Two of the most hotly anticipated science-fiction films of the year are The Martian, and of course, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Both of these films are creating hype through a multi-platform advertising campaign. The Martian through short character vignettes uploaded to YouTube under the channel name ARES: live, simulating a real-time countdown to the film and creating realistic multi-media engagement with potential audience members.

The Martian's advertising campaign, however, looks insignificant when compared to the hype-machine that is Star Wars. J. J. Abrams and Bad Robot are notorious for the "mystery box" approach to the production of films - with a behemoth studio like Disney getting involved, the mystery is doubled down and the money put into marketing is multiplied by at least 100.

The trailers are the main element, as well as toys, posters and expos in general. Despite the change in marketing moving into the online era, trailers still remain as the most valuable and anticipated aspect of a film's marketing strategy.

Like a film, there is no perfect formula for a trailer. To learn about the history of film trailers, read the late Dissolve's brief history of movie trailers and this epic history of movie trailers. The always reliable Filmmaker IQ also made their own video about movie trailers:

Clearly, the art of making a trailer is well-trodden territory - so why are the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailers so darn good? They work on several levels: first of all, these are trailers for a sequel to one of the most famous science fiction franchises in history, so their job is simultaneously made easier and harder. It's easier because they know to a certain degree what the audience want to see (or not see), but any slip-up or oversight can turn the rabid fans on them in a heartbeat.

The key element in these trailers are the careful balance of dictating tone whilst revealing virtually no plot-related information. Simplicity and sparsity seemed to be the mantra for the first teaser trailer: out of the one minute of images from the film, approximately twenty-four seconds were a black screen.The other thirty seconds were logos/MPAA ratings.

Seven "scenes" were shown in the first trailer: Finn, BB-8, stormtroopers, Rey, Poe, Kylo Ren and the Millenium Falcon. Only two of those directly relate back to the first six films, stormtroopers and the Millenium Falcon. However, though the other elements in the trailer are foreign, and could have scared away fanboys, the manner in which they were introduced was familiar. Finn was in stormtrooper gear, BB-8 is adorable and clearly R2D2esque, Rey rides on a newly designed but similiarly beaten-down landspeeder, Poe is wooping in delight in an X-Wing and Kylo Ren brings a phenomenally physical performance to an agent of the dark side.

With a new John Williams score in the background, ending in the climactic and classic Star Wars Theme, the tone is set: whilst respecting the original films, with a minimal amount of fan service, the new Star Wars films will be above all else, fresh.

The second trailer works the same formula to give hungry fanboys more information, without divulging any plot details. Again, a crucial detail are John Williams'masterful arrangements of the old Star Wars themes. This mentality behind the marketing has J. J. Abrams written all over it, taking an active part in the creation of these trailer, as they function as "mystery boxes" - something he mentioned in a TED Talk a few years back.

The marketing strategy, clearly led with J. J. Abrams' hand deep in it, works in the same "mystery box" philosophy he always has had with cinema. A great example of this is his original Cloverfield trailer, which told audiences in cinemas nothing, but piqued enough interest that it went viral by word of mouth and on the internet. Abrams proves that the most simple business and marketing strategies do pay off, even if they are fairly high-risk. Since he recently confirmed that he has final cut, I believe that, using the trailers as a guideline, The Force Awakens will be a critically well-received and box-office-breaking blockbuster, worthy of the Star Wars cinema history heritage.

Without further ado, the final trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens:

N.B: A sincere congrats to the casting department for the new Star Wars films, for introducing lesser known actors as the lead characters in a massive franchise like Star Wars. Hamill, Ford and Fischer were the same. John Boyega has a phenomenal face for close-ups, and looks like he could be very charismatic.