A film trailer is more than just a marketing tool, it’s the first glimpse an audience gets of your movie and plays a pivotal role in shaping their decision to watch it. A great trailer can generate excitement, intrigue, and anticipation, while a poorly executed one can drive potential viewers away. Creating a thrilling film trailer requires a blend of storytelling, technical expertise, and marketing savvy. This guide will provide detailed insights into what a film trailer is, common pitfalls to avoid, and step-by-step instructions on crafting a captivating and suspenseful trailer.
What Is a Film Trailer?
A film trailer is a short, dynamic video designed to promote an upcoming film. Typically ranging from 90 seconds to three minutes, trailers are a condensed version of a movie, combining key visuals, sounds, and dialogue to highlight its tone, genre, and storyline without revealing too much.
The primary goal of a trailer is to intrigue the audience, encouraging them to invest time (and money) into watching the full film. For thrillers, the stakes are even higher—your trailer must evoke suspense, adrenaline, and curiosity. It needs to offer just enough information to hook viewers without spoiling the experience.
What to Avoid When Making A Trailer
Creating a trailer involves walking a fine line between tantalizing the audience and preserving the film’s secrets. Here are some common mistakes to avoid:
Revealing Too Much: One of the biggest sins in trailer-making is giving away key plot points, twists, or the ending. For thrillers, this is particularly damaging, as much of the genre’s appeal lies in its unpredictability. Avoid showing critical moments that would ruin the audience’s ability to experience genuine shock or surprise.
Misrepresenting the Film: A misleading trailer may attract viewers initially but will ultimately backfire when audiences feel cheated. For example, marketing a psychological thriller as an action-packed crime drama might bring in the wrong audience, leading to poor word of mouth reviews.
Overloading on Action: While intense action scenes are thrilling, a trailer packed with nonstop chaos can feel overwhelming or monotonous. Balance action sequences with moments of quiet tension to give the audience emotional highs and lows.
Using Generic Music or Effects: The wrong soundtrack or clichéd sound effects can make your trailer feel cheap and uninspired. A unique score or cleverly timed sound design will heighten suspense and give your trailer a professional edge.
Ignoring Pacing: A poorly paced trailer – either too slow or too chaotic – can leave viewers disengaged. Your trailer should have a rhythm that mirrors the beats of your story while keeping the audience on edge.
Making The Film Trailer
Before you can cut your film up into a trailer, you need a deep understanding of your film. You need to know what the overall message and tone your film gives, consider who your audience is, and identify the scenes that encapsulate the essence of your story. Try watching trailers for similar films in your genre to understand what works and what doesn’t. Analyze their structure, tone, and pacing.
1. Select the Most Compelling Footage
Go through your film and pick the scenes that best convey its essence. Look for:
• Visually Striking Shots: Cinematic moments that will grab attention.
• Emotionally Charged Moments: Scenes that showcase fear, suspense, or intensity.
• Unique Selling Points: Elements that set your thriller apart from others in the genre, such as a chilling antagonist or a memorable set piece.
Avoid overloading your trailer with plot-heavy scenes; focus on moments that evoke curiosity and emotion.
2. Write a Trailer Script
A great trailer starts with a solid script. Decide on the narrative arc you want your trailer to follow. Common approaches include:
• Chronological: Presenting events in the order they occur in the film.
• Fragmented: Using non-linear editing to create mystery.
• Voiceover-Driven: Using narration to guide the audience through the story.
Your script should outline the key moments, dialogue snippets, and voiceovers you plan to include, ensuring that every second of the trailer has a purpose.
Example: For a psychological thriller, your script might start with an eerie voiceover hinting at the protagonist’s troubled mind, followed by a montage of increasingly unsettling events.
3. Create a Suspenseful Atmosphere
Tone is critical in a thriller trailer. Use lighting, color grading, and editing techniques to create an atmosphere that aligns with your film. For example:
• A moody, desaturated color palette can evoke dread.
• High-contrast lighting and quick cuts create a sense of urgency.
Sound design plays a key role here as well. Incorporate:
• Ambient Noise: Wind howling, distant screams, or heavy breathing.
• Music: Build suspense with a score that intensifies as the trailer progresses.
• Sound Effects: Use sharp, sudden sounds to punctuate dramatic moments.
Example: The trailer for A Quiet Place (2018) masterfully used silence, broken by jarring sound effects, to highlight the film’s unique premise.
4. Perfect the Pacing
Pacing is crucial for maintaining audience engagement. A good thriller trailer should build tension incrementally, with each beat more intense than the last. Follow this structure:
1. Slow Build: Begin with quiet, eerie moments to establish intrigue.
2. Rising Action: Introduce conflict and raise the stakes with quicker cuts and dramatic music.
3. Climactic Hook: End with a burst of action or a shocking twist, followed by a moment of silence or a cryptic line of dialogue to leave viewers wanting more.
5. Use Text and Graphics Effectively
Text elements can guide viewers through the trailer and emphasize key points. Include:
• Title Cards: Brief, impactful phrases like “One Night,” “One Killer,” “One Chance to Survive.”
• Critical Information: Release date, cast, and director’s name.
• Visual Style: Ensure fonts and animations match the tone of your thriller.
7. Refine and Test
Once your trailer is assembled, share it with a test audience. Pay attention to their feedback—does the trailer build suspense? Does it leave them intrigued? Use this feedback to fine-tune the pacing, sound, and visuals.
Making The Trailer Memorable
Leverage Mystery: Thrillers thrive on ambiguity. Pose questions in your trailer that the full film will answer. For example, you might show a character discovering a cryptic note or encountering an unseen threat.
Showcase Your Antagonist: If your thriller features a compelling villain or antagonist, give them a moment to shine. A chilling line of dialogue or a haunting close-up can leave a lasting impression.
Use Symbolism: Sometimes, a single object or image can evoke more intrigue than an entire scene. A blood-stained letter, a ticking clock, or a shadowy figure can become iconic elements in your trailer.
Create a Memorable Hook: A hook is the final moment of your trailer that lingers in the viewer’s mind. It could be a shocking reveal, a cryptic line, or a cliffhanger that compels them to watch the movie.
Conclusion
A thrilling film trailer is an art form that requires careful planning, creativity, and precision. By understanding the essence of your film, avoiding common pitfalls, and following a structured approach, you can create a trailer