Iconic movie trailers, explained by a trailer editor

How trailers work, explained by someone who makes them.

Trailer editor Bill Neil works at Buddha Jones making movie trailers that scare, excite, and, most importantly, get people to want to see a movie.

In this video, he explains the things that a trailer editor notices about trailers old and new, great and terrible, and somewhere in the middle. Starting with trailers from the '60s, he gets all the way to the present while reviewing techniques like sound design, “rug pulls,” and how to hide fake blood.

Note: The headline on this piece has been updated.
Previous headline: Movie trailer editor deconstructs iconic trailers

[Vox]

One of Bill’s proudest YouTube moments came after the trailer for “Mother” was released. Almost immediately, YouTubers started cutting trailers for other movies in the style of the distinctive (and haunting) “Mother” trailer Bill cut.



Thanks for watching.
—Phil

[charlietighe]

When I was in high school I emailed Don LaFontaine to see how much he would charge to do a VO for our senior year slideshow. Instead of sending an invoice, he sent me an mp3 and the email just read "Enjoy!" What a legend.

[ashleywaner]

Honestly, why is trailer editing not a category for an award at the Oscars? Some trailers are masterpieces and these editors deserve the credit!

[Caterfree]

Learning that trailer editors usually only have dailies instead of full cuts of movies to work from definitely explains the frequency of, say, trailers “lying” or how there are often scenes that are in the trailers but don’t make it into the final movie.

[isaacmartinez]

It’s nice to hear someone who makes amazing movie trailers.

[amteun]

i wonder if bill neil knows how much of a frenzy he caused among jordan peele fans when they were theorizing why the "from jordan peele" shot was edited that way and what it had to do with the plot of movie. and it's perfect that he mentioned close encounters of the third kind, because brandon perea (who played angel in the film) said he used it as a reference to prepare for his role, as a suggestion by jordan peele himself -- though of course now having seen nope in its entirety, it all makes so much sense.

[mr.thumbsup]

The Nope teaser trailer was easily my favorite trailer to come out of last year, and seeing the trailer editor himself explain how and why he edited it the way he did made it even better.

[cararaker]

"It's an homage, I guess"
...
"or I'm stealing, I'm not sure" 😂

[ConnorJohn]

Love how you start the video with a bumper and then explain it immediately after. Really sets the tone of the video.

[Physionic]

Allow me to express how much I despise "bumpers".

I think of a trailer as a bit of a mini movie without giving away the plot (although, trailers often ruin the plot), so when I click on a trailer, the trailer ("mini movie") is ruined when the bumper shows all the exciting scenes before I see them in the trailer. Not at all a fan.

Great video, however - I *am* a fan of this video. :)

[LongTermTitanKillingBootyCall]

Hearing this guy talk about trailers with such passion finally makes me truly appreciate the specificity of the cinematic language of a trailer vs the final film

[thecunninlynguist]

Dope. Always wondered what the thought process was for some trailers. Now you need to get the people who spoil the entire movie in the trailer...gotta know if it's the studio/director's choice or if the trailer maker's

[JimmyTuxTv]

Vox again taught me something I didn’t even know I needed to learn

[ryz]

Vox should be making more of these types of videos!

[phoebexxlouise]

One of the most effective trailers was for the Hunger Games. Due to censorship they were unable to show any violence between children, so they had to end it at the midpoint without showing any of the actual games. The cliffhanger vibes are unmatched. It makes you want to see the games themselves 10x more

[friedeggwhites]

this guy is so charming and passionate about his work i love listening to him talk about all these trailers

[NXNX]

The worst trailers are the ones that give you away the entire plot. And it's usually the worst kind of movies that have those trailers

[Wes_Snipes]

I love trailers, I love fast editing, editing on beats and I love how they choose which shots. Thank you for this.

[MariekevanBuytene]

I love the trailer for The Social Network. Just one haunting song.

[WTFG]

In the case of the Dr. Strangelove trailer, it wasn’t done by the studio. It was done by the movie’s title designer, the legendary Pablo Ferro. He also edited the trailers for movies like Stop Making Sense and A Clockwork Orange.