Papers by Ed Vollans
Introduction to special issue "It's [not Just] in the Game" : the Promotional Context of Video G... more Introduction to special issue "It's [not Just] in the Game" : the Promotional Context of Video Games
From movie-style marketing to business as usual: The use of cinema(tic) in games promotion 1990-1999
Convergence , 2025
This paper uses ProQuest’s Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive (EIMA) to explore the use of t... more This paper uses ProQuest’s Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive (EIMA) to explore the use of the term ‘cinematic’ in games promotion in the decade 1990–1999. It offers a clear platform for linguistically aligned archival studies and charts the use of terminology as it emerged and changed within the period of study. Adding nuance to claims that the 1990s saw promotional convergence between games and film, this paper uses a language-oriented archival methodology to highlight how the notions of industrial convergence may be seen as incremental developments rather than sudden shifts in promotional discourse. In exploring how game promotion used terms associated with and emerging from the cinema, the paper maps the ways in which games promotion solicited and distinguished itself from a competing industry, drawing attention to the complexities of mediatised convergence and public versus industrial discourse. In highlighting and extrapolating key moments within the corpus, this paper identifies several areas of future study and serves as a call for further study into games promotion.
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...
International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics, 2014
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 Voice as sound. Perhaps a new area of interest to the reader, or one of existing importance, Voicing the Cinema aims to ‘give voice’ to areas of study previously ignored, underdeveloped, or otherwi...
Publications, 2016
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 audio-visual 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 its 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.
Launched a Website for the discussion and results of an on going audience research Project explor... more Launched a Website for the discussion and results of an on going audience research Project exploring attitudes to and context of watching promotional trailers
With Fred Greene, and Keith M Johnston.
www.watchingthetrailer.com
Paper tracks the early history of the videogame trailer, using references in the press and other ... more Paper tracks the early history of the videogame trailer, using references in the press and other public archives this paper pin-points the emergence of the videogame trailer and tracks its interactions with the film industry.
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.
Research paper offers a reconsideration of the role of the trailer in contemporary Marketing. It ... more Research paper offers a reconsideration of the role of the trailer in contemporary Marketing. It offers an understanding of trailers grounded in titular vernacular and suggests the development of trailers away from the confines of film, towards broader experiential advertising.
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 by Ed Vollans
Film, or Possibly Theatre [Working paper]
Explores the vernacular trajectory of short audio-visual films promoting stage theatre. Presentat... more Explores the vernacular trajectory of short audio-visual films promoting stage theatre. Presentation suggests a decentralising of 'theatre' and 'theatricality' from a medium to an industry, simultaneously expanding the boundaries of 'film trailers'
Studying Film Trailers: Working with Cinematic “Paratexts” – A Panel Discussion
Wed November 12th 2014
Roundtable panel discussion, With James Deaville, Agnes Malkinson, Daniel... more Wed November 12th 2014
Roundtable panel discussion, With James Deaville, Agnes Malkinson, Daniel Hesford, David Richler.
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?'
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.
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Papers by Ed Vollans
With Fred Greene, and Keith M Johnston.
www.watchingthetrailer.com
Conference Presentations by Ed Vollans
Roundtable panel discussion, With James Deaville, Agnes Malkinson, Daniel Hesford, David Richler.
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.
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?'