What is the Difference Between Teaser and Trailer

The main difference between teaser and trailer is that a trailer is usually created at the end of the movie production, while a teaser is created before or during the process of movie production.

A trailer captures the beginning, middle, and end of a particular movie in a three-act structure. A teaser, on the other hand, captures an intense clip from the movie without any relevant arrangement. However, both teasers and trailers serve the same purpose of advertising a movie.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is a Teaser
– Definition, Features
2. What is a Trailer
– Definition, Features
3. Similarities Between Teaser and Trailer
– Outline of Common Features
4. Difference Between Teaser and Trailer
– Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Teaser, Trailer, Movies

What is a Teaser

Producers use teasers as a mode of advertising a movie that is yet to be released. They include a little content from the movie in a teaser with the intention of teasing or tempting the audience. With a teaser, the production team expects to boost the publicity of the movie before the release of its trailer.

A teaser runs for around 20-30 seconds. But some movie teasers can run longer than 1 minute. Given below is the teaser trailer from the movie Aladdin, released by Disney in 2019.

Most frequently, the producers create the teasers while the film shooting is going on. But it is released to the public prior to the film’s completion. The fact that a teaser runs only for a short time and hides elaborative details about the movie makes the audience grow more curious about the movie. Movies with big budgets that have the potential to attract a larger audience usually use teasers to get publicity. Basically, producers use a teaser to give the targeted audience a hint about what is going to happen in the movie or what’s the movie about.

What is a Trailer

A trailer is another mode producers use for movie advertising. Producers usually release a trailer at the end of shooting a movie, just a couple of months prior to its release. A trailer usually runs a little longer than a teaser and gives us a brief idea about the overall plot of a particular movie. Moreover, a trailer usually presents us with a series of sequences extracted from the film that is about to be released in the near future. A trailer includes a non-linear structure, making it difficult for the audience to figure out the complete story of the movie. This is the official trailer of Disney’s Aladdin, released in 2019. You can compare it with its teaser to understand the difference between the two.

A trailer usually comprises the most exciting scenes of a movie in order to boost the enthusiasm of the audience to watch the whole movie. Therefore, the length of a trailer can extend from 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

Similarities Between Teaser and Trailer

Film producers use both teasers and trailers for advertising their movies. Therefore, both serve the same purpose.
Both teaser and a trailer run for a shorter time period – a few minutes at the most.
They aim to boost the curiosity of the targeted audience and encourage them to watch the whole movie in the near future.
Both trailers and teasers are released before the release of the movie.

Difference Between Teaser and Trailer

Definition

A teaser is a short video clip containing an intense clip from the movie released by producers as a mode of advertising, while a trailer is a clip including a sequence of the most striking scenes of a particular movie, released by the producers as a mode of publicity and advertising.

Content

A teaser captures an intense clip from the movie, whereas a trailer captures the beginning, middle, and the end of a particular movie in a three-act structure.

Time Duration

Teasers are shorter than trailers. In fact, a teaser can be as short as 20-30 seconds, while a trailer can extend from 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

Production Process

While a trailer is usually created at the end of the movie production, a teaser is created before or during the process of movie production.

Conclusion

To conclude, the main difference between teaser and trailer is that trailer is usually created at the end of the movie production, while a teaser is created before or during the process of movie production. Moreover, a trailer captures the beginning, middle, and the end of a particular movie in a three-act structure whereas a teaser captures an intense clip from the movie without any relevant arrangement.