What’s the first thing you do when discussing with someone about whether to see a movie or TV show? We all look up the trailer online to see if it nudges us towards investing the time or not. A great trailer can be more important than the film when it comes down to the profit margin that keeps filmmakers in the business. Creating a compelling trailer is an artform in itself and Yinuo “Willow” Cai has been an integral part of creating many of the best ones.
Conforming, color grading, creating deliverables; these terms may not mean a lot to the average viewer but to those in the industry, they define the importance of Willow’s contributions. Every artform demands a type of technical mastery that empowers its seeming effortless emotive quality; this space is where Willow Cai lives.
Words alone do not have the same impact as when partnered with a visual component. If you heard the description of Peacock’s series Mrs. Davis as a nun battling A.I., you’d likely have no idea what to expect. This drama/Sci-Fi production starring Betty Gilpin (Primetime Emmy nominee), Jake McDorman (of Disney+ series The Right Stuff), and Chris Diamantop (Primetime Emmy Nominee), required a Teaser which gave some context to the public.
As the finishing editor preparing the timeline and creating approvals and deliverables, Willow Cai made certain this happened. She describes, “I knew that the client wanted a bright, mysterious, and enticing vibe to the teaser. Everyone was very pleased with the final version of this teaser. There are so many parts of the process and I can’t overlook anything or the entire thing comes to a halt. Morning coffee is essential to me.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS0TQksoHwg
Kindred is one of the most exciting series on the FX network’s roster. A woman who vacillates between experiencing present day life and a timeline during the American slave era, this is a psychological social story that has captivated an enthusiastic viewing public. In addition to her duties as finishing editor, Ms. Cai also part of the color team for this trailer. The pace and visual language is consuming with its panicked intensity. If the goal of a trailer is to entice viewers, this stands as a perfect example of how this can be achieved.
Willow confirms this stating, “I think while color grading and sound mixing in long-form content is more about enhancing the narrative itself, short-form finishing emphasizes more on the ‘catch.’ For example, for a trailer like this we oftentimes receive footage with show color already attached because the creative editor is cutting from masters of the show episodes. So, instead of creating a look that fits the tone of the show, our job is to enhance the show’s color and make them striking so they can catch the audience’s attention immediately.
For this trailer, because it’s a very dark and grimy story, we played around with the contrast and saturation in order to stay true to the original show color by Company 3 while injecting more life and vibrancy into what’s essentially a commercial and make it more eye-catching.”
Fleishman is in Trouble, starring Oscar Nominee Jesse Eisenberg and Primetime Emmy Award–winner Claire Canes is already a darling among critics and the industry with nominations from the Golden Globes and Critic’s Choice Awards. In addition to editing, Willow was also involved in the color grading process of this show’s official trailer. Her efforts and those of the entire team were key in presenting an authentic tone, congruent with that of the show.
This is not easily achieved in two-minute long production because the show has been universally praised for presenting the complexity of modern marriage. Willow Cai enthusiastically supports this praise and describes how the trailer represents this tone stating, “Of all the trailers I’ve worked on at Carrma, Fleishman is the only show that I actually watched and finished watching. The trailer really captured the tone of the show. If you only look at the plots, it’s actually a very simple and straight-forward story: man’s ex-wife disappears and leaves him with two children.
However, the show really digs deep into the gutters of midlife crisis and explores a lot of themes that are not frequently talked about. One of my favorite things about the show is how it represents male hysteria and jealousy, which is very fresh in media. Jesse Eisenberg did such a great job portraying the humanness of Toby Fleishman. The trailer highlights this aspect of the show. It pits Jesse Eisenberg’s empathy-inducing every-man face against a relatable crisis and immediately raises the stakes on the situation, piquing the audience’s interest.
Additionally, the trailer is very fast-paced and has a lot of spinning visuals, which also resonates with the nauseating angst of the show. I think the trailer should be the epitome of the show, so it doesn’t mislead the audience. After all, the trailer is a commercial for the product which is the show, and false advertising is always disappointing.”
Writer: Coleman Haan