Get Shorty! Cutting Effective Trailers
A trailer should be no longer than two-and-a-half minutes - shorter is even better.
I'll write that again because it is important and I will write it in bold, as well.
A trailer should be no longer than two-and-a-half minutes - shorter is even better.
Now you are 90% of the way towards perfecting the art of the trailer. Keep it short, keep it snappy, keep it pacey. Now it's time to tackle the remaining 10% of the essentials and we'll follow that with a quick check-up on the absolute never, never -do this at your peril- do not do's; if you get my meaning.
Ten Elements of an Effective Trailer
1 Quick Cuts
- Cool shots driving a simple story.
- Shot length down to 1/3 second over pumping driving music
- Don’t let style get in the way of substance
2 Graphics That Grab You
- Cool graphics are a great plus
- Be creative, be different
- Make sure trailer graphics are a change from film title graphics
3 Original Music
- There’s plenty of affordable music about.
- Always use legally cleared music.
4 Tell the Story
- But don’t throw it all away!
- Spell it out if you need to
- In broad strokes, using narration
- Leave the audience wanting more
5 Use Positive Reviews
- From creditable press outlets, known film critics
- Use big bold quotes, white typeface against black
- Clear the quotes with those providing them
6 Sound is critical
- It has to be great.
- Spend time on the sound mix
- If you cant understand an actor neither will a punter
- Br prepared to go for ADR just for the trailer if necessary
7 Star Power
- If you’ve got one – flaunt them
- Even a cameo of an aging star pulls weight
- Use them extensively in the trailer
8 Shorter is Better
- One minute, two, but no more than two-and-a-half
- ALL cinema trailers are less than that c/o MPAA
9 Come on With a Bang!
- Grab attention
- An explosive image
- A memorable line of dialogue
10 Go Out With a Bang!
- Close on the best shot or best line
TRAILER DONTS
1 Don’t Use a Features Editor!
- A trailer is short and punchy
- Feature editors are used to playing thjngs out
2 Don’t Fear Out-takes
- Use them in the trailer of they are right for the job
- Hollywood does it all the time
- Shooting for the trailer is OK too!
3 Don’t show nudity
- Squeaky clean for PG13!
- Don’t flaunt sex and be careful about trailer violence
4 Nothing dragged-out
- Sound bites not lengthy dialogue
- Every shot used should be concise
5 Don’t bore your audience
- Get to the point dummy
- Within the first ten seconds
6 Uncleared music is a no-no
- It could cost you more than if you paid for it
7 Poor picture quality is a no-no
- Visuals must be as good as your feature
- Plan for trailer footage
8 Don’t steal other people’s shots
- Sooner or later someone will recognise it
9 Don’t tell them the ending
- If you do, you are stupid
10 Not too Long
- Short is best. Short. Got it? Good.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Netribution welcomes contributions that cover tricks of the trade for filmmakers. If you have some insider knowledge you would like to share, write us a short paper on it and we will circulate it to the filmmaking community for the benefit of us all.
