Comparison of the 2012 Teaser Trailer and the Official Trailer

The teaser trailer for 2012 is significantly shorter than the official trailer. It uses one big budget scene to hook the audience and build hype months before the films release. The trailer, on the other hand, explains more parts of the story to keep audiences intrigued as the release date draws closer.
Another difference between the two trailers is the amount that’s shown. In the teaser only the one scene of the Tibetan monastery’s destruction is shown, it shows the viewer just a fragment of the effects the movie will include. The trailer is different however because it shows a lot of the big budget effects from the movie, including the one from the teaser. Big budget effects are something Roland Emmerich has become famous for with his previous summer blockbusters, Godzilla and The Day After Tomorrow.
Another difference between the trailers is the use of a montage in the official trailer. It helps to show more scenes in a limited space and with the use of an effective soundtrack, helps to create tension and suspense.
The number of shots in each is also different. The teaser uses only 5 or 6 shots which only use different angles of the same setting. The trailer uses a lot of different shots but also uses cuts to move between the different settings of the film. By doing this the audience see the destruction isn’t isolated to the monastery in the teaser but worldwide.
A number of scenes in the trailer centre around one family this shows that the movie will probably have a main story but also one or several sub-plots. This is something that was not shown in the teaser.