Most people have very strong opinions on a variety of important issues: politics, religion, grape or strawberry jelly. While I also have opinions on these topics (strawberry, BTW), there are very few I hold as strongly as those I have related to the art of making a trailer for a film. Movie trailers are a unique and necessary art form that is tied intrinsically to the process of filmmaking as a whole. Good trailers cannot only sell a movie to the public, but can become iconic and memorable in their own right. The ability to craft a good trailer is nearly as important to the final financial result as the quality of the film itself – after all, it can’t be successful if no one sees it. Why then is it that so many modern movies tend to fall flat on their face when releasing trailers?
Don’t think they do? Let’s see…
Trailer Types
I figured that we should begin by defining the various types of trailers that are made. [Note: For the purposes of this article I will not be counting so-called “TV Spots” (with typically run 15-30 seconds) as trailers per say, but many of the same principles apply.]
Teaser Trailer – Typically the first type of trailer released for a film. Fairly short (by trailer standards) with only a tangential connection to the plot. Used more often for setting mood or tone. This type of trailer can either consist of moments and images from the movie or of newly shot content that will not be present in the final film. A good example would be the teaser trailer for Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part XI.
Scene Trailer – As the name suggests, this type of trailer consists (primarily) of a single scene or sequence from the film. The scene may be compressed for time, or may be followed by a few others, but it typically shown in real-time and constitutes the bulk of the runtime. Especially when shown with little context, a particularly good scene can act in much the same manner as a Teaser trailer – it can give the audience a good idea of the tone and atmosphere of the film while still revealing very little of the overall plot. Some good examples of this are the scene trailers for IT: Chapter 2 and Furious 7.
Full Trailer – This type of trailer is what most people think of when they think of a trailer. Scenes and moments from across the film are mixed with music, text, and sometimes voiceover in order to convey what the movie is about and who is in it. Like the above examples, the typical maximum runtime of such a trailer is two minutes and thirty seconds. The trailer for Tremors is a good example, though you could just about pick any movie for this one.
Trailer #2/3/Final Trailer – These trailers are basically just fleshed-out versions of the Full Trailer. More plot is typically divulged in order to draw in those viewers who might still be unsure of their desire to see the film.
Web Trailer – Trailers specifically made for internet release can get around a few of the limitations imposed of those shown in theaters: they can be longer than two minutes and thirty seconds and they can include graphic material or language (typically referred to as Red Band) that might not be included in one made for a wider release. Otherwise, this type of trailer can mirror any of the above examples.
Now that we have defined the different types of trailers, we can talk more explicitly about the purposes, aspirations, and shortcomings that are often associated with trailers.
Sales Pitch
In their most basic form, trailers are the attempt of the filmmaker (or studio or marketing department) to sell the movie to the public. Outside of possibly the poster, the trailer is likely the first (and perhaps only) contact that potential audience members will have with a given film. Creating a strong and memorable first impression is key, particularly in today’s crowded media marketplace. A trailer has only a few minutes to convince someone of not just the quality of your work, but that this film in particular is worth their time (and money). With so many options (TV, Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and on and on and on) available, it is imperative that the trailer make your film stand out from the crowd.
This can be done by showcasing a unique premise, memorable characters, cool set pieces/scenes, catchy music, great dialogue, or stunning visuals. Not all films, and thus all trailers, are made the same. Whatever the strength of your particular movie, make sure to tailor your trailer around that aspect. Too many trailers today forget this simple, but important, lesson and attempt throw any and everything against the wall. Sure, a wider net might catch a wider variety of fish, but it also comes with larger holes. By having scattershot focus split between hyping up the stars on screen, showing as many cool moments as possible, and explaining the plot in detail, too many modern trailers not only end up feeling cookie-cutter, but also leave the audience with a feeling of being overstuffed. With the limited screen time afforded to any one element, it’s no wonder that they fail to leave a lasting impression. This doesn’t mean that a good trailer can’t be full of information or quickly paced, just that it needs to have a consistency of focus. Play to your strengths, not against them.
Mini-Movie
Another important aspect of trailer production is that they are, in effect, miniature movies in their own right. While optimally not a play-by-play of the film in question, they need to take the viewer on the same type of journey as any story. It needs to introduce the world and the characters that inhabit it, it should set up the basic concept or plotline for the film, and it needs to give the audience an idea of how that plotline will be followed up on. Doing so in a way that is clear and that manages to convey all of this information in such a short time span can be quite a challenge and takes a good degree of forethought.
While not as inherently ridged as that of most full scripts (itself an issue I hope to tackle in the future), a trailer does need to follow a basic structure. With such a simple medium as the two minute and thirty second video, the oft-repeated “three act structure” will usually suffice. Give the audience a set-up for what to expect from the film, let them see a bit of how it will be used/affect the characters, and give them an (possibly misleading, depending on the film) idea of where it might be going. While this might seem like a lot of balls to juggle, it really does make you look at your film (and the script) in a whole new light – particularly when it comes to cutting the proverbial fat. The question of, “What is the bare minimum of information necessary needed to convey the general tone and idea of the film to someone who knows nothing about it?” is both useful and fun to think about.
Standing Out from the Crowd
The next thing to consider, though it certainly applies just as much to the full film, is how unique or memorable you are able to make the trailer. A good concept and well shot scenes will certainly go a long way to aiding this goal, but they are not the only signifiers of quality. A good trailer not only interests the audience in seeing the movie in question, but hopefully causes them to want to see the trailer itself again. While it is true that there is no paint-by-the-numbers way to make a trailer unique (that would kind of defeat the entire purpose, would it not?), there are a few examples that come to mind of trailers that went the extra mile in making something that managed to stand out from the crowd.
The first trailer for the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacreis one that was seared into my mind from the first time I saw it. The wonderful use of score, the iconic sound of the old-school camera accompanying the freeze-frame fade-out shots (taken from its initial use in the trailer for the original film), and perhaps most memorably for me: the sequence of pure darkness in near the 2/3rds mark where we can only hear panicked breathing, creaking floorboards, and (eventually) a chainsaw. This sequence alone, while not present in this exact form in the final film, conveys nearly everything you need to know about the movie while saying next to nothing. It is precisely because of this LACK OF IMAGES, and the resulting reliance on one’s imagination to fill in the gaps, that this trailer stands out. It makes a bold creative decision and is all the stronger for it.
The other trailer that I will mention here is the original for Inception. While this trailer manages to gain a lot “uniqueness points” from the (at the time never-before-seen) visuals of the city folding in on itself, it really shines in its use of audio. This film pioneered the eventual trend of using the, for lack of a better term, “BWAHHH” sound to accentuate its shots. This simple but memorable musical cue added dramatic weight to every image on screen, making each feel more important and grander than they otherwise would, despite providing no additional context. As mentioned, this tactic was so successful that hundreds of trailers over the next few years would follow suit (and many still do). Unfortunately for them, the audience is savvy and quickly caught on to this trick. While oversaturation of the market managed to greatly reduce the effectiveness of this style of trailer, it doesn’t take away from the ingenuity necessary to craft its first use.
Finally, I should be clear – not every trailer needs to attempt to re-invent the wheel. Not every movie calls for some over-the-top bit of editing, or crazy sound effect. That said, every movie is different (at least in theory), and every movie has particular elements that make it stand out from what has come before. Focus on those things. Make them the forefront of attention. Much like a tight piece of clothing on a beautiful body, accentuate your film’s own personal “curves.” In short: be yourself (if yourself is a movie).
End on a Cliffhanger
This might seem basic, but you’d be surprised how many trailers seem to not know (or not act on) this simple piece of advice. As the point of a trailer is to convince the viewer to go see the final product, it needs to give them a proper incentive to do so. While (say it with me) a good concept and well shot scenes do a lot of this lifting, it is always best to leave the audience clamoring for more (the same is true for the full film, as well). In the case of trailers, one of the best ways to do that is to end on a cliffhanger. Build the narrative up to a point where an important decision or action must be made and then do not provide the resolution. Will she die? Can they stop the nuke from destroying the White House? Do they end up reconciling? All of these are examples of wonderful hooks that will hopefully have the audience clamoring to find how they turn out.
Keep in mind, a cliffhanger doesn’t always *have* to be the answer to the question of IF (if they stop the bomb, if they get together). In the right cases, HOW can be just as powerful a question. Take the topic of Titanic for example: The fact that the ship was going to sink was a given. There was no way to propose tension over the possibility of saving it or avoiding disaster. That said, there was a lot of drama in finding out HOW these events took place and HOW they impacted our main characters. This approach is not limited to historical events (it is often used in romantic comedies where the end result is all but a guarantee), but is not right for every film. Much like a good shoe, and as I have mentioned many times already, choose the question and cliffhanger that works best for your movie. Maybe this is the central conflict (it usually is), but maybe it isn’t. There is no one-size-fits all solution.
Avoid Being Too Vague
This is a relatively new addition to this list, but one I feel is extremely important. I’ll start with an example: the trailer for Quinton Tarantino’s 9th film, Once Upon a Time…. In Hollywood. While it is true that (especially after having seen the film) this is a particularly hard movie to make a trailer for, I would argue that this was one of the worst trailers I have ever seen. Besides informing me that Quinton was the director, that Brad Pitt and DiCaprio star, and that it is set in the 60s, this trailer did absolutely nothing to tell me what the central plot of the movie was nor to give me any indication of what might reasonably be expected (not in the “mysterious” non-spoilerly sense, but in the “what the hell is the movie even about” sense). After seeing the trailer multiple times, there was no discernable main conflict, no character growth, and no cliffhanger of any sort. In effect, the trailer did nothing to make me interested in seeing the movie for anything but production-related (director, cast) reasons. If you had told me beforehand that my reaction to a Quinto Tarantino trailer would have been apathy, I would have thought you crazy.
Now, to be fair, despite this unsatisfying trailer, the film did incredibly well. Not only was it pretty good, it was his highest box office opening to date. You might think that this is an indication that the trailer was, in fact, a success and to some (small) degree you might be right. I fully believe that the public interest and support of the film came entirely from the fact that A) Quinton Tarantino was the director and B) The Star Quality of the main cast – two aspects that would have been just as relay-able on a print advertisement. That said, it is not a criticism of film itself to say that it does not lend itself well to the general medium of trailers. The plot is loose and barely connected, with the entire exercise more about impression and style than story-driven substance. You can see how this would put it in direct odds with almost all of the previously discussed aspects of making a good trailer.
Still, while that film may be the exception to the rule, the generally lack-luster trailer can provide an important lesson. While playing your cards close to your chest can be a good strategy, and you certainly don’t want to give away the entire experience to the audience in a trailer, you need to give them something to sink their teeth into – a hook to make them come back. Not all movies, in fact not most, can rely on the strength of the names involved to be sole driver of audience interest. Look no further than Peter Jackson’s producer credit slapped all over trailer for the box office failure Mortal Engines to see this in practice.
Spoiler Warning!
And now we have finally reached it – the single most important, gold standard, rule for making a good trailer and the one that is ignored by more movies than any other: DON’T SPOIL YOUR OWN MOVIE!
Nothing does more to ruin the cinematic experience than knowing too much going in. This can be as dramatic as showing the actual ending of the film (yes, it has happened – looking at you Quarantine) to merely showing scenes and sequences from far too late in the runtime. I can’t tell you how many trailers I’ve watched that, after they’re over, I felt like I’d seen the entire movie. While it is important to avoid being vague, too many movies take that to the extreme. If you show me clips of scenes up to and including the finale, what possible desire will I have to see the whole thing? I already know everything that happens!
But even if you manage, through creative editing or otherwise, to obscure just how far into the film a given clip comes from, that does not then clear you to use it in the trailer. While the temptation is there to show as much of the “best stuff” as possible to ensure the strongest chance at winning over a viewer, it is one that must be avoided at all costs lest your movie be saddled with the complaint that strikes a death blow to cinematic success: “They showed all the best parts in the trailer.” Not only does that lead to poor word-of-mouth, but it also results in a severely crippled experience for those that do go see the movie. As storytellers, it is our job to engage, entertain, and excite the audience – to take them on a journey (whether that be comedy, horror, action, or anything else). Speaking from experience, it is very hard to enjoy a movie when I have a pretty good idea of every event that is about to transpire. [Note: This is not to be confused with re-watching a film. That is an entirely different experience with different expectations.]
Another issue with using clips from the later parts of a film is that it can ruin potential twists or tense moments by revealing that a character survives to do something we have not yet seen. While I love sitting down in my seat as the lights go down at the beginning of a movie, my real investment in a story occurs when I’ve reached the last “trailer scene.” When I no longer have any idea what might happen next, I am thrown on the edge of my seat in a way impossible beforehand. A good example would be the movie Crawl. If you watch the trailer you might notice a scene with the main character and a crocodile in a bathroom during a flood. This is a really tense scene with a cool setup. Unfortunately, not only does this scene take place mere moments from the finale of the movie (thus rendering every other time she was in danger in the story before this a moot point), the clip ALSO shows the resolution to this encounter – she captures the creature in the tub. So not only did the sequence fail to entice me to see how she gets out of this tense situation (as it straight up told me), it also had me waiting the entire movie for it to occur. If that sounds like one hell of an anti-climax in what should be a tense film – it was!
But big blockbusters are just as guilty of this mistake as smaller films, perhaps even more so. For instance, the trailer for the Fast and the Furious spinoff Hobbs and Shaw manages to show extended clips of every action sequence up to and including the final fight (which occurs mere moments from the end credits). While going in to the movie I was fairly certain that the “good guys” were going to win, there could have still been a lot of drama regarding exactly HOW they were going to do it. I could have been wowed by set pieces that I had no idea were coming. I could have worried that this mission might extract a heavy toll on one of the protagonists. I could have… provided the movie didn’t just give all of this away in the trailer. Of course, I’m not picking on this film in particular. I could be describing literally dozens of action movies from the past few decades. I get that studios want butts in seats, but if it comes at the expense of the cinematic experience (and really, the movie itself), it is a tradeoff that is not worth it.
Doing it Right
So, how do you do a trailer right? Well, while there are many examples, I think the most interesting (to me) is of the movie The Shallows. This film’s trailers encompass both an example of how do it right and how to give away far too much. Below, as an example, I’ll post an excerpt of a full review I wrote just after release that sums up these issues quite well:
“The first trailer I saw for this film was damn near perfect. [Here is the link, in case you haven’t seen it.] I had, up until that point, never heard of this movie. As I sat in a darkened theatre watching wave after wave of trailers for sequels, I was delighted, and surprised, when this simple trailer of a beautiful girl stranded on a rock appeared. The premise was instantly relatable. As a lifelong Tremors fan, the notion of being stranded on a boulder while some large creature waits to feast on you was not new. However, that sort of small-scale, relatable horror has been missing from the cinema for quite some time. Every movie in recent memory seems to feel as if the only way to scare anybody is to blow up the planet or have them menaced by ghosts. So I sat there and watched as the trailer gave us just the right amount. A shore just out of reach. A large, shark-shaped shadow drifting by in the water. Complete isolation. The trailer gave the audience just enough to wet their appetite for where this story could go. A (seemingly) small budget movie that is not part of an already established franchise that also knows how to craft a compelling trailer that spoils nothing of the movie? I was sold. Unfortunately, despite being a rather fun cinema experience, ‘The Shallows’ made quite a few missteps, both in marketing and in script, that kept it from being truly great. I will now attempt to analyze, and offer solutions to, those mistakes. (SPOILERS BELOW)
Trailer #2
The second trailer for ‘The Shallows,’ parts of which aired on TV as well as in theatres, added in far more action sequences and attempted to flesh out the story (beyond “girl trapped on a rock”). [View it here, if you haven’t seen it.] Sadly, many of the scenes shown come from a great deal later in the film. A perfect example is the buoy. For a sizeable chunk of the mid-section of the film, Blake Lively looks on to the relative safety of a nearby buoy from a slowly sinking island. The movie asks us to stress along with her over the decision to swim to it or not. Would she make it? Perhaps her energy would be better spent heading to shore – or back to the whale carcass. At least, this is how the tension should have felt, had the movie’s second trailer clearly not shown our protagonist on the buoy, in a storm. Through no fault of the film itself, the tension of whether she would swim to the buoy – and if she did, would she even make it – was completely removed. Of course she was going to swim to it – we’ve already seen her there. It transformed the question of IF she would reach the buoy to one of WHEN she would get there. Her survival up until that point was now guaranteed, removing much of the bite (if you’ll pardon the pun) from the time spent on the rock (which is, of course, the majority of the film).
THE SOLUTION: Don’t release another trailer. It might be heresy to say in this day and age, but not every movie needs 2, 3 or even 4 separate trailers. The first trailer for ‘The Shallows’ was perfect – it set up the basic premise beautifully without giving away any of the plot. In fact, I would wager that 95% of the footage shown in that first trailer was from the first third of the film – and that’s a good thing. I go to the movies because I want to be engaged by a film and taken on a journey. The less I know about where I’m going, the more I can sit back and enjoy the ride, as opposed to idly waiting to hit certain benchmarks. Sure, I’ll freely admit that some movies, either due to their complexity or scale, might need more than one trailer. ‘The Shallows’ is not such a movie. As much as I enjoyed the tension on screen, I can’t help but imagine how much better it would have been had I not known what was coming next.”
Three years later and I still stand by everything said in the above paragraphs. The first trailer was all anyone could have asked for and contained far and away enough information to tell someone watching if this was movie they would be interested in or not. The subsequent trailer did nothing but dampen the experience of anyone unlucky enough to catch it before seeing the film –myself included. In fact, this phenomenon of spoiler-laden trailers has become so ubiquitous that fans of films are now forced to specifically avoid trailers for films they want to see lest they be spoiled. An amazing example is that of the Pet Sematary remake from 2019. While I have yet to see the film myself (as of this writing), I am aware through cultural osmosis that the script takes a strong turn from that of the original film – a twist, if you will. While the first trailer offers no indication of this twist, the internet was abuzz mere hours after the release of Trailer 2 with fans warning those who had not yet see it to stay away. They were unhappy that they now had information that would have been much more exciting to learn throughout the course of the story and were attempting to preserve the experience of others. The fact that moviegoers are now reliant on unwittingly spoiled good Samaritans to keep them away from spoiler-filled marketing materials put out by the film itself is a rather sad state of affairs. And all of this is in addition to the havoc that can be wrecked by a “troll,” armed with such spoilers from the trailer, intentionally spreading it around.
If you remember no other lesson from this entire article, make it this one: Don’t intentionally spoil your own movie for the sake of winning over a few more audience members. Preserve the experience for those that support your film and maybe, if the word of mouth is good, those would-be converts might just be converted after all – no spoilers needed. A good rule of thumb, and one I follow myself, if that scenes in a trailer should come from no further in a film than the 40% mark. That should give you ample opportunity to express what the movie is about, and show some cool scenes, while still leaving the majority of the story (and runtime) an exciting and mysterious prospect.
Conclusion
In the end, it is important to remember that trailers, while specifically created to promote the existence of another work of art, are also an art unto themselves. This fact is the very reason that whole production houses exist with the sole purpose of creating trailers. While I’m sure many of those businesses do a fine job, I still think it behooves the creative lead of a project (be that the director, the writer, the producer, or otherwise) to take an active hand in crafting this important piece of the artistic puzzle. A trailer is one of the first and most important introductions your movie has to the world, so why wouldn’t you want to be involved? Even if you ultimately allow someone else (individual or corporation) to handle most of the work, make sure that, whatever ever the end result, it meets your own personal expectations. Also, never forget that while collaboration is an invaluable part of the filmmaking process, you shouldn’t lose sight of the importance of a core creative vision driving the film.
Trailers have the power to promote, glorify, sell, ruin, spoil, or misrepresent a movie. They are the Voyager spacecraft of your film, sent out into the abyss to bring with it your message of your art. Put care and thought in to each and every one, and make sure they paint a compelling and intriguing picture of what viewers can expect. Entice them in with enough information to wet their appetites while still holding enough back to keep them wanting more. Be unique and show off what makes your story different. Overall, just make the kind of trailer you would want to see yourself.
After all, if you don’t like it, why would anyone else?
Chris