First

DickMays said:
Well, I've seen trailers that tell the whole movie. We get pretty good feedback from the trailer, but we certainly don't tell you what you are going to see in the story.
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Agree - you shouldn't tell the entire movie in the trailer. Sometimes a scene may work, or just stick with a good trailer concept and work from there. But you do need a concept/script for your trailer.
 
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I read somewhere that you should have a distributor trailer, one that tells very accurately the story of the film, giving away plot points, etc. Not as a public trailer, but for movie insiders who want to know what the film is accurately, in as little time as possible. We are going to make one like that, and then defeature it to not give away plot points for a narrative trailer for the public.
 
DickMays said:
I read somewhere that you should have a distributor trailer, one that tells very accurately the story of the film, giving away plot points, etc. Not as a public trailer, but for movie insiders who want to know what the film is accurately, in as little time as possible. We are going to make one like that, and then defeature it to not give away plot points for a narrative trailer for the public.
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Yes, it's very helpful to have a reel that shows the film, it's genre, storyline and helps sell it to a distributor. I know because I'm a distributor. Also be prepared for a distributor to ask you to re-title and recut your film. If you want your film to be successful, then trust the distributor. If you don't trust the distributor then simply find one you do. But most know their business and want the film to be successful, otherwise they wouldn't waste their time and money on it. So do listen to them, as they know the business side, whereas most filmmakers just know how to make their passion project.And yes, I've also been that person with his passion project. So I've learned the hard way.
 
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Blaney said:
Yes, it's very helpful to have a reel that shows the film, it's genre, storyline and helps sell it to a distributor. I know because I'm a distributor. Also be prepared for a distributor to ask you to re-title and recut your film. If you want your film to be successful, then trust the distributor. If you don't trust the distributor then simply find one you do. But most know their business and want the film to be successful, otherwise they wouldn't waste their time and money on it. So do listen to them, as they know the business side, whereas most filmmakers just know how to make their passion project.And yes, I've also been that person with his passion project. So I've learned the hard way.
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Then I would love to run our distributor trailer by you for feedback when it is done! Thanks again for the advice!
 
Btw, the story behind that first trailer is interesting. We used a doctor's office and he became very enthusiastic about the movie. He as also a musician, and wrote a song for the movie, when he thought it was a comedic horror film. Well the music didn't fit the movie AT ALL. But we wanted to keep the doctor happy. I worked with him to create another song that is used in the movie, and really fits. But we ran out of money and needed to pull investors together to raise capital to finish the movie. People wanted to see something, so my editor used the first song our doctor wrote and made a montage of scenes. So in a way, it is a bait and switch, people seeing this trailer will not really understand what the movie is about and will believe it is comedy/horror. So, it wasn't a case of planning our perfect trailer, it was piecing together what we had to generate enough interest to help us finish the film. I really wish we had done a documentary on the making of the film, because the story there would have been very instructive.
 
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