Trailer Research 2: Hot Tub Time Machine

Hot Tub Time Machine

Micro Features
• The trailer opens with a cheesy narrator and pictures to represent his voice over. Setting fairly low expectations for the audience, the trailer then build up momentum to create excitement and a hook.

• The tagline kick some past is very effective for the target audience as the film is targeted at teenage to adult males and instills a sense of action, it also ties into the idea of another film kick ass, which was released on the same day.

• The music changes in the trailer as they go back in time to match the period this is a very good indicator of the fact the characters have travelled back in time along with. Fashion typical of the 80’s such as, leg warmers, cassette players and jerry curls, this plays for the feedline for one of the characters to ask what skin colour Micheal Jackson has.

• Bright colours high key lighting are used to put the audience at ease low key lighting would not work well in a comedy as it creates tension that will spoil the humour in the film. Also generally bright colours and high key lighting make something appear fun and attractive.

Macro Features
• The trailer is set in a small town with a ski resort along with the film it shows various parts and settings of the resort for example the room the characters booked to stay in an outdoor winter festival and various bars in the town.

• The trailer also plays out in a chronological order like the film except it does not reveal the ending creating another hook which makes the audience want to find out what the characters changed in the past and if they get back to the present.

Number Of Edits
• This trailer has 136 edits as with most trailers it starts off slow and speeds up in the middle to create a sense of excitement.

• Cuts are used with in the trailer for a sense of continuity and ease the audience into the humour of the film. They also support the idea to present the trailer in a chronological order.

Genre
• As a comedy trailer it’s main purpose is to make audiences laugh, if a trailer can do that people are likely to go and watch the full film, this trailer does this by using a few of the best gags from the film.

• This film also try’s to appeal largely to a male audience using a male gaze on some of the female actors and address the fact of male bonding at the start of the film by them all getting into the hot tub together.