HOLLYWOOD—What makes a good movie trailer? It has probably been debated for years, but with modern technology it makes it so much harder for movie studios to craft a good one because the internet is at our fingertips and makes it hard. How so? You can repeatedly watch a trailer over and over to the point where you can splice the editing that was done back together to realize which scenes are connected and potential outcomes of the narrative before seeing the actual movie.
Let me give you a prime example, watch some of trailers for iconic movies from the 70s and 80s. Many of them were clocking in at least two minutes and 30 seconds to almost three minutes. If you watch a trailer for horror flicks from the 80s you will understand exactly what I’m talking about. The trailers pretty much told you who was going to die and who was going to live. If you were clever enough you could splice things together and probably know the ending of the movie as well.
It hit me, the studios didn’t have to worry about such fans trying to splice a trailer together back then. You would only see that movie trailer for most people once and that was while you were at the movie theater. The trailers were not coming on nonstop on television and you couldn’t just pull it up on your phone, tablet or computer without any hiccups.
The internet has made that possible, which means the studios have to get more creative with their trailers, but it seems they could care less. I hate when studios release multiple trailers for a movie. You don’t need to do that and it’s an actual disservice to the movie itself. You are giving things away, and I used to be the biggest proponent of movie trailers because I loved to know what was coming to theaters soon. However, I have reached a point where I prefer to start going into a movie blind.
When you don’t know what is going to unfold it is going to tame and temper your expectations so you’re not disappointed or so eager for a movie to deliver that it just doesn’t. A good movie teaser can give you a lot with just a little. If I were to tell you a great trailer to check out it would have been the initial trailer for “Scream VI.” It set the stage for what chaos Ghostface was going to bring to New York City and didn’t give much beyond that. The only caveat is I hate when a trailer spoils a particular scene. You already have an idea of what might happen, and it’s only made worse if you were hinted that a character might bite the dust.
Now that I reflect on that trailer I take that back. I can’t think of a trailer that doesn’t spoil too much but gives you just enough to hook you. Perhaps this is my editing mind working overload. I would craft a spine-chilling score, (yes, I’m crafting the perfect horror movie trailer), with back drops of words to explain some sort of significant event taking place before delivering a few shots of our staple character, perhaps the villain and quick, spliced chaos. I don’t want to give the spectator any chance to disseminate the terror of what might be in store for the characters. All they need to know is danger is near, and they better make a move sooner than later.
I think Hollywood should take that approach, but I don’t believe that will ever happen. I truly want to know who puts the trailers together. I don’t think it’s the editor of the film or the director. I truly think it’s the movie studios because they just can’t help themselves at times. They love to show how great of a movie they have crafted even if it spoils the beginning, middle and the end. How about we live a little to surprise. Movie goers are not a stupid and gullible as some like to think. We like to be surprised when it comes to our entertainment. Give us just a taste and trust we will come back for more.
