A trailer is a short video that gives audiences a taste of what a film or television show is about. They can help create buzz about a movie and are often used as a marketing tool to lure audiences into theaters or homes. But, it is no easy task to make a trailer that engages viewers and draws them into a story. It requires the same basic storytelling principles that engage viewers of films and TV shows, but the pressure is on even more because trailers are watched under a microscope, every split second scrutinized for what it can offer.
In the world of filmmaking, trailers are generally made using an editing program such as iMovie or Adobe Premiere. These programs are designed to give filmmakers the tools to tell their stories, but the creativity and the story itself will be what makes a trailer successful. So, it is important to have a solid story to tell, and then find the right footage and music to go with that story.
If you are working on a documentary and need ideas about how to shoot your trailer, try watching other documentary trailers. This will give you an idea of how to structure your scenes, what shots catch the audience’s attention, and what visuals can best complement your story. Watch for things such as the use of establishing shots, how visuals are framed, and the way the music builds up and crescendoes.
Once you have shot your documentary, and it has been edited down to a three or four minute edit, you are ready for the next step, making the trailer. This will require a great deal of patience and creativity because you will have to figure out how to fit all the pieces together. It is a good idea to follow a basic three-act structure in the trailer, however abridged, of establishing characters, introducing conflict or complications, and then raising the stakes before finally giving the climax away.
When you are creating your trailer, keep in mind that the trailer will be seen on a small screen, and that this will require a lot of zooming to view the details. It is a good idea to test your trailer on various screen sizes before you are done editing to ensure that everything will be viewable properly.
While this trailer is not bad, it is missing some key elements. The main problem is that the dialogue and the visuals are completely disconnected. The dialogue gives us a sense of what the film is about, but it doesn’t show us anything that will keep us engaged in the action sequences. In addition, the use of repetitive sounds (car horns, bird chirping) is a bit over the top. If you are going to be using these types of sounds, be sure to limit them in the trailer and use them only where they will really amplify the impact of the scene. This will also limit their annoyance factor for the viewer.