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Every Movie Needs a Trailer
A surefire, never-fail formula to promote your film
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PLAYING CHESS WITH WORDS • WRITING COPY IS MORE THAN EXPRESSING BIG IDEAS IN SMALL WORDS. Whatever you write should be composed in language you’d hear on the street. For this reason, smart copywriters keep a running list of memorable lines overheard from people they know or strangers on the street. These “street sayings” are gold because they’re verbalized in a spontaneous manner, by people inspired by a particular moment. The following are examples of observations recorded outside of work and used later as inspiration for copy:
“IN A HOLY WAR, NOTHING IS SACRED:” An observation overheard in a bar while watching a television news report from the Middle East; perfect for a drama about today’s world.
“LET SOMEONE IN AND YOUR SECRET’S OUT:” Spoken by a friend after hearing gossip.
“THE REAL TERROR COMES AFTER THE ATTACK:” A reference to the invasion of Iraq after 9/11.
And there are always comic observations worth remembering:
“IF THESE WALLS COULD SPEAK, THEY’D SCREAM:” Blurted out by a friend in a well-worn hotel room; perfect for a horror flick.
“WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU’RE SURROUNDED ON ALL SIDES? SHOOT IN ALL DIRECTIONS:” From a story told by a Vietnam vet. We used these lines in a trailer for a Bruce Willis action flick.
“BETWEEN DATING AND DIVORCE IS A STATE OF LIMBO CALLED MARRIAGE:” Spoken by a friend after his second divorce.
“YOU CAN’T MAKE FRIENDS WHILE YOU’RE SHOOTING AT THEM:” Overheard on a subway train in New York City.
INSPIRATION ONLINE • THE INTERNET IS A RELIABLE RESOURCE FOR COPYWRITING INSPIRATION. One method is to search movies similar to yours on IMDb. Type in the theme from your film in the search box, filter your search for “keyword” and then sort the list of titles by date (older movies have less copy and fewer taglines).
It’s also helpful to read the online reviews of the film you’re promoting if possible. Critics are accomplished writers whose prose can inspire your own thoughts.
You can also Google “quotes on” the theme of your movie. You’ll be directed to Websites devoted to motivational sayings by some of history’s greatest writers.
At the BBC, we Googled “English village” to find copy ideas for “Clatterford,” a British comedy series set in a fictional English village. We also Googled popular phrases like “global village” and “it takes a village.” The research gave us a better understanding of village life and helped us craft the perfect copy: “Every village has its characters… and its quirks.”
RELEASE THE ARROW • WHEN THE LAST WORD OF COPY IS COMPLETE, IT’S TIME TO QUICKEN THE PACE OF YOUR TRAILER. This is the release of the arrow. Fill this section, known as the “back end,” with sound bites, action and music—all of which should support the copy that precedes it and create an expectation of the cliffhanger ahead.
REVISITING THE PAPER CUT • AFTER YOU’VE FINISHED YOUR OUTLINE ON PAPER, DON’T RELAX; IT’S ONLY YOUR FIRST DRAFT. The paper cut should go through numerous versions (try switching the end with the beginning) until you’ve exhausted every possible sequence of sound bites, copy and action. This is an efficient way to make creative decisions early, saving time and money later.
THE RADIO CUT • YOU’VE GOT A DETAILED LOG OF THE MOVIE AND A STRUCTURED OUTLINE ON PAPER. You’re now ready to take the project to the next step: The edit suite. But before you even think about the pictures, consider making a “radio cut” first. This is the sound design of a trailer and probably the most underrated part of the process.
Why is sound design so important? A viewer hears more than he or she sees—especially when watching a trailer on television. There are always visual distractions when you’re watching TV at home, but whenever the eyes wander, the ears still hear.
Is TV simply radio with pictures? When it comes to cutting movie trailers, the answer is yes.
THE GRAMMAR OF A RADIO CUT • MOST PEOPLE RECOGNIZE THE FOUR BASIC BUILDING BLOCKS OF RADIO DRAMA: Speech, sound effects, music and silence. Bronwyn Woodhead, an editor at the BBC, calls the use of these elements the “grammar” of a trailer; she punctuates her work with the deliberate placement of audio hits, drum builds and drones. To Woodhead, the elements of sound design are to moving pictures what commas, periods and exclamation points are to prose.
USING MUSIC • MUSIC GIVES A TRAILER ITS FEEL, but wall-to-wall music is almost passé. This is not to discount the use of music entirely; a production score works well in the last third of a trailer and builds tension along the way to the cliffhanger.
THE EYE CANDY • NOW THAT YOU’VE BUILT A RADIO CUT, YOU’RE READY TO MOVE THE PROJECT INTO THE VIDEO EDIT SUITE. Take along the time code numbers of the sound bites in the radio cut. Align the sound bites with the pictures and—voila!—you’ve got a trailer with 90 percent of the pictures already in place. Now you can relax and enjoy editing the “eye candy,” the quick edits and explosive graphics that make a trailer fun.
THE IDIOT CHECK • AFTER THE TRAILER IS CUT, DO AN “IDIOT CHECK” BEFORE SHOWING IT TO A POTENTIAL INVESTOR OR GENERAL AUDIENCE. This means going back and re-cutting the trailer every which way possible. Experiment with the structure like you did on paper: Reverse the beginning with the ending, move around the elements in the middle to see which sequence works best with the copy. Try every combination until you’re satisfied that you’ve created the strongest and clearest reason for an audience to see your film.
Lastly, watch the spot with the sound off and ask yourself, ‘Do the pictures tell a linear story?’ Then listen to the spot and ask yourself if the sound alone works. Continue experimenting until the trailer makes sense either way.
THE RESOLUTION • HITCHCOCK CRITICIZED MOVIE TRAILERS FOR GIVING AWAY TOO MUCH OF A FILM’S PLOT, but it can be argued that he misunderstood the reason for having trailers at all. In the end, you should never be afraid of what you take from a film to use in a trailer. If it gets an audience interested enough to buy a ticket, then you’ve succeeded. MM
Hamilton Fisher has been writing and producing movie trailers and television promos for 15 years. Andrew Jackson is senior vice president of marketing for BBC Worldwide Americas.
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COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
- Comment by Alexander Barnett on 12/12/09 at 11:00 pm
The article on making a trailer is excellent.It is extremely intelligent and creative. Thank you.
- Comment by g5g5.net on 1/29/10 at 5:03 pm
thank you
by a href="http://www.g5g5.net">مركز تحميل</a></span>- Comment by g5g5.net on 1/29/10 at 5:06 pm
thank you
by <span lang="ar-sa">مركز تحميل</span>- Comment by g5g5.net on 1/29/10 at 5:13 pm
thank you
by مركز تحميل- Comment by g5g5.net on 1/29/10 at 5:30 pm
thank you
by العاب بنات- Comment by g5g5.net on 1/29/10 at 5:31 pm
thank you
by دليل مواقع- Comment by g5g5.net on 1/29/10 at 5:33 pm
thank you
by أمحي ذنوبك- Comment by kral oyun on 5/01/10 at 2:39 am
Alfred Hitchcock knew how to keep an audience on the edge of its seat. Though he loathed movie promotions
- Comment by Fragman İzle< on 6/20/10 at 3:53 pm
Alfred Hitchcock knew how to keep an audience on the edge of its seat. Though he loathed movie promotions
- Comment by Ben Williams on 7/08/10 at 7:48 am
Thank you for this valuable insight. I’m just starting out writing copy for trailers and I was hitting a wall. This article has helped me to climb over it.
- Comment by Fethiye on 7/11/10 at 5:15 am
Thank you for this valuable insight. I’m just starting out writing copy for trailers and I was hitting a wall. This article has helped me to climb over it.
- Comment by g5g5.net on 7/26/10 at 5:22 am
thank you
by مركز تحميل- Comment by facebook videosu indir on 8/28/10 at 10:28 am
sansimi sikiyim
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This story was published in the Guide to Making Movies 2009 MovieMaker Magazine. The headline was:
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