Derek

Game Trailers What makes a great game trailer? In this episode Derek and Ric discuss making game trailers, capturing footage, storytelling and how best to represent an interactive experience... Trailers Discussed: Firewatch, BioShock Infinite E3 Demo, Dante's Inferno. Links: Biffa Plays Indie Games, Trailers of the Week If you have questions or comments please send them to [email protected]. Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Funny enough, Jessica is a former colleague of mine. We were assistant editors at the movie trailer house I got my start in. Small world! No really, it’s a very small industry (though bigger than most people would think)

Thanks! I rather like the interviews Ric does because then I get to just be a listener. The bumper bit is definitely stolen from Idle Thumbs and also the podcast Design Life, but yeah it's totally the same philosophy as the thumbstopper bits

Oooh yeah, that Face/Off teaser is a really good one! I have no idea what Tenet is about, though I just saw the teaser in theaters again recently, and the copy essentially says "A new original protagonist from Christopher Nolan." We'll have to wait and see for the next trailer to know more!

Teaser Trailers In this episode we discuss what we think makes an effective teaser trailer, and how they differ from full trailers which reveal more of the story. We also talk about a LOT of our favorite teasers and how they successfully tease the audience using entirely different philosophies and editing techniques. We also touch on the teasers for Tenet and Birds of Prey which the studios released exclusively in theaters, and the new Jurassic World short film which acts as a teaser trailer itself. Trailers Discussed: Tenet, Birds of Prey, Battle at Big Rock (Jurassic World Short), Alien, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Godzilla (1998) Museum, Godzilla (1998) - Fishing, Terminator 2, Spider-Man, Lord of the Rings BTS teaser, Lord of the Rings Teaser, Cloverfield, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Resident Evil: Extinction, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Monsters Inc., Monsters Inc Charades, The Incredibles, Battleship, Inception, Layer Cake, Back to the Future, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Battle: Los Angeles, Toys, Transformers, The Addams Family, Where the Wild Things Are, The Exorcist, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Rebel Assault II, Dead Island. If you have questions or comments please send them to [email protected]. Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Assistant Editors In this episode we discuss the job of the trailer assistant editor, and the many things we learned on the job. What does an assistant editor do? What are their day to day tasks, and how many varieties of tea do they need to keep track of? We also discuss the trailers for 6 Underground, The Gentlemen and Free Guy. Trailers Discussed: 6 Underground, The Gentlemen, Free Guy, 1917 Featurette, Russian Ark, They Shall Not Grow Old, Boyhood, The King's Man. If you have questions or comments please send them to [email protected]. Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Yeah, those are the ones we were talking about. I think there were two Sin City trailers, but they both used the same music. The Watchmen teaser cut to music from Koyaanisquatsi was also very good, again because of the practically made-for-trailer shots from the movie. The trailer naming scheme is very inconsistent. Sometimes on the Apple site they even use letters and numbers which look like they're taken straight from the production designations, so you could even have a trailer 1, 3 and 4 but no 2. Or sometimes they're A, B and C. There doesn't seem to be a hard and fast industry standard rule, and sometimes I think letters or numbers got skipped because a trailer got very far, but was then never released, in favor of a new one which was a number higher

Gemini Man and International Trailers In this episode we discuss the subtle differences between the 2nd domestic trailer for Gemini Man and its international counterpart. Also the practical and very specific cultural considerations which need to be made when editing trailers for international markets. For more about international trailers watch Ric's LACPUG talk! Trailers Discussed: Gemini Man Trailer 1, Gemini Man Trailer 2, Gemini Man International Trailer, Central Intelligence, The Matrix Revolutions International Trailer, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull International Trailer, Captain America: Civil War, Men in Black International International Trailer. If you have questions or comments please send them to [email protected] Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

I think both are perfectly valid to put into a reel because they show different editing skills. Making the parody trailers shows mastery of separating the dialogue and story moments from the original film, which is usually not necessary to such an extreme degree, but is a good skill to have. Being able to cut a trailer for a modern movie is also a good skill to have, because oftentimes it's necessary to have multiple takes on a movie, and finding a different direction when you've already seen lots of examples can be very difficult (sometimes it's easier to just get a different editor on the project). Really though in a reel I just want to see good work. I feel I can tell from just one trailer whether or not someone knows their stuff, and I think other editors will say something similar.

Getting Into the Trailer Industry How do you get to be a trailer editor? In this episode Derek and Ric talk about breaking into the industry, creating a reel and getting your foot in the door. We also talk about E3 and dive into the trailers for the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and the remake of Final Fantasy VII. Trailers Discussed: Watch Dogs: Legion, Cyberpunk 2077, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Final Fantasy VII (2019), Final Fantasy VII (Domestic 1997), Final Fantasy VII (International 1997), The Prestige, Inception. If you have questions or comments please send them to [email protected]. Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen on iTunes

The Cutdown 7: Filling a Timeline In this episode we discuss the trailer for Knives Out, the latest whodunnit film by Rian Johnson, and our process for filling in an empty timeline after we've finished breaking down our dialogue and video footage. If you have trouble with editor's block, some of our tips should help you get going! Trailers Discussed: Knives Out, John Wick 3, Ready or Not, Mr. Turner, Ms. Potter, a Wrinkle in Time. If you have questions or comments please send them to [email protected]. Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes

Haha thanks, I'm glad you like the cast! I've always loved trailers so I can't relate to disliking trailers, but I sympathize when I hear from people who I can tell don't require as much convincing to see a movie than the market research and surveys suggest. This is pure speculation, but I think very avid film fans are in the minority, and the rest of the people are the ones who need to see more of a movie in a trailer in order to be convinced. Whenever I went to the theater and overheard people saying "What should we watch?" it blew my mind to think people go to the movies without knowing exactly what they're there to see, but I think there are probably a lot of people who do that because they're not the ones watching trailers online, reading reviews and everything film buffs tend to do. I have no preferences for when people should watch trailers, but I hope the podcast increases appreciation for the form!

The Cutdown 6: Independence Day Happy Independence Day! In this special episode, Derek and Ric talk about the trailers for both Independence Day movies. From the first film's iconic teaser to Resurgence's viral videos, we do a deep dive and see what lessons can be learned. “They like to get the landmarks” Trailers Discussed: Jumanji: The Next Level, Hobbs & Shaw, Stuber, Independence Day Teaser, Independence Day Trailer, Independence Day: Resurgence Trailer 1, Independence Day: Resurgence Super Bowl, Independence Day: Resurgence Trailer 2, Independence Day: Resurgence Trailer 3 Extended, Independence Day: Resurgence Viral Video 1, Independence Day: Resurgence Viral Video 2, The Count Of Monte Cristo. If you have questions or comments please send them to [email protected]. Listen on the Episode Page Listen in iTunes

We only talked about a couple trailers from E3, but there were so many great trailers worthy of discussion. It'd be fun to hear which trailers were your favorites and why you liked them. If your curious about my personal favorites from E3 I made a video which sums up a few thoughts for each of mine: If there are any questions about getting into the industry which you still have, please ask away!

Haha that Crawl trailer shows off SO much of the movie, but it does have lots of fancy editing. I don't really have any desire to see it, but I still kind of wish it showed less. Some of the artsier movie theaters tend to show fewer trailers, but big chains like AMC definitely do show what feels like 20-30 minutes of trailers.

Starting a Trailer In this episode Derek and Ric talk about their process for starting a new trailer project from breaking down a film or game, searching for music, and coming up with ideas. We also talk about recent Golden Trailer Award winners John Wick 3, A Star is Born, and the latest trailer for the Hideo Kojima game Death Stranding. Trailers Discussed: John Wick 3, A Star is Born, Death Stranding, The Davinci Code, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Scooby Doo, American Sniper, South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, Annabelle Creation, Ford vs Ferrari, The Muppets. If you have questions or comments please send them to [email protected]. Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen on iTunes

Oh, good call! I didn't realize the Gears of War trailer preceded The Social Network (and I'm not familiar with the Donnie Darko trailer). I think because Mark Woollen (the trailer maker behind The Social Network) is so well known as a pioneer of trailer editing style, that I tend to attribute things to his company. I also haven't watched the Mad World trailer much, so it doesn't occupy much space in my head

Haha @Kyir I hadn't even considered people might be irritated by trailers for taking up time, but that's partially because my preferred theater is The Arclight which has a strict 3-trailer policy. I always get thrown when I go to another theater and end up watching what feels like 30 minutes of trailers. Maybe listening to us talk about how they're made will make them more interesting to watch from an intellectual standpoint Thanks for linking that blog post @Ben X I actually saw that, and even though I loved The Swindle, I saw the long gameplay clip and decided not to watch it (I watched it this time though). There are definitely a LOT of indie game trailers which follow that format Dan mentioned, I hope that GMTK video will cut down on those at least a little bit. I think gameplay clips can work great for mechanically rich and/or a section of gameplay which is particularly dense. Dan mentioned a higher retention rate for that clip, I'd be curious to know just how high it was. Based on the comments it looks like it's mostly Size Five games fans, which would make sense. We'll definitely talk about Endgame's trailers in the future. I think they hit the somber note because they did their best to avoid spoilers, so they wanted to match the tone of the end of Infinity War to not tip their hand in any particular direction. Teaser trailers are definitely some of my favorites because they use the most potent imagery in a film or use special shoots to make stuff just for the teaser. One of my all time favorites is the teaser for Terminator 2 with the Terminator factory.

What is it that aggravates you about them? Broadly, the answer to why they are the way they are is usually: "Because it works" (especially with movie trailers). That said, I think game trailers are still fertile ground for experimentation because they're such a different beast compared to movie trailers.

Hi everyone! We covered a lot in these first three episodes, but I'd love to hear about some of your favorite movie or game trailers, and what makes them your favorite. Another favorite of mine is the trailer for the film Ultraviolet (which I've still never watched). It falls into the camp of trailers-where-Milla-Jovovich-introduces-herself-in-voiceover. I think it has great ramping up and down of fast and slow motions, good hits in sync with the music, and a wide variety of colors and compositions. I also love the final music cue. It received abysmal reviews, so maybe it's one of those situations where the material made a better trailer than a movie.