Trailers are exceptionally important. We all know this. A great trailer makes people want to see the film. The challenge for the low budget indie Filmmaker is this.   Budget!

The above trailer is for our new film ‘Tabernacle 101″. Most Indie Filmmakers do not have the budget to get a trailer specialist.  We have just completed the Tabernacle 101 trailer, 2 minutes long. It will be our main sales tool. This is what we will use to sell  and persuade our audience to watch our film. I personally edited the trailer for Tabernacle 101 and this saved our budget, considerably. It mainly cost time. 

 Having edited trailers a few times now , it usually takes me a week to complete the job. I start by earmarking the parts of the film I want to feature. This is usually about 5 minutes long. Then I shape it to about two minutes. As I am doing this, I will get the idea for the theme of the trailer. Once this is done, the trailer will go through several drafts till the trailer feels sharp.

Once I have a complete cut, I then move to the Sound studio with my buddy John. He is one of the best sound designers in Australia. In the case of the above trailer, we spent two half days on the sound. Then the trailer is virtually ready.

In my case I tested the trailer with an audience and on that basis, I tweaked the trailer. And a few hours later, the trailer is the one that you have just watched.  The cost of the Trailer was $600 This was what I spent on Sound Post. It is an absolute necessity to do first class sound post for your trailer. 

I would not like to guess how much a trailer would cost professionally but I would assume somewhere in the range of $5 -$10K. Editing the trailer yourself saves considerable budget.

I am very happy with the above trailer and if the criteria is that the general public see the trailer and want to watch the film, then the trailer will be a success. The Film “Tabernacle 101” will be released in the last quarter of this year,2019 worldwide in 120 territories.

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Till net time, make indie films passionately.  Colm O”Murchu.