A movie trailer is like a miniature version of the film, designed to pique your interest in a story, characters and a film. It needs to take you on a journey just like the film, evoking specific emotions (in this case fear, excitement, happiness, anticipation). But it also has to entice you with a bit of mystery, holding back enough to keep you wanting more. And that’s not easy to do in two minutes and thirty seconds!
Trailers are an extremely powerful tool, a Voyager spacecraft of your movie that is sent out into the void to bring you back — or at least convince you to spend your hard-earned money to see your film. That’s why it’s so important to put care and thought into each and every one.
Visuals: Trailers use cinematography, visual effects and editing to give you a taste of the production quality of the film, and to set the tone of the movie.
Tagline: A catchy, memorable phrase that sums up the movie in a few words or less. Experiment with language techniques – rhyme, alliteration, word play – to find the one that best captures your film’s tone. And don’t forget to test it out on friends, family and focus groups!
Action: Trailers use fast paced action sequences to engage audiences and build excitement. They can also use slow, deliberate, and tense moments to add tension.
Characters: Trailers usually introduce the main character and his/her main conflict. They might also reveal a few other key players and some of the bigger plot points. They often rely on misdirection to keep you interested, showing scenes or lines that are deliberately misleading to encourage curiosity and to prevent the audience from being able to figure out what’s really going on.
Story: Trailers transport audiences beyond the confines of a genre, offering a more nuanced and multidimensional portrayal of characters compared to the flat stereotypes typically seen in genre films. They also tend to reveal a bit of the plot intricacies and character goals, allowing the audience to empathize with the characters and see the story from their point of view.
Revealing Just Enough: To hook the audience, trailers must provide a teaser of what’s in store, revealing some essential elements and introducing key characters. However, they must be careful not to spoil the film by revealing too much, as it can be frustrating to watch a trailer that gives away too many surprises.
Movie trailers used to be shown after the feature film, but when people started leaving after watching them, they were moved to before the movie. They are an integral part of a film’s marketing campaign, and the single most important rule for creating them is: DON’T SPOIL YOUR MOVIE!