What is a teaser trailer?

Teaser Trailer

A teaser trailer for an upcoming film, television program, video game or similar, is usually released long in advance of the product, so as to "tease" the audience. An early example of the teaser trailer was the one for the 1978 Superman film by Richard Donner. (Definition from Wikipedia)

Format & Content

Trailers often include clips from the film it is promoting and they tend to be around one and a half minutes long. They are released when the film is still being made or in the editing process.

The content in a teaser trailer tends to be clips that may give the basic outline of the film but also promote some mystery and intrigue to the viewer about what the film may be about, and, for instance, if it was a action film being advertised, an exciting action shot may be used to draw the viewer in to find out more about the film.

Purpose

The teaser trailer is often released whilst the film is still in production, and so alerting the audience of the film could spark interest in the audience to go and see the film. This teaser will also tease the audience with a short slice of the film, and the audience may want to find out more about the film when a longer trailer is released.