Challenge: Create a trailer for an AH film!

Scene of a group of people at a wedding reception. The best man is getting up to give the toast.

Announcer (v.o.)

It started out a just another ordinary day in Grantville.​

The people at the wedding are dancing, and enjoying themselves. There is a flash of light, and people are milling around a wondering what is going on.

Announcer (con't.)

One minute everything was going fine, and the next, everything is turned upside down.​

Shots of the town with people coming out of their houses. The wedding party coming out of the school. A bystander pointing, and the camera whipping around to see smoke. Cut to a group of people in a pick-up truck driving down a road, then pulling up to a farm. Cut to a couple of period mercenaries man handling a young woman, and another beating up an older man. A person in the pick-up aiming a gun, and one of the mercenaries falling. Two other turning to see what is happening, and pulling their swords. The sound of shots are heard, and the two mercenaries fall.

Announcer (con't)

This summer, the people of Grantville are going on a little trip.

A montage of shots: An armored mining truck taking on period calavry.
A carriage being chased by bandits, and being overtaken. The door being ripped open, and a young woman being pulled out. Her turing to the camera, which turns and show people, in modern costume coming out of the woods.
A guy on a dirt bike, with a gun, charging into a group of period infantry.

Announcer (con't)

Taken from their place in history, a comsic twist of fate has moved the town and people of Grantville from the present into 1632.​

A title comes up in period script.

tagline. Coming this Summer.
 
FADE IN
A Byzantine Church holding a service. The smoke of censers reaches up to the ceiling,veils the ikons, eddies past the priest, who is about to launch into a homily.

FATHER MOUAMET: "There is no God but the Lord, and Jesus is his son!"
[delivered in an ululating tone, the sort of delivery that in OTL would do well from the tip of a minaret, calling the faithful to prayer.]

VOICE OVER:
"What if Byzantium never fell?
"What if the Prophet came forth out of the desert, preaching the word of Jesus?
"What if the Roman Empire remained strong in the East, standing between the Persians and the Germans?'

FADE TO
A man in a cheap soldier's taverna. A barely dressed dancing girl is performing to great approval from the audience.

"The Empire needed inquisitive men among its defenders, ones capable of seeing an advantage and taking it."

The man gets another drink, beckons to the dancing girl, and she sits down next to him. She is clearly Middle Eastern.

SHE: [laughs with excitement] "My name's Mirrane. What's yours?"

He lifts the cup and takes a drink.

HE: "Argyros. Basil Argyros."

CUT TO

ARGYROS walking down the street. He passes a broadside, looks at it, then goes on around the corner where he sees --- the same broadside. He stops to look at it, amazed.

VOICE OVER:
"In a world divided between Persia or the Empire, the slightest advantage could be of vital importance."

CUT TO
A fuse burning down into a pot. The camera swings over towards ARGYROS, hiding behind a table, tense, sweating, nervous . . .

VOICE OVER:
"Indeed, a matter of life or death."

The bomb explodes, filling the screen with the blast

AGENT OF BYZANTIUM: ARCHETYPES
Coming Soon to a Theater Near You
Rated R for Sexuality and Violence
 
Muzzle of a revolver looking straight at the camera. Focus changes, putting into view a man who's pointing the gun: Calvin Morrison.

Kalvan (shouts):
Drop it!!!​

CUT TO: Black screen.

Announcer:
Dropped...​

CUT TO: Kalvan on his knees inch-deep in dry yellow leaves. Camera pans out, showing an edge of a forest beyond.

Announcer:
...into a different world: primitive...​

CUT TO: Kalvan in a peasant hut, sitting at the table. A teenage boy runs in with a shout.

Announcer:
...violent...​

CUT TO: Dark field, with fires burning in the distance. A Nostori raider on a horseback fires both his pistols, then falls from a saddle. Camera swiftly turns to Kalvan, who's standing in a shooting-range stance with revolver in hand

Announcer:
...terrible...​

CUT TO: An acolyte of Styphon's House whips a slave, while others trudge along with big baskets. Nostori captain in black-and-orange tunic smiles approvingly.

Announcer:
...beautiful.​

CUT TO: Hostigos castle, seen from a birds-eye perspective, on a bright day.

Announcer:
One man...​

CUT TO: Surface of a big polished-wood table, with retro-hi-tech (small lights blinking, shining metal) inlays. Only man's hands are visible: big, rough hands, handling sumething resembling a small pistol.

Verkan Vall (off screen):
He knows too much.

Announcer:
...to change the fate of the world.​

MONTAGE of several scenes from the movie: a battery of cannons firing straight at the camera, fight within the walls of Tarr-Dombra, cavalry charge over the shallow river (at Listra-Mouth), scenes of close-combat in the mist, both between cavalrymen and infantrymen, Rylla on a horseback waving a rapier, Styphon's cathedral dome falling down as seen from the distance and great height (presumably some tower), and last, a square full of cheering people.

People:
Kal-van! Kal-van! Kal-van!​

CUT TO: Chartiphon in full battle gear points his sword at the camera.

Chartiphon:
That's "Lord Kalvan" for you, scum!​

CUT TO TITLE CARD reading "The Gunpowder God"
 
The Guns of the South

Black screen.
We hear "Dixie", the sounds of marching men, the crack of gunfire.

The words fade in in white letters:

VIRGINIA
FEBRUARY 1864

GENERAL LEE (v.o.)

"It is my fault we lost at Gettysburg. We can but hope for a miracle in the coming campaign."

The scene fades in. A row of dummies in Union blue stands against a berm. Then, there is a fast brrrp of gunfire, dust rises from behind the dummies, and some of them topple.

ANDREAS RHOODIE
"We can provide you with a hundred thousand of these weapons. You can defeat General Grant's advance on Richmond, then take Washington, and win a victory."

The camera pans to RHOODIE, who is standing with a cocky look on his face, the muzzle of his rifle pointing towards the ground, surrounded by ejected brass, looking over his shoulder.
It pans on towards GENERAL LEE, who is also holding a similar rifle, not as if to fire it, but merely by barrel and buttstock [note: as on the book cover]

GENERAL LEE
"That will be good, Mr. Rhoodie. What are these called? 'Rhoodies'?"

RHOODIE
"No."
He pats the buttstock, protectively.
"They're called 'AK-47', and with these guns the south will win."

FADE TO BLACK
Then, in white letters,

THE GUNS OF THE SOUTH
COMING SOON TO A THEATER NEAR YOU
Rared PG-13 for violence
 
If Hitler Had Invaded England -- second trailer

Picture: a ruined town, wrecked buildings, dead soldiers, destroyed equipment, smoke half-veiling the scene.

Title

DUNKIRK, JUNE 1, 1940

The camera pans over the devastation, past a band of weary, spent, demoralized British prisoners. There is a sniff in the background.
Then we see who is sniffing; a German panzer general, standing in his command car, viewing the British with contempt.

GENERAL
"They are defeated. Defeated!"

Cut to the Führer Headquarters.

ADOLF HITLER standing at the map table, a triumphant look on his face, as all around cry "SIEG HEIL! SIEG HEIL!"

GENERAL KEITEL
"The last report describes the British army as utterly demoralized. Preliminary questioning indicates that they are convinced the war is lost."

HITLER
"So? The English capitalists are feeling the impact of war at last. And now?"

He strikes the table.

"We will move against England this moment! I want a Führer order drawn up for my signature! I want my army to enter London within three weeks!"

An echo

"London!"

STOCK FOOTAGE
Tanks rolling along roads, Stukas diving on enemy positions, German troops goose-stepping along.

ANNOUNCER (v.o)
"The Genius of the Führer has brought proud France to defeat. Here, in the site where the enemy humiliated the Reich, our Führer has repaid their vindictiveness in full."

The Forest of Compegene fades in. HITLER leaves the railway car and walks over to GOEBBELS, who hands him some papers.

GOEBBELS
"The full translation of Churchill's speech of June eighteenth, mein Führer. There is a summary attached."

HITLER takes the pages and reads. As he reads, we hear:

CHURCHILL (v.o.)
"If the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will say, 'This was their finest hour.'"

The camera closes in on HITLER, who is enraged.

HITLER

"He will eat those words."


FADE OUT

Title card:

IF HITLER HAD INVADED ENGLAND
Based on a story by C. S. Forrester
Coming soon to a theater near you
 
Deerborn
Why not one where the trailer is about the Holy Roman Empire vs the United Mine Workers?
Magdeburg burning, and the words "God Will Know His Own" as the title. Cavalry charging towards the camera and you pan to the UMW guntrucks beside you.
 
Fade in skyline of a ruined New York City and cue voice-over...

October,1972.Ten years have passed since a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over missiles in Cuba escalated into full-scale nuclear war and left America's greatest metropolis a radioactive wasteland...

Fade to mastheads for the Boston Globe and the London Times...

Now a pair of journalists with unconventional backgrounds will attempt to piece together the truth behind the events that led to the darkest day in human history....

Cut to special effects shots of the White House,the Kremlin,and the Hollywood sign being vaporized by nuclear fireballs...

...and learn the motives behind a rebellion brewing in the back alleys of some of America's most famous cities...

Fade to crowd shots of protestors marching through Boston,San Francisco,and Chicago...

Resurrection Day.Directed by Jerry Bruckheimer.Based on the novel by Brendan DuBois.

Cut to title card:"Resurrection Day is June 1st,2007".Then roll main credits and fade out.
 
Last edited:
My First Try:

BGM: Hauntingly familiar instrumental music, the sharp would recognise it as the tune to Star Spangled Banner on ancient Mesopotamian instruments.

FADE IN: Slow Pan across Babylonian bas-relief murals... depicting scenes from Island

ANNOUNCER
Return to the past....​

Cut to Islander sailboats along the dockside at Ur.

ANNOUNCER
... to a time of splendor....​

Cut to Ian's presentation of gifts to the King of Babylon (w/ a good shot of the outfits of both and riches).

ANNOUNCER
... to a time of danger.​

Cut to Commodore Alston's ship all but going under in a storm,

ANNOUNCER
Where we meet new friends....​

Cut to Kathryn Hollard and Prince Kashtiliash sucking face. :D

ANNOUNCER
.... and old foes.​

Cut to Walker pulling his hood back and smiling.

ANNOUNCER <Booming>
A new war for the Ancient World has Begun!​

Flashes go by almost too fast to register of:
Airiel bombing of Assur​
Tartessan troops moving across Nantucket farms​
Siege guns smashing into Troy.​
Raupasha firing several rounds as her chariot wheels about.​

Cut to logo:
IitSoT2
Against the Tide of Years

Cut to Kenneth Hollard a Babylonian Royal High Table

KEN
I wish I was back at Nantucket-​

Flash to Tartessan Bazooka blowing up truck whilst gatling mounted on another blazes away

Flash back to Ken

KEN
-where they didn't _have_ Emergencies!​

Fade in: This Summer
 
Strategos' Risk said:
Choose your favorite AH novel (preferably something that would be good for a movie adaptation, I'm thinking A Man in the High Castle Here), and write a short script for the trailer you'd create to promote it.
Well, I'd start with that cliche that all action movie trails begin with, a dark city skyline and a booming voice saying "In a world..."
 
In a world of hardship one nation stands alone against the darkness.

Picture of sun going up


In a world were darkness is about the take power

Horses run


That was true in our world, in this world it dont happen.

SVT(Swedish TV), Swedish TV4, SF(Swedish Films), Lionheart productions, BBC, RTV(Russian TV), FTV(Finnish TV) and Dreamworks presents a story based on the awardwinning novell by Mattep74

SWEDEN VICTORIOUS
At Poltava

Coming to Theatres around the world late June 2009

Closeup of a picture showing Charles XII saying "VICTORY"
 

Sachyriel

Banned
Red Alert 2

Preview Rating: PG-13

CUT TO:


Quick flash of the Allied Symbol from Red Alert 2 with the background noise of a
*clunk* as the symbol spins once and then stops for a second, as if it were a real metal eagle landing. Weld-spark clockwise around the edge of the symbol.

SFX: Begin Hell March 2.

CUT TO:
Inside a military-issue canvas tent; Agent Tanya Adams winks at the camera wearing her green tank top and grinning slightly from a reflection in a mirror.

Fade to black in sync with music .

Tanya (v.o.)

Hey Boys.

CUT TO:

Inside same military tent, Tanya Adams licks her lips at the mirror and turns to blow a kiss at the mirror.

Fade to black.


Tanya (v.o.)
How about some action?

CUT TO:
Inside same tent, Agent Tanya Adams removing her top, face to the camera, cut out before tank top reveals breasts.


CUT TO:
Daytime, deep snowy field in the prairies.

Chronotrooper wearing full-face mask wagging his finger at a frozen conscript before the conscript disappears.


Chronotrooper (v.o.):
Never Existed.

CUT TO:
Nighttime, tree line near a clear field.

Mirage tank appearing out of nowhere, followed by five more a bit behind it doing the same. They fire once.


CUT TO:

Nighttime, field.

Terror Drones rushing the tanks hit by fire a few times and exploding.


SFX: Exploding

CUT TO:
Wooded area, shaded and camouflaged fox hole.

Sniper firing at off-screen target after a small pause as he aims.

CUT TO:
Daytime, field.

Tesla Trooper's mask smashing and trooper falling to the ground. Bleeding face visible.


Sniper (v.o.):

For King and Country.

CUT TO:
Clear sky.

Rocketeer platoon flys into shot, begins firing.


CUT TO:
Clear sky.

Kirov Airship destroyed and falling.


Rocketeer (v.o.):
I can go anywhere.

Fade out.

CUT TO:

Command and Conquer Red Alert 2 logo spinning. *Clunk* sound and clock-wise welding-spark around logo.


SFX: Tanya Laughing.
 
OOC: Shameless plug :p

Black screen. Silently in the back, there are drums playing.

(Fade in)

In a World....

Clear colour picture. The drums get louder, but still play no melody. The camera is situated somewhere out on the sea, and moved towards the countryside. We see that it approaches a city, and recognize New York City. But something is wrong. While the picture travels towards Manhatten, we notice that the Statue of Liberty is missing. We move to the top of the Chrysler building and a strange symbol is attached to it.

The picture goes black again. The drums get louder.



(Fade in)

where nothing is as it seems....


Black and white newreel-style photography. Scenes of fighting, cut with newspaper reports about American Civil War.
Picture goes black

(Fade in)

where one Devil allies with the other...

We see Hitler and Stalin sign some sort of treaty and shake hands for the Camera.
Picture goes black

(Fade in) ( Music in the style of Where Eagles Dare begins )

Sacrifices and changes must be made....

We see Churchill and Ghandi in conference aboard a Warship, picture cuts to an Army training Camp somewhere in the UK, where Indian and white troops are training side by side. The picture cuts to a shipyard where a warship is under construction.

(Fade in)

Where an aling nation regains it's strength to fight the Unholy Alliance, can Freedom survive?
v.o. Churchill: "And if the British Empire and it's Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, this was their finest hour...."

Battle of Britain-type footage of Spitfires and Hurricans battling Soviet and German planes over England. Pictures of fierce Tank battles in France and Africa. A group of British soldiers defending a trench somewhere in Asia. British Carrier Aircraft attacking and sinking Japanese shipping. Soviet Soldiers rushing forward, and in the end, a huge mushroom cloud.

Fade to black

(Fade in)
Against all Odds, Series One
A co-production of the BBC, United Artists, and the Bavaria Film Studios

Coming to you - 25.03.09​

Fade to black
 
fade in a slow, dark minor key version of Dixie

Screenshot: "In 1858........ Our greatest Leader said...... that a house divided against itself..... cannot stand........"

(cut to map of North America, Union in Blue, Confederacy in Red)

read: "This is the story........ twenty years after the house fell......"

shots of Union troops surrendering and stacking arms like at Appomattox.

Then a shot of 1880's period cannons firing

Scenes: a graying Stonewall Jackson discussing the "battle of Camp Hill" with President Longstreet, a gray breaded Lincoln giving a speech in Montana, a young Theodore Roosevelt arguing with a middle aged George Custer, Sam Clemens writing a vitriol filled editorial, Red Coated British firing a volley in Montana, Jeb Stuart leading a "camelry" charge, and San Francisco burning.

shot of a Confederate Battle flag emblazoned with the words How Few Remain A film of the Second War Between the States. It didn't happen July 16th.
 
Announcer:

After a Great War

Images from WWI's western front

In a Nation Humiliated,

German diplomats signing the Treaty of Versailles

When the World is Falling Apart

work queues in the Weimar Republic

And dark menaces are lingering next door

Hitler and Mussolini shake hands

How can a man make a difference ?

A Liberal Party's rally, the crowds are cheering while singing Die Deutschlandslied

This Summer, look as a brave man rises from the ruins of his country

Stresemann speaks in Reichstag, Bonnie Tyler starts singing

Strives for a Brighter Tomorrow

Stresemann hugs Blum with affection; Attlee speaks under a EU-like flag

And faces old enemies

La Rocque speaking to a delirious crowd with martial gestures

While unexpected bedfellows join in

Molotov shakes hands with the Japanese Foreign Minister

To take Destiny in their own hands

Japanese planes bombing Singapore; German soldiers fighting alongside Chinese Republicans

Once, a war was fought, to end all wars

A mushroom cloud in the Algerian desert;

But that wasn't enough

Holding Out for a Hero : Gustav Stresemann

HBO Logo, Soon on your TVs
 
OOC: Shameless plug:)

In 1890, an epidemic will sweep the world (V.o)

Fades into a dark London street with a man and a crouched figure

An Epidemic like no other (V.o)

Fades back into the street again, figure begins to creep out

Prepare yourself (V.o)

Still Black, a laud scream in the background

Cuts to a field in New York, US soldiers firing sporadically at an unseen enemy.

Cuts to a middle seized Industrial town with a group of British soldiers/Civilians/Police Officers

Suddenly

GET THIS THING OFF ME!

Gunshots, then a loud thunk

Old animosities will be rekindled(V.o)

Cuts to an American naval officer turning down a British ship's papers

Cuts to German and French troops staring each other down across the border

And New Nations will be born

Cuts to an Irish flag being raised, then Polish soldiers facing down Russian Cossacks

Will it be enough?

Cuts to a field strewn with bodies, zombies crawling all over them

FIND OUT 5.5.09

DAYS TO MIDNIGHT

Rated R: Restricted for Intense Violence, Crude Humor, Sexual References and Drug Use.

OOC: The link to the story is in my sig :)



 
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT
"I give you the new General in Chief of the U.S. Army --- General James Longstreet!"

The cheers of "Pete! Pete!" rise to a new crescendo.
General Longstreet turns to face the flag and salutes it. He is in Union blue, with four gold stars on his epaulets. As he salutes we can see a tear in his eye.
GENERAL LONGSTREET
"Americans from North and South, together as one now! America will fight --- and America will win!"

The band breaks into "Dixie"
FADE to Title Card

1901

Coming to a theater near you on 19th January
Dude's 80 years old and only had 3 more years to live, there's no way he'd be up to that.
 
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