Trailers are the Voyager spacecraft of your film – they can promote, glorify, sell, spoil or ruin the movie. They are an essential tool for filmmakers and must be treated with great care. The best trailers are ones that tease viewers about what they’re going to see without giving away too much. They are the film’s hook, drawing audiences in and making them want to watch.
The most common trailer format is a series of short clips from the film with voice-over or music and some text that describes the movie. A narrator introduces the main characters and setting in the story, while some text summarizes the plot and other key details. The trailer may also include a short clip of the film’s theme song or music.
A trailer is typically a few minutes long, and it can be cut in a number of ways. Some trailers are a linear edit of the scenes that will appear in the trailer, while others use creative editing techniques to build a more compelling story.
While shooting your trailer, try to get some establishing shots and any other footage that will help bring the viewer into your world. Also, keep in mind that you are trying to tell a story about the film, so don’t fill your trailer with lots of dialogue that does nothing but explain what is happening on screen.
Once the shooting is complete, it’s time to start editing your trailer. When making your edits, be sure to look for visual variety, particularly in the form of varying shot sizes, angles and depths. Any shots that will help create a sense of movement in your audience should be kept as well. Also, be sure to experiment with montage editing styles to make your trailer more visually interesting and exciting.
The trailer can also be a good opportunity to include some rhetorical questions and abstract ideas. People hate feeling like they are being told what to think, and these types of phrases can help them connect with the movie emotionally while leaving them a bit more intrigued as to what the film is actually about.
When creating your trailer, try to follow a three act structure (or an abridged version of one). Set up your characters and introduce the conflict. This will create tension and compel your audience to come and see what happens.