The Dark Knight Teaser Trailer, Deconstruction

The Dark Knight, Teaser Trailer:

'The Dark Knight' is an Action film, other sub genres within the film include, thriller, crime and super hero. It was released on the 21st of July in 2008, the second in The Dark Knight trilogy, which is 'Batman Begins', 'The Dark Knight' and 'The Dark Knight Rises'. The teaser trailer is fairly short conforming to common conventions/features of these trailers, being only 59 seconds.

The trailer shows no characters, just a dark screen slowly fading into the famous Batman logo. Only three of the main characters voices are heard. Which is really affective, since it allows the audience to know of certain events, but also creates a lot of mystery, since next to nothing is given away, but they have still managed to making it interesting and enticing.

Teaser Trailer script:

'(Batman/Bruce) I knew the mob wouldn’t go down without a fight, but this is different, they crossed a line. (Alfred) You crossed a line first sir, you hammered them, and in their desperation they turned to a man they didn’t fully understand. Some men aren’t looking for anything logical, they can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with, some men just want to watch the world burn. (The Joker) Starting tonight people will die, I’m a man of my word, HAHAHA.'

The trailer begins with loud/tense music, which is very affective. Although no footage from the movie is shown, the audience knows straight away from the diegetic soundtrack that there are going to be tense, sudden and violent scenes.

As the diegetic dialogue between Alfred and Batman (good characters) is shown we see the light coming from the dark, showing the bat logo, representing the good. However as soon as the villain comes to speak, the logo starts to disperse and fall apart. Representing his attempts to destroy the good and cause destruction. It allows the audience to further understand what to expect without giving much away. How this character causes suffering, from the visual aid and the words spoken from Alfred, 'some men just want to watch the world burn'.

To further represent the destruction 'The Joker' causes, as the bat logo has been completely destroyed one of the pieces is thrown out, and a playing card of a Joker is shown. Representing the villain within the film, and further displaying how he will be the cause of the sinister actions within the movie, therefore foreshadowing the events which are to come.

The typography is fairly simple, once again creating a sense of mystery.

Conclusion:

• 'The Dark Knight' teaser trailer overall was very effective.
•  It had common features of teaser trailers of being fairly short (less than a minute long) and not giving a lot away.
•  The use of not physically showing any characters and just dramatically showing the logo adds to tension and helps build up audience excitement.
• The use of quickly displaying a joker card also reveals the villain within the film, without giving too much a way and is also a clever use of foreshadowing, since the logo is broken presenting how he will cause disorder within the film.
•  Overall the soundtrack and method used is very well done and is effective and appropriate for the genre.

Theatrical and Teaser trailers:

Trailers:

What is the difference between a Theatrical trailer and a Teaser?

In general a trailer is described as a 'commercial for a feature film'. It consists of a series of shots from the picture, usually the most exciting/funny/tense in order  to entice, attract and interest the viewers. Therefore making them want to see the film. The purpose of a teaser trailer is to, 'tease' the audience, leaving them with questions and wanting to know what happens next.

 An obvious difference between the two is the duration, teasers tend to be a lot shorter, the average time being around a minute and a half. This is because it usually is at the early stages of production, and a longer more in depth Theatrical trailer will be released later when the picture is more put together/finalised.


Teaser  trailers occur most commonly with higher budget films with a large audience, since it creates build-up and adds to mystery if done well.

Theatrical trailers usually last around two and a half minutes longer, and give a greater idea of what is to occur within the film, however they do this without giving too much of  the events away so mystery is still created. It is also shown a lot closer to the release date since it is in the ending state of production unlike the teaser trailer.

 

Example:

Comparison of Theatrical and Teaser trailer:

The conjuring 2:

The two videos shown here are from YouTube, the first being the Theatrical trailer, which is two minutes and thirty seven seconds, only five seconds longer than the teaser.

THEATRICAL:


This screenshot displays a shot from the first 5 seconds of the trailer where the voice of the man/demon who possesses the young girl (72 year old Bill Wilkins) is shown, revealing greater details about the movie than the teaser trailer did. Since at the beginning of that, a black screen was shown and the question 'do you know when the voice is going to speak?' is said. Showing a contrast, since the theatrical gives greater detail, displaying who they are talking about in the teaser. It still leaves mystery, but gives enough detail to further entice the audience.



TEASER TRAILER:

Another difference is the setting, the teaser trailer is represented as a lot darker/dimmer and a lot more empty. The characters also do not really come into the shot until 45 seconds in, showing the lack of development compared to the theatrical where they are shown within the first 5.

Overall the audio and non diegetic soundtrack is a lot clearer and louder within the Theatrical. The music is a lot tenser and audible, compared to the teaser where it seemingly is more subtle, the diegetic dialogue setting the scene seemingly more important/the main focus within it. The editing is also a lot tighter and flows better within the Theatrical since it is a more developed product.

 An example of the louder, eerier soundtrack being used is in this scene, both seem very similar. However in the theatrical trailer the music is a lot more sinister, creating a greater sense of  anticipation amongst the viewers. It contrasts with the teaser since it is a lot quieter, perhaps to create more mystery, or since it is at earlier stages of production.



For both trailers the typography is exactly the same, however with the Theatrical trailer the editing technique of fading is used rather than the sudden cut into the black screen in the Teaser, which makes it look a lot smother and runs better as a whole.

Conclusion:

• Through these two examples I have been able to establish and understand the differences between the two to a greater extent.
• How teasers are generally shorter and give a lot less away than main trailers due to being produced in earlier production stages. 
• In the Conjuring teaser trailer they draw the audience in by not revealing much, adding to mystery of the film. The use of dark lighting and limited diegetic dialogue adds to this effect.

Theatrical Trailers Vs Teaser Trailers

Theatrical Trailers compared to Teaser Trailers: