For most people, film trailers often provide them with a preview of upcoming films and nothing more, but they serve as a digital canvas for motion pictures to creative people. With the tools at our disposal, it has become easier for anyone to film and create their own original or fan-made trailers or edit official trailers according to how they want. Clark Zhu is an individual who has made a career of editing movie trailers, working with the renowned agency Wild Card Creative Group.
An award-winning editor and proud alumni of the School of Film and TV of Loyola Marymount University, Clark Zhu is one of Hollywood’s most recognized film trailer editors, lending his talents to blockbusters like Black Widow, Venom, West Side Story, and Free Guy to name a few. Clark has won numerous awards, like the Webby Awards, Golden Trailer Awards, and the Promax BDA Awards.
Clark’s awards come from the hard work he puts in, upgrading to the latest technology to improve his craft. He has been using the latest Mac Pro tower with a 21:9 ultra-wide monitor, something he believes helps him edit better. Clark’s programs of choice primarily revolve around Adobe products with Adobe Premiere Pro and occasionally Adobe Audition and Audacity to add filters on the audio clips, keeping things as simple as possible.
As an editor, Clark Zhu strives to have the assets on hand. However, he also takes creative direction from the client, citing their guidance as an important factor in getting the work done. Whether it’s for television or theaters, the direction can include the advertising purpose of the trailer, musical direction, and the type of story the clients want to convey through the trailer.
“My forte in trailer editing is cutting action and my skills in sound design,” said Clark. “I put in a lot of hours crafting what I cut and especially spend a lot of time on making the sound of the trailer and the action beats of the trailer to be perfect.”
The award-winning editor had made a name for himself, creating theatrical movie campaigns with a penchant for blockbusters, action, superhero films, and comedy. Most of Clark’s portfolio consists of movies that blend three genres with his works televised nationally and globally. His work on the film Greyhound earned him two Arts Awards, one from the 2021 Golden Trailer Awards and the other from the 2021 Promax BDA Awards.
Clark Zhu’s passion for trailer editing started over a decade ago when he saw the trailer for one of the biggest blockbusters, The Avengers. “When I was a kid, I remember seeing the teaser for Marvel’s The Avengers and had goosebumps throughout my entire body,” described the award-winning editor. “Since then, I am always invested in how to turn a two-hour movie into two minutes and make the audience go crazy after they see it in that short period of time. That excitement is something that never fades away in me. I think that drive is what motivated me to work as a trailer editor.”
With his career still in front of him, Clark Zhu hopes to see his career transition into a senior editor with a more extensive portfolio that contains some of the biggest and best trailers. “I also want to become a creative director and lead the charge in movie advertising campaigns, not just as the editor,” he shared.
