The Rules to Great Trailers

Trailers can literally make or break a film. Film-makers have 90 seconds to convince the masses to cough up the 10 bucks to see their film rather than bowling or doing heavy drugs in an abandoned parking lot.

But, what makes an amazing trailer?

Great trailers:
 Should give the audience a sense of what genre they're going to see. If it's not a comedy don't make it appear like one AKA Funny People. Someone (most likely a college-aged fraternity brother) expects a raunchy Judd Apatow comedsy starring Adam Sandler. Instead he leaves with his nose runny from intense crying and the thought of his own mortality. (Thus explaining how he came to doing hard drugs in abandoned parking lots.)

                                            People can die? Even {gasp} FUNNY PEOPLE?


Great trailers:
Don't spoil all the funny/exciting parts by putting them in the trailer. I want to be surprised when the hilarity or action starts, not reciting lines with the actors. If they have enough good material this shouldn't be a problem.

Great trailers:
Reveal the basic storyline.  Is there even a plot, with a conflict maybe, perhaps character development? Please don't make it a montage of useless (but funny har-de-har) clips. Please see below:

Did we learn ANYTHING from that? No.

Great trailers:

Don't tell the whole damn story either. If I know what happens and/or what lessons were learned just from watching the trailer then why the hell should I go see the full movie? If you can explain the whole film so easily in a single minute it's obviously not worth seeing

                                                           Sorry Heigl. I still love ya.


Please think on what I have said and view the dozens of trailers per day you're exposed to with a keener eye and an expert's disposition.