Scope and Method of Study. Theoretical Argument and Definition of the Teaser Trailer.

Findings and Conclusions. The postmodern teaser trailer tends to follow certain rules of logic, but is not limited to the following characteristics: (1) postmodern teaser trailers persuade through non-persuasion (i.e. the “nottrailer”) and no explicit argument exists; (2) postmodern teaser trailers are aggressively self-reflexive. The camera actively participates in the trailer compared to a removed existence (entirely unnoticed) in theatrical trailers; (3) postmodern teaser trailers also exercise “high concept” techniques, are not finely tuned and are not concerned with “the edit.” While traditional movie trailers splice together original footage from the film (i.e. montage) and are highly glossed texts of persuasion, the teaser trailer avoids montage at all costs; (4) postmodern teaser trailers rarely use actual footage from the film itself while traditional movie trailers use many, if not all, scenes from the movie edited together to make a fresh, alternative narrative compared to the original film. Instead, the teaser trailer creates new images, striking and meaningless, to represent the film in an abstract and intangible way; (5) postmodern teaser trailers are short (20-50 seconds) and do not exhibit a traditional film narrative structure while basic movie trailers typically follow a traditional film three-act structure and are longer (two to three minutes); (6) by definition, postmodern teaser trailers cannot give away any plot information or implied meaning of the film. Due to its lack of “montage of attractions” nature, teaser trailers lack a brief synopsis of the plot and the characters, especially any information leading to the conclusion of the film; (7) postmodern teaser trailers remain unresolved. The presented action, or lack thereof, does not illicit any expectations of what to expect in the actual film as most traditional trailers in some way lead the viewer through the first two plot points and create some expectations of what’s to come in the film.