Book covers only say so much, then you have to look over on the other side. Sometimes there are quotes, sometimes a little synopsis. Sometimes nothing - just a little price and ISBN number. On the inside sleeve there might be some jargon, but you're ultimately left with the mass of pages in between. That requires reading. In my case, that requires reading over several weeks or months before a book is finished. The mystery lingers. I'm not complaining about reading, but making a case in favor of the lack of exposition in the marketing of books. Especially when compared with the marketing of films.
It's interesting that film posters these days - like many book covers - say very little about the movie advertised, but the trailer usually gives away the entire story and plot twists in 2 minutes. Whatever happened to the tease? If 'Psycho' were released today, we'd all know that Janet Leigh doesn't make it past the first act, because we'd see all that in the trailer, along with some obnoxious "banging oil drum/garage door slamming" sound effects that accelerate with the intensity of the lickity-split scary clips. Of course there would be a last minute pop-em-out scare and scream, after the title appears. Here's an example of a modern-day horror film trailer with all the elements mentioned above. This one's about a killer cell phone:
I haven't seen it, but I don't need to. It's all there. Good job marketing team, I'm not seeing your crappy Japanese horror film remake.
Some suggestions for marketing a horror movie, or any movie for that matter:
-Don't lay out the entire synopsis/story/character arcs, etc. in the trailer.
-Let a shot linger for longer than 10 frames.
-Enough with the loud noises (banging can, whooshes, etc.)
-A little goes a long way.
-Try something new
Here's a classic film trailer from long ago. This is a great example of a trailer invoking the tone of the film advertised without giving much away about the plot or story. Notice all the quick edits in this trailer, much like our modern advertising, though this is nearly 40 years old, therefore way ahead of its time. Marketing is an art form. So get with it people, move it forward!
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2 comments:
I quite like modern horror movie trailers...I think it's worse when they edit them to tell a story different to the actual film or make it look better than it is.
Seriously, just take the battery out.
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