Self made Trailer

Then why not just go ahead and make it as a short or feature?

If you're going to muster the money and troops...

That was a really interesting idea ten years ago. Now you will be one of the hordes with a DVD nobody wants to watch, rather than just one of the hordes with a script nobody wants to read. If you want to do it for the experience, fine, but accept that any money spent is money thrown away.

kullervo said:

That was a really interesting idea ten years ago. Now you will be one of the hordes with a DVD nobody wants to watch, rather than just one of the hordes with a script nobody wants to read. If you want to do it for the experience, fine, but accept that any money spent is money thrown away.

Click to expand...

This part ain't true though. It may not get you a contract or whatever it is you're seeking, but you gained experience and because of that, the rest of your work will be better.

Unless you are renting a couple hundred thousand dollars worth of lighting, sound and camera equipment and an experienced trailer editor is cutting it for you, it WILL look like an amateur trailer and no one in this town will mistake it for otherwise.

That said, if half the people you send it to dump it in the trash right away, and half of those left put it in someone's inbox where it sits for six months before someone else throws it in the trash, and half of those left watch it, roll their eyes and then throw it in the trash, I can guarantee you that there will be people who get it, watch it, and give you points for ballsiness.

Not that they'll go farther than that, but you never know. So it THAT scenario is worth it to you, then shoot the trailer. Just my $0.02 from the inside.

My personal opinion is that it's not going to get you any new bites from agents. When agents request manuscripts, there's a reason they want it to be plain black text on plain white paper, with no fancy images or fonts or mock covers. They want to see your work EXACTLY for what it is, unmasked by shiny things. They want to feel that they've discovered something that has the potential to be something more. They want to imagine in their own heads what the book would be as a film or how the scenes look.

Sending anything but the MS is very desperate. They'll think "this person is sending along a DVD because the MS must have been rejected several times" and/or "this person must not have a strong enough story to stand on its own."

Consider, for a moment, the people who show up at American Idol auditions dressed as giant tinfoil chickens. What do you think their voices will be like? Do you think they're dripping with talent?

If that makes any sense. Just my $.02.

I did something similar, only for a web show (which then turned into a tv pilot which then did not get bought). It was a great experience as I am both a director and writer.

Check it out at www.earthquakeLA.com if you'd like.

I would say go for it. If it turns out well you never know. Put it on your iPhone and if you are ever in an elevator with Alan Horn or the like you can whip it out and show it to him

While by no means am I an expert on the industry or anything of the sort, I'm surprised at the vast majority of opinions shooting down the possibility of making a fake trailer or short film to advertise a particular script/project. While I don't think you should sink a whole lot of money in it expecting to receive a deal with a production company as a direct result, I do think that it can only help as an artist. You will undoubtedly learn more about the nature of your project, network with some great people, and might even be able to shoot more later and perhaps over the span of time construct a full film.

Short films being made to advertise full scripts have definitely worked in the past. Just look at the first "Saw" film. The production company even admitted that they were not going to read the script, but out of boredom one of the workers there popped in the short film that James Wan shot to advertise the tone and feel of the final film. (the original short can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Olj57iN3pm8) If it was not for shooting that short and sending it to the prodco with the script, that film may have never been made (I will let you guys duke it out about whether the horror genre would be better off with or without it). Hell, Wes Anderson did a similar thing when he filmed the short "Bottle Rocket," which eventually allowed him to make it into a feature film. All of this just comes down to me saying that it has worked in the past, and I see no particular reason it couldn't work again.

Don't treat the trailer or short film as the means to an end (that being a final film), but as a creative endeavor in its own right. The short should be the desired end, and you should take everything you can from that artistic process, but don't bank everything on a feature film down the line.

Well, that's just my lowly opinion.

heatgirl said:

Hey! These people are putting in free time and free equiptment.
If I had the money I would make it a short.

Click to expand...

In my experience, this sort of thing is much more commonly done by directors who are pitching their "take" on a film rather than writers trying to sell a script.

I saw a "trailer" for a script of mine -- not done by me, but by the director that they ultimately attached that he cut together from bits and pieces of other movies to give them a sense of how he imagined the movie, albeit it was simply made up of pieces of other movies.

But on some level, it obviously worked. It gave them a sense of what sort of visuals he was thinking about, what other movies he was referencing, his cutting style, his ability to create a sense of emotion.

The point is, though -- that all of that really has to do with *directorial* ability -- not script writing.

And the fact that he was simply cutting stuff together from other movies meant that he was able to muster some pretty high-end production values without spending a dime. What difference did it make that it was all borrowed footage -- it wasn't meant for anything other than for him to use to give a handful of producers a sense of how he imagined the movie to be.

These sorts of things -- trailers, concept art, all that sort of thing, *can* be helpful, but only if they are produced at the highest professional level.

So the question is not -- do you have professional equipment but rather -- when you go to the theatre and watch trailers of the sort that really knock you dead -- like the trailer for Batman where that big truck does a back flip -- I'm talking about trailers where the audiences are applauding the trailer.

If what you're making isn't one of those trailers, if it isn't that good, if it's not going to accomplish that, then think carefully.

And if you're saying -- well, my movie isn't like Batman, it doesn't have those kind of "truck-flipping" moments -- then the question is -- what are the thirty seconds or the sixty seconds in your hundred or hundred and ten minutes that are going to make people want to see your movie?

And can you really pick out those sixty seconds and shoot them with a sufficiently high degree of professionalism that some extremely jaded people will watch it and want to read your script based on it?

Personally, as somebody who used to work in development, those kinds of things never really impressed me.

I'll tell you what impressed me.

First, if I read a logline and thought, "Damn, that's a great idea. I wish I'd thought of that."

Second, if I started to read the script and by the end of page one, I was already involved in the story and I stayed involved right through to the end, which perfectly resolved everything that came before.

And for strictly commercial reasons, scripts should be star castable. If your script can't attract a name actor, the chances of it getting financing is extremely small.

If it can do all of these, then your script has a shot.

NMS

Heatgirl, if you have the resources, there are a variety of things you should shoot and send out, a faux informercial, your characters on a Jerry Springer type show working out their issues, a Barbara Walters style interview. I'd watch any of those over a trailer.

There are 100,000 spec scripts written every year and 15-24 get bought and produced. Give up the idea that there is anything that works well. The numbers just aren't there.

kullervo said:

There are 100,000 spec scripts written every year and 15-24 get bought and produced. Give up the idea that there is anything that works well. The numbers just aren't there.

Click to expand...

Well if that were true we might as well all pack up and move to Oz!

Sure there's no surefire method of making it, other than writing a killer script that gets into the right hands or making a fantastic trailer that gets into the right hands or sleeping with a studio head and blackmailing them but frankly numbers in my experience are rubbish and you can make stats tell whatever story you want them to.

I'm sure all of us in one way or another have achieved something that others thought impossible - if you want to make the trailer, go for it! It'll be fun, which is what this business is meant to be, even if it doesn't always work out that way.

Hey heatgirl, where in Oz you from? Melb here.

Despite what most people in the thread said - your idea isn't useless.
The filmmaker behind Saw is from Melb and created a short for Saw which can be found on youtube. He used the short to send to publishers, got the funds to direct it himself, and the rest is history. So it can work at least here in this country anyway.

edit: Ohh I should have read the whole thread, someone posted the link before me.

Hillgate said:

Well if that were true we might as well all pack up and move to Oz!

Sure there's no surefire method of making it, other than writing a killer script that gets into the right hands or making a fantastic trailer that gets into the right hands or sleeping with a studio head and blackmailing them but frankly numbers in my experience are rubbish and you can make stats tell whatever story you want them to.

I'm sure all of us in one way or another have achieved something that others thought impossible - if you want to make the trailer, go for it! It'll be fun, which is what this business is meant to be, even if it doesn't always work out that way.

Click to expand...

Don't put too much hope in great writing, either, or in the rest. There just isn't room in Hollywood for all the great scripts, either. Nobody needs to play with the stats to make this look like the next thing to impossible. I just want to make sure people know what they are spending their one life on planet earth doing.

Kullervo, until they actually experience the Hollywood machine, I don't think there's anything you can say to dissuade them. That's why LA has the highest yearly influx of newbies...and mass exodus. It's a constant revolving door. Some people find they can handle it and stay, others bail. But they all coming "knowing" they will make it. *shrugs* That's the beauty and the horror of LA!

If you've got the time and the money to spare and if you really want to, then do it. I can understand the temptation to augment your work with whatever you think will increase its chances of getting noticed. If it were me, I don't think I'd be able to convince myself that me energy was best spent on anything except rewriting, networking and starting the next project.

The last thing I'd say is if you're going to pour your money and resources into this project, it had better be something that you seriously love.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

kullervo said:

There just isn't room in Hollywood for all the great scripts

Click to expand...

The OP is in Australia, though. I assume she's trying to get some headway in her country's industry, not in Hollywood.

IceCreamEmpress said:

The OP is in Australia, though. I assume she's trying to get some headway in her country's industry, not in Hollywood.

Click to expand...

I'm reasonably sure it's not a cakewalk in Oz, either.

Donnie Darko did the short film/scene from the film thing too I think, to get financing for the feature.

Like NMS said, I have never heard of anyone doing this who wasn't a director. It's really a director thing. And a short film or a scene from the film make a lot more sense than a trailer. And I don't know why you think that would be more expensive. A trailer is so ridiculously expensive as not to be worth it -- you'll need several different locations you're going to use for a very short period of time? (Half you shooting day will be travel). I can't see how that's cheaper than a short.

Also, I used to be a trailer editor, and we'd do 50 cuts of a trailer. I would be really impressed if you could write a perfect trailer from scratch. I just really think if you're going to do this then a trailer is a bad idea and a short or scene from the film is much better.

But yeah, getting anyone to watch it is another thing. That's not going to be any easier than getting someone to read it.

Good luck Heatgirl, whatever you decide to do!

G'day HeatGirl,

Another Sydneysider here. I know you said that this is all free (so money isn't an issue) but there will still be some costs.

I know a few people in Sydney who make very good looking films & shorts for basically nothing ... but 'basically nothing' in the film world is still pretty expensive!

The persistence these people have is amazing ... I'm always astounded how they spend months finding the ideal location for a scene, and then patiently restart it all when that location falls through. When you are getting things for free that kind of thing happens a lot ... you can't expect professional timelines or notices when you aren't paying for them! (For example, the editor will have plenty of paying work and just be slotting yours in as a favour ... so your work will always get 'bumped' for paying clients)

That said, you have one ace up your sleeve ... as others have said Directors (or budding directors) do these kinds of things to show off their own work .. it doesn't seem to be popular for a writer's work. Check out showreels like from this Sydney based director to see what I mean ... the shots on that showreel cover a range of budgets. You can often tell, but you wouldn't always be right.

So that means the Director will be doing it for their own reasons ... and will see the project as being to show off their own skills. That means one less person you'll have to wheedle into doing it for free, and they'll have their own friends, etc.

Remember too that if you want others to help you out on your project, you'll be helping them out on their projects as well. You should expect to be on many, many low budget filmsets in the coming months ... it's a good experience even if it would drive you mad to do it indefinitely! The good thing about helping on other people's projects is that at the end of the day you can just walk away, knowing you've done your bit well and leave the painful rest of it to others!

Whatever you do, make sure you have decent agreements sorted out ahead of time. You don't want to be stuck in a wrangle later on .. there are some horror stories out there!

Good luck!

Mac