A trailer is a short, often humorously or dramatic video that promotes a film. It typically appears before the feature presentation at a theater or on television and is used to attract audience interest and excitement for a film. A trailer is also the name of a type of vehicle for transporting large loads.
A modern trailer usually includes a combination of visual effects, music and sound clips from the film, and often uses voice-over narration or an actor to describe the story. Most trailers are created using computer programs that help the filmmaker decide what visual elements are most important. A trailer should encapsulate the film’s themes and tone, and should use sound to convey a sense of action and tension. It is common for trailers to show several different shots of a scene, and to cut together an exciting montage.
While the earliest trailers were usually a short, silent clip of text with the title of the film, modern digital technology has enabled producers to create a much more comprehensive preview for films. This is especially true for blockbuster releases, which may have multiple trailers. During the early 20th century, New York producer Herman Robbins realized the potential of a dedicated trailer market. Without the permission of movie studios, he began splicing film stills and titles into trailers which he sold to theater chains. Eventually, he formed the National Screen Service and became a major force in movie marketing.
Due to the brevity of most trailers, music and scoring are a critical part of their creation. As a result, many modern trailers are composed from cover versions of popular songs. Sanaz Lavaedian, senior vice president of trailer company Mocean, notes that the economic pressures of the music industry have made musicians more open to letting their songs be used in this way. This has led to a growing trend in the trailer industry of “trailerization,” where original music is reworked and rearranged specifically for the purpose of promoting movies.
Because of the importance of the film’s tone, a voice-over can also be a key element in the creation of a successful trailer. If done well, the voice-over can convey a sense of action and anticipation, while also enticing viewers to see the film. The choice of which words to enunciate is particularly important, and it can be helpful to study the voices of other trailers for similar films in order to get an idea of how the voice-over should be delivered.
Adding to the sense of drama and tension, it is common for trailers to show scenes not in the final film. This can be used for both comedic effect (as in Nicolas Winding Refn’s 2012 trailer for Drive), or to heighten the drama of a particular scene, as Hitchcock did with his infamous shower scene in Psycho. It is also not uncommon to change the order of dialogue, or to add music that is not in the film itself, to achieve a specific emotional impact.