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Deciding which movies warrant a trip to the theater isnt always easy. Lately, though, trailers seem to be making the choice even harder, and not for the reasons one might think. The problemif you could call it oneis an abundance of marketing riches across the entire cinematic spectrum. The trailer for A24s new necromancy horror Bring Her Back is as dynamic as the one for Marvels retro romp, The Fantastic Four, not to mention DCs new Superman reboot, Liam Neesons revival of The Naked Gun, and pretty much every other tentpole this year. Either the best summer movie season in decades is about to sweep through theaters or (more likely) trailers have simply gotten crazy good now, and its breaking our brains. Even the trailers themselves seem to be aware that movie marketing is firing on all cylinders lately. The one for A24s just-released Friendship ends with Tim Robinson, creator of cringetastic meme factory I Think You Should Leave, saying direct-to-camera, Theres a new Marvel out thats supposed to be nuts. Its a nod to his films status as counterprogramming for the Marvel blockbuster, Thunderbolts, which also arrived this month. After the Friendship trailer debuted in February, though, Marvel dropped a Thunderbolts trailer touting its casts connections to past A24 movieslike a metatextual slap-fight between Goliath and Indie Goliath. Both sides win. The Friendship trailer quickly conveys how the unique tone of Robinsons show will translate to film, while Thunderbolts trailers present it as an off-beat, low stakes side-quest in the Marvel world. How could anyone whos even a little interested in either resist? Traditionally, trailers have followed a familiar cadence: Give the audience a hook, follow it up with some table-setting, and end on an escalation. But these days, trailers feel more like a self-contained mini-movie than part of a pattern. Some trailers, like those for Superman and Final Destination: Bloodlines, spend a full minute anchored by a single tense scene that lures viewers in; others, like those for the latest Mission: Impossible and Conjuring movies, dangle visuals from previous entries in clever ways, centering franchise lore to remind audiences what they loved about the characters and worlds in the first place. So how are trailer editors deciding which path to take? And how do they keep things from feeling stale? According to Erika Anaya, creative director at leading entertainment marketing agency Trailer Park, there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to charting a trailers trajectory. It’s different for every single movie, regardless of genre or studio, she says. I would even say for something like a Marvel [film], you would think, ‘Oh, they pretty much have it down now,’ but it changes for every single one. The promotional push for a major movie generally includes a teaser trailer and two official trailers. (These days movies also often feature an assortment of online-only bonus clips.) The composition of these packages used to be more codified, though. A teaser was once strictly an enticing, elusive introductionmore TikTok-length than YouTube. A classic example is the teaser for The Shining, which showed nothing but a nightmarish deluge of blood pouring out from a hotel elevator. While those kinds of teasers still existthe new Naked Gun offers one extended gagteasers can now be more comprehensive than trailers. The teaser for Thunderbolts lasted nearly three and a half minutes, giving viewers a lot to chew in for a first taste. It used to be very common for the first piece out of the gate to be an amuse-bouche teaser, followed by a second trailer that leaned more heavily into story, Anaya says. But thats not really a standard practice anymore. Whatever their length or style, movie trailers sound better now, too. Or at least fresher. The era of slowed-down cover songs, starting with 2010s The Social Network trailer and its haunting choral cover of Radioheads Creep, finally seems to have tapered off. Now, studios are more likely to score a trailer with a bizarro version of a classic rock song that features new instrumentation alongside the classic vocal stems. This summers entries include a lithe EDM update of Madonnas Material Girl for A24s The Materialists, a dreamy twist on Queens Under Pressure in Thunderbolts, and an enhanced take on Happy Together by The Turtles for Neons horror flick Together. The infamous “braaam” noise popularized by the Inception trailer is also on the wane. An audio shorthand for epicness, the oft-used trailer sound appears to have fallen out of fashion somewhere between 2021s Dune and last years Dune 2. (I think a lot of trailer editorsand viewersgot tired of that particular sound effect, Anaya adds.) What might distinguish this seasons trailers most, though, is an intuitive command of how much to reveal and how much to hold back. While giving a flavor of a movies vibe can be just as important to a trailer as communicating the plot or flaunting some money-shot stunts, jokes, smooches, or death-traps, the amounts in each recipe are always in flux. The trailer for 2006s cerebral drama, Little Children, starring Kate Winslet, is a tonal masterpiece that barely informs viewers what the film is actually about or what happens in it. A24 essentially cornered the market on this style of trailer in the 2010s, with vibey, vague pieces like those for The Witch and Hereditary, and the studios trailer for Bring Her Back this summer takes a similar tact. Viewers will leave knowing only that the titular “Back” means “back from the dead”and feeling supremely creeped out. So, how do studios decide how much to give away in a trailer? According to Anaya, big-budget films often go through multiple rounds of audience testing for their trailersand the more the creators lean on that research, the more they tend to reveal. Ironically, the same viewers who later complain in YouTube comments about spoiler-filled trailers may be the ones asking for more upfront during test screenings. But lately, the trend seems to be swinging the other way. A few years ago, it was more common to add more story, but I think there is a sense that we wanna leave something more, particularly for theatrical, for people to go and buy a ticket, Anaya says. So maybe that more old-school way of packing a trailer with too much information is starting to look like, Is there a better way to do this? Can we intrigue them with less narrative, but enough to come through? Neons trailer for the upcoming Together, for instance, is a triumph of the delicate balance between vibes, plot, and money shots. It gives viewers just enough string to put together that stars Alison Brie and Dave Franco are a troubled couple thrust into a gnarly body-horror situation, without quite spelling out what that situation is, let alone what started it or how far it will go. Rather than a standout, though, this is starting to feel like the standard. This summers trailers seem to be finding the precise middle between the magic of mystery and the dopamine rush of Too Muchand its getting confusing. Every trailer seems to pitch its product with a beautiful line drive right down the plate, but the movies themselves cant all be home runs. Will some of the moody, plot-light trailers ultimately translate to plodding, plot-free films? Will any of those that confidently reveal some of their best moments turn out to have held back nothing for the actual film? Judging by the solid start to the summer box office, these trailers are successfully making people flee their homes to find out.
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“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”This timeless insight from renowned 20th-century Austrian-America management consultant Peter Drucker is especially relevant for startup leaders who aim to build something that stands the test of time. In todays digital economy, global expansion has never been easieryet many tech founders are still focused on an initial geographical market. While starting with that thinking may seem practical, failing to embed a global mindset from the get-go can limit long-term potential. The reality is, startups that delay international thinking face tougher roadblocks laterscaling infrastructure, product-market fit, cultural nuances, and competition become bigger hurdles than necessary. The best startups anticipate these challenges early, positioning for global impact before opening a second office. Ive seen this firsthandsetting out to empower the world with your companys tools shouldnt just be a tagline; it should shape every product decision, hire, and expansion effort. For founders unsure where to start, heres what Ive learned about building global-first from day one. Establishing a clear vision A strong vision serves as a guiding light through the thousands of decisions a company must make. Startups that scale successfully have a clear and ambitious purpose that informs their strategy from day one. For example, at Canva, weve aimed to make our product accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world. And while this seemed massively aspirational at our founding, it’s helped us avoid complacency, and feels more realistic as you focus on hitting incremental milestones. In the early days, you wont be able to build a solution for every conceivable challenge. Focusing on your most obvious core audience, or, finding a niche that isnt too restrictivetools for real estate, e-commerce, marketing, etc.can ensure the foundation to support future expansion. Balancing ambition with practicality isnt just a challengeits a necessity. Those who master it pave the way for sustainable, scalable global success. Solve a problem that transcends borders Startups often face resource constraints, making it tempting to prioritize short-term gains over long-term scalability. However, founders must resist the urge to build products solely for their initial market. Instead, they should develop solutions with modularity and adaptability in mind. I believe in focusing on solving a fundamental problemsimplifying graphic design was our strategic focuswhile ensuring that a platform can evolve for different industries, languages, and cultures. As your startup grows, maintaining flexibility becomes even more important. More than 10 years in, my company is still adapting to changing markets, shifting consumer expectations, and emerging trends. Balance focus and flexibility If you are an American startup founder, remember that 95.7% of the worlds population lives outside of the U.S., and many of them may fall into your target customer demographic. Therefore, the ability to refine strategies based on global opportunities is a crucial trait of long-term success. This goes far beyond just translating the interface. It involves integrating local payment methods, content, templates, SEO strategies, and much more. At Canva we refer to a helpful metaphor of cupcakes and icing. The cupcake is our core offering of design and workplace software. The icing is the way we build on top to suit different countries, languages, and industries. The most important thing is that the cupcake is made in a way that it can expand and serve all of these different needs. The power of passion and storytelling A founders passion is contagious. When a team believes in the companys mission, theyll go the extra mile to execute it. But passion alone isnt enoughit must be communicated effectively and proven in actions. Founders should meaningfully lift the hood on their own motivations as often as is appropriate, whether it’s the inspiration behind the product, the obstacles overcome, or the impact their product has had on customers worldwide. I know from experience that this can be extremely successful in uniting a workforce around a shared mission. This becomes even more critical as a company scales across borders and languages. Consistently telling and refining your story ensures alignment and momentum, especially as new markets open up. A globally resonant narrative makes it easier to expand into different regions while maintaining a strong brand identityand it starts at the top! Integrating emerging technologies Startups that embrace new technologies early gain a competitive edge. Staying ahead means keeping a pulse on industry shifts, making judgement calls as to whether a new technology aligns with your goals, and taking calculated risks. It also means building to adapt, and minimizing reliance on any single model or partner. Find ways to be pluggable with other tools and technologies so you can evolve your tech stack without starting from scratch. In Q3 2024, AI startups accounted for 31% of global venture funding, signaling an industry-wide shift toward automation and intelligent systems. AI is offering an unprecedented opportunity to grow efficiently, without adding costs. Companies that delay integrating these advancements risk falling behind. Regardless of a startups stage, a forward-thinking approach to technology is key to long-term success. Building internationally and for decades to come The most successful startups arent those that expand internationally just because they need to continue to grow sales; theyre the ones that embed a global mindset into their culture, strategy, and vision from the get-go. Founders must recognize that the world is their market, not just their home country. From my native Australia to America and everywhere in between, each market might benefit from a product in different ways. Wise founders will commit to exploring and embracing those differences by building adaptable prducts, crafting a resonant brand story, hiring teams with diverse perspectives, and leveraging technology to stay ahead. In the end, the startups that think globally from the beginning are the ones that dont just react to the futurethey create it, just as Drucker envisioned.
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E-Commerce
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) have just answered a question thats probably occurred to Lego fans for decades: What if I could instantly turn any idea into a Lego set?In a paper titled Generating Physically Stable and Buildable LEGO Designs from Text, published last week, six coauthors lay out an invention theyre calling LegoGPT. This generative AI model can take a text-based prompt, like an acoustic guitar with an hourglass shape, and determine all of the necessary Lego pieces needed to build that structure and how to assemble them. The LegoGPT demo and code is publicly available through the study, meaning that Lego hobbyists are free to try it out at home. Although outputs are currently limited to around 20 categories (including basic items like chairs, guitars, boats, trains, and cars), the researchers are working to expand the models capabilities into more complicated categories. Ultimately, they think a LegoGPT-type tool might serve as the basis for a variety of real-world tasks in architecture and product design.[Image: CMU]How LegoGPT predicts its next blockLegoGPT is a fine-tuned version of Metas LLaMA-3.2-Instruct-1B language learning model, which you can think of as an open source ChatGPT. To teach the model how to make Lego structures, researchers trained it using a database of 47,000 Lego structures and 28,000 unique 3D shapes, each with their own descriptive captions. Based on that vast swath of designs, LegoGPT is able to predict how to build a hypothetical object using only a text prompt.To do that, LegoGPT uses something called an autoregressive model, which is common among the most popular generative AI platforms.[Image: CMU]ChatGPT and Llama are autoregressive models because, given the string of words that theyve already outputted, they want to predict the next word, explains Ava Pun, one of the studys coauthors and a PhD student at CMU. So if you ask, What is the weather, and it predicts The weather today is, then it will try to predict the next word: sunny, rainy, and so on. With Lego GPT, instead of predicting the next word, it wants to predict the next brick.Once LegoGPT has created a 3D model it thinks will work, the LLM needs a way to make sure that the structure will actually be stable. According to Pun, that proved tricky, considering that existing simulators arent trained to understand the physics of a Lego brick. So, the CMU team built their own physics algorithm for LegoGPT to check its work.We developed a customized physics reasoning algorithm that accounts for all the physical forces that the bricks experience: for example, the downward force due to gravity, friction forces, and contact forces from the other bricks that theyre touching, Pun says. The algorithm constructs a force model for the structure and then evaluates the forces over the entire structure. If these physical forces sum to zero, that means the structure will not move around. LegoGPT automatically uses this algorithm to ensure that its found a viable solution. If any of the block its chosen is causing the model to turn out wobbly, the model will continue iterating until it lands on a new version that passes the test.[Image: CMU]A future real-world applicationSo far, researchers have used LegoGPT to create a range of structures, including vintage cars, steamships, and an electric guitar. Currently, the model only works on a 20x20x20 voxel grid, though Pun says the team is already planning on adding more brick types to the models database and expanding the grid resolution.For Lego fans who want to play around at home, the studys demo, available through a public portal, can turn simple prompts into a buildable 3D Lego model and a list of necessary parts. Because LegoGPT isnt made to be Lego-builder-facing, it doesnt produce step-by-step instructions, meaning the main challenge will be figuring out how to arrange the component parts in the right order. Pun says her team used Lego brick assembly to test AIs 3D-building capabilities because of the blocks accessibility. Eventually, though, they believe this concept could be applied to real-world scenarios, like helping architects draft buildings or designing custom furniture from a predefined set of parts. Todays generative AIs cant offer thatyou can generate a cool image or video of a chair, but the model doesnt know how these things can be made in the real world, Pun says. We wanted to address this challenge by integrating physical laws and assembly constraints into generative models and creating objects that function in reality.
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E-Commerce
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