Hello,

I'm just wondering if you think trailers have any actual usefulness when they're cut for Indy films. I'm not talking about Indy films that get distribution from fox searchlight, or something like that, I'm talking about low budget stuff that might get in one or two local film fests and maybe a tri-state, regional type fest, all the way up to a film that might have good quality paid actors that screens at maybe one national fest and a bunch of regional fests.

I have only been to a few local fests. Are trailers shown before screenings? And if so, for what films?

Seems like every other Indy filmmaker is cutting their own trailers, with varying degrees of success, for every film they do and posting it on Vimeo or YouTube... Im not saying I could do any better, but honestly some of the trailers for low budget short films do more harm than good, in terms of me going to want to see them.

Alex

Don't underestimate the value of a great trailer. Some new producers finish theirs as an afterthought just before they crash out exhausted, burnt out, broke or crazy. Sometimes it needs another producer to make it, it's worth checking around for ideas.

Good for pointers on utube etc .. watch out for fake, spoiler and your competition comments tho.

Some fests run trailers, if it's a 2 or more day affair.

Cheers.

watch out for fake, spoiler and your competition comments tho.

Not sure what you mean by this?

Hi Alex .. if you post your trailer on the web, take no notice of adverse comments.

Cheers.

I do find it a little weird to see trailers for short films. It's already a short film, why do you need an even more condensed preview of it? I guess it makes some sense if it's a longer short (10+) minutes as opposed to 2-3.

I don't know what role they play in the indie world, exactly (by the way when you spell it "Indy" it makes me think of cars. Especially when you say "Indy Circuit" :-)), but, as a viewer, you can definitely get a feel for how polished or professional the film, and by extension, the filmmaker(s) is/are.

If I watch a trailer and see bad acting, bad cinematography, noisy or reverby sound, etc., I know it's probably not a very good film. If I were a potential viewer, this would be my "stay away!" cue. I've also noticed a trend where people seem to think they need to make a 2+ minute trailer (I guess 'cause some Hollywood movies do so), often way too long for the type of story they're telling (I'm talking to you, mostly-mindless-slasher film). If all your movie's really about is "dumb kids' car breaks down, trapped in woods with killer, must escape", chances are you don't need 2.5 minutes to convey that. I recently saw someone's trailer that was very close to that, and seemed like they were almost letting ENTIRE SCENES play out in the trailer itself.

To sum up - I feel your trailer can convey the quality of your film in many ways without having to watch the film itself, and shorter is better.