Ed Vollans

University of Leicester, Communication, Media and Sociology, Faculty Member

Video Games +39

150 Followers 244 Following 5 Co-authorsTotal Views1 Public Mention

Papers

[Para]Textually Here: Paratexts and Presence in Games

Paratextualizing Games, 2021

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Watching the trailer: Researching the film trailer audience

For over 100 years, the ‘coming attraction’ film trailer has been a key part of film promotion an... more For over 100 years, the ‘coming attraction’ film trailer has been a key part of film promotion and viewing practices (both theatrical and domestic). Despite the prominent role of the trailer within the fabric of popular media, it has rarely been discussed in terms of audience behaviour, beyond limited claims that the viewer is either misled by inaccurate advertising or has become the source of increased prosumer activity. This article therefore offers the first rigorous exploration of the disparate range of audience perspectives on, and responses to, the trailer. We show that trailer viewing can be understood as a consumption practice that is separate from (and sometimes unrelated to) feature film viewing. Analysing data collected from an online survey, we reveal that while the trailer does have informational and prefigurative value to audiences, trailer viewing is also led by criteria that include emotional attachment, cultural value and social expectation. Our analysis disputes th...

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Cross media promotion: entertainment industries and the trailer

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Would I lie to you? Researching audience attitudes to, and uses of, the promotional trailer format

International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics, 2014

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Voicing the cinema: Film music and the integrated soundtrack

Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, 2020

Voice as sound. Perhaps a new area of interest to the reader, or one of existing importance, Voic... more

[Para]Textually Here: Paratexts and Presence in Games How Paratexts Extend the Game's Network

Paratextualising games , 2021

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Think of It as a Trailer… for a Book

Publications, 2016

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Watching the Trailer Project

by Ed Vollans and Keith M. Johnston

Launched a Website for the discussion and results of an on going audience research Project explor... more

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Introduction: " It's [not Just] in the Game " : the Promotional Context of Video Games

by Ed Vollans, Carl Therrien, and Dominic Arsenault

Introduction to special issue "It's [not Just] in the Game" : the Promotional Context of Video G... more

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Kinephanos Special issue It's [Not Just] in the game. Cinematic final proof

Paper tracks the early history of the videogame trailer, using references in the press and other ... more

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Watching the Trailer: Researching the Film Trailer Audience

by Keith M. Johnston, Ed Vollans, and Frederick Greene

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Think of it as a trailer...for a book [Publications 2016, 4(4), 32; doi:10.3390/publications4040032]

The seemingly overnight emergence of a form of promotion known as 'book trailers' shortly after t... more The seemingly overnight emergence of a form of promotion known as 'book trailers' shortly after the turn of the millennium suggests a shift in the marketing and promotional strategies employed within the publishing industry. This article follows the historical development of the audiovisual form known as the 'book trailer' across its history with a view to understanding the form itself. This article uses third party mediation to identify 'book trailers' within the public domain, grounding this work within a broader media and literary history. As such, this article charts the use of the term 'book trailer' and it's competing nomenclature through newspaper archives and contextualises this with antecedent practices, and integrating this with the current literature on the film trailer as part of a wider understanding of the promotional trailer as a cultural entity.

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"So just what is a trailer, anyway?", Arts and the Market, (Vol. 5 Iss: 2, pp.112 - 125)

Research paper offers a reconsideration of the role of the trailer in contemporary Marketing. It ... more

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Would I Lie to You? Researching Audience Attitudes to, and Uses of, the Promotional Trailer Format (2014) International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics (Vol 10 issue.1)

by Ed Vollans, Keith M. Johnston, and Frederick Greene

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Ed Vollans, Tim Vollans, Lisa Marriott, "Film Production Tax Incentives: The 'Hobbit Law' coming to a Jurisdiction near You!" In Kierkegaard, S.M (Ed) Law Across Nations: Governance, Policy & Statutes (2011: 526-538)

Conference Presentations

Film, or Possibly Theatre [Working paper]

Explores the vernacular trajectory of short audio-visual films promoting stage theatre. Presentat... more

Studying Film Trailers: Working with Cinematic “Paratexts” – A Panel Discussion

Wed November 12th 2014 Roundtable panel discussion, With James Deaville, Agnes Malkinson, Daniel... more

Trailers or Adverts: Shifting Boundaries of Definition (2014) Presented at the Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association, Bournemouth University; 8-10th January.

The promotional trailer is often considered as a 'free sample' comprising a montage of sequences ... more The promotional trailer is often considered as a 'free sample' comprising a montage of sequences from a forthcoming narrative. Indeed, reviews of the existing literature suggest a dominant understanding of the trailer is one of a text aesthetically and conceptually distinct from other forms of audio-visual advertising. Despite sharing goals, there remains a distinction based around 'free sample' aesthetics that only applies to trailers. However, recent application of the term 'trailer' to videogame promotion blurs this distinction, operating both an advertising and trailer aesthetic.

This paper identifies two distinct aesthetic trends in promotional videogame trailers: the use of an 'advertising' aesthetic to promote videogame consoles, and the use of a 'trailer' aesthetic for the promotion of games themselves. It then considers the videogame trailer as an entity that uses both 'advert' and 'trailer' aesthetics to promote goods and suggests that the term 'trailer' may be inappropriate as a label for audio-visual promotion. Challenging the conceptual distinction between advertising and trailer promotion, this paper works towards a new understanding of the trailer in the contemporary entertainment industries and the impact this may have on advertising regulation.

Trailers are following me: studying contemporary 'trailers' (2013) Presented and recorded at Media Mutations 5, Bologna, Italy; 21st May.

For over a century the film industry has used promotional trailers; during this time other forms ... more For over a century the film industry has used promotional trailers; during this time other forms of 'trailers', working for different industries have graced the screen pushing into crisis the original definition of the trailer as being promotion for film. Currently, the known literature demonstrates a persistent emphasis on the film trailer and specifically its function and form as a paratext, often overlooking that which a trailer is conceptually, and could be in a different context.
Additionally, academia's relative reluctance to engage with promotional ephemera has resulted in a disconnection between the academic understanding of the (primarily film) trailer, and the 'trailers' that now circulate within the public domain. This paper outlines and critiques the emergence of different types of 'trailers' as labelled within three UK Newspaper websites and identifies the use of 'trailers' for the promotion of products from publishing, theatre, and the videogame industries. Through highlighting trends in each of these in turn it is suggested that using third party mediators in this manner provides a greater understanding of that which a trailer is and could be whilst reducing fallacy on the part of the researcher. Grounding these trailers in a socio-historical context, the paper suggests an overall shift in the use of the term in the public domain that occurs specifically between the 1990s and 2010s, and observes a discrepancy between academic conceptualisations of the trailer and the types of trailer currently circulating. Developing a framework from the known literature, this paper uses book, theatre and videogame 'trailers' as counterpoints to interrogate that which a trailer is implicitly considered to be. Engaging with these newer forms of the trailer provides an empirically grounded framework from which to explore the question: 'what is unique to the trailer overall and how should it be defined in light of the trailer's expansion into other industries?'

Publisher, players, Playwrights and Promotion (Working Draft) (2013) Presented at the Titles, Teasers and Trailers Conferences, University of Edinburgh; 22-23rd April.

For over a century the film industry has used promotional trailers; during this time other forms ... more For over a century the film industry has used promotional trailers; during this time other forms of 'trailers', working for different industries have graced the screen pushing into crisis the original definition of the trailer as being promotion for film. The known literature demonstrates a persistent emphasis on the film trailer, specifically its function and form, often overlooking that which a trailer is conceptually, and could be in a different context. Additionally, academia's relative reluctance to engage with promotional ephemera has resulted in a disconnection between the academic understanding of the (primarily film) trailer, and the 'trailers' that now circulate within the public domain. This paper outlines and critiques the emergence of different types of 'trailers' as labelled within three UK Newspaper websites and identifies the use of 'trailers' for the promotion of products from publishing, theatre, and the videogame industries. Through highlighting trends in each of these in turn it is suggested that using third party mediators in this manner provides a greater understanding of that which a trailer is and could be whilst reducing fallacy on the part of the researcher. Grounding these trailers in a socio-historical context, the paper suggests an overall shift in the use of the term in the public domain that occurs specifically between the 1990s and 2010s, and observes a discrepancy between academic conceptualisations of the trailer and the types of trailer currently circulating. Developing a framework from the known literature, this paper uses book, theatre and videogame 'trailers' as counterpoints to interrogate that which a trailer is implicitly considered to be. Engaging with these newer forms of the trailer provides an empirically grounded framework from which to explore the question: 'what is unique to the trailer overall and how should it be defined in light of the trailer's expansion into other industries?'

[Para]Textually Here: Paratexts and Presence in Games

Paratextualizing Games, 2021

Download

Watching the trailer: Researching the film trailer audience

Download

Cross media promotion: entertainment industries and the trailer

Download

Would I lie to you? Researching audience attitudes to, and uses of, the promotional trailer format

International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics, 2014

Download

Voicing the cinema: Film music and the integrated soundtrack

Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, 2020

Voice as sound. Perhaps a new area of interest to the reader, or one of existing importance, Voic... more

[Para]Textually Here: Paratexts and Presence in Games How Paratexts Extend the Game's Network

Paratextualising games , 2021

Download

Think of It as a Trailer… for a Book

Publications, 2016

Download

Watching the Trailer Project

by Ed Vollans and Keith M. Johnston

Launched a Website for the discussion and results of an on going audience research Project explor... more

Download

Introduction: " It's [not Just] in the Game " : the Promotional Context of Video Games

by Ed Vollans, Carl Therrien, and Dominic Arsenault

Introduction to special issue "It's [not Just] in the Game" : the Promotional Context of Video G... more

Download

Kinephanos Special issue It's [Not Just] in the game. Cinematic final proof

Paper tracks the early history of the videogame trailer, using references in the press and other ... more

Download

Watching the Trailer: Researching the Film Trailer Audience

by Keith M. Johnston, Ed Vollans, and Frederick Greene

Download

Think of it as a trailer...for a book [Publications 2016, 4(4), 32; doi:10.3390/publications4040032]

Download

"So just what is a trailer, anyway?", Arts and the Market, (Vol. 5 Iss: 2, pp.112 - 125)

Research paper offers a reconsideration of the role of the trailer in contemporary Marketing. It ... more

Download

Would I Lie to You? Researching Audience Attitudes to, and Uses of, the Promotional Trailer Format (2014) International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics (Vol 10 issue.1)

by Ed Vollans, Keith M. Johnston, and Frederick Greene

Download

Film, or Possibly Theatre [Working paper]

Explores the vernacular trajectory of short audio-visual films promoting stage theatre. Presentat... more

Studying Film Trailers: Working with Cinematic “Paratexts” – A Panel Discussion

Wed November 12th 2014 Roundtable panel discussion, With James Deaville, Agnes Malkinson, Daniel... more

Trailers or Adverts: Shifting Boundaries of Definition (2014) Presented at the Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association, Bournemouth University; 8-10th January.

Trailers are following me: studying contemporary 'trailers' (2013) Presented and recorded at Media Mutations 5, Bologna, Italy; 21st May.

Publisher, players, Playwrights and Promotion (Working Draft) (2013) Presented at the Titles, Teasers and Trailers Conferences, University of Edinburgh; 22-23rd April.

For over a century the film industry has used promotional trailers; during this time other forms ... more For over a century the film industry has used promotional trailers; during this time other forms of 'trailers', working for different industries have graced the screen pushing into crisis the original definition of the trailer as being promotion for film. The known literature demonstrates a persistent emphasis on the film trailer, specifically its function and form, often overlooking that which a trailer is conceptually, and could be in a different context. Additionally, academia's relative reluctance to engage with promotional ephemera has resulted in a disconnection between the academic understanding of the (primarily film) trailer, and the 'trailers' that now circulate within the public domain. This paper outlines and critiques the emergence of different types of 'trailers' as labelled within three UK Newspaper websites and identifies the use of 'trailers' for the promotion of products from publishing, theatre, and the videogame industries. Through highlighting trends in each of these in turn it is suggested that using third party mediators in this manner provides a greater understanding of that which a trailer is and could be whilst reducing fallacy on the part of the researcher. Grounding these trailers in a socio-historical context, the paper suggests an overall shift in the use of the term in the public domain that occurs specifically between the 1990s and 2010s, and observes a discrepancy between academic conceptualisations of the trailer and the types of trailer currently circulating. Developing a framework from the known literature, this paper uses book, theatre and videogame 'trailers' as counterpoints to interrogate that which a trailer is implicitly considered to be. Engaging with these newer forms of the trailer provides an empirically grounded framework from which to explore the question: 'what is unique to the trailer overall and how should it be defined in light of the trailer's expansion into other industries?'

The Once and Future Trailer: Reflection on the discourse so far (2012) Selling the Screen Study Day, University of East Anglia; 7th November .

Considering Trailer Paratexts as a Narrative Of Experience (2012) presented at the Contemporary Screen Narratives conference, University of Nottingham; 17th May.

Film Production Tax Incentives: the 'Hobbit Law' coming to a jurisdiction near you! (2011) with Tim Vollans, Coventry University, Lisa Marriott University of Wellington, Victoria, and Ed Vollans, University of East Anglia, UK. (2011) LSPI Conference Nicosia, Cyprus; 11-15th November.

Film Production Tax Incentives: the Hobbit Law (working paper) (2011), With Tim Vollans, and Lisa Marriot. Presented at the 20th Annual Tax Research Network Conference, Coventry University; 8-9th September.

Running hard to keep still: realistic representations in statutory interpretation. A Lesson from Australia? (2009) Ed Vollans, with Coventry Business School, Law, Literature & Film Symposium, University of Plymouth; 4th September.

Book Trailers and the digital (para)text

Trailers as experiential product promotion

The theatre trailer, an emergent promotional tool

The videogame industry and the adoption of the film trailer

Distribution and Legacies_ Engagement and Impact – PhD Life (Blog post)

PhD Life

Many of us are unaware of the finer distinctions between Engagement and Impact, but Ed Vollans be... more

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Animating the Written (2013), Animation Studies 2.0

Titles Teasers and Credit Sequences: engaging with Digital Paratexts.

Promotional paratexts surround a text shaping audience interaction with it through offering a fra... more Promotional paratexts surround a text shaping audience interaction with it through offering a frame of engagement, signifying its existence its beginning and end. A text may not exist without paratexts; yet despite their significance, studies of paratexts are rooted in Genette's analysis of literature and publishing. This panel offers a series of case studies interrogating audio-visual paratexts across the film and television industries; exploring how surrounding texts are constructed, function, and in doing so offers a comparison between paratextual forms often overlooked by academia. Considering audio and visual components equally, this panel offers a long overdue discussion of audio-visual paratexts as unique tools of industrial and aesthetic practices; exploring the links and similarities between them, while simultaneously offering frameworks for future study.

Knowing your audience, selling your product: Branding and Managing Entertainment

Considerations of promotional materials are increasing, yet there remains a comparative dearth of... more Considerations of promotional materials are increasing, yet there remains a comparative dearth of research in this area, issues of visual aesthetics often overpower considerations of functionality in consumer-producer interaction. This panel addresses this by exploring the manner in which promotion shapes interaction with an entertainment commodity. Each paper presents a case study of a different promotional form, and uses this to discuss the ways in which product management functions across the entertainment industries both on and off screen. Overall, the panel reconsiders the manner in which the entertainment industries sell themselves and their products in the past, present and future.

MeCCSA Postgraduate Network Conference, (2013) University of East Anglia; July 2-3rd.

This year’s conference is designed to explore the ways in which postgraduates can proactively and... more This year’s conference is designed to explore the ways in which postgraduates can proactively and positively address their professional development and career prospects. The conference is themed around innovation and development with a strong focus on training and methods of boosting employability. Training workshops are open to all attendees and will include sessions on teaching, careers and more. Plenary sessions and roundtable discussions on the themes of innovation and professional development will be led by Martin Barker (UEA), Iain Robert Smith (Roehampton), Sanna Inthorn (UEA), Wendy Russell (BFI) and Natalie Fenton (Goldsmiths).

Selling the Screen; UEA Study Day (2012); with Dr Jonathon Wroot, and Dr Keith M. Johnston. University of East Anglia; 7th November

by Ed Vollans and Jonathan Wroot

FTV Study Day CFP: "Selling The Screen": Promotional Materials and Popular Culture Wednesday ... more FTV Study Day CFP:
"Selling The Screen": Promotional Materials and Popular Culture

Wednesday 7th Nov 2012

Promotional materials are often the first point of contact for audiences when new entertainment media, films, television programmes are announced, or when those media industries attempt to build up anticipation for a forthcoming product. Just think about how many trailers, TV promos, posters, website adverts etc. you see in a week, compared to the number of full films or TV shows you see in the same period. Yet despite their prominence and their ubiquity within popular culture, such materials remain an underrated, under-theorised and often ignored resource within the wider field of Film, Television and Media studies.

This Study Day seeks to rehabilitate and reclaim the study of promotional materials in their many varied forms: from posters to trailers, happy meals to press conferences. Promotional materials allow companies in disparate media industries to sell individual shows, films, genres and stars; while such materials have also been embraced by fan communities who regularly re-produce, replicate and/or spoof them. Whether official or unofficial these promotional materials can offer unique perspectives on historical trends and events, even providing glimpses of texts that no longer or have never existed.

Suggested topics for this Study Day may include:
• The role of stars and/or genre in promotional materials
• The relationship between fan communities and promotional materials
• Promotional materials in relation to their product
• Promotional trends within different media industries / in different national contexts
• The impact of the ‘digital turn’ and web 2.0 on promotional materials
• The treatment (and theorisation) of promotional materials within academia
• Audience and promotion: how are audiences imagined by promotional materials, and/or what use do audiences make of such materials?
• Selling to different audiences: what roles do debates around gender or national identity play within promotional materials?
• Promotional materials and adaptation theory

Tax Research Network Doctoral Colloquium, Coventry University (2011) September

Cross media promotion: entertainment industries and the trailer. [Doctoral thesis]

The turn of the millennium bore witness to a phenomenon: the use of promotion trailers for a vari... more The turn of the millennium bore witness to a phenomenon: the use of promotion trailers for a variety of products. Both stage theatre and the publishing industries came under the media spotlight for using trailers to promote their wares throwing into sharp contrast the normativity of film trailers. Despite increased academic study of the film trailer, few have considered the trailer outside the industrial context of the film industry. Coupled with this trend in focus, is the tendency within the literature to suggest that the trailer exists as a unique form because they exist in the same medium as the product they promote. Added to this is the tendency to rely on an a priori definition that is not explored fully.
By way of intervention with these key issues, this thesis considers the aesthetics and emergence of the trailer in entertainment industries other than film and serves as a counterpoint to the cinema centric imbalance within the study of the trailer. Using a corpus of audiovisual texts identified as trailers through UK press websites, this thesis draws from the popular understanding of the trailer in order to explore the historical and industrial trajectory of these other forms of trailer. Taking the form of case studies organised by the industry in which the trailer's product operates this thesis explores the historical context in which the trailer emerged and the aesthetic trends at work in the current trailer therein. In exploring both the history and the aesthetic representation of the trailer in the industry this thesis moves the study of trailers away from repetitive debates surrounding the film industry and opens up the possibility of trailers as a cultural phenomenon and simultaneous marketing trend.
Through providing a grounded understanding of the trailer's use within contemporary entertainment industries, the thesis argues that the term 'trailer' has moved beyond advertising for films. It suggests the trailer has come to typify promotion for any product that is at its core, is an experience. In doing so thesis presents a much-needed counterpoint and challenge to cinema-centric analysis of the trailer.

Ed Vollans

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