The Art Of A Good Trailer
Have you ever seen a trailer, a clip of orchestra music, a scene from a movie that raises the hair on your skin and just makes you want to smile and cry? That is the power of a good trailer. Movie trailers have the ability to make or break a film before it is even finished being cut. The multi billion dollar film industry knows this and that is why it is so important to capture the public right from the first trailer. Trailer design & editing has always been a great passion of mine. The skill and understanding that goes into those two minute videos is immense and the psychology behind the process of hooking people is fascinating. Below is a trailer that I just saw today that got me very excited for Summer 2017:
Besides being a space nerd movie buff, when it comes to the trailer they do everything right. They engage you with the astronomical possibilities of the universe. Then they mix it the right amount of dialogue, combat, and sexuality and makes your more than just curious but excited. So even if you have not read Valerian before, the trailer has showed you just enough without telling you anything about the storyline for you to be looking forward to it’s release.
The two trailers above are two of my favorite because besides promoting the films, they are forms of inspiration. In one of my previous blog posts ‘Big Dreams’, I mention Travis Rice, the acclaimed snowboarder and adventurer. He makes it his mission life to show people to limitations of the human body and spirit all while taking you to some of the wildest winter terrain in the world. This trailer gives me the chills every time because its cinematography and music form so perfectly that you do not even need to see the full film to witness the beauty in this work. It makes you want to get out there and do something with your life.
Then there is the masterpiece of Planet Earth. Easily the difficult and expensive production there is when it comes to equipment and time spent capture the amazing world we live in. That three minute clip captures years of work and they could have not done it any better. Again, if you do not have the access to watch the full documentary episodes or the money to buy them, watching this trailer is enough to tell you how magnificent this film will be and shows you how incredible the creatures of our world are.
Trailers in many ways are the new art form of film. As our country’s attention span shrinks, these 1–4 minute clips are what sparks people’s minds. From trailers alone, they pave the money trail to Hollywood but more important they pave the human imagination. It is trailers like these that drive people to see, do, and live more. Trailers like these are what capture the incredible power that film has.
Some of my recent favorite:
