Fic Trailer
| Synonyms: | fanfic trailer |
| See also: | constructed reality vids, fusion trailer, fake trailers |
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Fic Trailer. (n.) A vid designed to advertise or promote a fanfiction story. (Not every vid based on or inspired by a story is a trailer.) Most trailers do serve the purpose of summarizing or advertising a story.
A related practice in the pro writing arena are book trailers. They were being made as early as 2002, becoming more popular around 2005 when Youtube and other sites made distributing them more convenient.[1]
A type of trailer, a textual teaser for fic, was proposed in 1998 by a fan who didn't like the idea of having to write summaries for fans: "I understand all the problems people have with summaries... I'm thinking about trying something different: I'm going to make my summary a description of genre and the characters involved, and then in the introductory notes, I'm going to include a TRAILER, a la an episode. The trailer will have a few select lines of dialogue and scenes deliberately chosen to show the more tantalizing bits of pieces of the story without revealing too much. I'm not sure yet if this is a good idea, but if anyone else wants to do it in lieu of a summary, I think it would help me as a reader. Naturally, you still have to download [the fic] to see the trailer, but at least the genre description (e.g. "A fast-paced myth-adventure with lots of plot twists, featuring Scully, Mulder, Skinner, Krycek, and Samantha. A little quality time for our favorite agents, Surprise!Ratboy, and Skinner on a hog!") gives the casual browser some idea, and then the trailer doesn't give away the story. In fact, the trailer can even be used to manipulate the reader's initial suspicions, same way the RL show does." [2]
Other Definitions
Newkidfan defines a "fic trailer" very specifically for the artword community, though not everyone would agree with this ultra-precise definition.[3] Artword's definition includes:
- - Length: from 30 seconds to 1:30min. Not more.
- - Format: has to be structured as an actual trailer: video, text, music, even bits of dialogs, credits, etc...
- - Music: unless the music is imposed in the challenge, you can choose your own music (with or without lyrics). If the piece is longer than the length of the trailer, edit it so it fits (try to avoid abrupt ending.) You also don't have to stick to one piece of music. You can have more than one as long as it serves the trailer and the pieces are edited right.[3]
Examples
- Accidental Memory In The Case Of Death by Nerjaveika (5:19 min). Based on the Russian translation it uses external footage for a complete retelling of the story in vid form.
- Break Like Time: The Fifth Column by copperiisulfate (2:15 min). Canon AU, created for Paperlegends 2010.
- The Crown of the Summer Court by Nerjaveika (2:41 min). The vid won the Spring 2010 Merlin Slash Awards in the category Best Trailer and was a runner-up in the category Best Editing.
- Hindsight Trailer by Zoetrope (trailer for Hindsight by Rageprufrock)
- Love In An Elevator Trailer by China Wolf (trailer for Love in an Elevator (or, How to Seduce Your Scientist in a Transporter) by 30toseoul
- one of the parts of the multimedia artwork Missed the Saturday Dance is a trailer for the story.
- Tintagel by algine2006 (1:47 min). Trailer for the TaiD's Russian translation of Tintagel by seperis. Uses external footage for a retelling of the story.
- Of Angels and Angles by kat-byrd (1:27 min) is a story trailer for Of Angels and Angles by Sarah K. The story and trailer were part of The Professionals Big Bang CI5 Box of Tricks in 2010.
References
- ^ Wikipedia, Trailer (book) Last accessed Oct 18, 2011.
- ^ Nascent commenting on Why no summaries?
- ^ a b newkidfan in artword. Guidelines and definitions, 06 January 2006. (Accessed 14 April 2012)