Trailers are the Voyager spacecraft of the media world – they are what sends a film out into the ether, and what audiences will see (or hear) of it before they decide whether to invest their time. It’s a highly condensed version of the film, and it has to work hard to tell the story in such a way that it is interesting and appealing. Whether or not a trailer is successful at doing this, it can be very impressive on technical terms and is a great way to showcase a film’s style.
This trailer doesn’t do a lot to distinguish itself from the crowd, other than the slick editing. But it does have some cool visuals and a couple of nice music cues. In particular, this trailer pioneered the era-defining trend of using, for lack of a better term, the classic “bwaahhhh” sound to accentuate certain shots. It’s a simple but effective way to give a movie some extra dramatic weight, and it’s now a common trailer element.
The rest of the trailer is pretty standard fare. It starts off with a voice-over that introduces the concept of the film, which is then followed by a series of scenes from the movie. Usually these are edited together in such a way that the viewer gets a sense of the storyline, and if it’s a good trailer it will make viewers want to go out and see the full film.
Often the movie will have a cast run that lists the names of the actors in the film, and most trailers also feature a production logo. Lastly, many trailers end with a title card that shows the name of the film.
In the modern day, there are dozens of companies that specialize in the creation of trailers. They may be based in Los Angeles or New York, and they edit the film’s rushes or dailies into a trailer before it is sent out for distribution. If they do a good job, it can help the film’s box office and critical reception.
When creating a trailer, the most important thing is to be unique and stand out from the crowd. It isn’t enough to just create a cool editing style, or use a catchy music cue – you have to find the elements that really give your movie its own flavor and make it feel like something different from all of the other films that are out there. Hopefully this article will have given you some ideas about how to do that, and help you create a trailer that really impresses. Good luck!