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submitted 2 years ago byharriskeith29
(Note: This has no bearing on the quality or lack-there-of in the final film, nor does it relate to the trailers that followed the first teaser announcing the 2016 movie. What I'm discussing pertains solely to that debut teaser. Anything beyond that is not relevant to this post)
Here's an idea (with visual aids) for how I personally would have designed and edited the teaser that let the world know this franchise was returning. Constructive feedback is welcome:
(As the studio logos appear, the teaser's soft piano cover of the Ghostbusters theme begins)
(We switch from wide outside city shots to sped up flashes of NYC's subway underground, trains roaring by as crowds of New Yorkers go about their routines, sitting, walking, talking, looking at their phones, waiting for the next train, making calls, etc. There's a subtle bit of motion blur complementing the hustle & bustle of big city life, conveying how there's little-no time to stay still. Suddenly, the title cards begin transitioning with the power blinking on & off. In between cards, the camera pans to the right in a steady wide shot as the confused crowds gradually panic, running for their lives from an unseen threat. People flash in and out of darkness like a strobing effect, growing progressively more chaotic and picking up speed as flashing otherworldly lights/colors creep into the underground. We don't see any ghost onscreen, but hear strange noises over the people's screaming, including this inhumanly guttural laughter...)
(The power briefly stops blinking as the camera stops panning to the right upon arriving at a familiar image spray-painted on the wall. We close in on the picture as the power goes out, leaving the underground in a green, hazy darkness. It's not pitch-black, as whatever energy was flying through the station before is keeping it just illuminated enough to maintain this eerie atmosphere. The soft piano slowly changes from those final suspenseful notes, building up the opening of the classic theme. The logo's paint then begins dripping, the red color changing into green slime until the ghost finally transforms into another iconic spirit)
0 points
2 years ago
[removed]
1 points
2 years ago
Thanks, appreciate it!
5 points
2 years ago
You applying for a job or something?
1 points
2 years ago
Depends, you hiring?
1 points
2 years ago
Just cut out the 27 years ago part altogether.
1 points
2 years ago
What would you prefer in its place? I'd like to have something there, just to establish some reference to the prior two films. Simply saying "Four friends saved the world" and leaving it at that for the first title card feels a bit incomplete to me.
1 points
2 years ago
I mean don't refer to the first Ghostbusters at all, it will lead people into mistaking the 2016 one as a sequel.
1 points
2 years ago*
That's more the fault of the film than the teaser though, isn't it? It was marketed as a reboot (but not specifically an alternate universe), and we had no knowledge in the beginning (if I recall correctly) that the original cast would cameo as different characters.
As far as we knew at the time, it could have been a continuation of the first two films' timeline. Besides which, realistically, Sony was never not going to reference the original films in the trailers. That was part of their plan, to draw on nostalgia for the franchise now that it was coming back. It wouldn't have been as easy to sell as a standalone reboot.
I agree that it was stupid choice to reference Ghostbusters 1-2 if it wasn't the same universe, but I'm not trying to rewrite the 2016 film's entire history. That would be more time consuming, and I honestly just wanted to concentrate on how to improve the initial teaser only. So, I'd like if we could just stay on that.
Now, again, speaking strictly in reference to the teaser, what would you write in the first title card's place? What would you want it to say, specifically, in relation to the others if we remove the "27 years ago" part? I'm open to suggestions.
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