Trailer Photography Shack Guide
Trailer Promotes Movie
By Sylvia Adolvana
Initially, the movie trailer was nothing more than
an afterthought, something so mundane that people would
know it was time to leave their seats. By the early
20th century, new movies were promoted by the film’s
first reel or a few key scenes spliced together.
The 1960s saw an influx of independent houses surface
that specialized in crafting enticing trailers clips
to sell upcoming features. "There’s no questioning
the fact that it’s an art form and completely indispensable.
It’s become a very big part of the movie going experience,"
says famous voice-over artist Don LaFontaine.
"If you go to the theater, I’m sure you’ll find
that a great majority of the audience are in their seats
well before the lights come down, and the reason is
that they want to see those trailers before the main
feature."
The Trailer King And Thunder Throat
Don LaFontaine was one of the early innovators in movie
trailer history. With 750,000 TV spots and 5,000 films
under his belt, it’s no wonder he’s been nicknamed "the
voice of God" and "Trailer King."
A parody of LaFontaine appears in a preview for Hitchhiker’s
Guide to the Galaxy, which says a narrator should "employ
a deep voice that sounds like a seven-foot-tall man
who has been smoking cigarettes since childhood."
Another nickname for LaFontaine is "Thunder Throat."
Trailers Provide Highlights From Top Movies
He’s best known for his line "In a world far away"
and his work on trailers for top movies like Terminator,
Terminator II, The Land Before Time, Fatal Attraction,
Cast Away, Batman Returns, Tomb Raider - Underworld,
the South Park Movie and Dr. Strangelove.
Andrew J. Kuehn was an innovator in modern movie trailers
production. In 1964, he released independently-produced
trailer for Night of the Iguana that used fast-paced
editing, high-contrast photography and suspenseful narration.
Better Ideas For Previews
When he realized the potential for this format, he
partnered with Dan Davis to manufacture trailers for
some of the biggest names and top movies, including
Stanley Kubricks’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, Steven Spielberg’s
Jaws, James Cameron’s Aliens and George Lucas’s Star
Wars.
‘‘He came into the world of previews when they were
done very conventionally, and he reinvented them,’’
said Bob Harper, vice chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment.
‘‘He pioneered the idea of previews as a stand-alone
piece of entertainment.’’
Enticing Audiences With Powerful Trailers
Film historian Frank Thompson explains, "I think
the trailer’s becoming more and more powerful … because
it has to do a job today that movie trailers didn’t
have to do 20 years ago before the big advent of the
blockbuster where every movie has to be a big moneymaking
machine."
People will continue to watch movies no matter what,
but they’re becoming more and more selective about the
movies they see in theaters and the decision to buy
movies is even harder to make, which is why so much
emphasis is placed on the power of the trailers.
They must hide a film’s flaws, bring out the good parts
without telling the whole story and create an emotional
reaction in audiences.
About the Author:
Sylvia Adolvana has written articles on digital photography
and software including Bridal
Portraits, Wedding
Announcements, Red
Eye in Portraits, Photo
Balloons, Photo
Albums, Photo
Enhancement, Small
Digital Cameras, Create
DVDs, DVD
Burner Software, Family
Web Site, Graphic
Design.
Keep a lookout as more articles are added from this
popular author on this website in the near future.
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