Trailers have become impactful in filmmaking industries. Well-known as great marketing tools, they create long-lasting impressions and excitement among audiences. Trailers prepare the audience for the original film or movie anticipated. They act as a way of promoting the actual movie through showcasing talent, showing actors, locations where filmed as well as highlighting the scope of the whole film production.
The Canadian film industry, also known as “Hollywood North” and the United States' second home for television and film production. The nickname Hollywood North often describes the major filmmaking and movie production centers (Toronto and Vancouver). Centers known for their unique story-telling, technical and incredible talent producing many and remarkable famous trailers in movie history. This is due to their creative abilities, technical expertise, and vast marketing experience.
Why Making a Good Trailer is Hard (and Why Most of the Trailers Suck)
People don’t realize how hard making a good movie trailer is. See, while the marketing team behind the movie is involved in coming up with the content, the process of trailer making is mostly outsourced to separate studios that specialize in this type of production. This is also one of the main reasons why movie trailers are often criticized for not properly reflecting or recreating the movie atmosphere. There are bad trailers for good movies, and vice versa.
Ironically, movie trailers are often one of the main tools to persuade consumers to watch the movie. In about two minutes, they need to sell a film that may not even be fully polished yet. If they miss the mark, the stakes are high. Potentially hundreds of millions on the line. They can’t reveal too much but have to hook the audience. They must grab attention without crossing into cheesiness. They sometimes have to pack in more thrill or humor than the movie itself. They are almost like crash gaming. You know, those new hit casino games where the multiplier raises and you have to cash out before it crashes. Except, there’s no way to tell when it will crash. It’s that line of constant expectation something will happen, and you need to decide what that moment will be.
The Canadian Approach
Plenty of Canadian trailer editors or top people involved in the Canadian trailer industry have started their careers in LA. That’s just how it goes with the movie industry. The majority of the biggest trailer production studios are also located there, and it’s not unusual for these US studios to make trailers for Canadian movies. But whatever the case may be, Canadians have their own approach to making trailers. There’s no shortage of talented trailer editors in the country.
Canada has a strong talent pool. Plenty of editors, sound designers, and graphic artists with deep Hollywood backgrounds. They influence the Canadian trailer-making scene with their knowledge and experience. And while some of them work independently, the majority of these talents can be found in large post-production houses across Canada. Deluxe Toronto or Encore Vancouver come to mind. They are large enough to have in-house departments handling trailers.
The Canadian approach to trailer-making can be traced to the Canadian approach to movie-making. Since Canadian movies are mostly characterized by regional representation and diversity, trailers need to reflect that in order to capture the essence of the movie they represent. Analyzing the Canadian approach to trailer-making is hard. Trends appear as we watch the movie. But if we have to define them, trailers today are a strange hybrid. Part auteur flair, part blockbuster appeal. As always, they are careful to avoid spoilers, often hinting at themes rather than anything specific. Studios still wield some influence but the rise of the advertising industry has changed the game. Now, specialized trailer houses are everywhere, each trying to put their own stamp on the medium.
Marvel is perhaps the most notable example of how movie trailers can be reinvented. Marvel's real twist with trailers came with the simple but effective post-credit scene. The end of one movie hints at the next, and trailers are turned into an endless loop. And how? By getting back to basics: a "trailer" for what's coming. Considering many Marvel and DC movies have been filmed in Canada, we can’t help but think Canadian trailer editors have their signatures here.