Trailer Geeks and Teaser Gods Podcast Por SCAN Media LLC arte de portada

Trailer Geeks and Teaser Gods

Trailer Geeks and Teaser Gods

De: SCAN Media LLC
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Trailer Geeks and Teaser Gods... the podcast that honors the art of making movie trailers, teasers, key art, and all the strategic content that launched the movies, TV shows, and games you love. Arte
Episodios
  • Lauren Zoller, Lead Editor at X/AV

    Lauren Zoller, Lead Editor at X/AV
    Mar 11 2026
    What does it sound like when a trailer editor thinks in rhythm, builds in silence, and treats every scene break like a musical beat? Lead editor Lauren Zoller of X/AV traces her path from a Chapman BFA to a Lionsgate internship, through Ignition (where she shadowed some of the greats) and nearly nine years at Mocean before landing at X/AV in 2021. She's become one of the most versatile editors in streaming, cutting The Punisher and Tulsa King alongside Peaky Blinders, DTF: St. Louis, and Poker Face — sometimes in the same week. The conversation digs into the sound design on the Peaky Blinders: The Mortal Man teaser, how a Crystal Method track set the structural DNA of the DTF trailer, and why a prominent commercial song changes how she shapes a piece. Lauren also talks about the industry's culture shift, mentorship in a remote-work world, and her role on the Soapbox advisory board. Key Takeaways Editing Is Solving a Puzzle Without the Picture Assembling pieces into a story without a finished image to guide you — it's what drew Lauren to the craft over directing or writing, and it still drives how she approaches every project. Rhythm Is Felt Before It's Measured Growing up playing drums gave Lauren a timing instinct that lives in her body as much as on the timeline. On the Peaky teaser, quiet and loud sections landed within four to six frames of each other in length — not because she mathd it out, but because she could feel it. Sound Design Is Storytelling Reverb, silence, a spinning coin — every sound element in the Peaky teaser was a narrative choice. On-camera dialogue got less reverb because that's the character's present-tense reality. Off-screen thoughts got more, because we're inside his head. Range Is Developed, Not Given Lauren's versatility is something she built at X/AV out of necessity. At larger shops, editors sometimes get typecast. At a smaller shop, you have to be able to do it all — and she's found she loves it. Soft Skills Are the Core of the Job The most durable skill in this industry is adaptive problem-solving: understanding what someone's asking for when the words don't quite match, being easy to work with under pressure, and knowing when to kill your darlings. Notable Quotes "It's like solving a puzzle without the picture." "We contain multitudes." "You can still do really good work and not get yelled at." "I just wanna keep making cool shit." Connect Lauren Zoller — www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-mckeithan-zoller-3b020016/Corey Nathan — @coreysnathan on all platforms Our Sponsors Meza Wealth Management — mezawealth.comThe Golden Trailer Awards — goldentrailer.com Join the Community Like what you hear? Leave us a rating and review!Connect with Corey on all platforms @coreysnathanSubscribe for new episodes every week and keep up with the world's best trailer creatives!
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    1 h y 20 m
  • Eric Ladd on Brining Bleeding Edge Design to Hollywood's Trailer Industry

    Eric Ladd on Brining Bleeding Edge Design to Hollywood's Trailer Industry
    Feb 25 2026
    What happens when a technology-minded New Yorker stumbles into Hollywood and ends up reshaping how the industry makes trailers, title sequences, and motion graphics for the next three decades? This week, Eric Ladd joins the show to talk about his winding path from floppy disk drives and Bank of America to running Novocom, building Pittard Sullivan into a global powerhouse, and founding Picture Mill, one of the most influential design and motion graphics companies in entertainment marketing history. Now he's doing it again with Ignite XR, creating AR and social content tools contracted by TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram. Along the way, the conversation covers how Picture Mill got its name (in a single impulsive moment at a lunch meeting), the deal that fell apart and sent half of Pittard's leadership out the door to start their own companies, and how Eric pioneered digital before the industry even had a name for it. He also shares what it was like to shoot the Mandalay tiger in Hawaii, fly to Edwards Air Force Base with a first-time solo pilot to blow up a quarter-scale hotel, and pitch George Lucas on a Star Wars re-release trailer using a clip of Apocalypse Now on VHS. Key Takeaways Confidence Is a Skill Before leaving Pittard, Eric had already grown Novocom from two people to sixty. That track record gave him the credibility to walk into Aspect Ratio's Citrus lunch meeting with an $8.5M business plan he'd written in two hours — and walk out with a credit line and the name Picture Mill. The People You Work With Are the Real Portfolio When asked about favorite campaigns, Eric sidestepped the question entirely: "I have favorite people." The relationships formed in those early years, including editors, designers, producers, directors, are what he actually carries forward. Know When to Leave, and Who Should Replace You At Pittard, Eric not only knew when his time was up, he named Anne Epstein as the person who should take the job. Succession thinking and generosity with credit have been constants throughout his career. Bleeding Edge Requires a Tolerance for Uncertainty Whether it was scanning and comping an entire Spike Lee trailer in the early days of digital, pioneering AR filters on Snapchat before the platforms knew what to do with them, or landing a contract with ByteDance by simply delivering a working product without being asked, Eric's approach has always been to figure it out first and explain it later. AI Is a Tool, Not a Threat... If You Have Ideas The conversation about AI cuts to the heart of what this show is about. Eric's view: "It all comes down to ideas." AI can execute, but someone still has to direct it. The people who will struggle are those who were already functioning as tools themselves. Notable Quotes "I went over there at five o'clock and Ed and I were there till ten. We just clicked." "I said, 'You can't afford me.' He said, 'How much do you want?' Six months later my paycheck just went WHOOSH." "When we came back from lunch, we'd hired every one of those people in the waiting room." "It all comes down to ideas. AI can give you ideas, but it lacks what humans can do with them." "A lot of being successful has to do with wherewithal. If you can hang in there long enough, you can be successful doing anything." "When we're gone, those stories are gonna be gone with us." "Not anymore. They're on the record!" Connect Eric Ladd — ignitexr.comCorey Nathan — @coreysnathan on all platforms Our Sponsors Meza Wealth Management – mezawealth.com The Golden Trailer Awards – goldentrailer.com Join the Community Like what you hear? Leave us a rating and review!Connect with Corey on all platforms @coreysnathanSubscribe for new episodes every week and keep up with the world's best trailer creatives!
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    1 h y 10 m
  • Kazadi Katambwa on From Runner to Hollywood Creative Executive

    Kazadi Katambwa on From Runner to Hollywood Creative Executive
    Feb 11 2026

    What does it take to break into the trailer business, survive the agency grind, and help shape campaigns for some of the biggest films of the last two decades?

    This week on Trailer Geeks and Teaser Gods, we sit down with Creative Director, Producer and Creative Executive Kazadi Katambwa to discuss craft, career, and creative instinct. Kazadi walks through his journey from film-loving college student in the Midwest to runner at Wiser Post, to assistant editor at Intralink, and eventually to cutting and producing major theatrical campaigns for films like The Dark Knight, Inception, Dunkirk, Mad Max: Fury Road, and many more.

    Along the way, the conversation explores the realities of Hollywood career paths, the importance of mentorship, and the delicate art of marketing great movies without getting in their way. Kazadi shares behind-the-scenes stories about working with Christopher Nolan, the challenge of distilling high-concept films into thirty seconds, and the creative leap from editor to producer to studio executive.

    From humble beginnings with a Thomas Guide in the passenger seat to shaping global campaigns at Amazon Studios, this episode is packed with insight, humor, and hard-earned wisdom for anyone who loves trailers or dreams of making them.

    Key Takeaways

    From Runner to Creative Voice
    Kazadi reflects on starting at the very bottom of post-production and learning the craft by watching great editors work. Patience, curiosity, and a willingness to say yes opened doors that formal plans never could.

    Reverse Engineering Great Trailers
    Early on, Kazadi studied timelines and cuts to understand how trailers were built. That hands-on education became the foundation of his editorial instincts.

    Working on The Dark Knight and Inception
    Marketing films of that caliber brought unique pressures. Great movies can be harder to market because the campaign must rise to the same level of excellence.

    Quiet Can Be Louder Than Loud
    On campaigns like Dunkirk, restraint and confidence became creative tools. Sometimes a simple heartbeat and the right image communicate more than any barrage of sound.

    The Power of Relationships
    Career moves from Intralink to Seismic to Buddha Jones happened through trust and collaboration. In trailer marketing, reputation and relationships remain everything.

    Evolving From Editor to Executive
    Moving from the editing chair to creative leadership required a new mindset. Protecting the creative while guiding teams became the next chapter of the journey.

    Understanding Filmmakers
    Working with directors like Christopher Nolan reinforced a crucial lesson. Great campaigns respect the filmmaker's vision and find ways to amplify it rather than replace it.

    Notable Quotes

    "Sometimes marketing a bad movie is hard. But marketing a great movie can be even harder."

    "Loud is not always the best thing. Quiet can be just as powerful."

    "Study the timeline. That's where the education really happens."

    "The best trailers feel confident. You can sense when a campaign is trying too hard."

    "Relationships are what move careers forward in this town."

    Connect

    • Kazadi Katambwa – linkedin.com/in/kazadi-katambwa-819921123

    • Corey Nathan – @coreysnathan on all platforms

    Our Sponsors

    • Meza Wealth Management – mezawealth.com

    • The Golden Trailer Awards – goldentrailer.com

    Join the Community
    • Like what you hear? Leave us a rating and review!
    • Connect with Corey on all platforms @coreysnathan
    • Subscribe for new episodes every week and keep up with the world's best trailer creatives!
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    1 h y 28 m
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