Teaser trailers are often even better than the full trailers because they have to be so enticing that people maintain interest, yet don't know enough so that they can make a full decision on whether or not they want to see it. How do you strike this balance?
A brief trend in trailer editing was music covers of classic themes using a simple and understated piano score. Why was this a thing, and what were the trailer producers thinking when they did it?
Transitions are the glue that make a great trailer; they're one of the hardest things to edit, but learning how to master the various techniques opens up a world of possibilities.
There are a number of things that I think about while editing a trailer that guide my decision making. Here's what they are, and how I arrived at them in my career as an editor.
Trailers are notorious for containing spoilers, but there are ways to use spoilery shots without alerting the audience. How can this be done, and what does it look like when it's done wrong?
The Inception Braaaaaaam sound is one of the most influential bits of sound design/music in modern trailers.
What that made it so popular?
Sometimes when there's a built-in audience for an already popular property, great trailers are made, and sometimes it's clear that the trailer producers knew that how the trailer is edited isn't as important as just showing what the audience wants to see.
How the heck do you get a job as an editor in the trailer industry? It's not that different from any sort of creative job you might want; you just have to know where to look, and what to expect.
Some of my favorite trailers are for love stories I either didn't like in the final film, or didn't find as affecting as I did in the trailer. What is it about the storytelling of a trailer that works differently from the final film that causes this to happen?
Two stories about the events that lead up to me getting two of my favorite gigs. Nothing I did that got me these gigs were done for the sake of getting hired, and yet it worked out that way in the end.
Unless you have outside restrictions, the length of a trailer shouldn't be the first question in mind, because good editing can make two minutes fly by, and bad editing can make one minute feel like an eternity.