A trailer is a vehicle that hauls freight. It is also a movie preview or a condensed version of a full film that provides a tantalizing promise of the cinematic experience to come. It takes a great deal of care, creativity and dedication to craft a truly effective trailer. To do so, it’s important to avoid overdoing the special effects and to remember that a trailer isn’t the film itself — it’s an advertisement.
A key to successful trailers is creating an engaging story within the limited time frame of the trailer. The trailer should build excitement and anticipation, beginning with a compelling opening scene and progressing through peaks of action and suspense before ending on a cliffhanger. Effective transitions between scenes are crucial to this process and can help to create a natural and seamless flow.
One of the best ways to capture a viewer’s attention is by selecting some of the film’s most visually captivating shots and then using music that matches the film’s atmosphere and tone. The use of a musical soundtrack is especially helpful when a film is trying to convey specific emotions or evoke particular feelings in the audience. In addition to the use of music, the sound effects used in a trailer are also very important. Whether it’s the distant sounds of battle or ambient futuristic noises, these sound effects are often crucial to establishing the genre of a film and creating a mood in the audience.
It’s important to not reveal too much of the story in a trailer. If the audience feels they’ve already seen most of the film, they may be less inclined to see it. Additionally, a well-crafted trailer should set realistic expectations for the film. This helps prevent disappointment if the audience is let down by a lackluster movie.
While there are many different tools that can be used to edit a trailer, it is the director’s creative vision and the footage he or she has to work with that will ultimately make or break the final trailer. While many directors start their trailers with a specific story in mind, others begin by exploring the possibilities offered by the camera and editing software. To this end, it’s useful to view and analyze the work of other directors in order to learn from their techniques and avoid making some of the common mistakes that can derail a trailer.
In addition to the tips mentioned above, it’s also important to gather feedback from friends and colleagues to make sure the trailer is on target. This is especially important if the filmmaker is using the trailer as a marketing tool to sell tickets for a new film. It’s a good idea to test the trailer in a theater with a small audience before releasing it on the web. This will provide the filmmaker with valuable insights into what the audience is responding to and which aspects of the trailer need to be improved or eliminated.