Cracked.com, a humor website, released a video that went viral two years ago. Its title is incomparably witty and succinct: "A Trailer for Every Oscar-Winning Movie Ever." The video satirizes the repetitiveness of the trailers for Oscar-worthy movies, as well as what goes into an Academy Award-winning film.
Cracked's video is hilarious because it is so true. Viewers have seen the same major themes, plotlines and movie formulas employed in so many different trailers for "critically acclaimed" films over the years.
When was the last time you saw a trailer that grabbed you, made you want to rush to see the movie that very second? OK, fine, we'll admit it, "The Dark Knight" (2008) trailer was pretty awesome; but "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012) trailer? To say the least, we've got issues. It says nothing, provides little insight to the movie and seems plotless. Like many of you, we anxiously await the release Christopher Nolan's finale to the "Batman" series, but his trailer leaves much to be desired, like so many others.
Has the art of making a film trailer been lost? Are there too few trailers that we at Sassy Cinema should deem worthy of our glance and scrutiny? To determine the art of a film trailer, we must look at the various components that go into making a successful one.
Tasteful use of music is critical to a trailer's success. Film trailers frequently lack significantdialogue - after all, that would spoil the film. Therefore, they often rely on other forms of audio - sound effects and music - to make their case.
Additionally, there is the tagline. This is very similar to the "hook" or "lede" from journalism, except it typically comes at the end of the trailer. In a few words, the tagline is meant to grab your attention and informs you of what lies at the heart of the film.
For Ridley Scott's "Alien" (1979), which the Independent Film Channel hailed as having the best film trailer of all time, the tagline seals the deal: "In space, no one can hear you scream." The tagline from "Alien" gives away very little of what actually happens while still making the movie feel like an epic thriller, as does the trailer itself since there is no dialogue and onlyinterspliced shots of the film's action. This brings us to our next element that makes a good trailer - the brief glimpse into the film's plot.
Too often, film trailers show too much of the movie, leaving you underwhelmed when you eventually see the film. At worst, you don't even feel you need to see the film because you've already seen enough in its trailer. Film trailers that navigate the fine line between too little and too much plot are the ones that succeed.
For this idea, let's return to "The Dark Knight." This film's trailer does show a lot of the plot. We see Heath Ledger's famous Joker, many pivotal action sequences and hints to characters' eventual fates. However, through the trailer's editing, we never feel the plot was spoiled. We get enough to know why we'd pay good money to see it, which audiences eventually did.
And that brings us to our last point: At the end of the day a trailer acts like an ad pitch. It needs to get butts into the seats of megaplexes. And so this is why trailers often mention their award-winning constituents (if they have any) and do whatever they can to thrill.
Cracked's video spoofs this, but film trailers' tactics appear to work. After all, people still pay $9 plus the price of concessions to see a movie.
Columnists: Jacob Passy and Alex Kaufman
