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Theatrical Trailer Music
Motion Picture Trailer Music
Los Angeles–based composer Kevin Christopher Teasley provided por-
tions of the information contained in this chapter. He has composed music
and created sound design for the theatrical trailersI Am Legend,Beowulf,
Rambo 4:John Rambo,The Happening,Jumper,The Spiderwick Chronicles,Fan-
tastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer,Live Free or Die Hard,Rush Hour 3,Night
at the Museum,The Accidental Husband,Lions for Lambs,The Perfect Holiday,
andDreamgirls, among many others.
Composing music for theatrical trailers is a unique and complex sub-
genre of motion picture scoring and scoring commercials. Many compos-
ers who compose music for commercials also compose music for trailers
(also known as feature film advertising).
Trailers are viewed in theaters or on television, the Internet, and DVDs
or via additional new media formats (e.g., cross-promotional, home enter-
tainment, in store, closed-circuit television, ‘‘making ofs,’’ pay per view/
on demand, hotel/airplane, cruise ship, and now mobile entertainment).
The purpose of trailers is to attract an audience. Theatrical motion pictures
or television programs (miniseries, series television, Internet series, and so
on) must be advertised and marketed. The editor’s job is to create an
appealing and compelling compilation of the most exciting, humorous,
dramatic, and/or poignant scenes of a film that will not reveal salient
information about the film’s content yet will attract an audience.A trailer
is a commercial! The film is a product! The studio is the client! The audience is
the consumer!
Companies that specialize in this genre edit theatrical trailers. The
motion picture company usually provides the editing company with a
digitized copy of the picture. The studios’ marketing directors provide
guidance to the editors. A clearer ‘‘chain of command’’ is the marketing
director/creative executives of the film studio providing guidance/notes
to the producer at the trailer editorial company. Sometimes the informa-
tion is forwarded directly to ‘‘superstar trailer editors.’’ The producer then
deciphers the information, has ‘‘scripts’’ written, and adds his or her cre-
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