When you're a low-budget independent filmmaker, finding the right audience seems impossible. What's more, you don't have the budget or the resources to make a trailer that tells the story you want and has that big-budget trailer aesthetic.

I get it. I've been there. And my clients have had similar challenges.

Here are some of the filmmakers and storytellers I've made trailers for and how I helped them find their audience.

DOLO

Series Pilot

When director Gonçalo Braga and I spoke for the first time, he introduced me to his first big project, Dolo. The pilot of a series for which he has great ambitions. Being his first project, Gonçalo wanted a trailer that stood apart from series like Euphoria and 13 Reasons Why, and made Dolo look bigger than its budget.

The result was a trailer with a fast-paced edit to the sound of a slow song by Édith Piaf, which helped it achieve over 100,000 views on Instagram.

Fluxo

Flow

Webseries Pilot

As all projects listed here, this short webseries pilot had an extremely low budget. But beyond that, it followed a single character, with almost no side characters in the story, and very little dialogue, which presented a challenge for the trailer.

Because I followed the project since its conception, I had a good understanding of it. I knew its strengths and weaknesses, and I knew the directors’ intentions, as well as the elements they were proud of.

The trailer therefore emphasized these elements. Jazz music being the main focus of the trailer, and the relationship it has with the main character. This helped the project identify its strongest elements and stand out from the crowd.

Noah’s Nightmare

Videogame

The developers of Noah's Nightmare wanted to make a game with a strong focus on the story, where the gameplay served the narrative. To present the project on their website, the team needed a trailer that would introduce the game in just under two minutes. Not having enough budget for a video game promotion agency, the team asked for my help with this challenge. The trailer was edited to present the game's mechanics through a narrative.

This ultimately helped the team reach the audience they were targeting and help the game get seen.

Num Abril e Fechar de Olhos

In The Twinkling of an Eye

Stage Play

For this play, director Mafalda Santos had a big obstacle in front of her: having written a play aimed at children about a period of dictatorship in Portugal's history, the play was given an age rating higher than the target audience's age.

With a limited budget and resources, the trailer needed to reach the right audience. The trailer therefore retained the energy and style of humor that young children appreciate, while remaining faithful to the themes it explores and the musical component of the play.

Because of the trailer, they were ultimately able to find their audience of children, despite the fact that the age rating was not targeted at that demographic.

Chovem Perguntas

Raining Questions

Stage Play

Director Carolina Parreira had a philosophical children's play in her hands.

As the play's budget and resources were limited, the company was unable to have the set and wardrobe complete in time for the early promotion. The trailer and promotional videos were then planned from the conception of the play so that the process became agile for the team and managed to appeal to the young audience they were looking for.

You may be wondering how I manage to communicate with directors and storytellers in such a way that I seem to understand their experience.

The answer is... because I've had the same experience.

I've had the pleasure (and the headache) of making short films. I recognize the passion behind a project that I feel like my baby; the challenge of turning a vision into reality with a low budget and lack of resources; and the pride of showing the end result.

And on top of that, I've always wanted to make the trailers for my movies myself.

Extra work? Yes.

Has it given me great pleasure and helped me identify the audience I want to reach? Also yes.

Below are trailers I've edited for some of my projects and how the trailers have helped me communicate my films:

Uníssono

Unison

Short Film

I spent almost a year working on this short film. In the process, the story changed, various budget constraints, nights of sleep turned upside down (and yes, I loved it all from start to finish).

In the midst of the various changes, one thing remained consistent: from time to time, I asked myself “How would this look in a trailer?”. Although counterintuitive, thinking about how I would reduce the essence of this movie into 30 seconds helped keep me focused during the process.

When I showed the trailer to the person I took as a reference for my target audience, they had the reaction I was aiming for, solidifying my confidence that I had reached the right audience with the trailer.

Deixem Voar O Pássaro Que Sou

Let The Bird That I Am Fly

Documentary Short

When I made this short documentary, I didn't have a big budget.

Correction: I had practically no budget.

So I edited the trailer in a way that made it look like a larger-scale movie.

Now, you might be thinking “That’s all cool, Leo. But I’d love to see how you would cut trailers for long-format content like feature films or a full season of a television series.”

I’m glad you ask. Let me introduce you to some of the work I’m most proud of: my spec trailers.

Like I said, I love making these, even in my free time. And with each new trailer, I challenge myself to do something new and outside the box every time.

The Edge of Sleep

TV series - Psychological Thriller

For this trailer, I wanted to cut something that felt in line with the psychedelic nature of the show and that would make the viewer see the world from the main character’s POV. For that, the editing needed to convey a sense of unpredictability and rely on unconventional sound design.

Five Nights at Freddy’s

Film - Horror

This film tells the story of a haunted kids’ restaurant. I feel these two opposing ideas (horror and a kids’ place) needed to somehow come through in the style of the trailer. Which gave me an idea to set myself a very clear challenge: take an upbeat eighties song and make it sound creepy.

In the end, I think it helped to represent the style of the film.

TENET

Film - Sci-Fi Action

Ok, so this is what happens when I get a crazy idea: I try to turn it into a reality. A movie about time going backwards? Well, what if the trailer can be seen both forwards… and backwards?

Yeah, this one was a headache to cut, but I managed to follow through. To me, that’s what makes something really stand out: breaking the rules. Once the trailer reaches the end, it starts replaying itself backwards, taking the viewer on a new experience. Two trailers for the price of one.

Barry

TV Series - Dark Comedy

For Barry, I didn’t want to rely on just playing funny moments from the series. My goal here was to find the comedy in the edit itself, while still following the very particular comedic style of the show. In the end, I feel like the humor of Barry came through in the trailer.