This past year the phenomena of trailer re-cuts has peaked my interest. Being a video editor myself I have delighted in the numerous “fake” trailers uploaded to YouTube and the creativity needed to reconstitute the ingredients of well known films and end up with something promoting an alternative genre. Some of my favorites include:

• WHY I HATE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
• MUST LOVE JAWS
• WEST SIDE STORY

Copyright issues aside, I hope that the original filmmakers or studios can appreciate the thought and time that it takes to construct a well done re-edit of their work and not see it merely as grounds for lawsuit. I would say it takes a genuine love for these films in order to pour over them finding the right combination of sound bites, shots and other minutia with which only the most die-hard fan would be familiar. So I think this is an awesome way to hone one’s skills in the edit booth and to become a better trailer editor at that!

Here are rules that I think make for a good trailer re-cut:

1. Use only footage and sound from the feature film you are cutting the trailer for. That means don’t use an actors work from other films (shots, audio etc).
2. Music can be altered and used from other sources. This is the only gimme considering how strongly a trailer soundtrack influences the momentum of a piece which ends up usually no more than 2 minutes long. Besides you see movie music stripped from other movies all the time in trailers… Finale to ALIENS anyone?
3. Another useful addition to sell the edit is a strong narrative voice-over or a series of title cards asking rhetorical questions or making grandiose statements to bolster the appeal of the film to an audience.

I’ve recently completed my very first trailer re-cut following these rules using one of my favorite films — SIDEWAYS directed by Alexander Payne. Gone is the road movie charting the adventures of two college buddies on a bachelor trip to the wine country. Instead I came up with this…