Drafting and planning: How to make a successful trailer

As my initial plan is to make a movie trailer for my A2 course it became obvious to me that before i even know what my trailer is going to feature and be about, i need to understand what makes a successful trailer so that i understand and know how to properly make a trailer to the best of my ability. To understand my how a trailer may become successful i did some research finding some sites that give me an incredible insight into how to make a trailer successful.

It became clear to me quite quickly the simple formula that most trailers seem to follow and that is to "start fast and end big". The whole aim of a trailer is to hook people immediately this can be through dialogue, a dynamic scene or a powerful music score. From here the trailer needs to escalate so if making a comedy the trailer needs to get funnier or if a horror trailer then the trailer needs to get creepier and scarier as the trailer goes on. The ending of the trailer is one of the biggest aspects of the trailer as its normally the part of the trailer that audiences remember and can ultimately hype an audience more for the movie.

Its also quite clear that its vitally important to try and make your trailer original due to most movies copying other movies through spinoffs, sequels and prequels the market place can become quite repetitive so i should try and pick moments out where its original, unique and more importantly stands out from other stuff out there. Because of this its important to find the defining moment for a trailer while most trailers try and cram in all best bits from a trailer to sell the movie but what is equally important is to find something with a great look or a great line of dialogue that won't just advance the story but promote it while being really funny or uniquely scary.

Vital aspects of a trailer:

Sound- Sound is something that is very important to a trailer it can represent the genre of a film and can be used to emphasise certain points of the trailer. Sound can elevate certain scenes adding importance to them.
Editing- The flow and continuity of a trailer can make or break it. A good trailer will be able to effortlessly flow between scenes.