The trailer is your chance to tell your audience a quick and compelling story about your product or project. It should get them interested in your work, and it should encourage them to take action. A great trailer will include a compelling opening, a cliffhanger, and a call to action.
Having a trailer that is well-made is crucial for making sure your film gets made, and it’s also essential to help get audiences interested in your movie or project. However, many filmmakers don’t know how to make a trailer that stands out from the crowd and that engages their audience. Here are some tips for preparing your trailer:
A good first step is to write a script, which will give you a general outline of what you want to do in the film or video. It can be as simple as a short outline or could be an entire script, but it’s always best to start with a solid outline to help guide you in your production.
Once you have a script, you need to decide on the format of your trailer and how it will be cut together. This is where a lot of creativity can happen and can result in a more effective and engaging trailer.
Editing your trailer is a crucial part of the process and can make or break a trailer. Whether you’re using a video editor or hand-cutting clips on your laptop, you should make sure that the editing is done in a way that will make your trailer as eye-catching as possible.
Music is key to a great trailer and should match the mood you’re trying to portray in your film. The wrong piece of music can destroy the mood and ruin the experience for your audience. This is why it’s important to listen to what other composers have done before you try to write your own music for the trailer.
Characters are an integral part of any trailer and should be introduced to the audience early on. Audiences want to feel empathy for the characters in a film and to understand what is at stake for them in the story, so include shots that show expressions and emotions from the characters in your trailer.
If you have a trailer that is primarily voiceover, use the space on the screen to introduce your characters by writing their names or identifying them as NARRATORS with an empty line and tabs over five times. This will make it easier for viewers to read the dialogue and identify characters as they’re speaking.
A trailer can also contain press quotes from reputable sources, which can add social proof to your project. People like to hear positive feedback, and if your trailer includes a quote from a reputable publication or website, it’s more likely that someone will see it and be motivated to read the article.
In addition, a trailer can also include a series of scenes that are not directly related to the film. This can be a great opportunity to showcase your talents as an artist or to highlight a particular scene in the movie that is important for the audience to see. It can also be a good way to tease viewers into watching the rest of your film or video and it can be an easy way to attract viewers to your project by sharing it on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.