There are a lot of aspiring film makers out there, but the one thing they all have in common is that they’re trying to get attention for their creations. In order to do that you need to know how to get your product out to the right people. For that to happen you have to have an amazing trailer that will knock peoples socks off and blow their hair back, metaphorically-speaking of course. If you’re ever looking to make a blockbuster movie then you’ll need to create the blockbuster movie trailer to go with it.
It’s easy to laugh when you see the formula laid out so nicely in front of you. Perhaps laughter isn’t the desired response, but it’s still so exceedingly simple from a writer’s standpoint. You’re looking for a reaction, a means of reaching out and metaphorically slapping people in the face so that they’ll pay attention. It’s a proven formula actually but to see it laid out in such simple manner is kind of interesting. This makes you believe that pretty much anyone could write out a blockbuster movie trailer, so long as they had a hint of an idea.
It might seem a little insulting to writers and even to film makers that it could be so easy, after all such individuals take a lot of time to gain the skills needed to bring this type of entertainment to people. But in reality it’s more of a “duh” moment than anything. What do people respond to? What gets people worked up? It’s a matter of basic psychology and knowing how to pander to what people want. There’s no real mystery to it, no upper-level elite training that is necessary to cater to the cinematic needs of the populace.
You get their attention, and that’s half the battle.
Anyone and everyone that’s ever written a promo knows this, and it’s not a hard lesson to learn. If you can get someone’s attention then you can get them to listen. It’s a matter of taking that extra step and finding something esle of interest that can keep them from turning away. The best blockbusters tend to follow the formula shown in the clip below, and a lot of them manage to generate the buzz needed to get people into the theaters.
The trick is not showing them too much, and that’s where a lot of blockbuster films go wrong. They show all the best moments in the trailer and therefore have nothing left when people come to experience the movie. It pays to select the best scenes that can give a glimpse of the action but not everything. If the audience can see everything in the preview then why bother spending the time and money on the film?
Give the audience everything and then you have nothing.
If you want your audience to be excited about sitting down to watch the movie then the trailer needs to be something special. But it only needs to be a glimpse, just enough of a view through the metaphorical keyhole so that people are interested enough to see the whole picture.
Too much too soon and you lose your audience. If it’s not enough, you might never get their attention to start with.
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