The music in film trailers has a huge effect on the public’s opinion of a film before it is released. Like film music in general it can set the mood of the visuals, creating tension, a feeling of romance, confusion, playfulness or even fear. The difference with trailer music is that much of the public will decide whether to view the film based on the trailer. The music therefore has an incredibly important role in identifying the film’s feel to the viewer and enticing the public to hit the cinemas.
These two trailers for example give the viewer a very different feel of the film in question.
The first is an original trailer from the 1984 film ‘Ghostbusters’
This re-cut trailer by Youtube user Rothejfunk is set to the ‘Inception’ trailer music ‘Mind Heist’ by Zack Hemsey.
While the original is obviously far more accurate to the content of the film, the re-cut is certainly an interesting experiment. Even though the visuals in the second trailer are from the same film the atmosphere it creates is far more Inception than Ghostbusters.
Trailers are essentially adverts for films, and just like in advertising, music has a huge effect on the public’s perception of the final product. Experienced composers can manipulate this perception and while the music may only be very short it can have a dramatic effect on the profitability of the product it is promoting.
Hat-tip to @motski for pointing out the re-cut trailer.