Idea #107 - Just A Little Tease

How are you convinced that a movie is worth watching? Do rotten tomatoes do it for you? Or do you still choose to watch a movie if you like the trailer, despite the hard-to-ignore 5.7 IMDb rating below its title? This got us wondering how trailers persuade us to watch the movie.

So today we watched Vanity Fair’s How Movie Trailers are Created to understand a little better the nuances and considerations that go into editing movie trailers to bring to the table the best they have to offer. Questions like

• How much do you want to show?

• What exactly do you want to tell?

• Which quadrant of the audience demographic do you want to target?

Help you choose the pacing, the tone, and the elements that best support the narrative of the film.

We also learned about the 3-Act Trailer Structure to better condense a three hour long feature film to merely about 2 minutes. This structure involves -

1. The Cold Open - an enticing opening with little or no context to hook the audience

2. Act 1 - introduces the premise and the foundation of the events unfolding

3. Act 2 - introduces the conflict, often the antagonist

4. Act 3 - connects the dots and summarises the plot with the limited storyline revealed

5. The Button - gives one last little tease, often fueled with gripping action or simply humour

The trailer of a film is something we barely ever give thought to when speaking of films. Today’s Daily Idea reminded us that these little sneak peeks demand just as much skill and attention to the nuances as their films.

Written and Curated by Arya Kastwar