This Dark Knight Trilogy Trailer Shows How Storytelling is Done

I had a great conversation the other day with Tiffany Shlain regarding concise storytelling – the notion of "if you can't tell it simply, you can't tell it genuinely." I firmly believe this statement. Both the short-form and the long-form depend on each other. Being able to articulate your story and characters is an artform in the highest sense. It takes skill. Be it a feature length screenplay or a short film, you must understand your content like the back of your hand. It MUST be personal in some way. If it isn't, it won't amount to much. 

Below is a trailer that has been cut to include all three of Nolan's Dark Knight films into one reel. It could not have been done much better. In five minutes we are taken into the Gotham universe, shaken around and taken back out with a full understanding of Batman's life and stuggles to ultimately give himself to the city so it can prosper again. 

What is so well done above is, obviously, story through editing. This trailer is perfectly sliced so we understand the three stages of (and every bit in between) Bruce Wayne/Batman's life. We clearly understand who the threats are and how they are threatening (ie. The Joker through chaos, Bane through strength, Selina Kyle through intelligence, etc.). We get a solid story arc: the beginning of our hero and him having to deal with what he must do – the middle chapter where our hero fights against himself via the catalyst of The Joker — the final chapter where our hero is left in darkness and now must rise above what he ever thought he could be, something much bigger than himself.  

Ladies and gentlemen, if you want a good example of how to tell a story with no fat on it, this is it. 

Trailer Credit