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I LOVE MOVIE TRAILERS.
Or “Previews” as they are also sometimes called. Even with assigned seating at movie theaters, I still show up 10-20 minutes early because I do not want to miss even a single movie preview. (Or the pre show entertainment with Maria Menounos!) When the green screen that reads, “The following PREVIEW has been approved for all audiences…” shows up – my heart skips a beat! And seeing a movie trailer on the big screen with some popcorn is so much better than watching them on YouTube (which I also do, all the time).
There is an art to making a good movie trailer. You can’t give away too much of the plot – you can’t reveal too many twists or cameos. A great preview will introduce the cast, show some explosions and have a bangin’ soundtrack! Most importantly, you have to match the tone of the actual movie or folks will be very confused or disappointed when they watch the whole film.
One of the best parts of a movie trailer is its length, which should be around 90-120 seconds long. As opposed to many movies which are 120-180 minutes long! I’m a man in my 40s. I can’t avoid a trip to the bathroom that long!
A great movie trailer makes you want to see the entire movie without giving away the best parts. It has to spark your imagination while also leading your imagination towards the same vision the filmmakers had.
What if we thought of our lives as previews of God’s Kingdom?
Our time on Earth is short – but God can and will use your story to bring others into his eternal, perfect Kingdom. The words we say, and more importantly, the actions we take, are like the explosions and banging soundtrack in a movie preview – for a great film – a full length feature that cannot and will not disappoint.
But like a good movie trailer, we need to make sure our preview syncs up to the real movie. We need to be such a good example of the power of Jesus that folks are lining up on opening night! I hope our personal previews testimonies make a lot of buzz for the Kingdom of God.
*I really do love movie trailers – so much so that many years ago I made this LifeSongs Movie Trailer: