Master of trailers
January 10, 2023

Trailerization - reworking existing songs for movie trailers, and giving them new life

The New York Times looks into "trailerization" - the reworking of existing songs to maximize their impact in trailers for films and TV shows. One of the most successful recent examples is David James Rosen's take on Kate Bush’s 'Running Up That Hill' which he tweaked into a thunderous version for 'Stranger Things'. The Times explains different types of trailerizations: "There are reimaginations, which are usually instrumental covers by composers. There are overlays, where elements are added to a song in varying degrees. Then there are remixes, where the source material is distinctly altered, often to shift the context".