When I was a kid, movie teasers did just that… they teased. Heck! Even the trailers mostly teased! You would get a few scenes from the movie hacked together out of order and seemingly at random. Check out this trailer for the 1984 classic ‘Ghostbusters’… See what I mean? What do you know based on that trailer? That there are three (maybe four) Ghostbusters. They fight ghosts (maybe by shooting lasers at them). And… well… you know what stars are in the movie. But that’s really about it. In 1984, that trailer would’ve probably been one of only a couple that would run in theaters. Then the companies would put together a couple of different lengths to fit the formatting of television. Going into a movie, you knew the basics and that was it. The rest was left to the movie. Now cut to 2012 and the age of the internet when fans are given teasers, trailers, and those all-powerful “exclusive clips”. Now, marketing for a film often begins way in advance of the actual release. Many times, the film has not even begun filming yet! Let’s look at the ‘Hunger Games’ teaser… What is that about now? A hunter? Maybe on a hunting television show? Okay… that’s a good teaser. It doesn’t tell you much but seems rather interesting. Now, let’s look at the actual trailer for the same film… Now we know quite a bit more. We know it’s a future where children are forced to fight in the titular ‘Hunger Games’ and we meet the main character, Katniss Everdeen. That’s all well and good so far. But then the trailer shows the entire scene in which Katniss’ sister is selected to fight in the games, forcing Katniss to volunteer in her place. To people who’ve read the book, that doesn’t seem like much, especially since it’s an early scene. But imagine the shock for movie-goers who haven’t read the book when that scene takes place. It seems like too much. ‘Hunger Games’ isn’t the only movie to do it. When I saw the trailer for the Nicole Kidman horror flick ‘The Others’, I accurately predicted the ending to the movie based on the trailer. If a viewer can do that, it means that it’s a bad trailer and gives far too much information. Now, let’s throw the internet into the marketing equation. Movie news sites, eager to draw in readers, are more than open to posting exclusive movie clips. When I was awaiting the release of ‘The Muppets’ last year, I knew most of the plot (and many of the jokes) before the film even hit with all the clips that were released online. As much as I love the Muppets, even I was a little disappointed at knowing so much before I even sat down in the theater. A final consideration is that internet videos can be paused, rewound, and zoomed at will. Think about how many times you’ve read an article with screen captures and detailed notes on a trailer. With such access, even a vague trailer like the one above for ‘Ghostbusters’ could’ve been broken down so that viewers could scour every scene, background, and analyze each line of dialogue. This leads to people knowing far too much about a movie before it even comes out and ruins the experience for many. Personally, I like the older trailers and would prefer things to be vague. All I need is the basic plot, a few main actors, and maybe the director, to know if it’s something I’d possibly be interested in seeing. I actually prefer being shocked when I see a film. What about you? Do you watch all the clips, trailers, and teasers for movies online? If so, do you think Hollywood is giving away too much? Comment below and voice your opinion.
