Watch: "What The Heck Happened To Movie Trailers?"

Watch: "What The Heck Happened To Movie Trailers?"

Last year, the folks at GoodBadFlicks posted a video that examined the most obnoxious clichés used for movie posters. This time, they focus on the clichés used in movie trailers.

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By nailbiter111 - Apr 22, 2014 01:04 AM EST
Filed Under: Other
Source: GoodBadFlicks
Last November, GoodBadFlicks released a video that went viral. It examined how movie posters went from a piece artwork to lazy designs, that we see over and over again. Touching on: indie film posters use a bright yellow background, the overuse of the teal and orange color scheme, and laying out a poster with a giant floating head. Now GoodBadFlicks is set to tackle the clichés that have infected movie trailers. They discuss: trailers showing too much, overuse of certain sound effects, and techniques used for specific genres.
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thalidomide
thalidomide - 4/22/2014, 1:10 AM
1st!
Reasonnnn
Reasonnnn - 4/22/2014, 1:27 AM
sotrue
PartyHard
PartyHard - 4/22/2014, 1:28 AM
Movie trailers are better now than they ever were before.
Luminus
Luminus - 4/22/2014, 1:31 AM
^Also true, but still problematic.
Luminus
Luminus - 4/22/2014, 1:34 AM
^Shiva is a woman.
AlexLaChiusa
AlexLaChiusa - 4/22/2014, 1:40 AM
30 seconds is too short for a trailer. Works well for TV spots but I'd rather something a bit longer. I think 1 minute and 30 seconds should be the max time limit.
spidey1994
spidey1994 - 4/22/2014, 1:45 AM
I disagree about the Godzilla trailer (2014 by the way), While they've shown quite a bit of footage, I still feel like I haven't seen all the movie. But he does bring up some great points.
MisterHolmes
MisterHolmes - 4/22/2014, 1:47 AM
I agree with everything but the New Godzilla statement, If showing destruction in the trailer gives away the fact that theres destruction in Godzilla, then youve never watched godzilla, plus they havent giving away anything about the new monsters, only online leaks have done that. We havent seen any monster fights and only 2 or 3 shots of godzilla getting shot with missiles. so ya, im going to have to disagree that they have shown too much for Godzilla
MisterHolmes
MisterHolmes - 4/22/2014, 1:49 AM
see me and @Spidey know whats up
remembertheking
remembertheking - 4/22/2014, 2:00 AM
I enjoyed movies like ASM2, Man of steel, but I would have loved them and not have mixed feelings about them if they had not [frick]ed up the marketing by showing too much. ASM2 marketing may seem like a success to sony but the fact is they are slowly killing themselves. Hey, I know that i should stay away from trailers and tv spots and clips but they keep shoving them on my face. Expectations rise and then the movie seems underwhelming and I hope sony fail in every franchise they have. ( i dont mind that they have the rights to spidey but I hope they lose them because of this marketing shitstorm.
staypuffed
staypuffed - 4/22/2014, 2:10 AM
Let me guess, they say that trailers show to much, reveal too much of the plot and the final confrontation, have the same generic music and Inception sound. Did I miss anything?
did we need a video telling us this?
TheRealSupaMan
TheRealSupaMan - 4/22/2014, 2:14 AM
I don't know, I think sometimes this guy is right in all aspects but I think it depends on the movie. 30 second trailers wouldn't work for some movie and it might work for some. Movies are so much longer than they use to be that if you only showed 30 seconds of a 2 and a half hour movie the studio wouldn't pull in most of the public!
baszs
baszs - 4/22/2014, 2:54 AM
Well wouldn't captain amercia 2 be better if you didn't see any of its lengthy trailers..
and it first 10 minutes. Yes i do think so.

Do i regret seeing Smaug in the trailers of the Hobbit 2..
Yes i do think so.

Am i disappointed to know that Norman Osborns head is inside a jar in spiderman 2 before i see it..

probably, have yet to see it.
MCUsDarkKnight
MCUsDarkKnight - 4/22/2014, 2:59 AM
I agree with most of this but that last minute of the video lost me 30 sec trailers would be lame
BoomTubeB
BoomTubeB - 4/22/2014, 3:20 AM
they do show too much these days! I try to avoid the 2nd & 3rd versions !
Firgosaurus
Firgosaurus - 4/22/2014, 3:23 AM
You guys are idiots.
CaptainPresley
CaptainPresley - 4/22/2014, 3:47 AM
I am really tired of the "Inception" horns in so many trailers. It's just cring inducing every time the use it.
TheDuck
TheDuck - 4/22/2014, 3:51 AM
Screenwriter of Godzilla said that the new trailer shows almost nothing of the full movie
pepe
pepe - 4/22/2014, 4:08 AM
Trailers shows 80% of da movie...


True
SuperCat
SuperCat - 4/22/2014, 4:10 AM
22nd!!
NeoBaggins
NeoBaggins - 4/22/2014, 5:14 AM
Anyone notice all the comedies with bold red letters and white background in the posters and titles in the trailers.
Chewtoy
Chewtoy - 4/22/2014, 5:24 AM
Well, a big part of the problem comes from the Hollywood blame game when something goes wrong with a release. I've seen Deadline articles where they actually say things like "they didn't show Tom Cruise's face enough in the marketing" and mean it 100%. When a studio is spending $100-$200m on making a movie, the last thing they want to gamble with is the advertising.

Had "Transcendence" had an original marketing campaign and gotten the exact same result as it did last weekend, I guarantee whomever conceived of it would have been fired and his ideas held as an example of what to never do again.
CaptainAmerica31
CaptainAmerica31 - 4/22/2014, 5:26 AM
What the Firg?
Abary
Abary - 4/22/2014, 5:58 AM
It's true...
case
case - 4/22/2014, 6:07 AM
Thanks Firg! You're still as sexy as a kiwi to me ;)

I thought the horn thing started with Alien not Inception?
beane2099
beane2099 - 4/22/2014, 6:44 AM
I think one of the best movie trailers I've ever seen was the one for Super Troopers. Almost the entirety of that trailer was taken from the opening scene of the movie (there were some bits added later though). But you really didn't know what you were getting until you got to the theater. I thought that worked pretty well.

Personally I think a better way to do a trailer is to have the director and cast shoot a scene that isn't actually in the movie. Make it like a prequel scene or scene that could be in the movie (not something COMPLETELY misleading as alluded to in this video) . Point is make it a scene that says what this movie is about solely in terms of the characters playing off one another. This would be easier for comedies and dramas, obviously, but I think it could work for action flicks too. If it's an action movie, make that scene an action sequence. But you should be able to sell a movie based on the strength of the characters or something that encapsulates the premise of the movie in one 90 second sequence - a visual elevator pitch.
DukeAcureds
DukeAcureds - 4/22/2014, 6:47 AM
I can't se the video, but you know what I hate? That fvcking fade-to-black, slow reveal shit. I can only vaguely remember where this started. I'm pretty sure it was for a reveal that had been anticipated greatly, before seeing the trailer. And by greatly I don't just mean seeing what the latest version of Godzila looks like. I mean real anticipation. Then they just started doing it for everything. It's faux excitement. You get it for the most mundane shots, now and in every single trailer. It's ridiculous.
Do they mention that?
beane2099
beane2099 - 4/22/2014, 6:51 AM
On the other hand I still argue the marketing campaign for Independence Day is one of the best movie campaigns of all time. They strategically released footage until they had people at a frothing fever pitch and they had to see that movie (despite its quality).

I'll also add that there's actually been some actual scientific research conducted on spoilers. It's been found that people who receive spoilers before reading a story tend to rate that story as more enjoyable than those who did not receive spoilers. Spoilers set up an expectation and when that expectation is fulfilled it creates a satisfying experience. I still like to be surprised though - as I'm sure some other people do.
Fun1gUy
Fun1gUy - 4/22/2014, 6:59 AM
yeah i get it, it's true the trailers do tend to give a little tooo much away, but they're f*cking awesome, LOL
dutchman
dutchman - 4/22/2014, 7:11 AM
hail hydra
Ranger14
Ranger14 - 4/22/2014, 7:45 AM
Yes, trailers are too long and many give away too much. Most action film trailers show the key scenes including parts of the final confrontation. I like being surprised about the final confrontation instead of already knowing where and how it is going to happen. That is more annoying than anything. I tend to only watch the first trailer now. Back in the day, trailers gave you enough to be curious instead of throwing the whole kitchen sink at you.
MightyZeus
MightyZeus - 4/22/2014, 7:57 AM
Yeah it's all true.

I agree with everything.
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