In the trailer alone we are not directly told who is starring in the film. There are no real-life actor’s names or even characters names displayed or stated throughout the preview. We draw closer to recognising the characters from prior films to formulate the star names. The target audience would identify the characters from previous films, that somewhat counterparts the genre of the Lord of the Rings.
By screening the Lord of the Rings trailer we can tell promptly that it has undergone major quantities of editing time and effort to make sure the best picture viewing has been reached. The trailer even has a structure, as do most movies, it consists of a beginning, middle and an end.
At the beginning we are revealed bright colours for instance greens and whites which characterize the Hobbits, then we quickly experience a change in the mood of the trailer, we distinguish dark colours, blacks and greys which imitate the evil side of the Lord. This combination occurs throughout the trailer to create a theatrical, occasionally eerie and exhilarating atmosphere. These two regions of the movie cancel each other out, making the viewer to move to the edge of their seats to see who will win, cleverly the directors have not concluded the expedition, and it is now almost a necessity for the viewer to see the film to terminate their suspense.
Due to the quantity of editing, we are shown a variety of action scenes arraying from hasty horse chases to thespian fighting clips. The action is planned to capture as large an audience as achievable, to accomplish this assignment the editors must comprise different types of action scenes, or the film will come across as boring and dull. In conclusion by using many altered procedures of action in the scenes, the target audience becomes generously balanced.
An Irish singer named Enya sings the vast amount of the films theme music. She has beforehand known to sing unforgettable and vivid music. The trailer uses her tone to deliver to the addressees, that the film is a rapid heart-rending fantasy. The music is written to fit the frame of mind of the film. The music plays a fundamental role in both the trailer and the film; if the music were to be altered, it would not create the same mystical atmosphere it creates now.
I could almost instantaneously distinguish that the film was in the fantasy genre. The fact that it was so easy for me to distinguish the genre so early in the trailer was a superior strategic move by the directors. By using this method they are involving the target audience swiftly and successfully and the more fantasy the spectators see the more enthusiastic they are to see the film. I could tell the genre was of a fantasy nature when I observed the opening scene; there is a wizard like character on a horse and cart peripatetic over a stone bridge into an evident fantasyland formed in one of the most attractive and faultless environments. By the end of the opening scene most people would be captured by the trailer, as it is unreal but yet still imaginable. Some other examples could also count as prove that the trailer suggests the film is a fantasy. For example the landscape that is used in the scenes is almost perfect and has no harm done to it such as man made roads or buildings, the houses are built into the hills. Another example would be the characters, they way they are dressed and the way they act, they have large overgrown feet and dress in clothes that are not high fashioned or to a particular design. The characters are also different as they are wizards and some are very small. Also even the New Line Cinema logo in the middle of the trailer has a mystical effect around the outside of it, there is mist around the edges of the sharp logo edges this I think shows contrast between the soft Hobbit image and the sharpness of the Evil side.
It is essential from the distributors point of view that the trailer can attracts as many people as possible, the trailer needs to be edited so that the distributors can catch the attention of a worldwide audience. I think that by the film being a fantasy it is more likely to attract viewers, say than a thriller because everyone has their own little world and would like to be whisked off in a new trouble free environment.
The voice over on the trailer is the voice of Gandulf the wizard who is one of the characters in the legend. I think that by the directors choosing the characters to do the voice-overs in the story it assists the audience to come to terms with the actors and what responsibilities they play for future films.
I imagine that Gandulf was preferred to do the voiceover on the trailer for the reason that he is one of the foremost characters and in addition has a deep and lingering voice that the audience will hear over the sound that is playing in the background.
Gandulf comes across as the storyteller in the trailer as his voice overpowers all to reveal parts of the story line.
The speediness of the trailer is incredibly significant both to the viewer and director. If the trailer is too slow and sluggish it will lose the concentration of the viewer and if it is too hasty the viewer may be blown back by it, any one of these extremes for the director means that it will be hard for them to publicise the film.
The pace of the trailer is rapid but not too quick. It is at an ideal speed for the viewer not to get bored and not to feel rushed. The trailer urges the viewer to pay concentration and watch warily so that they do not miss a part. By the editors using this technique I think that they are able to catch and hold the attention of the audience much easier. It would be impractical for the directors to play the first two or three minutes of the film because they wouldn’t show the viewers sufficient information for them to be engrossed into watching the film and another point may be that the beginning of the film is too slow.
The speed modifies during the trailer, it follows a precise configuration. If there is a fighting panorama the music and tempo of the trailer is fast and if there is a comedy the music and tempo will slow. This is used efficiently to create climaxes and sometimes anticlimaxes within the trailer itself.
In the last frame of the trailer we are given the Lord of the Rings website address for enthusiastic viewers that are organized to go that one step further and learn more about the expedition by the Fellowship. We are also given the “Keywords” that we should type if we were to use AOL search engine on the Internet, “Lord of the Rings”. We are also presented with the logo of New Line Cinema that was also shown half way through the trailer.
I think that the trailer will become more triumphant in making people want to see the film. This is because the trailer can provoke many more effects that a solitary poster. A trailer can portray music, motion clips, quotes and voices from characters.
Although, trailers do have their drawback, they can only be publicized where there is a video screen. This confines it down to TV and Cinema. Posters can be positioned almost everywhere and therefore can appeal to a much lager audience.
In conclusion I still believe that the trailer is more effective as many people have access to a television or cinema.
The target audience for the Lord of the Rings would be people who have read the book; this would be because they want the text they have read to come alive into a motion picture. Also the genre of a fantasy will appeal to almost everyone from eight upwards. The film is more concentrated and complex than others and consequently would not be suitable for children under eight as shown on the certificate rating.
The Lord of the Rings has a larger target audience than its main competitor Harry Potter. In its defence the Harry Potter film, although, also a book first was targeted towards the younger age group from five to sixteen.
As there is no specific target audience the Lord of the Rings trailer is shown for the duration of the peak times on an array of channels both analogue and digital. For example a trailer on ITV1 would be shown during one of the channels top rating shows such as Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and The Premiership. Although this scheme is pricey the ratings on the film will establish to be more than successful.
Other than Lord of the Rings itself I believe that the trailer would be shown before most action and fantasy films rather than romance and children’s films. For example the trailer would be publicized before the beginning of Black Hawk Down (15) and not before Monsters Inc (U).
In conclusion I think that the trailer of the Lord of the Rings is extremely effective targeting a broad audience and using money, to make money. The strategies and tactics used during promotion of the film were almost exactly right and will be shown to thrive. After viewing the trailer it has inspired me to see the film.
Neel Joshi
