Make a game trailer people can understand with the sound off

Find your five-second explanation

Pick an action with a visible result: turn a mirror, redirect a beam, open a door. Capture all three parts from your game. Someone who has never seen the project should be able to follow the cause and effect without reading a paragraph over the footage.

I would put that sequence near the beginning. A long logo animation spends the viewer's patience before you've shown them anything to care about. Your first useful edit can be very small: one action, a harder version of it, a satisfying result, and a link to play.

Generate the shot your edit is missing

Lay the gameplay clips on a timeline before opening a video generator. You may discover that you only need one atmospheric insert: the observatory outside, a storm approaching, or a quiet room after the puzzle is solved.

Give each generated shot one job. I'd ask for a slow camera move through the supplied setting, with one environmental movement such as drifting dust. Asking for the camera, character, architecture and lighting to transform together makes a short clip much harder to judge.

If an illustrative cinematic could be mistaken for a playable feature, label it. The trailer should help the right person choose your game; a promise the build can't keep works against that.

Cut it before you polish it

Watch the rough edit without sound. Can you still identify the action and its payoff? If the answer depends on the music becoming dramatic, the visual sequence needs more work.

Then listen without watching. Remove abrupt volume changes and leave room for an important game sound. I would rather hear one clear door opening than five competing impacts.

Finish with a readable destination: Play the game, Try the demo, or Follow development. Check the exported file on a phone, including the ending. Small text that looked elegant in the editor may disappear completely in a feed.

Sources & further reading

• Runway: Gen-4 video prompting — accessed Sep 9, 2026