Over and Over
Certain songs are used over and over in trailers and adverts. Their structure, energy and catchiness can make them a joy to edit with. For artists who have cracked the promo-friendly formula they could be raking in the royalties.
The Rhythm Is Gonna Get Your Edit Signed off
So, what is it about these songs that makes them so edit-friendly? Why do creatives love working with them so much? The music choice will obviously be led in the most part by the brief, as the audience and purpose of the content will always determine the genre, mood and lyrics. That said, there are some tunes guaranteed to get the client nodding their heads in approval and they have some common characteristics. Here are four track traits to look out for…
1. Wait For It
Even within a 10 second promo, a song with a build takes the audience on a journey. A progression creates a sense of anticipation and excitement, and a finely crafted song structure can really help to build your narrative.
2. Drop It
It’s a classic trope of the action movie trailer but who doesn’t love a drop? It breaks up the edit and can helpfully provide room for some punchy soundbites before kicking back in for that final push.
3. Make Me Feel
In everything we create we are almost always looking for an emotional connection with the audience. When pitched correctly music is such a powerfully emotive force. If a track makes you cry, scared or want to get off your feet and jump around then it’s going to make the audience sit up and listen.
4. Enjoy Yourself
When a track has something special it makes you excited to start editing with it. Every creative has tracks they would love an opportunity to use. If it’s fun to edit with it will probably be fun to watch too!
Any 90s grunge fans will have enjoyed the recent Batman Trailer which features a remix of the Nirvana classic Something in the Way. The build, the drops and the emotive energy are all there in this trailer making it a “sit up and watch” situation.
THE CLASSICS
Here at TellyJuice, we’ve put together a playlist of the usual soundtrack suspects. Edit friendly, audience enticing and instantly recognisable. These tracks get used time and time again for good reason.
