trailers

[P Andersson]

what is the story really on people getting movies started by doing a trailer first

 

[Bruce Allen]

People often get movies started with a good pitch. A good trailer can form part of a good pitch. Of course, the idea needs to be there though (or the package, in terms of who is attached)... but the trailer or promo can help a lot sometimes.

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

 

[Robert Sanders]

I recently produced two trailers for two feature-film projects we're raising funding for. We refer to them internally as "pitch-reels". I've seen pitch-reels range from something extremely simple like a visual effects "proof of concept" test that is used to get a studio excited about a project; to very complex 3-4 minute "story trailers".

While I won't say that the pitch-reels we produced were unsuccessful, I will say that the pitch-reels had a lot of value in convincing the "money" that we were competent filmmakers.

It really comes down to cost and effort. How much are you willing to spend on a "trailer" and how much time are you willing to put forward? How much story do you need to tell? How much production value can you throw at it.

We often had the problem where our pitch-reels were too slick and everyone who watched them automatically assumed the movie already existed. We'd get confused responses like, "So what are you looking for? Distribution? Finishing funds?" And we'd be like, "No, we need to fund the movie so we can make it." And they scratch their heads, "But you already shot it?" And so on and so forth...

So I would say that if you need to showcase your team's skills and ability to be responsible filmmakers, you can either produce a trailer for your project or simply produce a short 5-minute short film. I think they both produce the same result.

The caveats with trailers are they can lead to confusion. The pros with trailers are that they give the investor/distributor a glimpse into what your proposed movie will look like. The caveats with short films are that they don't "prove" you can handle long-form filmmaking. The pros with short films is that you're telling a linear story in a nice bit-sized package.

So take that how you will.

If you're interested, you can view the "pitch-reel" we produced for a horror film called "Shadow Falls" on my website...

http://www.starwaypictures.com/shadowpoint/trailers.html

 

[Bruce Allen]

Enjoyed your post, Mr Sanders! So much great info here.

Forgot to say, the nice thing is it's the one time that you can use any music you want - same for distribution trailers...

Talking of weird kinds of trailers, has anyone apart from me seen the cut-n-paste ones? You know, when they use clips from other movies for their trailer because they haven't shot anything yet... and try to cut it into a new story. Hilarious. I've worked on a few of those... kinda Ed Wood style...

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

 

[Robert Sanders]

Yeah, I've seen a couple of those. Especially the more "mock" style ones where you take one film and cut a trailer of it's opposite (e.g. The Shining Chick Flick).

 

[Kevin Halverson]

Rather than describing these short films as a 'trailer', a better term is a 'feature development' short.

I have been involved in many of these and have seen a few become fully funded feature films. These can be thought of as a powerful tool to help sell the feature. It can still be a lot of hard work even with a great feature development short. One that wrapped earlier this year (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0469099/) took 4 years from the time the feature development was completed until principal photography began on the feature.

 

[Bruce Allen]

Yeah, I've seen a couple of those. Especially the more "mock" style ones where you take one film and cut a trailer of it's opposite (e.g. The Shining Chick Flick).

Yes, but also there are serious ones too - I worked on one for a studio who wanted to promote a movie coming out in 2008 and who hadn't shot a frame of film! So we made a full trailer (VO, big graphic titles, everything), just using footage from related movies...

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

 

[Robert Sanders]

Yes, but also there are serious ones too - I worked on one for a studio who wanted to promote a movie coming out in 2008 and who hadn't shot a frame of film! So we made a full trailer (VO, big graphic titles, everything), just using footage from related movies...

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

I've never seen one of those. It would be a hoot to see one, to see what they did.

 

[Seth Larney]

Forgot to say, the nice thing is it's the one time that you can use any music you want - same for distribution trailers...

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

Hey Bruce, this is something I've been looking to clarify. We're working on a promo for a feature that we're trying to get up at the moment. Do you mean that you can use copyrighted music for pitch reels ? I do know that you can screen vision with copyrighted audio, as long as they're not recorded together. So I guess the caveat would be that they're not for public screening or something ? i.e you would only prvately screen your pitch reel ? But not be able to publicly screen the material, or post it online etc ?

It also may be different here in Australia ?

Cheers,
Seth.

 

[Bruce Allen]

Hey Bruce, this is something I've been looking to clarify. We're working on a promo for a feature that we're trying to get up at the moment. Do you mean that you can use copyrighted music for pitch reels ?

Of course! If the audience is studio execs, behind closed doors, nobody cares. Use the best music possible! Steal sound effects from other movies. Go nuts!

If you want to screen at public events, then you need to go legit, of course. Similarly, you shouldn't make distribution trailers publicly available on the Internet.

If you ask a lawyer, they might say something different, but that is the way it is in Hollywood. AFAIK nobody is going to sue you for using their music in a non-public distribution trailer. Hey, if your distribution trailer is a big hit with the execs and they decide they love that song you used without license, they might even pony up the top-dollar amount needed to license that song for the real trailer.

The artist whose work you ripped stands to benefit a lot from their inclusion on the distribution trailer. Although in the real world, the song you use in the distribution trailer almost never gets used - that's mainly because the structure of a distribution trailer is different to the structure of a theatrical release trailer and since the music choice is so integral to the structure of the trailer, when you change the trailer's structure, you usually end up changing the music as well...

Wow, confusing last sentence. Sorry about that. But you get what I mean.

Oh yeah, and never try to do the trailer yourself. You are way too close to the movie. That's why the studios come to outside companies - they offer an objective perspective that is sorely needed.

Who are you selling to? Australian or US buyers? I would like to recommend the company I currently work at to you, because they are highly ethical, and have great taste. I am not a producer or anything there - just a designer - so there is no personal incentive for me for you to take your work there. I just think that they're good. But I don't want to advertise unless asked. PM me or post here if you want me to talk about them. Oh, and it's not the company listed on my resume - that's out of date

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

 

[Seth Larney]

Hey Bruce,

Sound advice, thanks alot. That's basically the direction we've been headed in. We originally had our composers create a score for our promo, but I decided I wanted to go all out and use the best music available to get the point accross, so I'm using commercial stuff.

If you want to screen at public events, then you need to go legit, of course. Similarly, you shouldn't make distribution trailers publicly available on the Internet.

Naturally I meant in more general terms (ie, you obviously can't steal music for a publicly displayed short for isntance).

Oh yeah, and never try to do the trailer yourself. You are way too close to the movie. That's why the studios come to outside companies - they offer an objective perspective that is sorely needed.

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

Do you mean never try to do a distribution trailer (promo) yoruself, or a thetrical trailer yourself ?

We are doing our promo inhouse (as I'm directing it), but of course we have editors and a full crew.. I'd never edit my own material. I think you mean never do a theatrical trailer yourself ? But then, don't the financiars/studios have a say in that anyway ? (sorry, didn't quite get the meaning of that last bit).

Cheers mate,
Seth.

 

[Bruce Allen]

Do you mean never try to do a distribution trailer (promo) yoruself, or a thetrical trailer yourself ?

Both. Get in touch with a trailer company to do your distribution trailer professionally. Why?

1. They make their living from making good trailers. If they sucked, they would lose their jobs.

2. Their staff have no idea about which bits you are in love with or not!

3. They can actually save you a ton of money - they have relationships with the good voiceover artists, finishing houses, stock footage places, sound mixing places, have huge sound libraries, etc.

4. They have relationships with studios (maybe they can casually mention to top studio execs that "oh yeah, we're doing a distribution trailer for this great movie, you should see it"). But don't quote me on that

5. You are getting not just one editor working on your trailer but a whole team of writers, producers, music supervisors, editors, designers, etc who are used to working together on a daily basis specifically to create trailers. The person suggesting music to the editor will have a massive library of trailer cues in their head, and spends their days finding fresh ones. The editor will have spent years learning their trade... know every trick in the trailer book, have the right sound effects sorted, organized and ready to go... the graphics guy will have reams of font books, stock footage, etc. It takes years for each member of the team to get good at their respective jobs. You need these experienced people to help you make a good trailer quickly.

6. You want your trailer to be original and fresh. But most of the time, you also want it to feel a little bit like other (good) movie trailers. This helps execs feel more like you are a pro and have done this sort of thing before

But then, don't the financiars/studios have a say in that anyway ?

Only at the end, really. You'd be surprised - the big studios mostly know well enough to stay out of the way and let the trailer editor come up with the first cut themselves. They let the editor respond to what he/she finds in the movie. If the studio doesn't like the first cut at all, they might go to another editor whose response they prefer. If they also hate that editor's first work, they'll probably go to a different trailer house.

Of course later, the studio gives notes, the team (writer, editor, graphics, etc) responds, etc. If the director wants this or that, we respond... but we sincerely try to do what is best for selling the movie. Sometimes the story you need to tell in the trailer is very different to what you think the movie is about. I have seen many occasions where a director will actually decide to re-cut a scene in their movie because they liked something a trailer editor did in a scene better than the way the scene was cut in their own feature.

I'm not sure about how big your project is, or how much you have invested. But once you've gone beyond a certain threshold, you are almost certain to get a greater chance of a greater return on investment if you spend a little bit on a good distribution trailer made by a trailer hourse.

If you're still reading by now, you probably want me to recommend someone - in which I highly recommend that you go to www.mocean.tv and send an email to Richard Redfield or Scott Goldman - those are the people you want producing your distribution trailer, believe me

Anyway, tell me how it goes! They have no idea I am recommending them...

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

 

[P Andersson]

great, a lot of interesting information, here is some more

http://www.goldentrailer.com/trailers.html