Teaser Trailer; Anchorage Development

Within our trailer it may be necessary to have effective anchorage (wording/key information) at some points during the teaser trailer. As use of anchorage will be key for our teaser trailer, I have begun to look into different British Drama films and the use of anchorage within them.

Fish Tank;

To the left, is the anchorage used within the fish tank trailer, shown in the trailer from left to right in order. It is important to remember that this is used in a theatrical trailer not a teaser so there is longer time and more narrative to give away within the time given. It begins with stating nominations and awards that the film has received. This is encouraging to the viewer as it leads them to think that the film will be worthwhile watching. However, this technique may have been necessary as the director and actress are rather unknown. Also, the genre of film is of a niche target market and so perhaps they could not to use their reputation to encourage people to view the film.


The anchorage used gets more frequent and has a shorter time on screen towards the end of the trailer as the tempo of the music and tension is increased. This could be effective in our teaser trailer to create excitement to watch our film. However, we need to look into how the anchorage can be used to its best effect and what wording to use.


As you can see to the left, the wording (not reviews or awards) used is; "All her life, She kept the world out. All around her, Life came rushing in. How much can you give, How much can you take, FISH TANK". the use of the rhetorical questions are very effective as they push the audience to consider how they would react if they were her and this involves the audience and may make them feel attached to the film and would, encourage them to see the film. The anchorage tells the audience a lot about Mia as a character and gives an idea of the storyline. It reflects that the issues within the film have been happening 'all her life'. It indicates to the audience that what happens in the film may be out of her control. The anchorage, together with the mise en scene reflects that life is a constant struggle for the main character. It also indicates, problems with her mother/family and shows her relationship with other characters in the film.


In our teaser trailer we will not have as much time to portray as many issues, and as a teaser trailer we we would not want to. We need to discuss as a group, if we chose to use narrative anchorage, what problems our protagonist face's in our film and if we want to portray this within our teaser trailer. However, the use of short two or three words on screen in concession has a much better impact on the viewer and is much more effective than lengthy phrases for anchorage. Also, there is not much vocal interaction between the characters in the trailer and this may be why anchorage was needed.


London to Brighton;



Above is the anchorage used within London to Brighton's trailer, there is much less in comparison to Fish Tank. However, during the trailer there is diegetic and non-diegetic conversations between characters that gives away a lot of narrative and sets the tone of the film. Again, the director has decided to use reviews from film critics as a way to attract the audience. This is clearly an effective technique, especially from respected people within the film industry. The anchorage used has been shown on a black/out of focus background. This helps he viewer to focus on the writing on screen and not what is going on in the background.
There is a gap in the middle from anchorage on screen and again, the frequency increases towards the end of the trailer as the tension comes to a head.
The interaction between characters flows from diegetic conversation to non-diegetic sound where the conversation continues but the mise en scene has changed to a different point within the film. The lack of anchorage has a good impact on the viewer as it is more memorable and stands out more to the audience.

It may be effective within our teaser not to have any anchorage at all apart from the title as this could create deeper interest for the film due to curiosity. However, the film may not be established enough to be able to rely on this method to work. It is important that we consider if the approach is too risky.

Having looked at the two trailers and the anchorage used within them, it is important we decide on how much narrative we are going to give away in the acting/mise en scene of the teaser trailer and if it will be necessary to have further anchorage to demonstrate more narrative. However, it is also important that we are careful if we cross 'the 4th wall' as this will compromise the reality and authenticity of the film.