trailer would not have been as efficient. The lighting goes from high key lighting used within the pictures of the different types of houses at the start of the trailer. However it starts to fade to darker duller colours as the trailer progresses. As we get to the scene of the house we get low key lighting created by one or two lights. It leaves a brown dark lighting. This creates a mysterious and a sinister atmosphere. It is typically used within the horror genre. The noticeable prop used within the teaser trailer is the masks. As shown in this picture, we assume the main antagonist is the person placed in the middle. Due to the fact that he has a different mask then the other two characters. Within our idea we wanted to use a male figure wearing a distinctive mask, so we took inspiration from this teaser trailer and the use of masks. We were able to see how effective its is to have antagonist identity hidden.
Evil dead - 2013
This is a close up of a rotten door being open. In this clip the man is slowly opening the door to a creepy house in them middle of a forest. The man steadily opens the door to create suspense for the audience wanting to know what is on the other side. The cinematography used in this clip is really effective as it is a close up shot and the camera movement is slow and then it becomes a match on action shot as you see the door from the other side opening - this is a clever use of match on action shot as the audience can vaguely see what's on the other side without giving too much detail away. The editing on this little section is fast as this is a teaser trailer and wanting to keep the audience on their toes, even though the man opens the door slowly - the clip itself is short and quickly cuts. The lighting used is very dark with a hint of green to show the mysterious side to the film and darkness. The connotations to the colour green are; secretive, scary, dark and mystery. We link the colour green to witch craft and things associated with witches and magic.
Another clip we decided to analyse was when the lights started to flicker in the rooms - the connotation to this is always bad and shows there is no safety, the room is also empty and dull. The cinematography used was clever even though it was a mid-shot the camera was closer to the light blub which was the main focus but you could also see the man looking at the light bulb and the expression on his face. The camera then focuses on the light then the following scene itself flickers making the audience feel nervous. The clip just cuts to the next and the only link between both clips is the flickering lights which is quite effective.
The soundtrack compliments the clip as the guy opens the door the non-diegetic soundtrack makes a ‘thump’ sound. The soundtrack itself sounds creepy and intense. There is only one soundtrack used in this teaser trailer but it is extremely effective as the non-diegetic soundtrack fits perfectly and does what it is meant to do. When the light flickers they use both non-diegetic and diegetic soundtrack; the sound of the light flickering and the soundtrack itself. The diegetic sound of the light flickering then becomes non-diegetic on the next scene
Another clip we decided to analyse was when the lights started to flicker in the rooms - the connotation to this is always bad and shows there is no safety, the room is also empty and dull. The cinematography used was clever even though it was a mid-shot the camera was closer to the light blub which was the main focus but you could also see the man looking at the light bulb and the expression on his face. The camera then focuses on the light then the following scene itself flickers making the audience feel nervous. The clip just cuts to the next and the only link between both clips is the flickering lights which is quite effective.
The soundtrack compliments the clip as the guy opens the door the non-diegetic soundtrack makes a ‘thump’ sound. The soundtrack itself sounds creepy and intense. There is only one soundtrack used in this teaser trailer but it is extremely effective as the non-diegetic soundtrack fits perfectly and does what it is meant to do. When the light flickers they use both non-diegetic and diegetic soundtrack; the sound of the light flickering and the soundtrack itself. The diegetic sound of the light flickering then becomes non-diegetic on the next scene
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Our New Idea
When we thought of a genre and a rough idea we started to look up films with a similar idea. We looked at 3 different films listed above and analysed. Once we analysed the 3 films we started to think more deeply of our own teaser trailer idea but it was becoming less original due to the conventions of our specific horror genre and that the previous year's teaser trailers were mainly horror and our ideas were becoming
too similar so we decided to change our whole idea into a new genre which hasn't been done in the previous years at Lampton School.
too similar so we decided to change our whole idea into a new genre which hasn't been done in the previous years at Lampton School.
Science Fiction
The genre science fiction has been present since the early 1900's. It includes science-based themes running through out the film. Taking the socially accepted science to new levels, such as futuristic worlds, abnormal alien species to dramatic fantastical quests. As it is science exaggerated and manipulated to create an exciting storyline. Science fiction films still incorporate the main elements such as protagonist, antagonist, unexplored location, life-threatening technology.
However, science fiction genre within film has advanced drastically due to new technology. Filmmakers are able to expand science fiction films to new heights. With big Hollywood budgets, the way science fiction movies are filmed allows the audience to have a new experience. There are a number of notable landmark films within the science fiction genre. For example 2001: A Space odyssey (1968) directed by Stanley Kubrick about a artifact on the moon and humans on earth set out a quest, using the technology they have on earth. Director George Lucas is one the top science fiction directors he's well known pieces of work includes Stars wars. One of the most highest ranking films of all time. He set the path way for the science fiction genre.
There are many different sub-genres within science fiction, this includes the apocalyptic film, this based upon an impending disaster waiting to happen. Technology within the film plays a huge part in solving the dilemma. A few examples include, war of worlds and Independence day.
Another sub-genre includes time travel film, playing apart in the futuristic world or space time travel, parallel universes and different realities. Time travel movies include The Terminator, Back to the Future and Star Trek. Dystopian film is a sub genre, which is dominates in a world of
violence, or a deadly disease. Therefore making it a post-apocalyptic film. Examples of dystopian film would include Blade runner and V for vendetta. Alien films is a key sub-genre, dominated by alien invasions, abduction and new existence of alien form. The film will include the contrast and interaction between humans and the aliens. Films include Predator, Alien and Mars attacks!
However, science fiction genre within film has advanced drastically due to new technology. Filmmakers are able to expand science fiction films to new heights. With big Hollywood budgets, the way science fiction movies are filmed allows the audience to have a new experience. There are a number of notable landmark films within the science fiction genre. For example 2001: A Space odyssey (1968) directed by Stanley Kubrick about a artifact on the moon and humans on earth set out a quest, using the technology they have on earth. Director George Lucas is one the top science fiction directors he's well known pieces of work includes Stars wars. One of the most highest ranking films of all time. He set the path way for the science fiction genre.
There are many different sub-genres within science fiction, this includes the apocalyptic film, this based upon an impending disaster waiting to happen. Technology within the film plays a huge part in solving the dilemma. A few examples include, war of worlds and Independence day.
Another sub-genre includes time travel film, playing apart in the futuristic world or space time travel, parallel universes and different realities. Time travel movies include The Terminator, Back to the Future and Star Trek. Dystopian film is a sub genre, which is dominates in a world of
violence, or a deadly disease. Therefore making it a post-apocalyptic film. Examples of dystopian film would include Blade runner and V for vendetta. Alien films is a key sub-genre, dominated by alien invasions, abduction and new existence of alien form. The film will include the contrast and interaction between humans and the aliens. Films include Predator, Alien and Mars attacks!
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New Inspirational Teaser Trailers
Cabin in the Wood
The Cabin In The Woods is all about five teenagers that head off for a weekend at a scheduled cabin in the woods. They arrive to find they are quite isolated with no means of communications with the outside world. When the cellar door flings open, they of course go down to investigate. There is a lot more going on that meets the eye as the five campers are all under observation. This film is similar to our idea in many ways, one of them being that its about a group of teenagers that are pretty much confined in an area and believe there is no one else around. This leads them to drive themselves crazy and will make each of the turn against each other. Another way in which it is similar to our idea is the fact that there are people behind this and controlling what is happening, our idea was similar in the sense that we have a TV programme consisting of these kids and there will be producers and workers behind the scenes of this programme and generally having control over what happens in the segregated area. In addition to that, the way The Cabin In The Woods corresponds to our story is through the concept of having people that are trapped and without their knowledge, there are people behind the scenes watching and deciding what is happening to the group of teenagers. We can take inspiration from the things like the shots and how they manage to get the story across through to the audience, without giving too much away. They showed shots of the computers behind the scenes, mixed in with the action taking place from the view of the trapped teenagers.
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games teaser trailer is a simple trailer that does not give too much information away about the film, but gives a preview of what the film is going to be like. In this trailer we see one of the characters but little information about the character. This trailer relies mostly on the soundtrack and the voice over to help the audience grasp a rough story for the film. The use of the voice-over gave us the idea to do this along with the scene with our characters, allowing the audience to know a background of the characters. The scene in
the second picture, is where the lighting and sound are the key elements in making this setting look and fit the sci-fi/adventure genre. The use of the colour green has given a sense of out door scenery to the audience. It also is set in the woods which can imply that the character is lost or perhaps trying to look for something. The soundtrack during this scene is a slow yet pounding soundtrack. This gives the effect that the film is more to the adventure side than sci-fi. The soundtrack is also as if the character is on a mission which is
this has inspired us to use the same type of soundtrack. The scene in the first picture is where the camera is the key element in making the scene as successful as it is. The extreme close up of the characters eyes as she is looking around shows that the character is in a unknown location, in which they make have been sent there for a mission. The audience from this scene can imply that she does not know where she is. Also the narrative gives the suspicion that
she is there for a reason. The narrator says "you can fight them", which also implies that she is a solider of some sort.
the second picture, is where the lighting and sound are the key elements in making this setting look and fit the sci-fi/adventure genre. The use of the colour green has given a sense of out door scenery to the audience. It also is set in the woods which can imply that the character is lost or perhaps trying to look for something. The soundtrack during this scene is a slow yet pounding soundtrack. This gives the effect that the film is more to the adventure side than sci-fi. The soundtrack is also as if the character is on a mission which is
this has inspired us to use the same type of soundtrack. The scene in the first picture is where the camera is the key element in making the scene as successful as it is. The extreme close up of the characters eyes as she is looking around shows that the character is in a unknown location, in which they make have been sent there for a mission. The audience from this scene can imply that she does not know where she is. Also the narrative gives the suspicion that
she is there for a reason. The narrator says "you can fight them", which also implies that she is a solider of some sort.
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Questionnaire
We did a questionnaire to get audience feedback on what they would like to watch so our teaser trailer could be targeted towards their likes and dislikes.
Questionnaire Results
(click images to enlarge)
When conducting our questionnaire, we wanted to make sure there was a even balance between males and females answering the questions. So the questionnaire was representative of both genders. As ideally we do not want to limit our teaser trailer to just one gender.
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A majority of target audience is between the ages of 15-20. This is who we aimed to attract our teaser trailer to. It is useful as it towards people our age. So we have more of in insight on the likes and dislikes of our target audience.
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It is important to ask our target audience what there favourite genre, as it is them who will be watching the teaser trailer. The highest response was action, which was good as part of our idea to incorporate action. The second highest was horror. This was interesting as part of our initial idea we intended to use the horror genre. However it was a common genre that was being used to do teaser trailers. We wanted to explore different conventions , instead of the typical haunted house theme.
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In our questionnaire, we asked our target audience. How many action/ sci- fi films they have watched. A majority, said between 6-10. This gives us a good indication that our target audience between 15-25, watch action/ sci- films. Therefore they are familiar with the genre and its conventions. They are more likely to watch our teaser trailer as they watch movies with this genre. It also allows us to be creative and different, because they have seen a lot of action/sci-fi films. We want our teaser trailer to stand out and make sure that our storyline and concept its different to all those films out there.
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13 out of 20 of our respondents have watched the latest film which was Hunger games 2012. We took great inspiration from this film and the teaser trailer. As we had the main character running into the forest. It was a good way for us to see how effective the setting is. In order to create the deserted atmosphere we are going for. Surprisingly not many respondents had watched cabin in the woods. We took inspiration from its story line and incorporated it with our initial idea. Of having a group of people stuck as bizarre situations start to happen.
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A majority of our target audience, opted for a fast teaser trailer. This was very useful for us. As we wanted to do a fast pace teaser trailer. Using quick cuts, not revelling to much. Yet still keeping the audience in suspense. After researching teaser trailer, we noticed that effective ones incorporated both slow and fast pace. Where as just slow paced ones, did not really capture our attention after a while. Therefore if part of a teaser trailer is slow we will make sure the pace increases drastically.
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Majority of our respondents said that they would prefer male dominating our
teaser trailer. Stereotypically men dominate action films, our film is going to have both genders on screen most of the time, we are having 2 teenage boys and 2 teenage girls that are starring in our teaser trailer. Although most of our target audience want males in our teaser, we are going to incorporate that idea by having 2 of our main characters as boys. By having both genders, it will make it different to other films as we are having both genders that are going to dominate on screen during the teaser trailer. Stereotypically, you would expect the male to dominate in the action that happens on screen, so by having 2 girls to balance out the gender domination it makes our teaser different. |
A lot of the people we asked said that it was not important to know the storyline, which was good for us because we were not planning on giving the story away in our teaser trailer. We want to show bits and bobs to give the
audience a brief idea of the basics to our film as it can be confusing if
you don't know what's happening. As our target audience agree that the storyline does not need to be given away immediately this means we can go through with not giving too much away. |
Seeing as most of who we asked said that
teaser trailers is effective it means making sure we make the teaser interesting and engaging as the teaser is mainly what inclines the audience to either watch the actual film or not. So if they find it effective it means that we need to make sure that its good enough to make the audience feel like it has been effective and will want to make the audience feel like they want to go and watch the film. |
Majority of the audience prefer a cliff-hanger at the end of a teaser instead of a spoiler, which is what we are going to have at the end of our teaser. We don't want to give too much away, but we are going to make sure that we get the storyline across because we our storyline is slightly confusing, so we have to give across the idea that we have of a reality game show.
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Many of our participants said that their
favourite convention of an action/sci-fi film is the high tension music. We have taken that on board and are planning on having effective and very high tension music, however the opening of out teaser trailer is the voice over of the presenter introducing the audience to the concept of our story line and make it clear what's happening. So even though we have the voice over, we are considering to have a low beat/ soundtrack behind that and not only that, but the voice over wont run all the way through the teaser so there will be high tension music where it will build tension throughout the teaser trailer. |