Articles for tag: After Effects, Inspiration, Technical, Trailers

May 6, 2025

Jeremy Towsey-French

Focus on Title Sequences

As students finalize their first advertising project this week, we’re peppering their work with discussions on film trailers and the technical aspects of title sequences –including some additional discussion on using Adobe After Effects to build simple sequences in Premier Pro. With that, it’s important to consider just what makes great titles. Exceptional title sequences transcend their functional purpose of displaying credits, evolving into an integral part of the cinematic experience by actively shaping the audience’s initial perception and understanding of the film. A hallmark of a great title sequence is its ability to immediately establish the film’s atmosphere and

May 2, 2025

Jeremy Towsey-French

Trailers in Transition

In today’s class, we highlighted some of key differences in trailer design and intent, comparing methods from the 1980s with current methods. We first reviewed the trailer for Top Gun (1986), which showed a straightforward presentation of the film’s narrative, including a clear establishment of the characters (Maverick, Iceman, etc.), the setting (the elite fighter pilot school), and the central conflict (competition, achieving greatness). Music was featured throughout and was indicative of the soundtrack, but not the specific top-40 songs from the film. The editing was paced to build excitement but with a more gradual rhythm than today’s trailers. We then compared

April 23, 2025

Jeremy Towsey-French

How to Build a Movie Trailer

In today’s class, we outlined the core concepts behind effective film trailer construction. One of the best summaries available is from Derek Lieu, a professional movie trailer editor. Lieu essentially breaks down the film trailer into a four-act structure for effective story summaries, expanding on the traditional three-act narrative. This structure begins with a Cold Open, designed to immediately grab the viewer’s attention with an exciting, humorous, or dramatic scene requiring minimal initial context. Following this hook is the Introduction, where the film’s premise is established through exposition or intriguing questions. The trailer then moves into Escalation, introducing the central