Convoy

A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support. It may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas. Arriving at the scene of a major emergency with a well-ordered unit and intact command structure can be another motivation.

Naval convoys

Age of sail

Naval convoys have been in use for centuries, with examples of merchant ships traveling under naval protection dating to the 12th century. The use of organized naval convoys dates from when ships began to be separated into specialist classes and national navies were established.

By the French Revolutionary Wars of the late 18th century, effective naval convoy tactics had been developed to ward off pirates and privateers. Some convoys contained several hundred merchant ships. The most enduring system of convoys were the Spanish treasure fleets, that sailed from the 1520s until 1790.

Convoy (TV series)

Convoy is a 13-episode American television show set during World War II that appeared on NBC for the 1965–1966 television season.

The series starred John Gavin as Commander Dan Talbot of the US Navy destroyer escort DD-181 and John Larch as civilian merchant Captain Ben Foster of the cargo ship Flagship, who were involved with the convoy ships and their escorts that help to transport food, supplies and war materials across the Atlantic during the Battle of the Atlantic.

The series also featured Linden Chiles as Steve Kirk and James T. Callahan, formerly of ABC's Wendy and Me sitcom, in the role of Lieutenant O'Connell. Among the guest stars were Dennis Hopper, Jack Palance, Barbara Rush, James Doohan, Leslie Nielsen, Horst Ebersberg, Harold Gould, and Jeremy Slate.

Production

A pilot was announced in late 1964.

NBC was worried about getting women into the series but research revealed that hundreds of females travelled in convoys. "The opportunity to exploit romance as well as action is obviously evident, and believe me we are going to take advantage of it," said writer-producer Frank Price.

Convoy (1978 film)

Convoy is a 1978 action film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw, Ernest Borgnine and Burt Young. The movie is based on the 1975 country and western novelty song "Convoy" by C.W. McCall and Chip Davis. The film was made when the CB Radio/trucking craze was at its peak in the United States, and followed the similarly themed films White Line Fever (1975) and Smokey and the Bandit (1977), and the television series Movin' On (1974).

Plot

In the Arizona desert, truck driver Martin "Rubber Duck" Penwald is passed by a woman in a Jaguar E-Type, which leads to an encounter with a sheriff's deputy. Proceeding on his way, Rubber Duck runs into fellow truck drivers Pig Pen/Love Machine and Spider Mike, when another "trucker" informs them over the C.B. that they are okay to increase their speed. The "trucker" turns out to be cold county Sheriff "Dirty Lyle" Wallace, a long-time nemesis of the Duck, who extorts them for $70 each.

The truckers head on to Rafael's Glide-In where The Duck's sometime girlfriend, Violet, works as a waitress. Melissa, the driver of the Jaguar, is also there; the car broke down and she had to sell it and some of her belongings in an effort to leave Arizona, as she's due in Dallas for a job. The Duck offers Melissa a ride; Violet is unimpressed and ushers him away to give him a special birthday present. While away, Wallace shows up at the Glide-In checking plates. Pig Pen and Spider Mike start making fun of Wallace over the diner's base-station CB radio, leading to Wallace attempting to arrest Spider Mike for "vagrancy".

Trailer (promotion)

A trailer (also known as a preview or coming attraction) is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the theater after the films ended, but the name has stuck. Trailers are now shown before the film (or the A-movie in a double feature) begins.

Movie trailers have now become popular on DVDs and Blu-rays, as well as on the Internet and mobile devices. Of some 10 billion videos watched online annually, film trailers rank third, after news and user-created video. The trailer format has also been adopted as a promotional tool for television shows, video games, books, and theatrical events/concerts.

History

The first trailer shown in a U.S. film theater was in November 1913, when Nils Granlund, the advertising manager for the Marcus Loew theater chain, produced a short promotional film for the musical The Pleasure Seekers, opening at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway. Loew adopted the practice, which was reported in a wire service story carried by the Lincoln, Nebraska Daily Star, describing it as "an entirely new and unique stunt", and that "moving pictures of the rehearsals and other incidents connected with the production will be sent out in advance of the show, to be presented to the Loew’s picture houses and will take the place of much of the bill board advertising". Granlund was also first to introduce trailer material for an upcoming motion picture, using a slide technique to promote an upcoming film featuring Charlie Chaplin at Loew's Seventh Avenue Theatre in Harlem in 1914.

Trailer music

Trailer music (a subset of production music) is the background music used for film previews, which is not always from the film's soundtrack. The purpose of this music is to complement, support and integrate the sales messaging of the mini-movie that is a film trailer. Because the score for a movie is usually composed after the film is finished (which is much after trailers are released), a trailer will incorporate music from other sources. Sometimes music from other successful films or hit songs is used as a subconscious tie-in method.

The music used in the trailer may be (or may have suggestive derivatives from):

Trailer (album)

Trailer is a mini album by the band Ash featuring their first three singles. An expanded edition also includes 4 b-sides. The album was released in October, 1994 through Infectious Records. The band considered it a "trailer" for their future debut album proper, and named it accordingly.

"Uncle Pat" was featured in a Heineken advert, which helped to raise the profile of the band, both in Ireland and Britain.

The name refers to movie trailers, so as a visual pun, the cover of the album shows a toppled truck trailer.

The 'noise' at the end of the track "Get Out", when reversed, slowed down and the pitch altered, is a low quality demo version of the song "Intense Thing". This track wasn't discovered until June 2006 by 2 fans experimenting around with running different effects through Ash songs.

An early rare version of this album was released with a bonus John Peel Sessions 7" with the tracks:

On 6 June 1995 Trailer was released in the United States.