To edit a movie trailer you first need to break down your visuals which is a process of organizing your footage into categories which you can easily sort through because they're readily accessible when you're editing and making changes.

Here is my system for breaking down visuals, and examples for each category.

Read the text of this video here: https://www.derek-lieu.com/blog/2019/...

Video Chapters

00:00 - Why to break down footage
00:50 - Suggested categories to break down footage into
01:05 - Establishing Shots
01:29 - Characters
02:02 - Story
02:16 - Money Shots
02:28 - Action
02:56 - Punctuation
03:41 - Anticipation
03:53 - Slams
04:11 - Explosion
04:28 - Humor
04:42 - Sex
04:58 - All projects are different!
05:21 - Break things into sub-categories
05:28 - Sorting visuals

Movie trailers (in order of appearance)
Fast and the Furious 6 - Trailer B
Bourne Ultimatum - Trailer 1
John Wick 2 - Trailer 2
Assassin's Creed - Trailer 1
The Avengers: Age of Ultron - Trailer A
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse - Trailer A
Coco - Trailer 3
Bourne Ultimatum - Trailer 2
Atomic Blonde - Trailer 1
Hellboy 2 - Trailer 2
Logan - Trailer A
Kingsmen: The Golden Circle - Trailer 1
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - Trailer
Deadpool 2 - Trailer F
Hunt For the Wildepeople - Trailer
The Shape of Water - Trailer 2
X-Men: First Class - Trailer 2
God of War - Father and Son Trailer
Mission Impossible: Fallout - Trailer 2
John Wick - Trailer
Ip Man 2 - Trailer 1
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation - Trailer 1
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol - Trailer 2
Mission Impossible 3 - Trailer 1
Get Out - Trailer
Godzilla: King of the Monsters - Trailer 1
Children of Men - Trailer 1
Pacific Rim - Trailer 1
The Dark Knight - Trailer 1
Hellboy 2 - Trailer 1
Joy - Trailer 2
Ultraviolet - Trailer
The Departed - Trailer
The Matrix - Trailer
The Matrix Reloaded - Trailer
The Matrix Revolutions - Trailer
Thor Ragnarok: Trailer 2
Fast Five - Trailer 2
10 Cloverfield Lane - Trailer
Furious 7 - Trailer
Fate of the Furious - Trailer 2
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within - Trailer
X-Men: Days of Future Past - Trailer 1
Hot Fuzz - Trailer
Ant Man - Trailer B
Sherlock Holmes - Trailer 1
Mission: Impossible - Teaser
Mission: Impossible 3 - Teaser
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol - Trailer 1
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol - Trailer 2


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ABOUT ME

Hi, I'm Derek Lieu and I'm a trailer editor who makes video game trailers! I got my start in the movie trailer industry as an assistant editor at a house which produced trailers for: The Matrix Trilogy, Spider-Man, Pirates of the Caribbean and many more.

Over many years I worked as an editor, and started making fan trailers for games until eventually I got jobs at game trailer houses in Los Angeles where I worked on games like Mortal Kombat X, Shadow of Mordor and lots of LEGO games. Independently I've made trailers for games like: Firewatch, Dead Cells, Subnautica, Ooblets and BattleBlock Theater.

I'm using this channel to teach people about the art of making trailers via video essays, tutorials, reviews, and behind-the-scenes looks at my own work. I think about trailers a lot both for work and fun, so I have A LOT to say about them.

I hope to shed light on this mostly unknown industry, and gather together a nice community of people who love to watch and make trailers!

#trailerediting #videoediting #workflow