[LAEM] Trailers (and tagline ideas if you want)

[Hexon.Arq]

I HAVE IT.

While dozing off on my ride home from seeing The Incredibles (a strange connection), a concept for a trailer popped in my head that I am absolutely in love with. Okay, I want to get this right, but I'm really tired, it's after midnight and I can't stay awake for the life of me.

You know what? Screw the trailer; I'm too tired. Here's the tagline:

HEAVEN STOPS HERE.

(Edit)
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Okay, in case I forget the trailer, let me pass on some ideas that I think are healthy points for a first trailer (teaser):

Instead of trying to "show people" what the story is about, introduce them to its most central narrative figure: NERV. What is NERV? Since I am so in love with the A-6 frame (and hold very strong faith in it), the only relevant thing to unleash upon an unknowing public is that THEY KILL ANGELS. How do you introduce NERV? Through Eva's most iconic figure: Rei. Using Rei as a POV figure in a trailer will leave anyone scratching their head. Being a teaser, there would be very little information divulged as to the nature of the story. None of this "a boy with inner-conflicts" crap, and also no explicit depictions of the action. The former may be the grand surprise for the public, but by all means, introduce the doom first, and introduce it with questions instead of head-bashing answers.

In my head, Rei walked into a white room. She was not talking, but her voice was narrating. In Japanese. Without subtitles. This had me on the edge of my seat as I was wondering, "What the hell is going on?" (I was on the verge of dreamsleep.) Much of the thing was virtually silent. (Note: the two closest comparisons I can think of are "The Mask of Zorro" and "Men In Black," though this was much more dramatic than the former and much more cryptic than the latter.) How odd is it to see this albino girl (shot with various degrees of distance) and hearing a young and sterile voice saying things you could have less knowledge about?

Okay, I'm getting woozy. Bottom line: little about the Evas. Nothing about Shinji. KILL ANGELS. CREEPY COMPUTERS.

Anyway, enjoy the tagline. I know my explanation was downright shitty, but if I have the time, I'll try to do some storyboards. Oh yeah, and the music (very faint) was a breezy classical peice I heard on the radio in the car, broken into by a psychologically violent viual feast accompanied by a fast version of "Inaguration of the Mechanical Christ."

Oh, and the website that popped up after the ending was www.nerv.org. I went to this site, and there doesn't seem to be anything there.

I need to stop typing now.

(Edit to the edit)
-----------------

No, I'm right handed. Why?

[MAGI]

:? So are you left-handed?
Lol.

Anyway, great tagline. Doesn't live up to the seriousness of Evangelion, but great tagline. Really, you almost have it.

As for the trailer, I like the way you're thinking. I like your style. I just disagree that we know nothing about Shinji until we see the movie and get a big suprise. In my opinion, the audience must really have a strong connection with Shinji by the end, otherwise they'll hate him, and'll give no empathy for him. I hope the movie actually connects us with Shinji a little more than what Anno did, because a lot of people don't particularly like Shinji, thinking he's whiney and all. They must, or at least should, get into his head. In other words, just don't neglect Shinji.

Kill angels: good.
Little about Evas: great.
Creepy computers: Leave them alone.
Eerie scenery: That's better.
Japanese: We won't know for sure if Rei'll be Japanese, don't we?

But I think we can't just have such an narrow look on the movie. Maybe include a shot with Shinji's plugsuit folded up in the change rooms? It gives a sense that someone was THERE. Gives us a sense that it won't be unpersonal. (Not sure about that wording)

[Hexon.Arq]

I just disagree that we know nothing about Shinji until we see the movie and get a big suprise.

IT'S A TEASER. Get people thinking about NERV. Step over some lines first.

But I think we can't just have such an narrow look on the movie. Maybe include a shot with Shinji's plugsuit folded up in the change rooms? It gives a sense that someone was THERE. Gives us a sense that it won't be unpersonal. (Not sure about that wording)

Meh.

Just because (I agree that) the film should be very character based doesn't mean that a traler needs to be all serious and pseudo-sentimental. In fact, I think a step in the opposite direction would make the contrast all the more outstanding and therefore appealing.

If you give people the entire experience in the trailer, there will be nothing special left for the film. "You should see this move because of this or because of that, and if you see it for any other reason you're a fucking moron." Nobody likes bitchy marketing, and besides, it;s not the only way to sell it. Eva's true presence will find itself being the word-of-mouth surprise.

Doesn't live up to the seriousness of Evangelion, but great tagline. Really, you almost have it.

The hell you talkin' 'bout? It's perfect. :P Perhaps I just didn't do a good job of painting a proper context. But anyway, you have to remember: There is the ominous presence of technology. There is action. There is a sci-fi element. If you try too hard to distract from that and divert attention over to the deeper human issues embedded within the characters, it will just look ridiculous. I'm not saying that Eva should be dumbed-down or robbed of any of its seriousness, but human drama is not what's going to be sold. It's what's going to snake in. Eva becomes quite serious, but if you take it too seriously from the start, it just seems kind of, I don't know, silly, especially if you introduce it by saying, "We've got characters. We've got characters. We've got characters." That sort of stuff might work on middle-aged moms and teenage indie-film junkies, but it's not going to end up presenting anything to think about. The tagline is dry. It works in eventually getting people to say, "Woah, there's depth and drama in my sci-fi," instead of, "Eew, there're giant robots in my drama!"

Creepy computers: Leave them alone.

Okay, bad wording on my part. What I mean is that the break tone (That which incorporates no personality or aesthetic) should be mute and unsettling, almost as though the film the trailer is printed on knows something very diabolical. When I said "creepy computer," I suppose what I meant was a framing in technology that was not so much "We've got big war machines" as much as "we have secrets so dark ,they almost smell like a ghost movie, and we keep them in a very tiny box". In other words, you get a sense of the MAGI presence in the teaser without ever being introduced to them. Let the feeling become a familiar presence when it hasn't even been explained.

Japanese: We won't know for sure if Rei'll be Japanese, don't we?

In my head she's Japanese, dammit. I can't change what I see. Take away the foreign-tongued intro and the entire effect of a helpless audience at the mercy of a bleached teenager is lost. For this teaser concept, Japanese babbling (I was thinking a variation of an excerpt frm her "poem") would be the perfect way to catch a waiting audience off guard while they sit down with their Skittles. I don't know. The thing that grabbed me about this dream was that it was different. It made me say "What the hell?" I think people need to be brought to ask that more often, and not in the way that says, "Who the hell greenlighted this?" I tell ya, ADV would be shunning an entire aspect of new wave appeal if they got Jimmy English fighting with his dad instead of giving them the land we've only started to get familiar with.

[MAGI]

うん。 I see what you mean, now.
Well, of course, I wasn't suggesting putting all that drama-type stuff into the teaser, I was just saying that you can't not give a hint that it would also be one. If this be a teaser, then I'd like to see a series of teasers. May three to six? Each comes out in sucession. The first would have to be about NERV (yours).

So, first about NERV. They fights angels. They protect mankind. There are children involved. There are giant robots involved.
Just don't make the trailer just say "Giant robot fiasco! Violence and weirdness!" Sure, make it your point, but don't make it look one-dimensional.
The trailer you described just sounded a little bleak and empty, is all.

Maybe I'm a little sensitive.

By the way, you've seen The Ring Two teaser? 8)
(And for the third time, Hexon, are you left-handed?)

[Hexon.Arq]

By the way, you've seen The Ring Two teaser?

No.

(And for the third time, Hexon, are you left-handed?)

And for the second time, no.

The trailer you described just sounded a little bleak and empty, is all.

Being a teaser, there often times isn't very much completed material to expose. These sorts of things are just to say, "Look what's gonna come out." If it seems bleak, I probably didn't describe it well. Blank would probably be a better description. Eye-catchingly still and rigid. Now that I've redreamt and revisited, there is actually a break in the silence wherein we see a bunch of quickly flashing scenes of the action, accompalnied by a lot of noisy music. Obviously, while the concept doesn't talk about the Evas, you have to see them, at least for a split second, for the same reason that you have to see Rei.

[Olin of Xephon]

I really like Hexon's idea. As far as a trailer goes, it should be cryptic, yet stick in your head.

Say I went to a movie this year, maybe Ring 2 or something, and I see a trailer like the one hexon describes, even after the movie is over, I'd be thinking..."Got to keep a eye out for that"

That is the point of a teaser. Give nothing away, introduce some vauge concept that will get people's attention, and then, months later, when a more detailed (read: flashier) trailer comes out, people will recall the teaser, and be like "Oh, yeah, I remember that..."

The point of a teaser is to stick in your head, a floating piece of information, maybe a small piece of a bigger puzzle, something people wil be on the lookout for.

MAGI, your trailer strikes me as something that would play in movie theaters (or maybe on TV) a week or so before the movie comes out.

Something like Hexon's teaser would probably crop up six months or so before anything else.

Both ideas are really cool, and well thought out.

Anymore ideas?

[MAGI]

Did you already state your handedness, Hexon? :oops: Sorry, sorry.

So, yeah. Maybe make a demo of your teaser, because it was quite late at night when I read your idea, maybe getting a different idea of what you're saying. Maybe you could reword the entire thing, again? Whatever.

I'm tired, still.

I'll come up with an idea later, perhaps.

[Hexon.Arq]

To be honest, the idea has sort of lot its charm ever since I heard that the Ring 2 trailer was really similar. I still stand by the tagline, though, as well as the promotional theory.

[MAGI]

I never said your teaser was like The Ring Two. :? I just wanted to use it as an example, is all. Starts off slowly, creepy. The voice over gives a vague, but interesting monologue: gives us nothing of the plot, but gives the feel. Then scary stuff happens, and shows off visuals and interesting stuff. It's a two-part job.
The people who weren't interested in the talk about the dead would wake up to the scary parts, and the people who were interested from the beginning will also see what the movie is about.
If you had a trailer where the person just goes on about the dead, the people who aren't listening won't. If it just scares you and continues to do so for the next minute and a bit, then people either get sick of it, or won't remember or have an idea of what depth it goes in, either.

(Looking forward to The Ring Two - Hideo Nakata directs)

[Hexon.Arq]

I never said your teaser was like The Ring Two.

Oh. I thought you did. Or rather, I thought that's what Olin was implying. NEVERMIND, I LIKE IT AGAIN. :)

[MAGI]

Hexon, may you please explain that teaser one more time? I need some info so I can peice it in my mind properly.

[zackman_87]

In my head, Rei walked into a white room. She was not talking, but her voice was narrating. In Japanese. Without subtitles.

First and foremost, this is MY INTERPRETATION of HEXON'S idea. If I have diluted/changed/wrecked your idea in any way, you have my sincerest apologies in advance.

I can see this so clearly in my mind. Here's my interpretation of your idea, if I may.

(Fade in from black)
White room. I mean WHITE. White flourescent lighting. This room (In my mind, anyways) seems very...sterile. Cold. Everything is extremely clean. The walls and floor (celing is unseen) are smooth and matte white, made out of an extremely smooth plastic-like substance. There is a glossy surfaced, plastic-y white table in the background. Everything is in focus.

The only sound heard is that of a large peice of computing. Ever been in a room full of rack-mount servers? That's the sound. Simple whirring fans, the slight hum of electronics.

Rei walks in, faces camera. (Background goes out of focus, Rei and foreground are in focus)

Rei starts talking. (I have no idea what she'd say.) Rei finishes. It seems like she'd sat the last few words slowly (Possibly she shows traces of confusion?). (Much like someone awaking in an unknown place would say "Where.....am I?") Rei, however, would end her dialogue with something like "Who am I?" or "Who are you?" (This, according to Hexon, is all in Japanese, so people would have no idea what she was saying.)

Perhaps as she finishes speaking or as she walks out of the room, some static lightly 'fades' in overlaid over the image , accompined by static sound.

Fade out to black. Fade in tagline. Fade in release date. Fade out.

Closer to the release date, a subbed/dubbed (I would think subbed would be better) version of this could be released, to build anticipation and get people saying "Ah! So that's what the hell she was talking about! Wait! There's still unanswered questions!"

And that's the idea of Hexon's idea in my mind. Once again, my apologies if I have completely wrecked your vision.

Keep 'em coming.

[MAGI]

Aha...
So how did the creepy computer, kill angels and all get into the teaser?

(And the static sounds SO Ring Two. Hahaha )

[Hexon.Arq]

That was great. Actually, I idealized her as starting out in Japanese, and throuwing in key terms in English, with her last (few) line(s) being in English (I've idealized a nealry bilingual picture for a few years now.)

The mention you make of loud computing noise sort of reminds me of the video for "The Dope Show." That's not a bad thing for me.

The dialogue (mostly unrecognizable) would be puncutated (since we don't know what she's saying, seemingly arbitrarily and unexpectedly) with quick edits of indestinguishable scenes of: "shito/tenshi/angel" (violence), "tamashii/soul/mind" (eye), etc., the camera shifting between each edit, as though we are looking at Rei like a fly looks at a canrivorous plant shaped like a pile of garbage. The last line would be spoken, the view would shift to its farthes point, perhaps at her left side, blackout, soundout.

Then maybe one more line in the dark silence, in English or Japanese. Either would work, really, though each would establish a different kind of tension.

Then some teaser credits accompanied by low, brooding ambience (by teaser credits, I mean those very basic, "from the director of..." or "based on the most popular anime of all time..." or "we spent one-hundred million, so pray for us.") Then the slow appearance of the film's title, still underlined by the brooding ambience.

Suddenly... A FAST AND NOISY EDIT of maybe three action scenes strung together. You see an Eva's foot, you maybe see one of the Children on an operating table, an explosion of somekind, Shinji cowering somewhere, then BLACK! (*ba-boom*) Now the ambience is gone, and you hear the computer noise again. The tagline pops in: "HEAVEN STOPS HERE." Continue processing noise (this is that creepy computer element), shw approximate release season, then (the newly and rightfully aquired) "www.nerv.org". Okay, these last two titles are glowing. When the last one (website) fades out, the residue from the glow briefly alludes to the shape of Rei's face. The noise continues for a little longer in the black before suddenly cutting.

The end.

YAY! I like that one.

[Ayanami]

OMG I wanna go see this movie.

[MAGI]

I might want to try making a little animation on that. Let's see how it goes.

Also, I had a nice, quick idea for the teasers. There will be a series of them. Each of them are basically a little movie on their own. And we never really get too much from them. I'd say seven or so would do. The teasers are basically an ordinary day in NERV, shot specifically for the it. However, it will be set in the times before Shinji. Rei will be there, for sure.
For example.

Teaser One:
We see a computer screen with data all over it, and a coffee mug. Ritsuko then says idle things to Rei (who is out of sight) about sync ratio stuff and all. Then they end the test, and we see the entry plug eject. End.

Teaser Two:
Maya and Shingeru are anticipating of the arrival of Misato. They just discuss stuff in a corridor or something. Then Misato walks in (who we can't see) and she says hi, and they say hi. End.

Teaser Three:
Gendou and Fuyutsuki discuss about budget (hahaha) and the stuff the money is being assigned to (they mention Eva, MAGI, and, at the end, breifly go "Any adjustments for the pilots?" "We'll see when the Third arrives.") End.

Teaser Four:
A change, now. We hear bashing, but can't see what is. The room that some people are in is shaking. A glass smashes, Ritsuko or some other person tells Gendou to back away. End.

Teaser Five:
Rei walks down the road and takes a train. The train goes down and down... Bang. Geofront. End.

Teaser Six:
Misato rushes around her new apartment (messed) and is getting ready for work (late). She breifly talks to Penpen (we don't see) and stuff. All the while, the camera is stuck on the table. The table is messed, as well, and Misato is about finished. She pauses, and remembers something. Grabs her cross that was on the table with the camera (we didn't notice the cross until she picked it up), puts it on, then leaves the apartment. Penpen warks. End.

Teaser Seven:
I'm lazy.

You get the idea. Still, no tagline ideas from me, yet.

[Hexon.Arq]

Those divulge too much about the world of the characters. Not only do they allude to (somewhat) unexplained snippets of the story (which are typically saved for people who pay to see it), but it does so without any kind of alternate context. It assumes that people should have an idea of what's going on. They won't, and if that fact bothers them too much, click, click, they head online, and there's no plot to share anymore.

I like the novelty of different trailers, though, but it reminds me of the ad campaign for Episode I.

[zackman_87]

(And the static sounds SO Ring Two. Hahaha )

Yeah...I realised that after posting. It just seemed to add something besides just 'creepy Rei talking' to the trailer. Maybe we can hear the sounds of explosions (an Angel attack) and NERV techies screaming muffled in the background at the same time...

MAGI, your 'snippets of life' ideas are cool. Maybe they could be like 'mini-dramas' to introduce each character. What if they have each character voice over about themselves at the same time these videos are playing. Actually, that sounds more like a documentary. Huh.

[Dave]

Maybe we can hear the sounds of explosions (an Angel attack) and NERV techies screaming muffled in the background at the same time...

Any trailer should definitely have that screeching sound that Adam and Shigouki made during second and third impact, respectively. That sound SCREAMS mystery. ;-)

[MAGI]

Nah, I'd like to keep that sound for in the prologue of the film, itself. I'm sort of conservative on showing off the film, or something like that. In fact, would you like to read an extract of the script I'm writing?
... Actually, no.

Er...
What was I going to say?

It assumes that people should have an idea of what's going on. They won't, and if that fact bothers them too much, click, click, they head online, and there's no plot to share anymore.

Yeah, I know. But that's the problem with all remakes: people can spoil themselves. But at the same time, trailers and teasers exists to motivate people into seeing the film, so there's almost a catch-22, there.

The reason why Romeo and Juliet was successful was because everyone knew they were all going to die, and the reason why The Matrix wasn't was because they didn't.

What do you think we should do, peoples? 'Cos, right now, I really don't know.
It seems that there isn't any way to not let the people know the story before they see the movie. Then again, the movie isn't going to encapsulate the entire story, so people can go find out, anyways, afterwards. Should we tell them straight out or something?

How about this? We bombard them with teasers and trailers everywhere, everywhere three days before the movie is released so they won't have the time to find out, and will be forced to see the movie.
Crazy, right?
Or why don't we just have trailers that say nothing about storyline whatsoever so only people who are interested in action/stuff will go see it. Then after the movie is released, the trailers will change to the storyline-centered style? So, if they want to see it, then, they're less likely to find out before going for themselves.
That idea is crazy, too.

Like I said, I don't know. The only thing we can do, right now, is make trailers (and taglines if you want to).