Question Concerning Trailers

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Kakarot89: The Infamous Thread Killer
I had a discussion on here a while ago about how trailers give too much information anymore, i.e. the whole movie. Granted, older trailers did that too and they also beat the name of the film into your head as you watched it (go watch The Amityville Horror trailer sometime). This is going to be something different though.

I'm not sure if anyone here knows this but I make movies. I'm currently working on a short film called Invisible Diary of a Disabled Man (which is why I haven't really been that active lately). I do have a feature already written and I'm starting to get together but I have this looming question in my mind. What if I made fake trailers for my films? I would still give a basic plot outline and show what kind of film it is but not actually include any scenes from the movie. I suppose the best way to put it is, make a trailer script alongside the real script and shoot them together. I know Brave's trailer didn't contain a single scene from the film and that's kind of what gave me the idea. I want my audience to know only two things: A. what the film is about (plot and genre) and B. who is in it. Otherwise I want them completely in the dark.

I would also like to add that I get so tired of when I see a preview numerous times and then go see the film, they say the line and it's just so worn out it drives you insane. I had this problem recently with Django Unchained's "I like the way you die, boy." This fact has further convinced me to make fake trailers.

I'm just curious how you as movie goers would feel about this. Would it make you mad when you see the finished product or would you be glad to know that everything you see will be fresh after seeing the same trailer every time you go to the cinema? Just throw your thoughts out there.



I am the Watcher in the Night
It's sounds like a great idea. I'm tired of seeing trailers where almost every single great scene is shown and all the best lines quoted. The Fast 6 trailer seems to give us everything!

the idea of making a "fake" trailer sounds good but I I just think the simplest solution if make a trailer short and sweet, give us a hint of what's to come in the movie without showing us all the great climactic scenes or the best lines. The cast, a brief hint at the story and a few cool scenes are all that is needed.



Have a look at Dumb And Dumber...

They released a trailer for it making it look like a serious dramatic film...


Make a trailer that looks completely different from the film's actual tone.



Maybe you could do what Hitchcock did; have yourself or the actors in your movie talk about the movie during the trailer but without actually showing any footage. Of course this depends on the tone of your film but it would definitely be something different, and something not seen for a very long time. Hopefully it would come across as being rather confident about the finished product and maybe give the audience a smile.



Sorry Harmonica.......I got to stay here.
I prefer vague trailers that give minimal spoilers in terms of key moments/lines/plots. These marketing folks are getting a little too crazy. I saw a copy of Life of PI DVD and on the cover it said, "The New Avatar!"

Really?
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What if I made fake trailers for my films? I would still give a basic plot outline and show what kind of film it is but not actually include any scenes from the movie. I suppose the best way to put it is, make a trailer script alongside the real script and shoot them together. I know Brave's trailer didn't contain a single scene from the film and that's kind of what gave me the idea. I want my audience to know only two things: A. what the film is about (plot and genre) and B. who is in it. Otherwise I want them completely in the dark.
This is what hitchcock did for psycho:


He also bought every copy of the book so that no one would know the plot.



Have a look at Dumb And Dumber...

They released a trailer for it making it look like a serious dramatic film...


Make a trailer that looks completely different from the film's actual tone.
I personally think this is a terrible idea.
You shouldn't trick audiences into seeing your movie by making them think its something else.



Kakarot89: The Infamous Thread Killer
Foster, I agree with your comment about tricking the audience is a terrible idea. Which is why I thought I should ask if making a fake trailer in the first place is a good idea (granted, that's tricking them in another way but it's still tricking them). The Psycho trailer you posted was pretty nice though.

As for making a short trailer, that can also have its drawbacks, as there might not be enough information for people to know what the film is about and they might skip it.

There have been a few trailers I've seen recently that come across as giving away too much but they actually completely overlook the third act. I still think this gives away too much info but it's not Quarantine.



A system of cells interlinked
I avoid any and all trailers for films as much as humanly possible. I don't watch commercial TV, so that's an easy medium to avoid. The trouble is when I go to a flick, and they play 5-8 previews before the film. I usually go get snacks or hit the bathroom at this point.

Sometimes though, I just end up seeing them somewhere while at a friends place or something, I just try to tune it out and ignore it as much as possible.

"Well **** man, how do you know what films are coming out?"

Good question, and sometimes I just miss stuff, but since I am on MoFo almost every day, I tend to hear about most films via word of mouth. I read about films too, making sure the article is spoiler free, if possible.
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“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” ― Thomas Sowell



I avoid any and all trailers for films as much as humanly possible. I don't watch commercial TV, so that's an easy medium to avoid. The trouble is when I go to a flick, and they play 5-8 previews before the film. I usually go get snacks or hit the bathroom at this point.
I'm in a similar position.
I gave up cable 2 years ago. For a while I did netflix streaming, but now I'm on mailed discs only. I'm completely disconnected from new movies, and I rarely go to the theatre. e.g. I think I'm going to wait until the last hobbit movie comes out before I watch any of them.

It's not a problem for now since I still have about 200 movies in my queue.. occasionally i'l watch something new like the man with the iron fists and i'll feel perfectly content that i'm not missing much haha.



Foster, I agree with your comment about tricking the audience is a terrible idea. Which is why I thought I should ask if making a fake trailer in the first place is a good idea (granted, that's tricking them in another way but it's still tricking them). The Psycho trailer you posted was pretty nice though.

As for making a short trailer, that can also have its drawbacks, as there might not be enough information for people to know what the film is about and they might skip it.

There have been a few trailers I've seen recently that come across as giving away too much but they actually completely overlook the third act. I still think this gives away too much info but it's not Quarantine.
Honestly I think you could get away with a lot here, as long as you make it clear up front what you're doing. For example if you have a disclaimer that what you're about to see is not footage from the actual film, then show a deleted scene that would appear on the dvd extras. but the further you stray from convention the more risk you're taking



Kakarot89: The Infamous Thread Killer
Okay, so I decided to put together a trailer for my short film. I've been told I don't give anything away with the film, which makes me very happy. Would you guys mind taking a look at it and letting me know what you think?



PS I'm not trying to spam anyone or anything. I'm looking for genuine reviews based on the trailer itself. Does the film look good or at least interesting? I'm hoping the genre isn't obvious but if you wanna throw that out there, you're more than welcome. I just want some feedback. Thanks.



This is probably the wrong thread for this, but I was hesitant to start a new one. This is something relatively new to me, so I’m not sure if it’ll “pass”, but lately I’ve been feeling like I just wish there were no trailers. It’s not about the quality of the trailers per se, or the shitty music, which has been touched upon in this thread, but the very idea. I’m not someone at all bothered by spoilers in the sense usually discussed, i.e. knowing the ending usually doesn’t make me like the film any less, but what I hate is going to see a film and being forced to sit through all the trailers for the new stuff. It’s not the spoiler aspect per se as I generally don’t mind, but with the likes of Nope, I just wanted to go into it knowing nothing, nothing whatsoever. It didn’t make me anticipate it any less that the trailers reveal it to be a
WARNING: spoilers below
UFO film
(oh, the irony [sic]), but I’ve come to see a completely different film, and it’s just annoying.

Yes, I do know a functional solution: arrive very late, just as the film is about to start. Unthinkable for a perpetually early person like me, but I will try. I do kind of question the concept of trailers. Can we really not sell a single film without revealing stuff?



I have to be contrary here. I not only like trailers, but the more they tell me, the better. Movies as a surprise ended a long time ago, like when humans learned how to talk, so I've rarely been to a movie where I did NOT know a lot about it. I don't know that I've ever seen a trailer that explicitly told you how the movie ends, but I'd be OK that that, since I am probably going to read the Wikipedia article before I get to the theater anyway.

As for why do we need trailers.....it's so I'm not just tossing the dice and choosing a movie at random. I want to know what I'm about to see. After all, we've been doing this with theater, music and opera for a long time. Nobody seriously goes to see Macbeth and expects a surprise ending and they all know that Beethoven's Ninth Symphony ends with the Ode to Joy.

Between life and information being leaky and not wanting to waste my time on a movie I won't like, I want to know what's going to happen.



Trailers reduce risk when we step into a theater. They give us an idea about plot points, tone, style, genre etc. I get why that matters to some people. Some people only watch a handful of movies a month, if that, and need to choose wisely.


But if you want to dive head first into cinema, I find it is best to know as little about anything as possible. I want nearly every movie I watch to be like an undiscovered country that I can just barely see off in the distance, and I want to be the one who begins to make out it's contours, and foliage and wildlife, with my own eyes, in real time.


I find the more I know before hand, the less I can lose surrender myself to the mystery or what any particular movie is, but that it also deters me from watching a lot of things because I start up with a bunch of idiotic preconceived notions of what it is, and if now is the right time for it, or that I might not like it.


I just want a movie to happen, like a dream



But if you want to dive head first into cinema, I find it is best to know as little about anything as possible. I want nearly every movie I watch to be like an undiscovered country that I can just barely see off in the distance, and I want to be the one who begins to make out it's contours, and foliage and wildlife, with my own eyes, in real time.


I find the more I know before hand, the less I can lose surrender myself to the mystery or what any particular movie is, but that it also deters me from watching a lot of things because I start up with a bunch of idiotic preconceived notions of what it is, and if now is the right time for it, or that I might not like it.


I just want a movie to happen, like a dream
Exactly how I’ve been feeling.