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Trailer music (a subset of production music) is the background music used for film previews, which is not always from the film's soundtrack. The purpose of this music is to complement, support and integrate the sales messaging of the mini-movie that is a film trailer. The score for a movie is usually composed after the film is finished (which is much after trailers are released), a trailer will incorporate music from other sources. The application of trailer music occurs during the audio post production stage.

Overview
Music for trailers and films fall into two universal categories: Score music and Source music. The Composer is the individual hired to prepare the dramatic underscore. Source music is what we hear coming from an on screen or off screen device. Most modern-day films use a combination of score and source music. Source music may be original or licensed from a number of libraries that specialize in the creation of "generic" music. Songs (music with vocals) may fill either function, depending on the dramatic intent of the director.

A trailer has to visually match the impact of the film and the music must be consistent with what you're looking at. A trailers pacing and emotions are often dictated by the music. It is significantly important for trailer music to be able to support and maintain the energy presented in the visuals.

Unlike the visual element, the music accompanying the picture can stem from from any source, and very rarely is drawn from the film’s soundtrack. In the space of two minutes, the music intermingles with the images to generate an advertisement style that appeals to the intended demographic. Often times, numerous TV spots will be produced for a film, each using different styles of music to reach a distinct demographic. For each targeted demographic, the music alters the look of the visuals and presents the film in a different, marketable way.

David Brolin, who has made a career of mixing trailers, for trailer houses (businesses that specialize in making film trailers from top to bottom) According to Brolin a typical trailer mix is about two days. “We'll get the elements first thing in the morning, do a mix, get the first round of approvals and then we'll shoot tracks that night. The second day we'll listen to the DTS tracks along with the film print and we'll make final changes.” Brolin thinks there will actually be more trailer work in the future, as marketing becomes ever more sophisticated and niche-conscious.

Trends
Rock and pop dominate in the trailer world yet the recent hot trend is what is called “hybrid”. This incorporates cinematic elements such as orchestra and choir, along with contemporary electronic arrangements found in modern rock, techno and urban music. This music still identifies the film as a unique cinematic experience worth seeing in the theater, yet still shows that it is fashionable.

Trailer Music Use

 * The music used in the trailer may be:


 * Music from the score of other movies. Many films in this century have tracked their trailers with music from other campaigns, such as Dragonheart, Gladiator, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, Come See the Paradise (27 times), Aliens (24 times), Bram Stoker's Dracula (18 times).


 * Popular or well-known music, often chosen for its tone, appropriateness of a lyric, or familiarity.


 * Classical music, such as Mozart's Requiem (Cliffhanger), Beethoven's 9th symphony (Die Hard), or Carmina Burana.


 * Specially composed music. One of the most famous Hollywood trailer music composers, credited with creating the musical voice of contemporary trailers, is John Beal, who began scoring trailers in the 1970s and, in the course of a thirty year career, created original music for over 2,000 movie trailer projects, including 40 of the top-grossing films of all time, such as Star Wars, Forrest Gump, Titanic, Aladdin, The Last Samurai and The Matrix.


 * Songs, which may include knock-offs of recognizable (but often expensive to license) songs.


 * "Library" music, which is previously composed production music. Trailer music library companies typically do not offer their music to the public and develop and license music exclusively to the motion picture studios, although Immediate Music did release a commercial album called "Trailerhead,”” while Reeltime Music released a double CD called “Coming Soon.” Two Steps From Hell also released their album “Invincble.”

Music Libraries
This is a non-exhaustive list of production libraries:
 * APM Music
 * 615 Music
 * Immediate Music
 * X-Ray Dog
 * Hartwigmedia
 * Pfeifer Broz. Music
 * Epic Score
 * Audiomachine
 * Full Tilt
 * Fired Earth Music
 * Opus Pocus Music
 * Two Steps From Hell
 * Twisted Jukebox
 * Brand X Music
 * E. S. Posthumus
 * PP Music LTD
 * Soundcritters
 * Phoenix Music
 * City of the Fallen

Articles

 * The Art of Scoring Trailers: John Beal by Lukas Kendall, Part 1 - Film Score Monthly Magazine, issue #35, July 2003, pp 6–7, Part 2 continues in issue #36/37 Aug/Sep 1993, pp18–19 Online version


 * Art of the Tease by Rick Sherwood, Hollywood Reporter August 25, 1992 pp. S-39-S-72


 * Coming Attractions!: The two-minute film scores of John Beal by Randall D. Larson, "THE SCORE" Cinefantastique, June 1999, Volume 31, Number 6 p. 60