How do I discover who crafted this brilliant original trailer for this horrendous sci-fi film?
Today, on the strength of
this trailer, I went to see Battle: Los Angeles today.
Most unfortunately, I did so without checking
RottenTomatoes or reading
the Roger Ebert review. IMO, the Ebert review was kind.
BLA (near-perfect acronym) was offensively bad. To be fair, I would choose it over (most) surgery but not over a dentist appointment. I have had more enjoyable cavity-fillings. I was
dumber for not having left the theater and for having sat all the way through. I only stayed because I was accompanying a 13-year old who also wanted to go on the strength of the trailer. Upon exiting, the 13-year old turned to me and said "I wish we would have left at the beginning."
That's right. BLA was so bad a 13-year old wished we had left.
From start to finish, it was confusing, unappealing, and offensively stupid.
The reason the two of us went to see BLA in the first place was because of the intoxicating trailer. Yes, it's a bad reason—
and no excuse—but the trailer is so brilliantly composed, so provocatively paced as to lead one to believe that the suspension of disbelief required for an aliens-attack-vs-military film was going to be breathtaking and suspense-filled. (Shamefully, I don't believe the song used in the trailer is even in the film!)
And then it turns out to be what it was. Think 2012 without the joyride. Independence Day without the cornball fun. District 9 without the everything.
/endrant
Usually I wouldn't be so easily drawn in as this (ie hook, line, and sinker). But I think the Battle: Los Angeles trailer is a work of art. And I hope that the creator of the trailer goes on to make films. Or already has. Even shorts.
Is there anyway to learn who made this excellent trailer? For a stinker of a film, the trailer smelled of roses.
As to your main question: I think it's going to be hard to narrow down. There isn't a specific credit for this in a movie's credits. It could've been done by the director working with the film's editor. It could've been made in house by Sony marketing. Or, more likely, it could've been done by an independent post-production house. There are a bunch of them in Los Angeles that specialize only in movie trailers and are hired by the studios to do a trailer or batch of trailers for a movie. Sometimes studios will even hire one house to do a trailer and, if it doesn't get a good response, hire another house. Or they'll hire one to concentrate on the comedy of an action-comedy and another to concentrate on the action.
You might be able to find out which house Sony frequently hires to do trailers. From there you'd have to make sure it was specifically that trailer, as there have been multiple trailers and internet promos. Then you'd have to find out from the trailer house if it was one editor or a team working together. Even then the music sent back with the trailer (AFAIK) is temp music. If it's too expensive to use the music or someone in marketing likes the edit but not the music and suggests a new song (in this case "Sun's Gone Dim and The Sky's Black" by Jóhann Jóhannsson) do you give credit to the editing or to the song choice for what makes the trailer magical?
In this case it looks like Sony frequently uses Creative Advertising Group and Vibe Creative for trailers. Vibe Creative definitely worked on the Battle:LA campaign, but specifically mentions they did Trailer #2 not Trailer #1, the one you want. I suppose you could contact them and ask them if they did Trailer #1 or if they know who did.
If you don't get an answer or no one else chimes in, your best bet is to watch to see if the trailer wins awards later in the year, which is entirely possible as it's a great trailer.
posted by sharkfu at 7:58 PM on March 12, 2011 [2 favorites]