Making an effective movie trailer is not a simple thing. However, with the right approach and dedication, you can make a great trailer for your film.

Creating a movie trailer is the best way to advertise your short film to the world.  A movie trailer is a kind of short film, but requires concise presentation to ensure you “sell” your movie right.

A compelling movie trailer will grab audience attention and ensure that they make watching your film their top priority. Consequently, it is an essential part of a good marketing strategy that movie producers rely on to get bums on seats in movie theatres.

Remember the golden rule! If the movie trailer is good, it will make the viewers want to watch the actualy movie.

Creating a great movie trailer: Summary

  • Be inventive when creating your trailer.
  • Include the name of your production company in your movie trailer.
  • Make sure your logo is memorable.
  • Make sure that from the very opening that your trailer is attention grabbing.
  • Include the title of your film at least at the end of the trailer and at the beginning if possible.
  • End on a high note. Include something that leaves the audience questioning what has happened.
  • Keep it short.
  • SELL your movie WITHOUT spoiling it. Give hints of the plot, don’t ruining it.
Image – Youtube

5 Valuable Tips in Making an Effective Movie Trailer

1.  Your movie trailer should be short and concise.  Limit your movie trailer to 10 seconds to 20 seconds. 

2.  Have a three-act structure

A movie trailer is like telling a story.  Effective storytelling follows a rule of three-act structure.

The three-act structure is consists of:

1. Exposition

In the exposition, you expose or introduce the different characters of the story or the film.  You show the different situations of the characters and how they live their normal lives.

2. Development

In the development stage, you will show the interruption factor to this normality. You will show how this interruption complicates or disrupts of the situation of the characters. In a superhero movie, for example, this will be the evil character gaining a victory over the hero. The hero might even be badly wounded and forced to flee. In a romance movie, this will be the couple breaking up etc.

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3. Climax

In the climax, you must intensify the storyline to excite the viewers.  And bring the story a resolution. This will be the hero getting the girl or winning the day.

3.  Pick fitting music for your movie trailer

Music can play a vital role in designing a good movie trailer.  Music determines the mood and the atmosphere of the movie trailer.  It creates a big impression on viewers, so it’s important to get it right.

4.  Make Use of your sense of rhythm

You must have good software to edit your movie trailer.  Good editing is essential in making an effective movie trailer.  Rhythm is an all important part of this. Fast editing, for example, will instill a sense of tension in an audience. Slow edits, on the other hand, allow you to focus on giving the audience more information about a character or scene.

Key here is experimentation. Cut your trailer differently and see what works. Try it out on different people and see what they say..

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5.  Use tried-and-tested tricks to make an effective movie trailer

There are effective techniques that have been tried and tested in making movie trailers for years.

1. Fade out.

Fading helps when changing angles. Quick fades are better for a trailer as they take less time and help build suspense.

 2. Make use of sound effects like droning, blasts, whooshes, thunder, etc.

Using some atmospheric sounds can also help in the intensity of the scenes.  In the right place and right time they can add emotion and excitement.

3. Using voiceover or text on-screen to highlight the key themes of the movie.

The voiceover is an effective tool to grab audience attention. Text on-screen is another popular method.  Both help views understand what they are watching.

4. Using a fast cutting for fast-paced action.

Fast-cutting is a great technique that helps get the attention of the viewers. Speed is often better in trailers, not just because of time constraints, but also because it leaves viewers questioning what they have seen.

5. Using soft and calm music at the beginning and building crescendo at the end.

Rhythmically developing music is also powerful because it creates more emotions to the viewers.

6. Use of unexpected dramatic ending.

Dramatic endings can convey different emotions that will make the viewers excited about the film. The golden rule with any good trailer is that the audience should ALWAYS leave thinking about your film.

The best kind of advertising always creates a need in the viewer. Your trailer should leave the viewer with an urge to see your film. If you can create a movie trailer that does this, then your film will get audiences flocking to see it.

 

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