Terminator Trailer Entry
A while ago, I entered an Adobe competition where I needed to put together a music video for an Imagine Dragons song. Adobe's latest competition involves 'remixing' a trailer for the upcoming Terminator movie – something infinitely cooler than a music video for music I'm not particularly a fan of. What's more, this time around, I didn't end up absolutely detesting the source material – so that's a bonus!
For my entry I went for a "less-is-more" approach which marries blank space with the unsettling atmosphere of the provided music. This was done with a cinema setting in mind (not that it'd ever be shown in a theatre) – headphones approximate my attempt at immersion. This type of thing isn't anywhere near what I would call my 'day job' and is only really the third project I've made using Premiere, although I have done video ads before using other tools, but only simple slideshow type affairs.
I intentionally avoided watching any trailers for the movie beforehand (still haven't in fact) and know nothing about the plot or characters – although I have seen the previous entries in the franchise, who hasn't at least seen T2? Sequestering myself away from details was an attempt to ensure the entry is completely different to the source, regardless of the inherent risk that it may be exactly the same (odds are slim, bookmakers).
The teaser trailer style I went for was intended to offer glimpses at the characters and accentuate a couple of fan favourites using the different sounds mixed into the music track. The horror theme at the beginning builds slowly, finally revealing the scare of the machines emerging from the water – just before the viewer is plunged into darkness as the score wells to a disconcerting climax.
This felt like the perfect place to name drop James Cameron's return to the series, highlighting the potential 'return to form' of days past (although he serves a little more hands off, some of that original vision will hopefully shine through).
The faster paced action sequence was inspired by the "data burst" style recaps from Battlestar Galactica and helps set the mood for the film on a whole (again, speculation, but based on previous entries).
My goal was to leave as much up to the viewer as possible and allow them to form their own opinion of whether to see the movie (or at least watch the longer trailer).
Still, given the relatively short time limit imposed on this competition, I managed to throw this one together in a couple of hours. After a few hours of sleep to let it sit, I returned with fresh eyes to see what tweaks needed to be made – of which there was only a couple of minor frame holds on the text frames during the intro and tightening up of timing that needed to occur. One particular thorn, was the beach storming scene, which I wanted to be a little longer to help build alongside the music, but it ended up feeling odd to have it last longer than two bars of music, while the other shots disappear after one (a quick fade out to coincide better with the beat masked that nicely).
