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[Guert]

So I've been thinking... What tools do you use to make a trailer for your games?
Also, what do you think makes a good trailer? What info do you like to have in one?
Big companies make huge trailers with big special effects and the whole nine yards but how about small teams who do the trailers themselves?

Thanks!

[Skofo]

There's no reason that small teams or even single people can't make trailers with big special effects.  











The appear to be done with AfterEffects.


However, I think that the best trailers are raw gameplay trailers. Those give me the most honest, unspoiled impressions of games.

[Del_Duio]

I use CamStudio to capture the raw footage, and the generic Windows Movie Maker to put it all together. To add music to it, just drop any mp3 you make right on there. Mod Plug Tracker can create music and export to mp3 format for just such an occasion.

[Guert]

Thanks for the links, they are nice trailers.
Thanks for the infos!

[weasello]

There's a lot of theory that goes into the making of a trailer too. I put a lot of work into mine:



But I knew in advance that:

- Most people won't watch a game trailer for longer than 30 seconds
- My target audience was those in a position to buy the game (not the gamers themselves)
- I wanted the trailer to have a structure (show action, explain action, elaborate)
- I fully abused the recognizable names associated with the project (if they aren't recognized, it's because you aren't a game purchaser )
- I never wanted a clip longer than 2 seconds so people wouldn't have time to guess/extrapolate how the game works, but instead be teased into actually trying it

Try to write yourself out a similar plan.. a list of things you want to hit on your commercial. Then spend as long as it takes to get it perfect.

And anyone who hasn't seen the most beautiful, perfect trailer ever made, by our very own aeiowu (Greg Wohlwend): http://4fourths.com

[Christian Knudsen]

I think your trailer is a really good example of how it should be done. You jump right into showing off gameplay footage instead of starting off with seconds of "In a world..." and "One man...." movie text clichés.

I'm not sure I agree on holding up the 4fourths trailer as an example of how to make a good trailer. I've watched it a couple of times now, and while it's definitely beautiful, I have no idea what that game is about or how it's played. To me it feels more like a psychedelic screensaver than a gametrailer.

[Over00]

I used CamStudio with Windows Movie Maker for this one:



I have no patience for this though. Next time I'll just find someone to build it for me as when it comes to trailers it's not the lack of ideas the problem but how to translate these ideas into pictures.

edit: oh and don't look for the game. That one is in the "crashed to the ground" category ...

[dumbmanex]

I also use CamStudio and Windows Movie Maker.  I've been using smaller and smaller clips of straight gameplay footage, to just get the damn idea across.  I used to think making a trailer epic was the way to go, but that takes extra time and I'm not showing off a movie anyway  .

This is the latest one I made.

[obscure]

A good trailer should show game play, without all the boring stuff in between. It should explain what you are seeing. You should also stick in some cool looking visuals (front end or similar presentation stuff to break things up).

100 Rogues



Space Ark

[Guert]

So far, the common tools are CamStudio and Windows movie maker. Interesting I thought people would have used other tools. To be honest, these are the ones I use too so I guess they get the job done.

I guess to make a good trailer you have to get the balance right between showing the acual game experience and sugar-coating the trailer. Whatever direction a trailer takes, showing how the game looks and plays is not only honest but also the best way to sell your game.   

[Hima]

I use CamStudio, Window Movie Maker, and a free Japanese video editor tool called Nive ( Nico video editor ) The tool is pretty much like After Effect, except that it is free, though it is in Japanese.

DotPlus :



The tool is pretty cool and I'd love to make a translation but I don't know how

Here's the link to Nive homepage. http://nive.jp/
EDIT: Reading through the website again and it seems like they might release an English version. Don't know when though

[aeiowu]

I'm not sure I agree on holding up the 4fourths trailer as an example of how to make a good trailer. I've watched it a couple of times now, and while it's definitely beautiful, I have no idea what that game is about or how it's played. To me it feels more like a psychedelic screensaver than a gametrailer.

Yea this is a common reaction, but it's also completely intentional. It's important to know exactly what kind of response you want out of people watching your trailer/seeing your poster/visiting your website. Right now 4fourths is an unreleased prototype, so going into description of what the game actually is and what we want it to be is putting the cart before the horse. If the game was Finished and released then we'd have a much different trailer, with fixed-view gameplay and more exposition.

For now, the aim is to pique interest, create a video that people want to share with their friends and co-workers. Originally this was designed to get people excited, so we could give some people at various console companies O_o this thing and they'd be able to communicate their own excitement for the game by simply handing off this trailer to eachother. The pitch doc and etc. would follow but they are certainly less interesting. Think of it as an "elevator pitch" trailer without the pitch.

[jcsymmes]

Cut to the music. This doesn't necessairly mean cutting to the beats, but having a well synced music track is very important-in a trailer the music is the real story as its the continuing flow and is of the utmost importance.

Also try to cut the fluff as much as possible. Even a half a second of extra footage can really help a lot here-not just in terms of running time but in terms of intrest in the shot. You should only see something for the length of time it takes to understand not to master it. Even like 15 frames of something is sometimes all you need of it. Sometimes i have cut indivudal frames out of something.