At present, almost every film and video game released are subjected to marketing through teasers and trailers to advertise the product. For this project in particular I need to focus upon openings and as such, I believe it to be a good idea to discern the differences between teasers, trailers and opening sequences.
Teasers
According to Wikipedia, "A teaser trailer, or teaser is a short trailer used to advertise an upcoming movie, game or television series." These very short trailers "are usually very short in length (between 30–60 seconds) and usually contain little, if any, actual footage from the film. Sometimes, it is merely a truncated version of a theatrical trailer."
Examples of these teaser trailers:
Up (Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, 2009)
'Up' is in no way a thriller, however, it does prove the point of what a teaser is supposed to do. The 44 second clip shows the audience a couple of balloons flying into the sky before a large cluster of them rises up and we see a house with an old man sitting on the porch who says "Afternoon." Nothing else is shown, but the audience's interest is piqued by how little the teaser tells them and makes them keen to learn more about the film.
Bayonetta (Hideki Kamiya, Platinum Games, SEGA, 2010)
'Bayonetta' is a video game for the Xbox 360 and PS3 and was advertised in Japan with the tagline "Non-Stop Climax Action". As thrillers are based around thrilling and "ultra-heightened expectation", 'Bayonetta' could be classified as a thriller within video games. This 37 second clip shows little more than the main character shooting angelic characters and the logo for 'Bayonetta' on the screen. Little is revealed about the gameplay or the plot, but it does create hype for the game and intrigues viewers.
Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010)
The 'Inception' teaser trailer is one of the teasers that is merely a truncated version of a theatrical trailer and as such reveals more information than the previous teasers. It explains who directs the film, the director's previous work and the basic plot of the movie as well as the basic credits for the movie. The teaser also uses a lot of heavy percussive bass beats to increase the tension of the sequence with intriguing footage from the movie in an attempt to interest the audience in the events .
The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
'The Dark Knight' is another different take on a teaser trailer, using only the logo for the movie and dialogue. As the film follows the story of Batman, an already well established character, the dialogue appears to be the best way to hype up the film. This is because the audience can immediately realise who the characters are and get hyped up about the film based solely on the merits of those characters.
Trailers
Once again, Wikipedia has an incredibly good definition for a trailer, "Trailers consist of a series of selected shots from the film being advertised. Since the purpose of the trailer is to attract an audience to the film, these excerpts are usually drawn from the most exciting, funny, or otherwise noteworthy parts of the film but in abbreviated form and usually without producing spoilers. For this purpose the scenes are not necessarily in the order in which they appear in the film."
Examples of Trailers:
Bayonetta
As with most films and video games, 'Bayonetta' had numerous trailers before its release as a way of getting consumer attention. This particular trailer came out on the game's release after the game had received its professional reviews and it utilised these as a way of persuading audiences to buy the game. This is probably due to the niche nature of the game and the desire to make the game stand out with its critical success. This is heightened by the usage of La Roux's 'In For The Kill [Skream's Let's Get Ravey Remix). Alongside the accolades are extracts from the game's cutscenes which are placed out of order and demonstrate the over the top nature of the game.
Heavy Rain (David Cage, Quantic Dream, Sony Computer Entertainment, 2010)
'Heavy Rain' is a video game that attempts to act out like a dramatic thriller and as such is an interesting case study for this project. In the trailer the plot line of the game is revealed, the character of Ethan Mars is suffering to save his child and all of the main characters are introduced. There is also an increasing tension creating by the crescendo in the music as events are shown. None of these clips are in chronological order within the game and as such try to prevent spoilers where possible.
Inception
In this particular trailer, the same credits and a similar song are used from the teaser and this creates a continuity with the marketing strategy. The trailer is also an elongated version of the teaser with more explanation of the plot and more exciting from the movie in a non-chronological order to show the audience more of what the film contains and to excite them.
The Dark Knight
Whereas 'Inception's teaser was a truncated version of the theatrical trailer, 'The Dark Knight's was just the logo and dialogue. This makes the trailer seem all the more intriguing because it is the audience's first glimpse of actual footage. The focus on the Joker in this trailer is also done on purpose as he is the villain of the film and as he drives the trailer it is clear that he will also drive the film, something that is typical of thriller. This also plays on the Batman fan base as the Joker is one of their favourite villains of all time and this will attract their attention.
Opening Sequences
Wikipedia also has an excellent description of the opening credits in films, "In a motion picture, television program, or video game, the opening credits are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the show. There may or may not be accompanying music. Where opening credits are built into a separate sequence of their own, the correct term is title sequence."
Examples of Opening Sequences:
Bayonetta
'Bayonetta's opening sequence does an excellent job of setting the mood for the game. It starts with an interesting way of dealing with the credits, placing them on grave stones but then we are introduced to two of the main characters, Enzo and Bayonetta. The slow pace of the initial conversation is immediately replaced by the over the top pace caused by the Japanese pop music as Bayonetta starts to battle the angels. Also, in this opening sequence the sound motif music of 'Fly Me To The Moon' is used and creates an utterly bizarre scene that shows the audience what they should be expecting from the rest of the game.
Heavy Rain
'Heavy Rain's opening is much slower and melancholy than 'Bayonetta's over the top entrance. The credits are blended into the background to create a really interesting effect that makes them stand out. The despondent nature of the music and the constant sound effect of the rain make for a rather depressing opening that also sets the scene for the melancholy tale of 'Heavy Rain' which plays with themes of love, loss and suffering. This feeling is furthered by the long slow takes of the events in the sequence.
In both video game examples, there are cold open sequences before the credits shown.
Inception
Click to see the video
The opening sequence of 'Inception' is incredibly interesting, as the narrative is clearly not clearly linear and no credits are shown whatsoever. The only thing that appears at all in the film's opening is the title of the movie. This used to be a rare occurrence, but it has been appearing in a number of more recent titles.
Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
'Pulp Fiction' is one of the world's most beloved thrillers and it is also a perfect example of using title sequence. Whereas 'Bayonetta' and 'Heavy Rain' placed their opening credits over the action, 'Pulp Fiction' puts its opening credits in a separate sequence. The cold open before the title sequence is actually an event that takes place almost two thirds of the way through the movie and as such defies the idea of the linear narrative, however, it does show the audience what is to come and hooks them by the craziness of the events.
Conclusion
When I eventually get to creating my opening sequence for my Thriller project I will definitely have to make sure that it works like other opening sequences and does not appear to act like a teaser or a trailer. This can be achieved through a linear narrative in the opening section, including credits over the action or in a title sequence, setting the mood for the movie and revealing a few important facts about the plot without spoiling the story.
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