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audio Mixing music for trailer

J

jimmiejj

Hi Everybody!

I'm a noob filmmaker, making an animated comedy with many musical montages.
The movie has not yet finished production.
I need to know how to approach the production of the trailer as it is really bugging me.

As with any movie trailer, I want to provide a simple summary of the story (without giving away too much plot) while setting the tone for the movie, but I am not sure how to mix the musical score for the trailer.

Should the various trailer clips (each with its own musical score) just be mixed together each with its own default musical score?
Or should there be like only 1 or 2 musical scores in the trailer?

Or an entirely different approach?
 
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Do you have a composer or are you using music from a library that you have the rights to? I've cut and scored just over a dozen of my own trailers. What I typically do is score little sections at a time. It's a lot like story structure, where you start with the Opening (introducing your characters or situation), then the Reveal (could be a bank heist, or spaceship landing, etc.), then the Conflict (introduce your bad guy, or problem), then the Action Montage (people running, fighting, etc.), then the Cliffhanger (your characters are up against a wall and you leave the viewer wanting to see more). Lastly, you'll want to have the title and credit block.

Of course, you don't have to do it like I said. You might be doing a drama, comedy, horror, etc. I have no idea. The genre you are doing will affect what kind of elements you put in your trailer. Obviously, you could change things around or guy with completely different moods.

So, where are you getting your music? A composer can change it around for you, with different themes and moods. I try to have a main theme, a bad guy theme, or sometimes just a hard driving beat that I can cut the trailer to. If you have particular music in mind, you can cut the trailer to it. The music dictates the moods you focus on.

To sum up - you can cut to music, or you can pick a few interesting bits from the movie and put music to picture.


I made 3 trailers and 4 teasers for my flick, TERRARIUM. Here is a teaser where I just wanted to introduce people to the situation and then leave the viewer hanging:



What's funny is that Lionsgate cut a version that basically revealed a bunch. They cut in stock music cues.



What's cool about this one was that I was on vacation (out of state) with my Korg Kronos keyboard. I composed this music on the onboard sequencer and brought it back home. Honestly, I just needed a couple themes. I knew I needed an Intro, the Campfire Summoning, and then the Chase/Tension music.



This one was editing and I scored the music to each section at a time. The opening Reveal, followed by "Nobody believes me," followed by "The search party," followed by Chase/Tension montage, followed by Cliffhanger and title.



Similar with EXILE:



As mentioned, I've also just put in a constant beat (with key percussive moments). This is an old one (1990).



I have a lot more, but I think that is plenty!
 
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Trailer composition is an artform in and of itself, and it's different for each genre. A good way to start off is to look at it as kind of the film in microcosm. It should communicate what sort of ride the audience will be going on, but there's another more significant layer. You need to take them on a little ride in the trailer itself. It should be a sample of not only your highlight reel, but also of your storytelling and dramatic presentation. Since all of that will be gone from the film once you dice it up, it falls on you to create a new set of hooks and moments specific to the trailer. Ultimately, it's a game of psychology, and you'd be shocked at how much time, money, and research has gone into optimizing them at a studio level.

Fortunately, you can just beat sheet some 1 million dollar trailers and reap the benefits of most of that research.

Theming of the trailer composition is pretty zen. If your movie is selling suspense, the trailer itself should demonstrate your ability to create suspense. If it's a musical, those thrive on vivid creativity of core concept, light humor, and spectacle. Obviously your brand of music will factor in a big way.

What I always advise in many areas is to use case studies as a way to get your bearings. Don't copy, but simply gain an understanding of what makes X good. The formula is simple. First, find trailers for the films that inspired you in the first place. So if High School Musical was your big inspiration, go back and watch the trailers from it. Pay attention to your own gut reactions to certain moments, then do an academic breakdown on paper of how those moments created, and what other aspects fed into their effectiveness.

In example, let's say you watch this horror trailer, and it's a man hiding with his family at the beginning. Scene 2 is him saying "We don't have any food left, I have to go out there" Scene 3 the man stands alone in a field at night with a shotgun, hears a strange sound from the treeline, and whirls around. He sees nothing. the camera switches angles and we see a huge monster standing right behind him. It's all pretty transparent, the camera cut, the big trailer hit effect, the visual of the monster. But think a little deeper. When you see that scene, your brain is also being told that this woman and kid are going to be left alone and starving in a world with monsters in it. So they've managed to create a deeper hook there than if it had opened with the shot of the monster.

So just do some research on relevant films, one's you like, where you'd be happy with yours if it turned out that way. And just take notes and think about it. If HSM was your favorite movie, might be worth noting how many of the songs they featured in their trailer, the number of jokes, etc. Just to give you some kind of baseline to work from when you create your own unique product.

Again, don't template, just learn which gears drive what, and then build your thing your way. Templating isn't stealing, but it tends to make a lot of products that do it feel derivative and kind of blur together. You make the biggest impression when you do something totally new, so find a balance between that and compositional patterns that are battle tested.
 
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