People always ask me how long a game trailer should be. There’s no one answer, but there is a bigger question of how video length and label affects the audience expectations. Calibrate expectations properly, and the necessary length of video will become clearer.
Read More“Show, don’t tell” is the age old mantra of filmmaking, and it’s even more important for trailers, because advertising is literally trying to get the audience to buy something, not just “buy in” to a story. Here’s why showing works better than telling, and why telling is so dangerous.
Read MoreIt’s very easy to make a video game trailer look generic. What are the common pitfalls trailers which cause this to happen?
Read MoreTrailers don’t need to tell everything about a story, and there are many cases in which providing more information makes a less effective trailer. Here’s why character names and other minutiae are at the top of the list for things to leave out.
Read MoreThe trailer for the missing-person thriller Searching is a film told entirely through screens. Not only is it a great trailer, but the storytelling hurdles it faces are very similar to those for game trailers!
Read MoreWhat can a 4 second Vine with only two shots in it teach you about trailer editing? It turns out, a whole lot.
Read MoreTrailers are best when they’re a means of telling a story, but sometimes you barely need any plot details to make something entertaining to watch. How do you do more with less?
Read MoreThe burden of depicting player verbs is something unique to the art of making game trailers. What is the best way to show them visually without resorting to a voiceover explaining the game point by point?
Read MoreThis is a multi part series of posts about the different “acts” of a trailer. In the age of scrolling feeds of auto-playing video, the Cold Open is more relevant than ever. Here is how it can hook the audience’s attention
Read MoreThe “line of rising action” is an idea people explore for narratives, but trailers have very different needs. Here’s my take on the unique line of rising action specifically for trailers.
Read MoreHere are the varieties of trailers made for video games. Similar to TV spots for big budget films, game trailers come in all varieties with different target audiences, and messages to communicate to their audience.
Read MoreThe first trailer for “Untitled Goose Game” is brilliant in its simplicity, but there’s something about the fundamental design of the game that translates well into video.
Read MoreI’ve worked in both the movie and game trailer industries. There are similarities between the two, but there are many ways they are fundamentally different beasts. Whether you’re looking to enter a career in either or just curious, this will answer your questions!
Read MoreBattleBlock Theater is a game whose trailer campaign I saw from both the outside and inside. What is to be done when development is so long and protracted?
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