(Newswire.net — October 30, 2020) — With the advent of the pandemic, a lot of marginal and new filmmakers have found their voice online by means of putting their films on platforms like YouTube.
Earlier, the same filmmakers struggled with finding production houses who could back them and distribute their movies across theatres. But now, since everyone has shifted online, the switch has been favorable to many creators.
So, as a new filmmaker trying to break into the industry, you might also have a film to release, and the first step to doing that successfully is to have a trailer that first gets people talking about your film. To make this trailer, we have a list of things you can take care of to ensure professional-grade promos that are bound to generate the clout you need.
1. Align editing with the theme
As you are well aware, all genres of movies need their trailer editing to be approached in a different manner. For example, an action movie might need quick and shorter cuts to ensure engagement, while a rom-com can make do with a much simpler process.
Thrillers and horrors, on the other hand, need so much intrigue and suspense that it is almost impossible for an amateur editor to nail the trailer on their first try. Basically, using a technique that is unfit for your genre will not only be misleading but will also put off the viewer.
2. Include panels of text
While the trailer is something that the viewer watches as the audience, the text in it can help aid their experience. It helps contextualize the situation and can also be a great way for the trailer to open.
For example, if the director has worked on previously popular projects, you can introduce the movie with 'From the director of so and so movie…', doing this can ensure an immediate connection and reliability with the content that is to be followed.
Text can also help create intrigue by asking questions in between slides that the movie will ultimately answer. If used concisely and smartly, it can impact your overall video very strongly.
3. Do not give away the plot
As an editor, you might be given a rough framework of what to include in the trailer. But if you are the filmmaker who is also editing the promo, the entire decision-making is in your own hands.
You have to decide what makes it to the cut and what doesn't. Striking a balance between making the trailer interesting and still keeping important parts of the plot under wraps is a very difficult task.
In the process, you might have to let go of some brilliant shots in order to keep an important element of the story intact, and even though it is tough to do, as the creative person in charge, you might just have to for the sake of your film.
4. Voiceover is pivotal
Just like text, voiceover is essential in two ways– for context and for a better viewing experience. For instance, a crisp, strong voice for an action movie or a soft and polite one for a romantic movie can help set the tone of your film almost naturally and guide the viewer in the direction you want.
It is important not to bombard your viewer with a lot of voiceovers since that will eat into the space of actual dialogues and scores from the movie itself. This will leave no place for you to actually let the important parts of the trailer shine as they are but rather be overshadowed by excessive background noise
5. Focus on the main shots
There might still be some shots that are left that will show your filmmaking skills while still not giving away any spoilers or important parts of the movie. For example, a chase scene or fight scene that shows how interesting the movie is can always find some space in the promo as well.
These barely take any major time in the whole trailer but ensure that the audience will expect to be on the edge of their seats when they actually see the movie. Use your video editing skills and combine them by taking the help of a promo video maker online to craft something similar to this. More info here.
6. Ensure clear cuts
This is a mistake most amateur editors will make. They try to put as much as they can In a two-minute trailer, and the end result is a sloppy video with unclean cuts and way too much information to process for the audience.
Instead, it is better to keep in mind beforehand that you have a stipulated duration, and it is important to make the most of it while still making that short video a good experience for the viewer. The only way to ensure this is editing and re-editing. It can be very tedious to do, but it is part of the job nonetheless.
7. Give conclusive information
Just like any other brand or product, your trailer is the one thing associated with your film that will help sell it. So, it only makes sense to actually let your audience know relevant details like when the movie will be released, where it can be seen, the premiere date, and so on.
Similarly, a disclaimer at the start can help you tackle any legal difficulties that might arise.
Ensuring that you are on the same page with all of this can be a tough task, and making use of websites like www.videocreek.com to help edit your intros and outros can bring some ease to the same.
Conclusion
Making the trailer for a film can be a very exhausting process, with a lot of people weighing in their opinions and what can be done about the same. However, as the main person behind the whole operation, it is important that you make all final decisions and do not let any external influence change your mind. You know your film the best, and nobody knows it better than you. Hence, all decisions, whether creative or financial, need to be led by you, and only then can you ensure that the film so close to your heart finds the right audience and the right people working on it.