While writing about The Barbarian Invasions for an upcoming post I came across the trailer for the film, right here;
“For everyone, there’s a time for friendship.” Yikes. This trailer takes a great movie and makes it look awful. This lies in its “man with the dramatic voice” narration, so expertly parodied in the trailer for Jerry Seinfeld’s 2002 Documentary “Comedian:”
I think this says enough. Ditch the man with the voice already. Show don’t tell applies just as much to movie trailers as it does to writing.
Thinking back, the Barbarian Invasions is originally in Canadian French (the kind the French French scoff at), and therefore would have had to be shown with subtitles if they wanted dialogue. Subtitles in trailers can be awkward, especially on the small screen. What are your thoughts?
