Why no trailers on new DVDs?

Nic_II · 02-16-2008, 04:15 AM

I've been asking this in several forums and so far no-one has known the answer, so thought I'd try here, since this appears to be one of the biggest and most professional boards around. There was a thread here where people were complaining about missing trailers and where to find them, but as far as I know, no-one mentioned this, so...

How come there are so many studios that don't include trailers anymore with their DVDs? Are there financial reasons? Or do some just see them as only promotional items and once the product has been bought, they see no need to include it?

Lionsgate used to include trailers with just about everything. Not anymore. Fox includes trailers on some releases, not on others (in addition, they often drop trailers from special editions - Commando and Predator come to mind). Universal and Paramount used to include them - that has changed. Weinstein appears to include the trailer on pretty much every release (kudos to them). The same with Warner, with the exception of some recent releases. Columbia Tri-Star used to have the trailer along with previews with almost every release where it was possible, but now, with the DVDs being released by Sony, there are dozens of previews but not the trailer. In fact, I remember seeing the original trailer included on only three Sony DVDs. The special edition of Gandhi, "Rise: Blood Hunter" and, amazingly, "Magma: Volcanic Disaster"(!).

Personally, I love trailers. Indeed, the trailer (whether it's a long 3-minute theatrical trailer or just a 30-second spot for a direct-to-DVD release) is easily my favorite extra and usually the only one I watch more than once. The best of them are like short movies with great editing, great music, great taglines etc. And based on the feedback I've received in other forums, I'm certainly not alone with this opinion.

But I don't want to start a discussion on the entertainment or educational value of trailers nor whether their inclusion is a deal breaker. Those are subjective things. But since a trailer is (with the possible exception of the smallest DTV-releases) always made and it does exist, no matter what, is there an actual reason why so many studios are dropping it? I mean, even if it has only promotional value to them, since there obviously are buyers who like having it included, why not include it on the disc? It would appear to me that the more bang studios are giving for the consumer's buck, the better (especially in these days, with the rampant piratism and everything).

Again, different people like different extras. Some love trailers, others don't. Some always listen to the commentaries, some don't give a damn about them. This is not about discussing trailers in general. This is simply an inquiry on why - despite their popularity - they aren't included anymore? Not even on new HD-releases.

And, of course, if there are people who have influence on this matter, one would certainly appreciate if they would let the studios know that there are a lot of people out there who'd like to see this extra included. Kudos to all the studios that still do! And I am sorry if this sounded like a useless rant you've heard a billion times before

ahollis · 02-16-2008, 08:52 AM

I too miss the trailers, whether they are for the classics or the new films. It is just a lot of fun to watch them and they are an art form all their own. I have always had a soft spot for the Disney animated and live-action trailers. In fact I would more than likely buy a DVD that just had Disney trailers on it. It has been several years since Disney stopped adding the trailers, only a few of the special Platinum editions include trailers now. MGM used to also include trailers with their releases, but from the time of their change to Sony they have not included them. Sony and Paramount have not included trailers for the past four years, even on the Paramount special editions.

I give a salute to Fox, Warner’s, and Universal for they attempt to include trailers whenever they can.

Joseph Bolus · 02-16-2008, 10:26 AM

I think the trailers have migrated to the single-disc editions of the movies.

If you're exclusively purchasing two disc Special Editions, then you probably are seeing fewer trailers.

The single-disc versions of the movies are targeted mostly for the rental marketplace; and so the trailers help sell other movies and ancilliary merchandise.

(If you're talking about the trailer for the movie on the disc, I'm still seeing that included on the Special Features disc in most cases.)

Douglas Monce · 02-16-2008, 11:08 AM

Trailers are the one extra feature that I almost never watch. However having said that I like the fact that they are included.

One reason that trailers may not be included is that music is often times borrowed from other films and often from other studios. They may feel that paying rights to that music or royalties to composers and musician's to include it on a DVD is not worth it.

Doug

Nic_II · 02-16-2008, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joseph Bolus

(If you're talking about the trailer for the movie on the disc, I'm still seeing that included on the Special Features disc in most cases.)

You're, of course, quite right about the single-disc vs. two-disc and about the motives for it as well, but I'm indeed talking about the trailer for the movie on the disc.

Not too long ago it was a standard feature on just about every disc, no matter what company was the distributor. These days, I'd say less than 50% (perhaps even less than 30%) of new releases include it. Some companies do go the distance and even include other promotional material (TV-spots, photo/poster galleries, original promotional featurettes etc.). But more and more I'm seeing new special editions which lack the trailer, even if it was available in the original release (released by the same studio, no less!).

**HTF Ads**

Nic_II · 02-16-2008, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Douglas Monce

Trailers are the one extra feature that I almost never watch. However having said that I like the fact that they are included.

One reason that trailers may not be included is that music is often times borrowed from other films and often from other studios. They may feel that paying rights to that music or royalties to composers and musician's to include it on a DVD is not worth it.

That was my first guess, too. And it does seem that current trailers use more and more music from other films (as well as popular songs) while the trailers from the 80s and 90s often had original music from someone (John Beal, John Eric Alexander etc.) who specialized in composing music for trailers and commercials.

However, that still leaves some questions, such as why the trailer is quite often missing from a new special edition of an older release that had it (to add insult to the injury, the new featurette often includes bits from the trailer with the original trailer music!), why it's often included in R2-release but missing from R1 (the marketplace for an R2-disc is, of course, smaller, but they are often released by smaller companies with less money to spare, so that evens things up a bit) and why it's often available in several other discs as a preview but not on the actual movie disc itself.

Either some studios do indeed think that the consumers don't care for it (and there are lots and lots of those who don't - but many do) and once the disc has been purchased, the trailer has done it's job and doesn't have to be included. Or there are indeed some royalties issues. A composer can give out promos of his work for free to get more work but can't sell them. Perhaps something similar is at work here? When a studio uses a trailer as a promotional item on a different disc, they'd have to pay less than if they use it as a special feature on the film disc itself?

If that's the case, as a film collector and a fan of trailers, I'd naturally hope that studios would cough up the extra dough and include the trailer. But there would at least be a good financial explanation if it's not included. After all, there probably aren't too many people like me who will get the film on R2 just because it has the trailer and the R1 doesn't - although I do know a few...

Douglas Monce · 02-16-2008, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nic_II

That was my first guess, too. And it does seem that current trailers use more and more music from other films (as well as popular songs) while the trailers from the 80s and 90s often had original music from someone (John Beal, John Eric Alexander etc.) who specialized in composing music for trailers and commercials.

However, that still leaves some questions, such as why the trailer is quite often missing from a new special edition of an older release that had it (to add insult to the injury, the new featurette often includes bits from the trailer with the original trailer music!), why it's often included in R2-release but missing from R1 (the marketplace for an R2-disc is, of course, smaller, but they are often released by smaller companies with less money to spare, so that evens things up a bit) and why it's often available in several other discs as a preview but not on the actual movie disc itself.

Either some studios do indeed think that the consumers don't care for it (and there are lots and lots of those who don't - but many do) and once the disc has been purchased, the trailer has done it's job and doesn't have to be included. Or there are indeed some royalties issues. A composer can give out promos of his work for free to get more work but can't sell them. Perhaps something similar is at work here? When a studio uses a trailer as a promotional item on a different disc, they'd have to pay less than if they use it as a special feature on the film disc itself?

If that's the case, as a film collector and a fan of trailers, I'd naturally hope that studios would cough up the extra dough and include the trailer. But there would at least be a good financial explanation if it's not included. After all, there probably aren't too many people like me who will get the film on R2 just because it has the trailer and the R1 doesn't - although I do know a few...

The only reason I can think of for R2 to have the trailer, is that company isn't contractually obligated to pay residuals to the people who created the music.

Doug

MielR · 02-16-2008, 10:24 PM

Trailers are probably my 2nd favorite extra on a DVD (next to deleted scenes).

I was annoyed that when the anamorphic DVD of The Return of the Pink Panther came out, they left off the trailer that was on the non-anamorphic version.

Ray_R · 02-16-2008, 11:24 PM

That's why there're site like DVDCompare.net

Oh, and having a multi-region DVD player is a plus too. Especially with great PAL-to-NTSC conversion and vice verse.