In this blog we've got 7 Tips to help you make a Scary Horror Movie Trailer (including tips to save money on Stock Footage and Edits that get audiences shaking).
Before we begin, this is the horror movie trailer we made for a fictional film, "Lost in the Forest". Its what we're referencing throughout this blog post:
Tip 1. Don't waste money on stock footage you might not use. Download and test free comps first!
Nothing is scarier than spending money on stock footage clips you don't end up using. To avoid this, you should always test out free lo-res comps of the files first.
Once the edit is finalized you can then go back and purchase the hi-res versions. Almost every stock footage site lets you download a lo-res, watermarked version of their files for free.
Here on canadastockfootage.com you can go to any product page and click Download Preview to download a free, lo-res comp:
Tip 2. Where can i get scary music?
Our favourite place for finding scary stock music and sound effects is at Pond5. We like Pond5 because they have a big collection and the pricing is reasonable.
We also like P5, because you can test or “audition” different tracks on-site:
As with stock video, there is always the option to download free comps of music tracks:
Key point: Match the track to the vibe of your project:
Music is great at creating a scary atmosphere, and its a great way to give a chilling vibe to the video you're making.
Whatever music you choose, its important you match the overall tone of your project. Obviously, a sunny real estate video will require different music than a film about the Devil.
Tip 3. Draw in your audience with smart Colour Correction for a Unified Look.
With colour correction you're aiming for a unified look across all the clips, so nothing looks out of place. If most of your footage has a cold, spooky look then adding a warm sunny clip won't look right. Consistency is key and helps the viewer believe and 'buy' the world you've created.
In our horror movie trailer Lost in the Forest we had several clips that needed adjusting. For example we shot a skull in the forest, but the clip was too bright and warm looking. To help it fit in with the dark forest clips, we made it less red and more dark by lowering the midtones. The adjustments help the clip 'sit' better in the edit.
Before:
After:
If you can't find the right clip, get out there and shoot it - or find someone who can.
You may find that although a piece of footage is on theme, it just doesn't have the right look. For example this forest chase scene was the right idea for our project, but it was shot on a sunny day. (You can see sunlight on the forest floor).
As hard as we tried, we couldn't make it work with the rest of our grey, overcast clips:
So we went out and shot a similar scene on an overcast day. The clip was a much better fit for our dark and spooky edit:
Tip 4. Turn up the terror with these unsettling Editing Techniques.
In the realm of horror, keeping the audience unsettled is everything. A couple of spooky editing techniques we used in our trailer include:
4-1. Time-Shift + Zoom + Colour Inversion (3 Scary Edits in 1)
Time shift: Cutting a piece out of an actively zooming or moving clip, and then moving it forward in time, gives a jarring and unsettling feeling.
Zoom: Adding a sudden zoom to a small section provides a similar effect.
Colour Invert: Inverting the colour to a ghostly white adds the final spectral icing on the cake.
You can see a combination of these 3 types of edit in the Lost in the Forest trailer, at 0:06, 0:12 and 0:23.
4-2. Subliminal Horror Flash.
A classic horror edit technique is the subliminal flash of an image. By flashing an image quickly the viewer isn’t sure if they’ve seen something or not.
The theory is that although the image gets missed by the conscious mind, it still makes an impression on the subconscious. If you're quick you can see a skull flash at the 0:22 mark in the trailer.
A frame of a skull quickly flashed between a shot of a forest:
Fun subliminal film fact: If you know the 1973 film, The Exorcist you’re probably aware of the the subliminal Demon image that gets flashed throughout the movie. There's an interesting article on the Exorcist demon right here.
4-3. Turning the frame upside down.
Turning a frame upside down, for a flash or half a second is a good way to give a feeling of unease:
Tip 5: Scary Sound Effect (SFX). Sometimes less is more.
Sound effects are awesome when it comes to creating a scary atmosphere in a mix. In our horror movie Trailer you can hear sound effects that include static glitch noises, a female scream and the heavy breathing of a man running through the forest.
One thing to be careful of when using sound effects is to not make them too loud in the mix, especially if you're already using a song track. It can be tempting for example, to make a scream really loud. We often find that less is more and better at creating an overall vibe of scariness.
Our favourite place to buy sound FX is at Pond5.
Tip 6: Titles and Fonts.
Just as with everything else in the edit, a typeface or ‘font’ that works with the vibe of the film is an important choice to make.
We found that the stock font Bahnschrift worked nicely in our edit:
Tip 7: Keep your choices on theme & get feedback.
There’s many elements that go into making a good video or film including: sound fx and music, colour correction and editing choices that effect pacing and the movement of the story or ‘narrative’.
With so much going on it often pays to show your work to friends and colleagues and get feedback. After working for hours, or even days on a project its often hard to stay objective.
Another fresh set of eyes will help take your trailer to the next level...of hell. *evil laugh*.
To see a video version of this blog check out:
Rob Howard is the filmmaker behind these clips and the founder of canadastockfootage.com. Rob has sold over 20,000 clips working with stock agencies, and has had work featured on CBC’s coverage of the 2024 Olympics in Paris and in ads for VISA, Amazon, Bell Canada and McDonalds.