By Colin M.
Movie trailers are an art all to themselves. They make or break people's decisions of whether or not to see a movie. People don't realize how difficult it truly is to make a trailer. They aren't just an assortment of random clips and snippets that any 12 year old could put into iMovie. Trailers must be carefully and strategically planned out and made so that they follow the 2 most important rules: #1. Hook the viewer so they want to see the movie, #2. Don't spoil the movie so that people don't feel the need to see it at all.
In recent years, we have gotten some of the best and worst trailers of all time. Sometimes a trailer just isn't good because the movie isn't good but all too often, a bad trailer isn't one that makes the movie look bad but it is one that breaks 1 of the 2 rules. Most of the time when one of the rules is broken, this leads to nothing but failure. For example, Disney's Tomorrowland had a very fascinating few trailers and it succeeded very well in following rule #2 but it didn't follow rule #1. The trailers showed an interesting mystery premise and George Clooney but it didn't show enough of an actual plot for people to care about it and go see it (hence why it only made $177 Million worldwide on a $190 Million budget).
Movie trailers are an art all to themselves. They make or break people's decisions of whether or not to see a movie. People don't realize how difficult it truly is to make a trailer. They aren't just an assortment of random clips and snippets that any 12 year old could put into iMovie. Trailers must be carefully and strategically planned out and made so that they follow the 2 most important rules: #1. Hook the viewer so they want to see the movie, #2. Don't spoil the movie so that people don't feel the need to see it at all.
In recent years, we have gotten some of the best and worst trailers of all time. Sometimes a trailer just isn't good because the movie isn't good but all too often, a bad trailer isn't one that makes the movie look bad but it is one that breaks 1 of the 2 rules. Most of the time when one of the rules is broken, this leads to nothing but failure. For example, Disney's Tomorrowland had a very fascinating few trailers and it succeeded very well in following rule #2 but it didn't follow rule #1. The trailers showed an interesting mystery premise and George Clooney but it didn't show enough of an actual plot for people to care about it and go see it (hence why it only made $177 Million worldwide on a $190 Million budget).
On the other hand, many trailers follow rule #1, but break rule #2 and spoil the movie. The most recent example is Southpaw starring Jake Gyllenhaal which decided to spoil a decent portion of the movie but still hooked the viewer. The general consensus is that Southpaw looks like it will be a great movie but the trailer spoiled somethings that viewers would much rather find out and be surprised by when they actually see the movie. The Southpaw trailer could have easily shown Jake Gyllenhaal as a boxer and his struggle to get back together with his family and STOP there. There doesn't need to be an explanation to why his family was split up. Showing the major spoiler in the Southpaw trailer isn't going to get more butts in the seats so why put it in the trailer?
Then, every once and a while, the perfect trailer comes along that follows both rules and everything works out well for that movie. The best examples are for Gone Girl and American Sniper. Now, say what you will about those movie (specifically the latter) but their trailers are perfect. Gone Girl's trailer shows that Ben Affleck's wife has gone missing and things aren't really as they seem. It presents quick glimpses to twists and turns while the music builds and your only thought when the title comes up is "I need to see that movie". American Sniper's trailer shows one small scene in the movie that is indicative of how the rest of the movie plays out. The sound of a heart beating enthralls you into this trailer and your heart beats along, faster and faster as your eyes are engulfed with quick flashes of intense shots that make your palms sweat. Then, the title comes up and you finally breath out because you didn't realize you were holding your breath. Both those movie got your butts in the seats with Gone Girl making a hefty $368 million on a $61 million budget and American Sniper becoming the highest grossing movie of 2014 with a $547 million take with only a $59 million budget and that is mostly thanks to their amazing trailers.
It is simple, if you follow the rules, you are rewarded. It shouldn't be too difficult to show off the premise of a movie without giving away too much. For example, you and your friend want to watch a movie. If your friend asks, "What is it about?" and you can't answer, then the trailer didn't follow rule #1. However, if your friend asks the same question and you can list off, beat for beat, what happens in the movie, then rule #2 was broken. Perfect trailers walk the line of telling you enough to hook you in but not giving away major plot points. If you can't follow the 2 rules, your movie is probably garbage but if you can follow the rules, the odds are that you may have a hit on your hands.