History Main / Trailers

Trailers in theaters or on [=DVD=]s can last for several minutes and, if they are for films, can be quite enjoyable. Trailers aired on television are no longer than any other commercials unless the piece is a MakingOf.

Trailers are advertisements for [[{{Film}} movies]], television programs, or {{Videogames}}. Usually, this involves a clip or clips of the work in question, skillfully edited together. Sound from elsewhere will often be added: film trailers are often made before the soundtrack to the film is recorded, and voiceovers are always popular. If the work hasn't been released yet, the date of release will be included; if it has, positive reviews (real or otherwise) will often be included.

And the prime example of the tail wagging the dog was when Radio Four did a series of ''{{Goon Show}}'' repeats from the 1950's, comedy recorded in a time before trailers to fit the whole allocated thirty minutes. did the BBC acknowledge something special and drop the trailers to allow these to run to the full original thirty minutes? No. The shows were arbitrarily edited down to enable trailers to be fitted in at the start and finish. As Spike Milligan might have acerbically remarked, something was very wrong there...

!!Tropes commonly associated with trailers:

* ArtifactTitle. 'Trailers' are so named because they used to come ''after'' a movie. As early films presented nearly '''all''' of their credits within a lengthy establishing sequence opener, the films often finished with "{{The End}}", leaving no {{closing credits}}. With the audience still seated, the aptly named "trailers" would immediately begin, inticing audience members to return for additional patronage. Starting in the 1950s, the trailers and credits began to switch places, with trailers (now "previews") showing before the film while people were still being seated, and credits (which few audience members cared about) appearing after the end of the film. Only decades later did subsequent {{easter eggs}} begin to appear within, or after, the closing credits, keeping the audience in their seats for a reprise of the {{award bait song}}.

* ArtifactTitle. 'Trailers' are so named because they used to come ''after'' a movie.

* NotableTrailers

!!Tropes:

They do this to television and radio as well. While it is true to say that the BBC does not advertise, trhere is an exception to this rule - the BBC itself. A sizeable chunk of the BBC's production capacity appears to be the creation of short-ish trailers telling you what'as on next, what's on later, what's coming next month, what's on the other three BBC channels, what's currently on BBC radio, et c. These are played ad nauseum in between shows, and there is good evidence that programme length has suffered because of the imperative to fit as many bloody trailers in as possible. Fitting one or more trailers in just before and just after a show scheduled for a half-hour slot is also a good way to trim its length down to the 22-25 minutes required by commercial TV in the USA and elsewhere - very handy for resales!

Tropes related to Trailers:

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Trailers are advertisements for [[{{Film}} movies]], television programs, or {{Videogames}}. Usually, this involves a clip or clips of the work in question, skillfully edited together. Sound from elsewhere will often be added: film trailers are often made before the soundtrack to the film is recorded, and {{Voice Over}}s are always popular. If the work hasn't been released yet, the date of release will be included; if it has, positive reviews (real or otherwise) will often be included.