Movie Trailer "Three Act" format

[Cruciform]

But but! These are the ones that make you hold your breath for a moment.. when you go to extreme heights, and then silence. I love these parts.

I agree. By 'breakdown', I'm referring to a 4-8 bar section usually between the middle and final where the music strips down and the energy fizzles.

[mikehamm123]

It's not unusual for them to use three different pieces of music, sometimes even a song or two included. BUT, publishers still like 3 act pieces because they do get used in total pretty often... It's notable that many of the crash, bang, booms, drum hits, swooshes, growls, and braamps are actually SFX that are cut in, and not part of the music.

Michael

Thanks for your comments. Good to know!

I'm noticing most trailers either start with a gentle piano figure, or whooshy/growly effects

My main discipline right now is to not use a choir except as a last resort.

[edmondredd]

It's true that choir is a very difficult thing to master.. the best results being the ones recorded live. But that shouldn't stop you experimenting..
Layer a lot, split the voices, arrange the harmonies, as you would with any of your orchestral sections
and most importantly, have fun..

[mojobone]

I haven't made a single piece of trailer music, (more like trailer trash music, lol) but I have a suggestion; if you get AXS, there's this show called...Nothing But Trailers, featuring...you guessed it.