So i've been doing some research about writing a convincing and enthralling trailer for a feature length film and/or animation.
The reason for this is that i'm planning a 'trailer' for my own personal project. But instead of advertising a film that will be released soon, it will be used for fund-raising purposes and to give the 'world' an idea of my abilities, visual style and vision as a director.
I've read a few blogs/articles but there was one that stood out the most, and the majority of my blog is based off that article. Hopefully this will help some other people =P
1. Start Fast and End BIG (the basic gist/layout of the trailer)
- When your making a trailer you need to have some sort of hook. Something that grabs the audience and compels them to stay and watch the rest of the trailer. For example, a great piece
of dialogue between characters, an unexpected jolt of some sort, or a wonderful piece of music.
- Then, you need to escalate, and you need to escalate quickly.
So if you are making a comedy, make it funnier and funnier as you go.
or
If you're making a horror, make it scarier and scarier.
- Now you need a great way to end the trailer. Something to make the audience want to see the film.
The way a human's mind works is,
they first remember how something ended, and then they remember how it begun.
2. The 'mini-movie' needs a heart of it's own (This will guide you with the daunting task of HOW to begin)
A trailer is nothing more then a mini-movie, it's a compressed version of your 2.5 - 3 hour long film.
It has its own beginning, middle and end. However it has it's own heart.
Thinking about it logically, a trailer is a short version of your film, but you don't want to tell your whole story, otherwise there is no point in going to watch it anymore. So you need to make a 3 stage Act 'mini-movie' that makes people want to know what else
happens.
So think about the heart of your story and then base your entire trailer around portraying that theme.
For example, in the
"Wolf of Wall Street" the heart is the "Shakespearian rise and fall of the character."
The trailer begins with dialogue between the two characters :
(*Hook* - point No.1)
"How much money do you make?"
"$70,000 last month"
(*Hook* - point No.1)
Right away you are grounded. You've now learnt all you need to know about the nature of greed and the compelling characters who are going to lead you on this wild ride of ups and downs.
3. Think non-linear (don't give away your entire movie)
Now that you have the 'heart' of your movie, don't give away your entire movie. You can successfully give the feeling, mood and direction of the film you're advertising with only using one scene.
For example, in "The Conjuring", they took one scene and re-created it in the most suspenseful way possible.
I know it may seem daunting but after practice I'm sure it'll become more natural. =P
4. Tweak the Three-Stage Act (getting an idea of the body of your trailer)
The three-stage act also applies to a trailer. So,
- Establish the premise,
- Complicate and spin things back around
- Finish with a montage-driven pastiche that builds to a dramatic crescendo.
But the articles stated that talented trailer-makers take that classic structure and find ways to shorthand it.
The example they gave was :
"There's a lot more cutting now where you stop down to a great moment and then spin off to other moments and cross-cut and inter-cut."
I believe, in my head, that this makes sense and that I understand what they are saying, but i have no other way of really explaining it other then giving you that example. Sorry.
5. Exercise Brutal Efficiency (Cut out that bit you wanted to add in simply because you liked it)
An effective trailer usually relies on bits that cram maximum value into minimal on-screen time.
So exercise brutal efficiency by figuring out the moments that do multiple things. You're looking for a great look, or a great line of dialogue that doesn't just advance the story but is also funny as hell or uniquely scary
(continuing with the comedy & horror genres mentioned earlier).
That's where a lot of the art of story construction comes from.
6. Seek the Defining Moment (why should I watch your film)
The first thing they look for is fresh moments that you wouldn't see in other movies. Because lets face it, movies can often be
derivative and repetitive.
You want to try and pick the moments where you say "Okay, that doesn't look like 10 other movies i've seen."
7. (Finally) Picking a Road (what drives the trailer/movie)
The way the article described it was " What part of the film would compel people to see the movie?".
But I feel this is a bit vague, and when i first read it i felt like this had already been addressed, but i quickly realised this was not what they meant.
What I understood it to mean was
'What leads your story?'.
It might not be the story or plot, instead it might be the submersive fun of the characters themselves.
So for example, in the Muppets,
you don't have to re-introduce the characters and we're not really going to talk about the plot right? The real story is about how outrageous these characters are.
This in turn really narrows the creative job to :
"Okay, whatever we do with this spot has to be smart about reinforcing how we're not taking ourselves seriously."
So that's about all i've discovered/found out about successfully writing and producing a trailer.
Hopefully this was somewhat interesting to you =P
And I hope it helped !
Until next time ~
~ Ariane
My Website: www.apicsstudio.com
My Deviantart: www.arianetorelli.deviantart.com
Find me on Hiive, Instagram and LinkedIn under "Ariane Torelli"
