AUG 21, 2008
What is it with trailers these days?
Rob 
1 commentsCopywriter
We’ve all heard this before: “Let’s get there early, so we can catch the previews.” I hate missing the beginning of a movie as much as anyone else, but catching all seven of the previews often leaves me exhausted before the movie even starts. The last thing I need before seeing a superhero movie is seeing five other superhero movies. They may only be three minutes in length, but they seem to cram in every explosion, joke and one-liner from the entire film. Often after watching a trailer I feel like I already know the characters and their story so well that I don’t need to pay eight bucks and spend two hours to get all that same information again in long form.
It makes sense that a preview is structured the same way a movie is: hook, exposition, climax and resolution. But doesn’t it seem like this formula is maybe too easy? Wouldn’t it be exciting if trailers were more like teasers—where you see just enough to make you want more? I’m sure that previews show as much as they do because that’s what audiences expect, and because it sells tickets. I, for one, am tired of all this handholding.
People should be enticed by an ad for a movie and take a risk when they go see it, instead of constantly being catered to, being told exactly what they’re going to get. This advertising approach makes a ton of sense when you’re talking about a product or a service, but it should be thrown out the window when it comes to the art of telling a story. A good movie-going experience should be made up of moment after moment of experiencing the unexpected—each development in the story leading to a new unexpected chapter where you don’t know what the outcome will be.
Realizing that previews cheapen the hard work of screenwriters and directors everywhere, I gave them up years ago. If it’s a movie I’ve never heard of and want to be informed about, I will allow myself the pleasure of watching about 80% of it, looking away during the final frenzied onslaught of action and images. If, on the other hand, it’s for a movie I am excited about and plan on seeing, I will avert my eyes completely. To some this may seem masochistic, but even a bad movie is more enjoyable if you have no idea what you’re getting. If I’m successful at avoiding the ads, when I do finally see the film, I’m rewarded with hearty laughter at what are fresh new jokes to me. Whereas others who have repeatedly seen commercials on TV might find themselves forcing a chuckle at the same old gag.
It’s not always easy to avert your eyes when there are clips of something you want to see showing in front of you, but believe me—if you really want to experience a movie the way it was written to be, don’t open your eyes until you get to see it all.
For an example of a trailer that immediately sates your hunger for a full story, endure this:
