A movie, also known as a movie trailer, a short movie, video short or online video, is a brief film, typically no more than thirty seconds long, of video art intended to advertise a particular movie. It usually includes images and sound meant to suggest the main theme of the movie being promoted. The term “video” is often used in place of “film,” as the majority of video trailers are actually image sequences instead of full-length films. A movie trailer is often accompanied by a clip of the movie in action.
Many movie producers and movie distributors spend large amounts of money on advertising their movie through trailers and clips. Film festivals such as the Academy Awards and the MTV awards make a good use of this media as well, but the internet has provided an easy way for audiences to access trailers and clips of movies they like without having to travel to a movie festival or attend a special screening. As a result, the number of movie trailers and clips on the internet has increased dramatically over the last several years. According to Variety, in 2021 the top ten most downloaded movie clips were: Finding Nemo (DVD), Iron Man 2, The Chronicles of Riddick, Spider-Man, Men in Black II, Harry Potter, The Fantastic Four, X-Men, and The Lion King. These are only a few of the most popular clips, which can be viewed on a variety of sites catering to a wide array of interests and tastes.
Critics said that the popularity of the internet has been beneficial for movie producers and filmmakers because it gives them more exposure for their films. The Los Angeles Times noted that the influx of internet viewers provides a “countervailing force” for the often dominant television networks. In the Los Angeles Times article, Ben Hurkin, a producer for the film Invictus, stated that the internet allows him the opportunity to connect with people across different cultural and geographic lines.
The writer and critic Ben Nelson listed five benefits that stem from being able to distribute his film via the internet: a larger distribution market, a more diverse audience, more promotional opportunities, and more revenue. According to Variety, Ben Nelson said that the increasing number of viewers is “potentially good news for everyone involved with creating, financing, and selling a movie.” According to Variety, Ben Nelson listed the internet’s ability to increase distribution deals as one reason that studios should consider it more seriously: “If you have a movie online, you’re opening up a whole new subset of people who may be interested in purchasing your ticket and potentially giving you a better chance of getting a release date.” In the Los Angeles Times, David Sims wrote that the potential for word-of-mouth advertising for a movie is “unmatched” and that this type of promotion would “go a long way toward ensuring the success of a movie.” According to the Los Angeles Times, the writer and critic Jordan Rattner agreed that a movie’s success is dependent on word-of-mouth advertising: “It’s a nice bonus if you get a lot of it, but word-of-mouth is probably the most important element in a movie’s box office.”
According to the Chicago Sun-icates, film critic Jordan Rattner thought that the benefits of the internet were too dependent on viewers: “If the movie was not well-advertised and marketed, then there wouldn’t be as many people seeing it.” According to Variety, critics said that the lack of promotion is the biggest drawback of a movie such as Iron Man, which opened last weekend, compared to more well-known films that have been released without massive promotion. According to Variety, Ben Kingsley said that he believes that the internet “isn’t the place” for Iron Man: “The internet isn’t the place for big movies. The only place for big movies is Hollywood. They like the prestige, the hype.”
According to Variety, Ben Kingsley said that the lack of promotion was the biggest drawback of Iron Man: “The movie isn’t marketed well. There’s no trailer, there’s no posters. There’s not a cast. If you’re an independent filmmaker, it’s tough, because you don’t have investors lining up to see your movie.” According to the Chicago sun-cedes, box-office analysts said that Iron Man-the second highest grossing superhero movie-was helped by word-of-mouth and internet marketing, but the film did not do well at the box office despite good reviews from critics.