How Movie Trailers Tell Stories

Movie trailers: the short, filmic teases that are their own little art forms. Great care?is?taken to craft the smaller version of a bigger story.

So how do movie trailer editors tell (and sell) their stories??

BEGINNING:?PLOT

Firstly,?an?obvious?one:?watch?the?film!?It’ll?be?viewed?many,?many?times?throughout?the process.?The?editor?will?consider?their?client’s?brief,?the?tone?and?the?target?audience,?as?well?as?their own creative instinct and artistic input. Start by pulling out key shots, dialogue lines and?unique?moments?that best?summarise?the?overall story.

Secondly, gather resources: decide on music tracks that compliment the style and assemble?any sound effects that enhance audio beats and visual narrative moments. In Joseph Losey’s The Servant?there?is?a?scene?with?a?dripping?tap?that?gradually?increases?inspeed?and?volume.?It signifies a rising tension between two characters. Using this audio effect in the re-release?trailer?helped?to?portraythis suspense?and?the?overall tone?of?the film.

MIDDLE:?PLACEMENT

The method of structuring a trailer varies: some editors work linearly. Some begin by cutting?the music and then placing dialogue, sound FX and graphical text before slotting key moments?and?shots?around?this.?The?trailer?doesn’t?always?tell the?story?in?the?sameway?as?the?film.

These two and a half minutes are all about the tease and sometimes a little cheating needs to?happen in order to achieve that! The opening of the?Sir Alex Ferguson Never Give In?trailer plays with the?chronology of Alex Ferguson’s life and career, juxtaposing his past and present when he?suffered?a?brain?haemorrhage?(he?was?worried?he'd?suffer?memory?loss.)?In?the?film he?repeats?his?life story almost?to?reaffirm his own?memories,?a technique?the trailer reflects.

The?first?shots?of?a?movie?trailer?are?integral;?they?open?the?window?to?the?film’s?world?in?order?to entice the viewer. The match cut of the two queens Cersei and Daenerys sitting on their?thrones in the?Game of Thrones: Sampha?trailer was the perfect start. Using these almost?identical shots symbolically established a rivalry between their houses and hinted at the war to?come?in the series.

The process is also highly collaborative: the editor will likely be working alongside a creative?producer,?a?copywriter?and?a?designteam?who?will?draft?graphical?styles?that?support?the?story?of the trailer. In the re-release trailer for?Basic Instinct?graphics featuring critic reviews are?intercut between footage. There is a deliberate cut from Sharon Stone’s leg-crossing scene to?the blood-red text reading ‘Controversial,’ before reverting back to the footage. It is a subtle?nod to this infamous moment without showing it and the colour and style is indicative of the?thriller?genre.

END:?PIZZAZZ

The final element of movie trailer editing is adding finesse or ‘pizzazz.’ It’s the detailed shaping?and crafting of your story; finalising those unique moments and presenting them in a way that?sets your trailer apart from others. This stage is about discarding any unnecessary shots or?dialogue - trailers are as much about what you don’t show and tell as what you do - and?ensuring this visual piece shines in the best possible way. The?Willy’s Wonderland?trailer?features intricate close up shots and enhanced sound effects such as light switch flips, drinks?cans popping open and Nicolas Cage wiping dirt away. Such moments give the trailer a?constant rhythm?and?help?to?depict?the?chaotic?events?in?the?narrative.?The?pacing?of?shots?and?sound effects quickens as the trailer progresses, creating an exciting, climactic build before the?title?and?release?date?are revealed.

When the plot, placement and pizzazz stages are complete, your scene is set, your?trailer?is crafted and your story is ready to tell.