Posters are fine, good buzz and press always help, but nothing gets an audience more hyped to see a film than a great trailer. I love movie trailers—they’re just plain cool. They’re my favorite part of going to the theater, and I never miss them. The truth of the matter is that you really don’t need a trailer to take a film to a festival. Creating a trailer can be a costly distraction when the real order of business should be to make the best film possible. Consider very seriously how setting time aside to make a trailer may have an impact on everything else you have to do to prepare for your festival debut. My advice is to put making a trailer at the very bottom of your “to do” list.
However, if you have the luxury of time and some extra money to invest in a trailer, it becomes yet another helpful tool to aid in selling your movie. Trailers posted on the Web get a lot of attention these days. In fact, many festivals (like SXSW and the Los Angeles Film Festival) stream trailers from their programs onto their websites. This exposes a bit of your film to tens of thousands of people, whetting their appetite before your festival premiere. In addition, the trailer can be used to get distributors in seats. While I recommend that you never send your film on DVD or video to a distributor, a copy of an effective trailer is yet another way to get a distributor or a producer’s rep interested in attending a screening. It’s hard to get them to sit still for ninety minutes, but two minutes of their time is not a lot to ask. In addition, a powerful teaser assists in spelling out your movie’s selling points and explaining how exactly a distributor may market the film to a wider audience.
To learn about trailers, I spoke with one of the best in the business. Dave Parker is an award-winning, veteran trailer editor and has been toiling in the industry for the last fifteen years. Currently employed at Seismic Productions, he has worked on countless campaigns for everything from big Hollywood movies to independent film projects, including the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I met with Dave, who broke down for me exactly what makes an effective movie trailer.
Employ quick cuts.
If you’ve got some cool shots and a really simple-minded story, cut each shot down to about a third of a second and slap on some pumping driving music. The unfortunate reality is that often style wins over substance.
Use graphics that grab you.
Decent graphics are a plus. Be creative and make an impressive title treatment that is different from your main title.
Original music is important.
Be careful with the music you use. There are plenty of affordable tracks from companies that supply music specifically for trailers. Be sure to use music that is legally cleared. Of course, there is another way. For the purposes of the trailer only, if you want music that sounds similar to a certain movie soundtrack to capture a particular mood, have an original song or piece of music composed. The secret is this: If you want to blatantly rip off a tune, remember to change every seventh note. By changing the tune slightly, you can avoid being sued.
Tell the story (but don’t ruin it).
If you’ve got a great story, don’t be afraid to spell it out. It doesn’t hurt to do a little handholding. A narrator can go a long way toward dramatizing the story in broad strokes. Also, don’t tell the whole story. Leave them wanting more.
Use positive reviews.
If the film has gotten early positive reviews from notable critics or credible press outlets, use them. Big, bold quotes in a white typeface against a black background look impressive when cut quickly into the trailer. Generally, these are most effectively used near the end, just before the title screen. Be sure to clear the use of these quotes from the outlets that provided them.
Great sound is critical.
Spend time on the sound mix. If you have a slight problem understanding what your actor said, then you can bet your ass that the guy looking at your trailer doesn’t have a clue. Also, don’t be afraid to record dialogue for the trailer only, to clarify the story. In The Negotiator trailer, Kevin Spacey says, “They’re gonna have to deal with both of us!” Spacey looped that line for the trailer only and never said anything like that in the finished feature. Imagine that! Lying in advertising! Hard to believe, huh?
Star power goes a long way.
If your film has a recognizable star, make sure to feature your star very prominently. Even if you’ve got only one celebrity in a cameo, make sure those shots are used extensively in the trailer.
Keep it short.
The shorter, the better—about a minute or two, but absolutely make sure it is under two and a half minutes. Why? Because that is the time limit imposed by the MPAA for all theatrical trailers. The audience watching your little masterpiece has been trained like a pack of Pavlov’s dogs. Anything over two and a half minutes and they’re looking at their watches.
Start with a bang!
Open with an attention grabber. The opening of the trailer for David Lynch’s Lost Highway features Robert Blake and Bill Pullman engaged in a creepy conversation. Man, that was cool. Opening with an explosive image or a memorable line of dialogue will keep them watching.
Close with the best shot and/or best line. What sold The Perfect Storm? Was it the brooding presence of surly George Clooney? How about the clichéd dialogue mouthed by Marky Mark? C’mon, we all know it was that awesome wave!
Do not use a feature editor.
Don’t even consider hiring your feature editor to cut the trailer. A feature editor is used to letting things play out and is not as good at the short sell. A trailer is an advertisement, plain and simple. It’s essentially a commercial or a music video and is a completely different animal than a feature, so get a good editor with experience cutting trailers.
Don’t fear outtakes.
Don’t be afraid to use some original scenes or outtakes that didn’t make the final cut. For My Big Fat Independent Movie, a few key shots were done just for the trailer. These shots do not appear in the movie, but they set the mood for the trailer.
Don’t include nudity.
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Have a poster along with other unique promo items ready to go. Be prepared to deliver a print in time for the film festival. And most important, plan to have funds available to pay for expenses at the festival. Budget for all of these costs and be ready when you get “the call.”
Keep the trailer PG-13 or lower. Even if your film has a lot of sex, there’s no reason to flaunt it. Violence, of course, is never frowned upon. But you never know who may see it or download it. Make sure the trailer is acceptable to air on network television.
Don’t include expanded scenes.
Use sound bites only. Don’t use really long expository dialogue. Make every shot concise.
Get to the point. What is your movie about? Define it in the first ten seconds.
Don’t use uncleared music.
A distributor may assume you have the rights and you’ll be shooting yourself in the foot if you use music for which you don’t have the rights.
Don’t use a bad transfer.
Make sure not to skimp on the transfer. The picture should look as good as or even better than your feature. Footage from your dailies or rough cut is not suitable for use. Transfer clean for the trailer.
Never use stolen shots.
Eventually, they’ll see the finished film, so don’t try to cut in expensive shots that are gratuitously lifted from another movie—like, say, a giant explosion or a train wreck.
Do not give away the ending.
Never, ever give away the ending. Yeah, I know that trailers for big studio movies do it all the time. Look at the acquisitions people as the big fish and your trailer as the little, convulsing worm. You want them to bite but not feel full.
Don’t make it too long.
The most common crime committed by an amateur trailer editor is cutting one that is too long. Shorter is better. It’s better to have a thirty-second trailer that leaves one wanting more than a one-minute trailer that drags.