Saturday, October 30, 2010

trick or treat (or trailer)?

since it's Halloween, here's a fun treat.

check out the trailer for the original 1978 Halloween film (below) and compare it to the trailer for the 2007 remake (below-er).



the trailer for the original is playful. it starts through the eyes of a killer, underscored by creepy music, and just as we think we've pieced together what's happening--there's a twist. the guy behind the mask is a little boy.

what's interesting about this spot is that it's all set-up. they give us the backstory about the original murder, and the rest of the time is spent building tension-suspense-excitement, until the final seconds when the voiceover says, "Halloween. The night he came home." in other words, the whole thing is an introduction.

oh, and the studio wasn't very subtle about its branding. lest you forget what you're watching, the film's title comes up a whopping three times.

now here's the trailer for the 2007 version:



this one is less of a tease. we actually see a lot of the action, the confrontations, the murder scenes. this spot places a lot of emphasis on the fact that it's a remake, which means the studio is primarily aiming to hook fans of the original.

it's also using the remake angle as a way to distinguish itself from the plethora of horror films vying for space in the 2007 box office (30 Days of Night, Hatchet, Vacancy, Grindhouse, The Mist, Hostel 2, 28 Weeks Later, Severance, The Host, etc).

happy hauntings!

Friday, October 29, 2010

trailers and tribulations

welcome to trailer mix, a blog about movie trailers.

i've been working in motion picture marketing for about four years, and i love what i do. when i first landed the gig, a few months out of college, i'd never even given any thought to how previews got made. i just needed a job.

but after learning from some of the best editors in the industry, i realized trailers are mini works of art. taking a 2-hour film and turning it into a 2-minute piece that tells a story, creates intrigue, and evokes emotions in an audience takes talent and a special skillset.

movie trailers are like music videos: they tell a story, they're flashy, and they're all about the MUSIC. on that note, here are some of my favorite trailers from the past few years. one thing you'll notice about them: they all use the minimum amount of dialogue (some of them use NO dialogue), but the story still comes across. and more importantly: music carries the entire piece.