Trailer Essays
Food for thought about trailers
Game sound effects are a great opportunity to create a brand identity for a new game or press nostalgia buttons in the target audience of a sequel to a popular game. Here are a few examples of how I tried to do this in trailers I made.
Trailers are just one form of storytelling and there are lessons you can take from the much older storytelling medium of picture books! Here are a handful of lessons which I learned from picture books which can be applied to trailers.
Why wait until the announcement to make a trailer when you can make one before you’ve even started making the game? This can be a useful tool to assess the viability of your game’s genre and the strength of its hooks.
How do you judge the quality of a game trailer from the least experienced to most? This is my guide for what game trailers’ components look at a range of experience. You can use this to improve your own work and evaluate the work you see around you.
If you’re an inexperienced game trailer editor, don’t chase fast cut trailers made by Hollywood movie trailer editors. In some cases it might be what your project calls for, but in most cases it is not. Here’s my pep talk for if you feel like in your trailer editing you’re chasing legitimacy or the look of “real” trailers.
Some game trailers get the job done and do little more. Sometimes this works out if the game is hooky and unique enough, but in other cases it can make the game look worse and cheaper than it is.
What does it look like when a great game has a terrible game trailer? If the game is good enough, its qualities can shine through, but bad editing can really do a tremendous disservice to a good game. Most game trailers aren’t this ineffective at showcasing the game, but a lot come close.
Avoiding video filters and video transitions are the number one thing most amateur video editors can do to make their work look more professional. Here is why, and what to do instead!
When a trailer uses quotes they had to really dig to find, they’re kind of saying the opposite of whatever the quotes are saying. You don’t have to dig for treasure when it’s lying on the surface, so this is what you’re saying by digging…
The film movements Cinema Verité and Direct Cinema were dedicated to depicting documentaries with great authenticity, and there’s a lot they can teach us about making more authentic game trailers!
If you’re an indie game developer making a trailer, think twice before looking to the latest AAA game trailers from E3, The Game Awards, or similar caliber of trailer. In this essay I explain why it’s setting you up for failure, and how you can do better.
Part of being a good trailer maker is being aware of the current zeitgeist and conversations. At best, you can make something which contributes or responds to it, and at worst you could unwittingly release something very tone deaf. Here are some examples of movies and games which I think did a good job.
What is the balance of style and substance in a game trailer? Where is the line between making something look cool and looking like you’re trying to hide something behind all the flash?
What can ice cream, stand-up comedy, and first dates teach you about making game trailers? These are my most frequently used analogies and here’s why.
The first clients are the most difficult ones to get, so how do you do it? Here are my tips using everything from Fiverr, reddit, TikTok, and Twitter. How to help people know you exist (and what you do) without explicitly selling yourself!
Some game trailers show footage which amount to little more than switches on a fidget cube being activated. There’s no rhyme or reason we can see that the player is using them. This is why that’s frequently insufficient for a well made game trailer, and what to do to remedy the situation.
A24’s movie trailers are highly regarded on the internet. How do their trailers differ from all the rest, and make people not only love them, but eager to watch more?
Based on YouTube’s popularity graphs, here are some reasons people went back to rewatch game trailers in whole or in part. This is all speculation based off my intuition and observations as a trailer editor, but I think there’s some good food for thought in here.
If you’re a fan trailer editor making game trailers and hoping to transition into independent professional work for indie games, make sure you’ve taken these first two steps!
Well made aloha shirts (aka Hawaiian shirts) make the whole thing look good by focusing on a few small details. This philosophy can be applied to videos especially by less experienced or beginner editors!
Too many game trailers don’t distinguish between putting in scenes from the story, and TELLING a story via the trailer. Here is the difference between a successful story trailer, and a wasted opportunity.
The natural impulses of an inexperienced game trailer editor risk turning off the audience by being too pushy of a sales person. Here is what that looks like, how to avoid it, and how to be a more invisible game trailer editor.
Backstory is a fine thing to put into a movie trailer, but it’s far less effective and even detrimental to game trailers, because it’s simply not what people are curious to know about when looking for a new game to play. Here are my thoughts on why, and what to do instead.
Most game trailers tend to focus on what information to convey about the game, when I think they should worry more about the feelings they can convey through use of music, editing, sound, voiceover, and more!
No matter how hard you try, there’s almost no chance for people to watch a trailer and remember everything they saw. That’s why it’s very important to make sure what you DO show is as focused and easy to understand as possible so you don’t overwhelm the audience’s cognitive load.
When I watch a lot of trailers in quick succession I can’t help but pick up trends and tropes both good and bad. Here are some assorted thoughts from the 2021 Game Awards about what stood out and what probably could’ve been done better.
I thought for my 40th birthday I’d look back at the past few decades to see what I was doing during each phase of my life so far, how it led to where I am now, and where I see things going! (Btw, I was technically around 30 in that photo)
What particular set of skills does a trailer editor bring to the table that someone else or even another video editor might not have? I’m obviously tooting my own horn and that of my colleagues, but here’s a simple explanation!
The straight cut is an under appreciated tool in the belt of a trailer editor. While on the surface it’s not as flashy or “trailer-y” as a dip to black, it holds the power to do so many things if you’re willing to give it a shot. Here are why and when straight cuts can be much more effective than the fancier tools at your disposal.
Is trailer fatigue a thing, why might it happen, how can you possibly mitigate it through multiple delays, and does it even matter? Here’s a look at my analysis of the trailer campaign for DEATHLOOP!
When gamers cry out “Just show me REAL gameplay” or “I just want to see unedited, REAL gameplay!” why does it matter if a trailer is well edited? Why not just make a music video montage with a bunch of clips and leave the hard work up to the viewer to piece it together? Videos of this style still get attention and interest, so why does it matter?
Story trailers typically tell the story via in-game dialogue, omniscient voiceover and/or title cards. I’m a strong proponent for using in-game dialogue because I think it presents what feels like the most unadulterated form of storytelling which allows the players to see the game without feeling the hand of the editor or marketers.
It’s important for games to have a “hook” but is it beneficial for a trailer to have a hook? Do you want the trailer to sound interesting when you describe it in a tweet, or make it into an article headline?
Cinematic game trailers give a means to announce a game before the gameplay is ready to show and also flesh out the story and world, but I think they’re also used for purposes which position devs and publishers in the market and give them the means to make bigger business deals.
Game trailers encompass much more of the full filmmaking experience than movie trailers since it’s on the game trailer makers to be directors, cinematographers, choreographers, actors and editors. Here are a number of filmmakers and performers whose work I find particularly inspiring and helpful for visual filmmaking.
I’ve noticed in trailers for films and games featuring Asian characters: it feels very telling about the people making the trailers and more broadly how Western culture sees Asian cultures.
If you’ve managed to avoid the basic pitfalls and have a pretty good handle on cutting to the beat and adding some sound design to your trailers, it’s time to take your skills to the next level with these techniques which will really help you control the pacing of the trailer.
Your game trailer ideally says more about the game than it does about you and what you think of the game. This is what it looks like when the trailer makers’ ideas don’t align with the game itself.
Someone watching a game trailer has expectations and needs which you need to consider in order to meet and fulfill them. A trailer which doesn’t give them what they want, it will be very frustrating. So here’s what I recommend.
Trailers are kind of like restaurants I’ve been to only once; I can’t remember most details, but I remember how I felt after consuming what they had. Through the language of film, trailers have the power to make people feel things, which is more powerful than using them as a delivery system for bullet points.
Once you’re experienced enough to avoid all the basic mistakes and pitfalls, it’s time to start looking for ways to take your trailer editing to the next level. Here are three things which tell me an editor is at an intermediate level
Here are my top most common indicators of an amateur editor, and the relatively easy solutions which can significantly improve the quality of their videos to what I’d consider a baseline of quality.
It is sometimes more valuable to look at poorly made trailers than ones which are well made. Here are a couple trailers I watched this holiday season for low budget Christmas movies, and the things that made them either difficult to watch, understand, or both.
If a game trailer is meant to be an accurate summation of a game, then it needs to also depict the game’s views on representation of different groups of people whether by gender, nationality, ethnicity, age, etc.
If you can watch a let’s play or Twitch stream, are game trailers even necessary anymore?
Yes.
If your story trailers are getting lost in the details and minutiae, these two synopses for La Boheme will help you understand what a good story trailer needs to convey the narrative.
Why don’t game trailers share the movie trailer reputation for spoiling the entire game? The interactive nature of video games is a big part of it, but let’s dig deeper.
As a trailer maker, there’s a fine line between making the audience curious rather than confused. The end result seems the same for both, but they elicit very different emotions from the audience. Here’s why curiosity will garner a better response every single time.
Having a video or trailer in a livestream event is a HUGE opportunity to get your game in front of a lot of eyeballs. In this post I talk about how to decide what sort of trailer to make depending on the game and where it is in its marketing campaign.
The Xbox Series X Gameplay Reveal livestream event suffered a large backlash from parts of the internet, and what emerged was a semantic argument about gameplay, in-game footage, in-engine footage. Here are the takeaways for both Microsoft and game developers who might be in an event like this in the future!
A really funny game trailer can be a viral hit, a really unfunny trailer can elicit scorn and ire from a particularly unreceptive audience. Here are some game trailers which successfully managed to make people laugh and win them over enough to share it far and wide, and some things you can take away from their success.
There are a handful of tricks in a trailer editor’s belt which can help them make an entertaining trailer even with very bad or weak source material. But this cuts both ways, because the same techniques can undermine good source material if it looks like the trailer editor has something to hide. Here are examples of how both can look!
Working from home is very difficult, and requires great discipline because you’re managing your own time on top of trying to simply get the work done. We can be our own worst managers if we don’t set up the boundaries we need to maintain a good work/life balance. Here are some tips from my years of experience!
Too many trailers focus on the minutiae of the gameplay experience, and not the dream, fantasy or objective the minutiae add up to. Here’s a look at why that difference can be so significant.
Pacing has a unique ability to make us feel the emotion of a story in a way similar to music. Here are a few of the ways the pacing of a trailer can be used to emphasize the tone or feel of a movie or game.
Starting a game trailer with a series of 3+ establishing shots is not a great way to start a game trailer, and yet it’s incredibly common. The first question a game trailer audience wants answered is usually: “What is this genre?” and establishing shots do not help answer this.
If you want to make a successful trailer, you need to learn how to make something familiar look surprising, but sometimes you also need to take something surprising, and make it familiar!
J.J. Abrams gets flack for his “mystery box” approach to storytelling, but it turns out this format is the perfect mindset for story trailer editing!
This trailer for Jackie Chan’s movie Vanguard is truly awful, let’s use it to discuss how to critique trailers!
Authenticity is a strong buzzword in the modern world of marketing; it’s presumably why influencers are so much more trusted than conventional direct-marketing approaches. Here I take a look at the trailer for Creature in the Well which was extremely well received for its unique voice.
How you sell something is a huge part of marketing, and if done incorrectly or in an off-putting way can affect the audience perception. Here I take a look at how different approaches to selling things related to war can look.
Trailer music is a very specific beast which requires a certain ear to hear and ask for when working with a composer. Here are the things you should look out for in a trailer music track!
When you’re working on a game which with very easy to understand mechanics, it’s time to have some FUN with the editing, and make it as flashy as possible!
Some games communicate visually better than others, but thinking of your game like an elaborate puppet can help you think of the ways your game does and doesn’t allow for visible player expression.
I talk a lot about good pacing in trailers, but the truth is that you can learn about pacing from just about anything which is designed to hold the attention of a human audience and apply it to trailers (or vice versa!)
Trailers are most often thought of purely as advertisement or a means to deliver a story or information. Another way to think about them is by their ability to start a conversation about the thing the trailer is for!
Here’s how subjective adjectives can overhype your trailer and lose the trust of the audience.
When does a gameplay overview video make more sense than a fancy and flashy trailer? The more complicated your game, the more it might make sense to make a “Tom Francis style” trailer where you simply explain the game to your audience.
Variety is the spice of life and especially trailers! More than just a variety of shots, there are many other things which help make a trailer more exciting if you give them some ebb and flow.
Title cards are one of many tools to help tell a story in a trailer, but most trailers don’t use them in a memorable or effective way. What is it that makes title cards for one trailer memorable, and completely forgettable in another?
Should game trailers start with logos? No, in most cases no. Just don’t do it, the odds are people won’t recognize it.
Read on for a more in-depth explanation of logo use in trailers!
Most trailers try to open big, fast, and bombastic, but is it possible to start slow? Yes, of course it is! Here are some examples of trailers which pull us in with their slow intros, and why they work.
“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.
It’s very easy to make a video game trailer look generic. What are the common pitfalls trailers which cause this to happen?
Trailers 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.
What can a 4 second Vine with only two shots in it teach you about trailer editing? It turns out, a whole lot.
Trailers 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?
I’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!
I didn’t like Red Dead Redemption 2’s third trailer. In this post I explain what bothered me so much via an explanation of the “paper edit” phase of making a trailer.
Trailers are frequently described as being better than their films, but what does it look like when a reasonably high budget film gets a low budget trailer?
Stand up comedy and trailers have a lot in common, and understanding their structural similarities can help you better understand how to how to make better trailers.
Here are some simple montage editing lessons that you can learn from the introduction to the Japanese reality TV show “Terrace House.”
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.
It’s easy to tell people why your game is good, but it’s very unconvincing. It’s much harder to show footage of your game to allow other people to come to their own conclusion that your game is good. Here’s what a hard sell looks like and what you can do to avoid it if you so choose.