Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Guardians of the Galaxy trailer pushes the theatre experience

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Posted by Martin Thuss (Member # 7976) on 07-14-2014, 08:29 AM:

I'm in Denver for the NAC Expo and went to see Dawn of the Planet of the Apes at the UA Denver Pavilions Stadium 15 (short walk from my hotel).

One of the many trailers (wow, way more than I usually see before a movie in Canada) was for Guardians of the Galaxy that pushed the theatre experience. At one point during the trailer, the picture got smaller and smaller and the audio got quieter until the picture was tiny and framed in a TV. The trailer asked a question along the lines of "Why would you want to watch this movie on a tiny little TV when you could watch it on the big screen?" and the picture and audio went back to "normal" (big and loud).

As an aspiring exhibitor, I was happy to see a trailer that really emphasized the theatre experience. Was this trailer specific to the Regal chain or was this generally available?

Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 07-14-2014, 10:19 AM:

Specific to Regal and they have been doing it for a few years now.

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 07-14-2014, 12:16 PM:

"GO BIG OR GO HOME ! "
,

-Claude

Posted by Buck Wilson (Member # 5885) on 07-14-2014, 12:53 PM:

I like those. They look kinda corny in our smaller auditoriums though.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 07-14-2014, 02:56 PM:

The Star Wars "special edition" reissue trailers had a theme like that. It showed a battle scene playing on a small TV in the middle of the screen, and you hear the narrator in a tinny voice saying "For an entire generation, people have experienced Star Wars the only way it's been possible...on the TV screen. But if you've only seen it this way, you haven't seen it at all." Then a "tie fighter" zooms toward the camera as the Star Wars theme blasts out of the speakers and the picture expands to full size.

Here it is on YouTube: (Play it loud for maximum effect)

Star Wars Special Edition trailer

Posted by Buck Wilson (Member # 5885) on 07-14-2014, 05:13 PM:

Ooh, looks like they're all on YouTube.

Generic Regal GBoGH(I hadn't seen this one until now)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge-x4mPuZ_4

Pacific Rim- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4p-q9VraXE
Lone Ranger- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM24Py82438
Fast 6- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZXhzKBd-sE
Good day/Die Hard- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlft3UhWLrM

The Pacific Rim one is my favorite

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 07-15-2014, 01:10 PM:

Notice how those selfish Regal bastards never mention in those trailers that the food at home is cheaper and you don't have to wear clothes or bathe or anything.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 07-15-2014, 01:27 PM:

They could also say "Our $10,000 Cretors popper can make way better popcorn than your $49 WalMart microwave any day!"

Posted by Jarod Reddig (Member # 6363) on 07-15-2014, 03:13 PM:

Awesome these are really cool to see! Would have liked to seen the Star Wars one in a theater on a huge screen.

Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 07-16-2014, 09:19 AM:

I really like those trailers!

We don't have any Regal locations closer than an hour away, so I've never seen them, but they definitely get the point across.

NATO should commission generic trailers like these for all members to use.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 07-16-2014, 11:33 AM:

What's strange is, trailers like that are "preaching to the choir" -- people who ALREADY ARE going to the movies.

What's needed is a spot that would come onto the TV at home and say, "You see how big this screen is you're looking at? Your local theater has a screen that's BIGGER THAN THIS WHOLE ROOM! The average movie theater has a screen over SIX HUNDRED INCHES.* And a sound system to match! And they'll make the popcorn for you. If you REALLY want the big screen movie experience...you're not gonna find it in your house, dude."

As for NATO, they have been talking about doing a "go out to the movies" campaign on and off for about 20 years and nothing ever seems to get done on it. I don't know if they just can't find the right approach or what.

*NOTE: I have no idea if this is the correct average but I'll bet it's close.

Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 07-16-2014, 06:03 PM:

the one thing I found odd, was that the trailer that was shown before 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' this morning on the ETX screen presented some of the scenes in it's full screen IMAX framing - I thought that was an IMAX exclusive, or is the recomposing of the image also for the other 'specialty' screens?

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 07-17-2014, 03:03 AM:

At least here in Europe there seems to be no "special format DCP" available for the latest Ape movie or at least they didn't distribute it on the standard media. I will see it tonight, so I will watch closely for "special IMAX framing" in the "vanilla" DCP.

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 07-18-2014, 05:51 PM:

So, what trailer did you see before the movie?

Posted by Terry Lynn-Stevens (Member # 7349) on 07-19-2014, 11:42 AM:

quote: Mike Blakesley
What's strange is, trailers like that are "preaching to the choir" -- people who ALREADY ARE going to the movies.
|

I agree that all these trailers really do is that they preach to the crowd that is already going to the movies. This is where a different strategy must come into place, obviously a superior presentation is warranted but there also has to be something else needed. I can't put my finger on it, but something needs to be done.

quote:
[QUOTE=Mike Blakesley]
What's needed is a spot that would come onto the TV at home and say, "You see how big this screen is you're looking at? Your local theater has a screen that's BIGGER THAN THIS WHOLE ROOM! The average movie theater has a screen over SIX HUNDRED INCHES.* And a sound system to match! And they'll make the popcorn for you. If you REALLY want the big screen movie experience...you're not gonna find it in your house, dude."

I don't think advertisements reinforcing the size of the screen will get people to the theatre. I assume most people already know that the screen is bigger than at home. I have changed my stance on my next comment, its the shorts windowing and monster openings that is keeping the extra people away. There is no exclusivity or urgency at making sure I see a movie in theaters, within 120 I will be able to see it at home and online.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 07-19-2014, 06:24 PM:

They know the screen is bigger alright, but they don't realize what a big difference it makes. What's needed is some way to get them re-enthused about the movie going experience. You're right about the window being a big factor… it's probably the main factor.

Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 07-19-2014, 07:02 PM:

quote: Mike Blakesley
They know the screen is bigger alright, but they don't realize what a big difference it makes. What's needed is some way to get them re-enthused about the movie going experience. You're right about the window being a big factor… it's probably the main factor.

It makes a HUGE difference for how realistic CGI and other special effects look. I think that the sheer size of the screen gives your brain more to process and therefore you don't see how fake everything is. At home, even on a 65" TV, a lot of effects look very fake and cheesy when the same ones looked good when I saw them in a theatre.

Posted by Terry Lynn-Stevens (Member # 7349) on 07-20-2014, 03:05 PM:

quote: Mike Blakesley
What's needed is some way to get them re-enthused about the movie going experience.

I think eventually, the movie studios will figure out that there is a good segment of the population that takes going to the movies very seriously. I don't know what the percentage is, but I would be it is somewhere around 10-15% that the studios are missing out on.

When I hear of James Cameron having multiple aspect ration for Avatar (to get the largest screen possible), Paul Thomas Anderson using 70MM for The Master and the upcoming Interstellar movie with Christopher Nolan's insistence that the movie has a 70MM IMAX release, it is clear that there is some part of Hollywood that will do it.

I like cars and the car industry a lot, and I draw some comparisons in a strange way to movie theaters, on the one hand there is the Chevrolet Cruze that appeals to most average car buyers who want something that will get them from point A to point B with as little fuss as possible. On the other hand, there is the Chevrolet Corvette or Chevy SS that appeals to enthusiasts that take their cars seriously, they want something fun, and will go out of their way to drive it. The studios are not appealing to the serious theater enthusiasts with their movies and presentations.

Car dealers/franchisees (although hated) only work long term and successfully when they are partnered with the manufacturers/franchisor correctly. Everybody wins when everyone is on the same page. I think it is the same with movies theaters, the shortened window does nothing to help the theater owner succeed. The latest Transformers movies already is advertising to pre-order the movie on iTunes on the official website that also says to see it 3D or IMAX.

The passion and enthusiasm of going to the movies and being amazed should work on some sort of subliminal way. We don't need to know how the theater did it, or why the movie was done this way or that way. It just needs to do it and wonder us. At least this is how I remember watching movies growing up and finding movies theaters very fascinating.

The cookie cutter theaters really leave nothing to the imagination. Sure there is branding, but for the average person unless it is VIP or IMAX the theater does not need to be the exact same everywhere. The NHL/MLB/NFL and MLB all have unique venues where you watch the same game played like anywhere else. Why don't we see any unique venues to watch movies that are totally different than any other venue within the same chain? Again, the venue, movies, presentation and service should all just work on some sort of subliminal way.

I am also surprised that a company as large as Cineplex in Canada hasn't yet figured out that if they were to hire customer service staff that make their living in the customer service food industry, profits and more importantly repeat visits would likely increase. The cost would be slightly higher but it theory in should bring in more money and profit. How many times have I shook my popcorn bag to compress more and popcorn into the bag to only increase another 1.5 inches of space. Now I don't think the average person notices this stuff, but everything should work in a subliminal way. Would I want a teenager serving me food at a nice diner? No, why can't I have incredible customer service at a movie theater snack bar from an adult who I can actually tip. I can sure do that at Starbucks. Why not at the movie theater.

Eventually, I think the studios and movie chains will figure out that actual persons in the seats is decreasing, and the younger generation (16-25 years old) are not going to the movies like past generations. Car companies did something smart after the 2008 recession, they made sure the bread and butter cars like the Corolla and Civic were still affordable, they have found ways to keep their core customers. But they still do enthusiast cars very well.

Christopher Nolan wrote a good article or did an interview recently comparing the movie theater exhibition to something like concerts. According to Nolan, future theaters will have very expensive projection and the largest screens possible. I don't know if I would compare movies to concerts but I think he is right about the expensive projection and largest screens possible. Eventually, the chains or studios will figure out that there is more to be made, I am not sure how it will happen but when it does, it should light a spark to going to the movies once again.