Trailers

Of course, the quality of the feature film itself is extremely important when selling it to distributors. But an important tool used to sell it is the trailer which is about 60-90 seconds in length and conveys the genre, tone and scope while featuring the stars in the film. Most sales agents will demand a trailer before they agree to sell the film. As a result, make sure that your film budget includes a line item for either "Sales Materials" or "Trailer".

Here are some helpful tips in creating the trailer.
1) Hire a professional trailer editor. There is a difference between a feature editor and the trailer editor in that a trailer editor only has about 100 seconds to convey the entire message and they generally know what kind of shots to look for to create the trailer.
2)Look for an editor who has access to editing equipment so you don't have to pay for an avid.
3)The trailer editor should have a resume of other trailers in the same genre.
4)Most importantly, make sure the trailer rocks!

The importance of editors

In the past two weeks, I have heard two separate stories where films have fired editors because the director wanted to edit the film. One of these films is a high level documentary (which may be killing its chance for a theatrical release) and the second is a low film budget comedy (which probably never had a chance for a theatrical release). I was shocked in both instances because editors play an invaluable role on a film. In fact, about 75 years ago, studio heads were editors because they knew how to salvage a film or piece a story together from what the director shot.

True, nowadays many people have bought Final Cut and learned to cut together a digital video. But there is an art and an importance to having a separate person edit a film. The significance is that editors offer an impartial view that directors lose as they fall in love with specific shots or an actors performance. However, a single beautiful shot may confuse the story and an actor's performance may distract the audience from the plot. The art of editing takes years to hone because it takes a true understanding of story and determining how the specific film needs to be shaped to create a great story.

For more information on how much to pay an editor and how long an editor should work on a film, check www.QuickFilmBudget.com