It's important to have extracts from the documentary so that the audience will want to watch it. By having elements of the documentary within the trailer, it makes the trail more interesting to listen to.
Music
Every radio trail has music to make it more interesting and appealing to listen to.
By having music, I can create atmosphere easily; since my documentary is about technology, I can use techno music behind the voiceover in order to be appropriate to the genre.
Voice-over
The voice-over is what conveys the information from the producer to the reader. It is absolutely essential and is not an option.
By using persuasive language, I can dominate my audience through my role as a voice-over and persuade them to watch the documentary through a mixture of facts and rhetorical language.
Facts
Facts can be used to shock the audience; this can actually surprise the audience and cause them to gain interest in the topic of the documentary and therefore decide to watch it.
By only using a sample of your facts from your range, you can tempt the audience with snippets of information, which successfully acts as a persuasion tool and a 'taster' to the real thing.
LENGTH OF OUR RADIO TRAILER...
30
SECONDS
Reasons for a 30 second trail...
During my analysis of radio trails, I found that 1 minute was too long for a radio trail.
Therefore, I felt that 30 seconds would be long enough to maintain interest whilst still conveying enough information about the documentary.