Trailers – they’re the video versions of free food samples at Costco, tightly wrapped distilling everything that’s good about a film into one digestible morsel that teases you and asks the simple question, “Do you want more?” As an editor of such, I watch a lot of them. As in, how much a fat kid loves cake a lot. Mmm, german chocolate… I digress. Trailers. They’re important for obvious reasons, and for me, consuming as many as I can keeps me up-to-date on the marketing ethos of the industry while staying relevant as a storyteller.
I’ve watched trailers evolve from the classic “In a world…” model made famous by the voice of the late Don LaFontaine to the current renaissance, wherein trailers could be considered individual works of art. Much of the changeover has come from studios being more adventurous and embracing the shift while collaborating with agencies to produce some very memorable work. They’re moving past old conventions and pushing the boundaries in how to shape and sell a story. A good trailer is impactful, making you feel something (bad, good, whatever) in a ridiculously short amount of time.
So if you happen to be a trailer editor, aspire to become one, or just a fan of them, I’ve compiled a list of the most thought-provoking, emotional, and interesting trailers I have ever seen. In preparing the ten below, this could have easily led to fifty, but what kind of editor would I be if I couldn’t narrow it down? For a trailer to qualify, I looked at certain criteria: Is it still captivating after repeated viewings? Do they push the boundaries as a marketing tool? How does it hold up over time – like good music, is it timeless? And more importantly, how does it resonate with you as a person – how does it make you feel?
10. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Directors: Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick
Trailer Company: Artisan Entertainment
Trailer Editor: Jon Epstein
Sometimes the simplest route is the most effective way to get across pure emotion, whether it be humor, sadness, or in this case, pure terror. A black screen, some very creepy sound design, and the voice of a terrified woman’s tearful confession are all that are needed to bait us. The creative forces behind this trailer decided to blur the lines between reality and fiction in how they ambiguously displayed the film. In doing so, they set the standard for all reality-based horror films that would follow.
The screen reads, “In October of 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found.” Since this trailer was released, countless other films have tried to use this storytelling device with varying degrees of success. Keep an eye out for text on a black screen at the beginning of a trailer; it’s used to give a sense of realism to the story, and its popularity can be traced back to The Blair Witch Project.
Sound design is always an important way to create the mood in any horror trailer. What’s stunning about this trailer is how they created a horrific mood with only an ambient drone and a couple “hits” that sound like they were recorded by smacking a stick against a sewer pipe. The audio makes you feel just as lost as the crying girl, which ties the entire trailer together, unifying and strengthening its message perfectly.
Trailer Watch
9. Catfish (2010)
Directors: Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost
Trailer Company: Mark Woollen & Associates
Trailer Editor: Dan Lee
A common complaint people have is that this trailer is better than the movie. While the film may be a bit anticlimactic, the trailer peaks at just the right point. It starts off as sort of a light love story, but slowly turns into what looks like a horror film at the conclusion. The trick here was playing up the reality of the film by using some clever copy up front, while simultaneously convincing us that something terrifying happens at the end of the movie. That twist ingeniously separated this film from the pack, and made it look like more than a documentary.
The critics’ quotes at the end have maximum effectiveness as the mood delves into something sinister, creating an unsettling blend of reality and fiction. It’s interesting to note, when you’re cutting a trailer or TV spot, you don’t usually have the option of using critics’ quotes, because the film hasn’t been released yet. Oftentimes, you will edit in a temporary fake quote until just before the “spot” finishes and the first critics have submitted their reviews. This is the reason you see critics’ quotes citing sources from Twitter or obscure online websites, because they’re the only ones giving a film a good review. I don’t think this was done with Catfish, but it’s something you can look for the next time you see a quote citing Joe Blow from the Iowa City Inquisitor.
The impact of this film cannot be overstated. It created a spinoff TV show, but more important, “Catfish” became a verb. There’s no question this film would have been relegated to virtual obscurity had it not been for the trailer, and that is the power of fantastic advertising.
Trailer Watch
8. Alien (1979)
Director: Ridley Scott
Trailer Company: 20th Century Fox
Trailer Editor: Couldn’t confirm, if it’s you – Tweet at us
As on many top trailer lists, this entry makes mine because it stands the test of time. It’s staggering to think how forward thinking the editors of this trailer were when this came out in 1979. You have to remember, this was cut before non-linear computer editing systems existed. (Avid/1 didn’t come around until 1989.) By today’s standards, the ending build of the trailer looks normal, but in 1979 it must have seemed like it was cut at lightning pace. The insane cacophony that precedes the silence during the classic copy line “In space no one can hear you scream” accentuates the ending by using contrasting levels of sound.
Again, this is almost common practice today, but in ’79, using sound design to get across deeper meaning was almost unheard of. What this trailer did thirty-five years ago was exactly what great trailers do today: it broke through a medium’s previous barrier – it showed that a trailer can be just as thrilling as the movie itself.
Trailer Watch
7. Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Director: Zack Snyder
Trailer Company: Trailer Park
Trailer Editor: Bill Neil
Bill Neil is a bit of a legend when it comes to cutting horror trailers. If you see a horror trailer that stands out, chances are fairly good Mr. Neil cut it. The trailer for Dawn of the Dead is some of his best work. The final shot, where zombies overtake the screen, is an example of when there’s a great collaboration between the editor, the producer at an agency, and the studio putting out the film. Neil is quoted, “I think that idea came from a writer and the studio, it didn’t come from me. I brought to the table the ‘burning’ of the film. It all gelled together and came together to form something cool. Universal believed in the film, so they went and did that final shot.”
Trailers are a collaborative process – when there’s a lot of trust involved, greatness can occur. Most studios don’t want to see their film altered in a trailer, so the decision here to have the trailer skip and sputter and ultimately burn, was a bold choice to say the least. That choice led to a Golden Trailer award for best Horror/Thriller trailer in 2004, and more importantly for Universal, $26 million on opening weekend.
Trailer Watch
6. Wild (2014)
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
Trailer Company: Motive
Trailer Editor: Michele Manning Duane
This is the newest trailer in the list, but it’s already been cited multiple times as having one of the best uses of a song in a trailer. Music supervisor Ali Pistoresi is credited with finding the Beck song ”Turn Away,” which scores this masterfully edited piece. This trailer breaks my “stand the test of time” rule, but I’m confident in it because of the powerful and profound emotions it provokes.
Editor Michele Manning Duane is a genius when it comes to creating a mood. Her previous award-nominated work on the trailers for Fault in Our Stars and The Descendants is proof that she consistently knows how to pull the emotion out of a film and distill it into two-and-a-half minutes of gold. After seeing Wild, this trailer is just that much more impressive; the film is all about the mood, but it has almost two hours to put you in that mood.
The decision to use one song through the entire trailer is what establishes a definitive emotional footing here.. It’s more typical for trailers to use multiple songs to help move the story along or establish a new feeling (see Catfish). But in this piece, the use of one song allows the viewer to stay focused on the emotion more than the story. The music helps highlight Reese Witherspoon’s Academy Award–worthy performance, by scoring her emotional journey to perfection. Beck’s lyrics (“Turn turn away, from the sound of your own voice”) accentuate the journey Witherspoon’s character Cheryl Strayed undertakes during the film. Again, the lyrics “Fall off the avalanche” are heard as Cheryl clutches her head to escape the pain that has become her life.
What makes this sync of music and image so difficult to accomplish is something the general public does not think about – choosing a song for a trailer is no small task. An editor or music supervisor has the entire history of recorded music to choose from. It can be daunting to ponder the endless alternate music choices that could have been made here. I’ve personally had trailers that I’ve cut 14 different versions of, each with different music cues. Finding that perfect cue is an art form in itself, but when you do, it’s a beautiful thing.
Trailer Watch
5. Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
Director: Spike Jonze
Trailer Company: Ant Farm/Industry Creative
Trailer Editor: Jennifer Horvath
“I didn’t want to wake you up, but I really wanted to show you something” are the only words spoken in the entire teaser, but maybe that’s all you need when introducing the audience to a magical and vibrant world that speaks for itself. The trailer begins with the sound of footsteps that subconsciously mirror the rhythm of the music that follows. This immediately puts the viewer into the flow of the cut and the world we are about to be introduced to. These choices that editors make may not be obvious upon first viewing a trailer, but they’re what help people connect to a piece emotionally.
The use of Arcade Fire’s song “Wake Up” is perhaps the greatest music choice in the history of trailers. Yeah, I said that. When the chorus hits over the graphic card “Inside all of us is… Hope,” you can’t help but feel inspired. It’s almost as if the music was born out of this trailer. The simple style of the graphics is another fine touch that reminds us of the innocence of childhood.
After the card “From one of the most beloved books of all time,” the intercutting of Max running in different locations with similar framing has always been one of my favorite edits. It ties the worlds of reality and imagination together in a simple but inspired fashion. Another example of subconscious editing that elevates what could be a simple montage into something that is constantly telling a story.
Trailer Watch
4. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
Director: Marcus Nispel
Trailer Company: Trailer Park
Trailer Editor: Bill Neil
It can be argued that no other trailer has had a bigger impact on how a genre is marketed than this one for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Editor Bill Neil comments, “I did those still shots in the Texas Chainsaw trailer, now I see that technique used in other trailers and people think I cut those previews and I haven’t.” His style set the tone for horror trailers that followed.
One of Neil’s many strengths is his sound design. Here he takes the sound of a skipping record and a flashbulb and turns it into a terrifying score. Note that the audio of the flashbulb was used in the original 1974 trailer, but Neil took that idea and created something modern and groundbreaking.
Side note, I remember right after this trailer was released, an editor I knew cut a trailer for Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle that was a spoof of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre trailer. It had the sound design, the still frames, the whole nine yards. I understood why the client didn’t go for it, but it underscores the cultural impact the Massacre trailer had. For someone to spoof a movie is one thing, but to spoof a trailer is another.
Neil says, “When I watch a movie I try to find a sonic or visual motif I can play with and use as a bouncing board to create a mood that’s authentic to the feature.” This signature style can be seen in many of Neil’s other works, such as his trailers for The Strangers, The Conjuring, and The Wolf of Wall Street. One technique that didn’t originate with Neil was the simple white text over black that reads “Inspired by a True Story.” The white text juxtaposed over the sound of a terrified woman reminds me of trailer number 10 on this list, The Blair Witch Project. While Neil may not have been directly influenced by Blair Witch, there’s a correlation between the two. The text fades to complete darkness for a full seven seconds, as the sound of boots entering the room signify impending doom. Neil’s willingness to let a trailer breathe is brilliant. The darkness is shattered by a chainsaw crashing through the door, and we’re off to the races. I watch this trailer before I cut any horror spot. It’s a textbook example of how to create suspense, horror, and something memorable.
Trailer Watch
3. The Social Network (2010)
Director: David Fincher
Trailer Company: Mark Woollen & Associates
Trailer Editor: Chad Misner
Mark Woollen is one of the most decorated and sought-after trailer editors in the world. The trailers his company produces are consistently among the most original and thought provoking ever created. His work is often impressionistic, never giving away too much of the story, always leaving the viewer wanting more. The cover by Scala of the Radiohead song “Creep” eerily underscores the themes going on in the film and trailer.
The opening consists of a montage of Facebook images, creating a familiarity and emotional connection with the viewer. The rest of the trailer is jam-packed with story points, but steers clear of the common traps a spot can fall into when delivering exposition. By the end, you aren’t left thinking you saw the whole movie, you’re left with the feeling “I can’t wait to see the whole movie!” That’s what the company’s work does, it leaves an impression. In 2011 it left an impression on the trailer industry by sweeping the Golden Trailer awards, winning Best Drama, Best Music, Most Original and Best In Show. It also won the “Grand Key Art” award, the highest honor at the Hollywood Reporter award show.
Trailer Watch
2. The Dark Knight (2008)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Trailer Company: Intralink
Trailer Editor: John Ibsen
Full disclosure, I used to have an edit bay right next to editor John Ibsen when we both worked at Creative Domain. I was quickly struck by his love for the work. You could feel this was a guy who was passionate about becoming the very best at his craft. Years of work paid off and Ibsen cut one of the greatest trailers in history with The Dark Knight. You can’t use the word “phenomenon” to describe a trailer very often, but that’s what this was in 2008.
What Ibsen knows how to do is make a movie look epic. The tease of Heath Ledger as the Joker during the first half of the trailer creates palpable excitement. The legendary performance by Ledger helps, but the tease is what made people interested. You can’t show people everything, or it becomes boring. You have to give bits and pieces of information, just enough to leave them wanting more. When trying to tease something, a black screen can be a very useful tool, one that Ibsen applied skillfully here. It gives weight and focus to whatever sound is playing at that time. It might be a monologue, as in The Blair Witch Project, or footsteps in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or the Joker saying “Evening commissioner,” before the first time we see him in close-up. Whatever the example, we see it used again and again as an effective editing device.
The Dark Knight amassed $534 million during its theatrical release, making it the fourth-most profitable film in history. The third most profitable film is The Avengers, the marketing campaign for which was overseen by, you guessed it, John Ibsen, SVP of Creative Services for Walt Disney Studios. I guess this guy knows something about selling a film.
Trailer Watch
1. Little Children (2006)
Director: Todd Field
Trailer Company: Mark Woollen & Associates
Trailer Editor: Chad Misner
The challenge for Mark Woollen & Associates was to create a trailer with no music, a daunting task. As you can see from the rest of the list, music oftentimes plays the most important role in setting the mood for a trailer. The company accepted the challenge from the director and client and absolutely killed it.
Consistently cited as one of the greatest trailers of all time, this is a true editor’s trailer. The sound of an oncoming train in the distance warns us that while it may be calm now, danger is on its way. The spot uses the visual of a toy train to introduce the innocence of childhood, juxtaposed with the beginnings of adultery. Jennifer Connelly naively states, “Aaron’s been telling me about his new friend Lucy. She sounds like a sweet little girl.” Over “sweet little girl” we see Kate Winslet in a bathing suit. The slow burn continues as it cuts to a close-up of a worried Patrick Wilson for the accusatory Connelly line, “What’s her mother like?” As the train gets closer, we’re shown Connelly realizing her husband could be cheating on her with Winslet, culminating in the toy trains colliding as Wilson kisses Winslet.
What makes this so exceptional is the mastery with which the creators weave multiple themes together so seamlessly. There are no crutches in this trailer. There are no shortcuts or gimmicks. The train sound gives meaning to something different at every point in the trailer. Every shot is expertly placed for a reason. The last shot of Wilson symbolizes his feeling of juvenile joy after sex, while the shot immediately after shows Winslet in more of a daze as the sound of the train passes and we’re left with the feeling of emptiness associated with infidelity. Every shot has meaning, every sound has meaning, and it’s an exceptional example of how to create something that transcends the medium. It’s not a trailer, it’s a work of art.
Trailer Watch
Worth noting
You may notice there aren’t really any action trailers on my list, but I still absolutely love and admire big-budget action trailers. Some you should consider are Cloverfield (teaser), The Man of Steel (trailer #2), 300, Gravity, Watchmen, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Prometheus, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and both trailers for the upcoming remake of Mad Max. What do you think – did we miss any?
Edit: A big thank you to @trailerbeat for helping us update some of the missing names – very much appreciated.
4 Comments
You obviously haven’t seen many.
As a fellow trailer editor it’s awesome to finally see a list like this compiled by someone who really knows what he’s talking about. I agree with many of your choices here and appreciate your explanations behind each selection. It’s nice to see someone explain exactly what the elements are that make these trailers so good (such as talking about sound design or cuts to black) as opposed to someone who knows nothing about trailer making saying stuff like “I don’t know why but it’s just awesome”. Thanks.
just came across this- great read, great analysis.
really informative
thank you for putting it together
Did Benedict Coulter do the original Alien trailer?