History of trailers

Throughout the history of film, trailers have been at the forefront of advertisement and as such have undergone a huge transition to try and keep them effective and entertaining. This transition is both in the nature of the trailer from the typical 'promotional trailer' which is used to simply promote an upcoming film, to the 'theatrical trailer' which make the audience feel as if they are part of the film itself. Trailers have also adapted in the technologies they use from simply the use of colour to now where the majority of the trailer is in CGI (computer generated imagery)

One of the most notable trailers throughout history come from 1937 and is Walt Disney's Snow White. Throughout this trailer there is a heavy use of large text put on screen which conforms to the stereotypical 'bigging up' of the film "nothing ever like it'. Also throughout the entirety of the trailer there is no use of any clips or segments of the film. This style would never be used in the modern day film industry as company's now thrive of hinting story lines and showing clips of the film. instead the 1937 Snow White trailer opts for having a segment where Walt Disney himself is shown with figurines of the characters and explaining their role and mannerisms.

Jumping forward the next key trailer is Alfred Hitchcock's Pyscho. Pyscho was very much a experimental type of trailer and even today its still seen as an oddity. The trailer itself lasts 6 and a half minuets which in itself is strange the modern trailer very rarely lasts over 2-2:30 minuets. The theme of the trailer itself is Alfred Hitchcock in character giving a tour of the motel in which pyscho is set as he hints at certain story lines as he goes about his unveil. This trailer was a leap forward however in comparison to Snow White when comparing them both to the modern trailer as the text when appearing on screen is in a much smaller font. However the trailer of Pyscho do not use a voice over like modern trailer and instead sticks with just Hitchcock's narration.

Another key trailer comes from 1977 which Star Wars: A new hope. This trailer was so important as it was one of the first trailers of its time that featured its special effects that were considered way ahead of its time in a major role as the vast majority of clips of the film were highlighting its technological capabilities. however by now its use of a voice over was now seen as common and it also still used large text to advertise the film further.

From here on out the main development in trailers since has been the use of music that is now seen as a necessity in film trailers as well as further use of CGI.