What would affect you when choosing a movie to watch? Usually, people decide which movie to watch from trailers they see on TV or Internet. This shows that people think movie trailers are important. A movie trailer editor is someone who introduces the plot, characters and feeling of a movie so that people become interested in that movie.

▶ Role
The movie trailer editor edits a movie to make a trailer to promote that movie. To make a movie trailer, an editor discusses concepts with a movie studio’s marketing department first. At this point, the editor suggests how to set up the trailer’s concept with consideration for features of the movie. Then, an editor makes a storyboard for the trailer using the agreed upon concept. Then, they edit the original movie according to the storyboard. A movie trailer is made through this process. The main trailer will then be re-edited so it is suitable for various media outlets, for example, a theater, a website or TV because they have different time constraints. Sometimes, they shoot special scenes for trailers as occasion demands.

▶ Qualification
A trailer editor’s main work is editing, so they must know various techniques and programs to edit videos. For example, you should be able to handle video editing software such as Premier, Final Cut Pro, and AVAD. In addition, it is important to have a portfolio that shows your experience and ability in past video production and your skills associated with video editing. In Korea, trailer making companies are small, so you must be able to start making trailers without any on-the-job training. For that reason, the recruiting managers of companies want to see portfolios to assess abilities.
There is no system of professional education and training process, yet. However, if you complete the visual media curriculum at an academy or college or get certified as a Specialist-Multimedia Content Producer, you will have an advantage in getting this job.

▶ Prospect
These days, a movie trailer’s value and importance are increasingly important for a film’s success. Because of that, trailer editing and editors are also becoming more important. There are now even awards for trailers, so movie trailer editors are expected to get more attention.