Individual research into radio trailers

A radio trailer is a short audio advertisement that promotes a product, in our case a film, usually lasting around 25 seconds long. A radio trailer follows several conventions. It will include a voice over - with hints of sound and speech from the film. A voice over is important as it guides the listener through what is being portrayed. It will contain sound effects and music where appropriate. The purpose of music in a radio trailer is to gain the audience's attention and set the atmosphere for the film. However, is it important that it does not interfere with the audience's ability to hear and comprhend the information provided by the voiceover. Sound effects also add atmosphere. For example, I watched an advert for an old Italian Grand Prix and it therefore featured the sound of tyres screeching to add pace and excitement. A radio trailer should contain the slogan of the film and information about viewing and the certificate of the film. Radio trailers are not typically used to advertise short films, however, we wish to create one as we believe that they are an important aspect of the process of a film. They may also attract a wider demographic, however, short films do not typically have the budget to afford a radio trailer.

We listened to various radio trailers in order to enhance our understanding of them and to provide inspiration for our own. A radio advertisement for 'The Conjuring' began with a voice over and stated 'From the director of Saw and Insidious comes the horror event of the year'. Then follows is dialogue from the film 'I see the dark entity that haunts your house'. Tense music plays throughout to connote the genre of the movie and create suspense. The voice over then advertises the film saying that 'critics have called it a masterclass in absolute terror'. There is then dialogue from the film 'what we have here is something inhuman'. The voice over again advertises the film 'genuinely frightening, sensationally entertaining'. This process changes interchangeably until the voice over concludes the radio trailer with information about the film's certificate and availability 'the conjuring, in cinemas now, rated 15'. The radio trailer for the action film 'Pacific Rim' followed the same process of content from the film and voice overs, for example 'from director Guillermo del Toro' and 'to fight monsters, we had to create monsters of our own'. However, this radio trailer contains a seperate advertisement in the form of a 'tie in', the voice over states 'for your chance to win the ultimate football experience with tickets to five of the biggest European derbies, go to Facebook.com/pacificrimmovie'. This is mutually beneficial for the film and the partner who is giving away the tickets as they are both gaining advertisement for their products.

Radio trailers for The Conjuring and Pacific Rim