Whedonesque Mobile : Comments on 11101 : First there were fan credits, now there are fan trailers.

Wow - the music underneath this trailer really helps to sell the conflict. Does anybody know what it is?

Pretty violent in my opinion, and where's the funny. It would be interesting to ponder the outcome though.The music is beautiful, but I prefer music that gives it a western feel. Great fan effort!

Harmalicious | August 13, 19:25 CET

To me it has everything.

Right in the beginning it sets up which that there's a crew of people and that Mal is the captain of that crew and there's an alliance of some sort that gums up the works. Then it's River's introduction where it's explained that there something special about her and that this slightly unsettling guy is looking for her.
Thus all the major players introduced right away.

And then all hell breaks lose... There's a lot of really impressive action with a wonderful score in the background without actually revealing any real spoilers at all about the movie. It do however leave you with a desire to learn more. Why oh why could Universal have done something like this instead.

About the score, I asked to guy who made it and he replied shortly thereafter. It's Immediate Music with the track Epicon. Apparently, they make trailer music.

And yeah, I know there's no funny here. But to me, all things Whedon has been gutwrenching drama first and for me it's more important that that comes across. The jokes will just come as a pleasant surprise later.

[ edited by Djungelurban on 2006-08-13 17:38 ]

Djungelurban | August 13, 19:30 CET

It's really nicely done. It certainly puts emphasis on the action part of the movie. I'd like to have seen a campaign like this one. Yes, it ignores the funny, but it makes it very compelling.

XanFan32 | August 13, 19:39 CET

I love this trailor. I had to watch it twice right away. I hope Universal hires him to do the trailors for the Sequels.

Yes, there will be a sequel. There has to be!

madmolly | August 13, 19:47 CET

Nice juxtaposition, with the silent ending on 'Serenity'.

Caroline | August 13, 20:11 CET

Excellent. God, how I miss those guys!!

wissxwe | August 13, 20:20 CET

Damn, that was a good trailer. I've watched Serenity a whole whack of times, but watching this trailer? Well, it puts a whole new life into the film. It don't need to be funny. It stands up just fine on its own.

[ edited by Sonofapreacherman on 2006-08-13 19:01 ]

Sonofapreacherman | August 13, 20:21 CET

OK, it's nice and exciting and all.

But I think that it gives away too much. A trailer is meant to whet your appetite for a film, give you an idea what it is about, but not reveal anything. This trailer showed so many pivotal late-in-the-movie scenes. Even if they flashed by without revealing their importance, I still think it spoiled too much. I would have been a little upset to have seen all this before seeing the movie the first time. Just my take.

AnotherFireflyfan | August 13, 20:27 CET

That's only because you are already "in the know" AnotherFireflyfan. The trailer actually gives away very little. None of the edited scenes resonate with anything more than out-of-context-moments, especially if you haven't seen Serenity.

[ edited by Sonofapreacherman on 2006-08-13 19:01 ]

Sonofapreacherman | August 13, 21:00 CET

It's nice to see different takes on the movie.

The seriousness is good and all but if we're arguing that this trailer would have drawn more people in - that's hard to say. I think if people saw that movie then they would be going to see it with a false idea in their head. Serenity is a quite serious movie, but still as lighter parts. And it needs to be represented as doing so.

But still, it's a great job.

My personal favourite trailer type fan vid is this one by mnemosyne9

It has the wonderful overture from Requiem for a Dream by the Kronos Quartet.

It's not meant to be an actual trailer though - more of a tribute. So it has lots of spoilers.

[ edited by jynnantonnyx on 2006-08-13 19:10 ]

jynnantonnyx | August 13, 21:07 CET

It has no more spoilers than the average trailer out there.

Simon | August 13, 21:14 CET

It has no more spoilers than the average trailer out there.

I was referring to the clip by mnemosyne - the one I linked too :) Sorry, I tend to be unclear.

jynnantonnyx | August 13, 21:19 CET

I actually don't like this trailer all that much. *hides*

Niels | August 13, 21:24 CET

The only thing I thought showed a bit too much (in the original linked trailer) was a shot of River fighting the Reavers, but considering how much dialog the real trailers revealed IMO this trailer is comparatively spoiler free. I like it a lot. To me the funny is not the point, it is the bonus.

newcj | August 13, 21:27 CET

Yes, I think the 'Requiem for a Dream (Serenity)' video gives too much away, and is too talky (beautiful and interesting but not enough action to bring non-Firefly fans to the theater).

This new 'Serenity fan trailer' really builds to an epic/operatic pitch which avoids being spoilery because of how quickly the images go by and how completely out of order they are. This one is very exciting and action packed, and I love how the title at the end appears to be an almost satirical comment.

embers | August 13, 21:29 CET

Eh, that music was too melodramatic for my tastes. Maybe it would have worked better, maybe not. But it really makes it look like just about any other trailer out there.

crossoverman | August 13, 21:42 CET

Yes, I think the 'Requiem for a Dream (Serenity)' video gives too much away, and is too talky (beautiful and interesting but not enough action to bring non-Firefly fans to the theater).
Yeah, she didn't create it to be a trailer, it's a tribute video - for people who have already seen the movie. But when I was watching the fan trailer it made me think of the RfaD clip because they're both quite serious in nature.

I liked the ending too, a nice touch :)

jynnantonnyx | August 13, 21:45 CET

It's an epic trailer in a sense, but try to detach yourself from the work. What does that trailer tell you?

It told me there's some people, and a girl, and an "alliance" wants her... And there's swords, a screwdriver, a space ship, and uhm... Lots more swords and space ships and uhm. Well. Oh, it's called Serenity. Nobody in I recognise, no idea who the director or writer is or why I should care.

So, in a sense, gotta be honest - I think it's very well put together, but it's a dire way of selling the film. If you want to sell something, you have to hook the audience in. Show them humour; show them a serious problem the film deals with; show them the creators name; show them something they aren't expecting.

In a way, that reminded me of the Serenity cover art. It'll sell to the masses who like the look of chicks with guns and swords, but you're also waiting for "Starring David Hasselhoff!" to appear.

The silent Serenity logo, by the way, really works.

gossi | August 13, 21:49 CET

Yeah but unlike the cover, there arent any llamas. And also unlike the cover it is tastefully done, while the cover was a piece of "go se".

kurya | August 13, 21:52 CET

True, kurya. Whoever did this probably spent about 4 times as much time on it as whoever the Serenity DVD cover art. Not that I'm bitter about that, or anything.

Also, I keep meaning to update IMDB to let the rumours begin - I've heard Goners is being renamed to Llamas! Maybe when it gets to DVD, anyway.

gossi | August 13, 21:55 CET

Well I think this trailer is a good start. I know what you(Gossi) meand by have some sort of mystery or some "hook" to bring the viewer in and some text. I think with a bit of re-editing, and throw in some text and some voice over(maybe from the movie itself), it can really work as a proper trailer. As it is, it does a good job, and I find it isn't as all over the place as some of the trailers released by Universal were.

kurya | August 13, 22:00 CET

Most movie trailers have the best lines including, so I don't find this that spoilery at all. Very nice.

spikeylover | August 13, 22:01 CET

Too long, too silent - ie not enough movie audio and talk.

Pumps | August 13, 22:02 CET

I enjoy this one too, but I do find that it takes too long to get interesting; the first 50 seconds are too slow and quiet and don't hook me in (me being "in the know" or not). When Zoe says "In the time of war...", that's when my interest gets piqued.

Another similarily put together fan-made trailer on YouTube is this one, also including the Kronos Quartet overture.

I quite enjoy this one as well, but like gossi says, it doesn't tell a potential audience much and may not work to hook them in. At this point, I don't necessarily think it's worth the effort to judge fan-made trailers from the perspective of how much more or less effective they could be compared to the official trailers - they're just a labour of love. It's still worth critiquing them, certainly, but with all due respect, I don't think that the original question is one worth bothering on anymore.

gorramit | August 13, 22:02 CET

Wow. That fan-made trailer actually made me tear up, it was so dramatic with that gorgeous music underneath it all. Talk about getting your blood up with the feelings of the heights of Shakespearean drama - even Wagnerian!

IMDb has 6 trailers for Serenity at its site. I chose the first one and it is filled with spoilers, giving away a lot of the dialogue. It has the funny, but I would have been more pleasantly surprised had I never seen (I'm imagining) Firefly. I think absolutely if it had been available, the fan-made trailer could have been run as an alternative or perhaps as the main trailer maybe a week before Serenity opened. It certainly would have piqued my interest had I been either a) on the fence about Sci-Fi films, or b) Ignorant of who Joss Whedon was.

Tonya J | August 13, 22:24 CET

Nice job.

Glad they left out the Mal-shoots-the-Operative spoiler

malcolm | August 13, 22:36 CET

Yep that was cool. I agree that it doesn't reveal more than trailers for other movies, but it's more than Joss would have liked.

[ edited by delirium_haze on 2006-08-13 20:45 ]

delirium_haze | August 13, 22:43 CET

gorrammit, you are almost certainly right. I tend to put everything like that against studio marketing which is, of course, unfair - and a bit pointless.

I've seen many people comment online that the Mal-shoots-the-operative thing was the reason they went to see Serenity. In the UK, the "Do you want to run this ship?!" thing often comes up, that was from the TV trailer here.

gossi | August 13, 22:48 CET

Oh, and the Universal trailer I viewed at IMDb spoils the surprise of that fabulous opening when the Operative (Ejiofor) walks/ripples through the hologram-like (I'm not sure what the correct term is) scene of River's escape he's just been watching.

Tonya J | August 13, 22:53 CET

Now that was a damn fine piece of work! You're hired!

skeezycheeses | August 13, 22:58 CET

Tonya - yes, but that's a cool moment. Ultimately, they're trying to bring people in by showing them cool moments. It doesn't exactly spoil the plot.

gossi | August 13, 23:02 CET

Too long, too silent - ie not enough movie audio and talk.
Really? I usually feel that there's WAY to much talking going on in trailers. Talking equals information, information equals spoilers, spoilers equals bad. And crappy ass "guy that has smoked too much in his life" voice overs are just horrible in every way. So I like that it's fairly limited. The only dialogue there is, is to set up the characters are and such.

And I'm not sure that jokes and such is what's gonna hook the viewer. If they want funny 90% of the movie going audience is gonna watch an Adam Sandler movie or something. This trailer however feels sort of like the trailer for Narnia, just the scope of the thing is enough to make me interested. In the case of Narnia it certainly worked on me. It had a very slow start and then it just got epic and mindblowing and you didn't really get any specifics at all. If you hadn't known about Narnia before you'd just be sitting there, not quite knowing what you just saw, just that it was very impressive and that you had to see it for some reason.
That sort of what happend with me. I mean, I knew about Narnia, I had even seen the BBC TV series. But I didn't really like it and I was kinda unsure about the movie. Then the trailer came and I knew I had to see it.

Djungelurban | August 13, 23:25 CET

It's well put together though i'm with Keith G re: the music, just too over the top. To me it makes the film seem a little self-important (which is not just a bad impression to create but a totally incorrect one) though in fairness it is pretty exciting.

Would it have got more bums on seats ? Impossible to say but it at least has the virtue of focus (it's clearly selling a sci-fi action film). In comparison the real trailer made it pretty clear that 'Serenity' had a lot of different stuff in it, especially humour, which would've made it more appealing to me (i'm trying to imagine I wasn't absolutely-definitely-going-to-see-it-anyway-cos-of-Firefly ;) but not necessarily the majority of casual cinema goers.

And I personally find it too spoilery (we see Zoe getting hacked in the back, we see enough of the big battle to tip the Reaver reveal, we see just how 'hard to get to' Mal's objective will be so lessening that line etc. In fairness though I really don't like spoilers. Like really. I'm not kidding here ;).

Saje | August 13, 23:36 CET

I liked this quite a lot and thought the music perfect but I did feel it gave too much away, even if it was so out of order as to be misleading.
But the one that gorramit linked to is, in my opinion, almost perfect. It sets up a clear storyline, gives the drama and the tension and does not tell you the end. You are missing the humour but I think that is no bad thing. People would have come for the drama and been knocked over by the humour and the dialogue and the characterizations.

Lioness | August 14, 00:16 CET

What's that Joss saying.....?

Make it dark, make it grim, then for crying out loud tell a joke?
Something like that. I like that in spoilers, er, I mean trailors.

madmolly | August 14, 00:29 CET

Heh, I think we understand what Joss is saying.

Madhatter | August 14, 01:00 CET

This makes me even more excited about seeing it on the big screen tomorrow.

Derf | August 14, 01:32 CET

I like the idea of it quite a bit, my only complaint being the "fever pitch" action montage comes in too soon as lasts too long. But overall, very nice work. I love the Mal vs. River bit behind the final shot before the title.

The Dark Shape | August 14, 01:40 CET

This is the best Serenity trailer.

No wait, THIS is the best Serenity trailer.

gossi | August 14, 02:16 CET

gossi: the first link doesn't work.

Grounded | August 14, 02:20 CET

I had to turn the preview off half way through. I can't tell you how tired I am of that gothic children's choir music that EVERY fantasy/sci fi film trailer uses now.

I've even experienced a day at the movies where two back-to-back(!) movie trailers used the exact same music and did the whole "fever pitch" climax thing showing a zillion revealing clips from the film. People in the audience noticed the similarities, of course, and snickered appropriately.

That music is overused and desperately needs to be retired or relegated to parody (someone make a Mighty Mouse trailer with this music... or something!)

Hjermsted | August 14, 02:33 CET

I could never get tired of music like that. I'm gonna go out on a limb and claim that you're an minority.

Djungelurban | August 14, 02:45 CET

I have to agree that the type of music used IS a little overused in trailers, and I would have liked to have seen the same person create a trailer with something a little closer to the actual music. That said, I think this trailer is superior to anything Universal put out. I would have liked to see how something like this tested with an audience.

palehorse | August 14, 02:57 CET

The original Serenity trailer was one of 4, I believe. May be wrong. They market tested them. Say goes for the posters.

I've also heard that type of music on many, many trailers. That said, the music Universal used for the Serenity trailer was also used on the "Green Street" trailers in the UK -- released by the same studio, at nearly the same time.

Personally - and this is just me - any trailer which comes across as self important makes me switch off. "Narnia" did this. See also: Kingdom of Heaven. ("One Knight! One Night! I'm not sure which it is, I'm just the trailer voice guy, but I'm sure you don't care either! One Trailer! RAH!). There's loads of sci-fi films which do that, also. At least Universal played up the underdog theme a bit.

[ edited by gossi on 2006-08-14 01:09 ]

gossi | August 14, 03:06 CET

This is the best trailer ever. Universal should have gone down this avenue with Joss doing the voice over. And Serenity would have made billions!

Simon | August 14, 03:25 CET

I thought both the trailer & homage vid were pretty good, with the trailer silent logo also earning my respect. As always, what we prefer usually says more about each of us us than anything else, and I prefer a touch of the funny, as in most of the original trailers. I think it's an essential aspect of the movie (& series) and an important component of what Joss does better than most -- mixing in the light with the dark.

The Lego Serenity trailer by Jack & Jeff Tullin was hi-larious and my absolute favourite. I hope we see lots more by them tapping this same vein (loved the brief shots of Buffy & Angel) -- and how I wish they would produce the Serenity/MST3K crossover flick.

"...And I�m doing everything in my power to make sure that the funny parts are funny, the scary parts are scary and the exciting parts are exciting and it all gels and becomes something greater than the sum of its parts." -- Joss Whedon, interview with Fred Topel/CHUD.com, Dec. 2004

QuoterGal | August 14, 03:59 CET

I agree with the comments saying this trailer was beautiful, but I also agree it gives away too much. Particularly: the Alliance/Reaver battle that Serenity gets caught in. Things like that need to stay out of trailers entirely, no matter how cool they look- because when you see the film, if you've already seen clips from that part of the film, you'll be able to see it coming right before it happens, and that battle would not have been as climatic or cool if you had known, as soon as you saw the Operative waiting for Serenity, that an armada of Reavers would be coming through the ion cloud with her.
This or something like it would have worked well as an online-only or DVD/OnDemand trailer. Since those are made for either specific markets (people who are already interested, ie, Clerks II) or well after the movie is released, they usually play a lot faster and looser with the spoilers.

dainichijess | August 14, 03:59 CET

I had to turn the preview off half way through. I can't tell you how tired I am of that gothic children's choir music that EVERY fantasy/sci fi film trailer uses now.

I've even experienced a day at the movies where two back-to-back(!) movie trailers used the exact same music and did the whole "fever pitch" climax thing showing a zillion revealing clips from the film. People in the audience noticed the similarities, of course, and snickered appropriately.

There are several companies that specialise in producing trailer music, including Immediate Music and X-Ray Dog. They serve up formulaic music designed to provoke a specific emotional response in the audience, including dozens of those heroic choral pieces, all of which are to varying degrees rip-offs of "O Fortuna" from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana (which was heavily overused before the specialist trailer music composers came along).

Gag Halfrunt | August 14, 04:50 CET

Heh, heh, Gag Halfrunt. Yeah, there's always a huge chance that trailer music is either from (or "inspired by') Carmina Burina (usually the profane songs), or -- if it's a sweet or period independent film -- that bit from Lakm�. You know, the British Airways music?

I used to love that piece...

QuoterGal | August 14, 05:16 CET

I guess I don't watch enough trailers to be jaded by them, but I understand what you all are saying (I must need to get out more). I definitely recognize the Lakm� duet when I hear it. It was most effective in The Hunger. After that whenever I heard it used for something else, that's immediately where my identification went, as though it were being ripped off.

Tonya J | August 14, 06:07 CET

I enjoyed the trailer in the link but I found it a bit too spoiler-y for me as a trailer. As a tribute to the movie, it was well done. I agree with gorramit though, that the trailer he linked to is the favourite of any that I've seen. It always makes me want to go and put the DVD in again!

samatwitch | August 14, 06:36 CET

What impressed me was the enormous difference in tone between this and the official trailers. This one focused on the dark and took the movie seriously. I felt some of the official trailers were a tad too flippant. They also gave away far too many of the 'wow' moments and the funny lines. I actually think this trailer was less spoilery whilst being intriguing enough to pique interest.

kispexi2 | August 14, 11:32 CET

IMO, I thought that the trailer linked to here is too serious. But I really, really had a good LOL at the Lego trailer (gossi's second link -- thanks, dude!).

I did like the 'Versal trailers that showed in theatres, although I really disliked their TV commercials (because they were too short and flashed too many unrelated images to give a good idea of what the movie was about, IMO).

billz | August 14, 11:49 CET

Impressive trailer, but I don't think it would have sent me to see the film if I'd known nothing else about it. I probably would have though, "Oh, yet another space opera action-fest, hyped up with emotional music."

What I like about Firefly is not the action but the character-based drama, plus the language, setting, music, etc. I found Serenity a little disappointing. The first half was great, but the second half became too much of a standard SF action film, though a good one.

tichtich | August 14, 11:58 CET

Not bad but I would have preferred to see more action from the first part of the film. Music just a touch over dramatic for my liking.

The Do That Girl | August 14, 12:44 CET

OK, I will say most of the spoilers weren't so important. But the trailer did show an extended sequence of River fighting Reavers and I think that goes too far. That part of the movie is pivotal, and is a MAJOR payoff. And if someone saw that trailer, and then watched the movie, they'd start expecting that scene and know it was coming: that River would fight the reavers and kick ass.

I agree, it doesn't give many more spoilers than regular trailers, but that brings up another issue. I hate that movie trailers tend to give away too much. So often I'll sit in the theater watching trailers and go "Well, I don't need to see that movie now". Cause the trailer shows every twist and the whole plot is basically laid out.

AnotherFireflyfan | August 14, 15:22 CET

Forget trailers, Universal should have just shown the session 416 vids randomly before movies and on tv. ;-)

Wouldn't it be cool if trailers not only didn't spoil the movie, but were made up of all new original material filmed just for the trailer? Kind of mini-movies in the spirit of the movie. If you like the 3 minute mini-movie then you know you would like the movie. (Plus you'd get extra goodness).

On the subject of trailer music... if I were to make a Serenity fan trailer I'd use something off the Serenity or Firefly soundtrack. Music goes a long way towards conveying the mood of a piece, and we've got the soundtracks so we should use them! And yes, it does seem like EVERY movie uses similar trailer music these days and tries to seem overly self-important.

AnotherFireflyfan | August 14, 15:33 CET

I don't really consider the "River fights the Reavers" scene to be a spoiler cause unless you actually have seen the movie it will just look like "that River fighting some guys of unknown origin".

And generally the scenes shown aren't really spoiler cause they don't really tell you anything. Sure, there's a space battle, but we don't actually know who's involved and why it happens and the "money shot" in that scene isn't there so the nicest parts of that scene is still left out.

And there's no way that you actually know what's gonna happen in this movie after seeing this trailer. The reavers aren't even introduced, they don't know anything about River's special abilities, there's no mention of Miranda, most of the characters are just briefly shown, the carnage of Haven is not present and in fact you get the impression that River and Mal are opposing each other. It shows you lots and tells you nothing. The only way you'll actually learn any fact from this trailer is if you're already well versed in Firefly and preferably in story of the movie itself.

Djungelurban | August 14, 17:36 CET

Well it's clearly very much down to individual preference but to me just because you don't see the best shot of a scene or know the context in which it occurs doesn't mean it's not a spoiler.

We see Zoe get hacked in the back so we know she (specifically her, not just 'the crew') will be wounded, possibly mortally.

We see River fight the reavers (and the scene, too short as it was in the film, IMO, is shown for far too long). And not just that but we see her run and dive through the blast doors.

We see the Operative kill the two security guys with his sword.

See, to me, it's not that someone won't understand the scenes before seeing the film, it's that while watching they'll know what's coming up. E.g. when the crew barricades themselves against the reaver attack i'd surmise (since I hadn't seen it happen so far) that this is where Zoe gets hacked, as soon as the gang retreat into the corridor behind the not-quite-closed blast doors, i'd be expecting River to run and dive through them at some point, as soon as The Operative ends up in the room with the two guards and the scientist i'd be expecting him to kill them with his sword etc.

(imagine if in the 'Superman Returns' trailer we saw the scene - even out of context - *spoiler* when Superman is speared in the side by Lex Luthor. Would that have not been a spoiler because we didn't know when or how it was going to happen or the context in which it did ?)

That sort of advanced preparation spoils my enjoyment to varying degrees (obviously any trailer 'spoils' a film in the sense that it gives away images etc. but all of these are fairly big moments in the film and so proportionately more spoilery). YMMV, of course ;).

Saje | August 14, 18:53 CET

Actually, that Superman Returns scene is in one of the trailers, right down to the, "Now fly!" bit.

The Dark Shape | August 14, 19:30 CET

The Dark Shape is correct. I believe the US trailer #2 had that moment.

gossi | August 14, 19:38 CET

Trust the bloody Yanks to totally screw my argument. As if calling it the World Series wasn't enough ;-).

All I can say is i'm very glad I didn't see that trailer before the film (though like the Zoe scene it's a pretty quick cut) and I think the point's still valid.

(actually checking on Youtube it's also in the international trailer. Trust the bloody ... internationals to screw my argument. As if calling it the World wasn't enough ... err ... 'Look up in the sky !' *hides*)

Saje | August 14, 20:10 CET

Actually, that Superman Returns scene is in one of the trailers, right down to the, "Now fly!" bit.

This is not really a problem since Superman is a crappy movie. Spoilers are not spoiler if they concern bad movies.

Le Comit� | August 14, 20:34 CET

I enjoyed it, Le Comit�.

gossi | August 14, 20:37 CET

I concur with Saje. That was pretty much my point. You may not instantly understand the implications of a scene from the trailer - but you *will* be expecting it and recognize it in the movie. This happens too often, and a lot of the time can ruin enjoyment.

If all the trailer needs is "River fighting some guys of unknown origin" then it could show the bar scene (which was in the actual trailers).

AnotherFireflyfan | August 14, 20:50 CET

My main complaint with trailers is that they don't show enough. It drives me up a wall watching all these flash images of scenes, while still always still wondering "yes... but what's the movie about??

Ya'll know I'm far from a spoiler-phobe. I love knowing what's the what going in, so I guess I'm coming at it from a different angle than Saje (and I can count the number of times I've disagreed with you, Saje, on half a finger) and AnotherFfF. I'm wondering what kind of trailers you would enjoy, then. I mean, isn't that the point? To show parts of the film? Usually the most exciting/funny/dramatic parts are leading up to something, and that is what they always want to show in the trailers - those parts.

Willowy | August 14, 22:52 CET

Well Willowy, I might be in the minority here but (as an example) looking back I actually thought the official Serenity trailer was pretty good (especially the international one which I can't find at the moment but also the second US one - apart from the wacky intercut text which was bad though at least they resisted the urge to have 'It was a time of danger...' trailer voice guy).

To take the US one since I can't find a link for the international trailer, it gives a pretty good feel for the gist of the story and the characters involved while introducing a bit of ambiguity (is River a baddie ?), shows plenty of action, brings the funny and manages to do it all without too many spoilers (as you say, some are inevitable).

We see River running for example but we don't (crucially, IMO) see her dive through the hole in the blast doors. We don't see Zoe hacked, we see tiny, very quick cuts of reavers but not enough of River's fight scene to give much away, ditto the space battle and the 'hard to get to' is also cut very quickly. The biggest spoiler (and it's arguably huge if you're already a fan) is right at the end when we find out that Mal is once again willing to die for a cause (and maybe the robbery though at least this is pretty early in the film and not really essential to - or even part of - the plot) but without a context it's pretty hard to tell just how momentous Mal's 'I am' response is.

It's definitely a fine line trying to convey the story and show off enough to make people want to see a film without giving too much away. Many (probably most) trailers fall off the line on one side or the other so i'm not saying it's easy by any stretch but I reckon it can be done.

Saje | August 15, 00:37 CET

One thing which is reasonably common for me is to see a trailer for something I'd never heard of before, and by the end of it think "Well, no need to see the film now. I know what's gonna happen".

The best example of a trailer I can think of at the moment is "Children of Men". It's got a few shocks, it's interesting, but it doesn't have any hint of an end to the plot. Also, check this out.

gossi | August 15, 00:55 CET

Meh...

MalContent | August 15, 01:40 CET

However, as trailers go, it's not really that good. In fact, it shows nearly every bit of action there is in the film. It would be rejected by the studio; heck, any editor at a trailer complany wouldn't even think of making something like that.:)

Kevn | August 15, 02:34 CET

Trust the bloody Yanks to totally screw my argument. As if calling it the World Series wasn't enough ;-).

Hey, Saje, just to stick up for Major League Baseball(TM) (an organization so not organized they can't even manage to prove whether or not Barry Bonds is all hopped up on steroids -- allegedly), there are almost 2 teams from Canada that are eligible for the World Series, so -- there! "World," yo!

Although I'm pretty done with the bloody Yanks, too. Nobody west of New Jersey or north of the Bronx likes the NY Yankees! (And, no matter what league standings ever say, the Rockies rule!) /end off-topic rant ;-)

billz | August 15, 04:10 CET

there are almost 2 teams from Canada that are eligible for the World Series, so -- there

Uh, billz, there is only one 'Canadian' baseball team left: the Toronto Blue Jays. The Montreal Expos are no longer.

Back on topic, I agree with saje (as I usually do), that knowing something is going to happen in a film is a 'spoiler'to me, because then I'm watching for it. That lessens my enjoyment of the movie as I don't feel totally involved because one part of my brain is trying to figure out when that particular scene is going to happen.

I found Serenity gripping enough that I didn't do that while watching even though, because of the scene in the trailer of the Reaver and Alliance ships facing each other, I knew exactly what Mal planned from the moment he said, "No, they won't see this coming." On the other hand, one of my friends who had seen the trailer more times than I had and is very sharp didn't put it together until he saw Mal on the outside of the ship. So, would that be considered a spoiler? Probably not and it didn't affect my enjoyment of any part of the movie.

Like gossi and AnotherFireflyfan, there have been times where there didn't seem to be any point in paying to go to a movie as the whole story was laid out in the trailer. I like your idea, AFf, of having totally new material in the trailer. Wasn't that what the Session 416 clips were all about?

samatwitch | August 15, 09:28 CET

there are almost 2 teams from Canada that are eligible for the World Series {snip}
Uh, billz, there is only one 'Canadian' baseball team left: the Toronto Blue Jays. The Montreal Expos are no longer.

Come on, samatwitch! What, you didn't get my hi-larious snap, that there are almost 2 Canadian teams since the Expos moved to Washington ('cause one is almost 2, but, see, it's not 2), which was indeed intended as a joking reference to the fact that the "World" aspect of the World Series is even less now that there is only one team that isn't American?

(crickets)

Nobody gets me. :-(

;-)

billz | August 15, 14:25 CET

I think Saje and Samatwitch said it pretty well. You may not feel that you've been spoiled, but once you see the film things from the trailer start to make sense and fall into place and you start looking for them. Personally, I think a trailer shouldn't show anything after the halfway point in a movie, unless it's just from a trivial scene (and really, a movie is badly edited if there are trivial scenes that far in).

A movie trailer should give you a bit of background on who's who in the movie, what it is they are after, the world they are in, and the general theme/feel of the movie (comedy? romance? action? thriller?) It should leave major questions - in fact leaving people with a big question could drive them to see the movie so they can have the answers. A trailer should not be an outline, but a teaser. IE: A trailer that asks "What is the Matrix?" and doesn't show the scene where Neo wakes up in the Matrix to illustrate that.

A theoretical Serenity trailer could ask us "What is River?" or "How far will Mal go to protect a fugitive from the Alliance?" or "What is the secret that the Alliance doesn't want to get out?" We don't need to see that Mal is willing to die for this cause, or that River will fight Reavers, or anything like that.

The official trailer did show a little of the reaver vs. alliance ships, but there is just showed spaceships in a big fight with lots of explosions. (Which is usually a good thing for excitement in a trailer).

Anyway, just my two cents.

AnotherFireflyfan | August 15, 15:21 CET

August 13 2006