
There was a big problem with the trailer for Doomsday Mission – how to make it without giving away spoilers?! If a narrating overvoice narrated facts about the story, it seemed impossible not to reveal major developments that had to be kept under wraps. A new concept needed!
I talked it over with Liana, the video whizz who actually creates the trailer –
And the concept we came up with was – no overvoice at all! Screen captions could supply limited information “A Giant Walks the Earth” “A New Threat in the War” “Heaven in Deadly Danger”, but mostly information would be given through unreliable dramatic voices – like the voices of angel observers. They wonder, they suggest, they question, but the don’t actually know the facts.
This is how it ended up, with clear, angel-like voices talking excitedly, jumping in over one another. Actor friends of Liana’s of course!
- PART 1
- “What’s his name?’
- ‘He’s the angel Asmodai’
- ’So beautiful, so clever’
- ’And kind and compassionate’
- ‘I hear he won the Weather Wars for Heaven’
- ‘I hear he fell in love with a mortal woman’
- ‘Oh, who wouldn’t fall in love with him?’
- PART 2
- ‘Is it true he’s been visiting the angel Miriael?’
- ‘The one who fell to Earth?’
- ‘She doesn’t deserve him!’
- ‘Why would he come down from Heaven for her?’
- PART 3
- ‘Oh!’s of shock and horrified gasps
- ‘What’s that??’
- ‘Who’s that monster?’
- ’That’s Doctor Saniette’ (Male Voice)
- ‘What’s he doing?’
- ‘He’s come across the continent with his secret weapons’ (Male Voice)
- ‘What, taking over?’
- ’They say he’s working on an invasion of Heaven’ (Male Voice)
I think it worked! The voices add excitement and urgency, they explain the visuals we’re looking at, yet they’re not authorities telling us the truth. It’s an unusual thing to do in a trailer, it wasn’t necessary for the Ferren and the Angel trailer – but here, a mini-playlet solved all the problems.

I did a lot of hunting for visuals and sound effects, Liana selected what she thought would work best – then worked her magic to create special effects over and above the plan. I still don’t know how she did that shaft of light shooting down to the sea at the start, or how she managed to get those wings circling over the map of the continents!
But those wings are a key continuity device. The first half of the trailer is all about Asmodai, the second half is all about Doctor Saniette – the two obvious events in the novel to work with. We had the image of Asmodai from Elena Betti’s cover –

and some images of giant figures suitable for the Doctor (although Liana had to remove the strange smokestack headgear from this one!)

The Asmodai narrative and the Doctor Saniette narrative combine in the novel, but not in a way we could explain without spoilers. So we had to create a visual continuity – well, I suggested, but Liana made it happen. Asmodai’s wings turn into a pair of white wings circling over a map of the globe and coming in to land near the Bankstown Camp – which all fits with what the voices are saying. But the Bankstown Camp is also the place where Doctor Saniette marches in to take over – so there’s a sudden interruption, a mighty thump of footsteps, and the disembodied angelic voices are startled by this giant newcomer.
If you wanted to be literal, Doctor Saniette actually marches into the Bankstown Camp before Asmodai comes visiting Miriael in the novel – but who’s checking? A bit of poetic licence!
Here’s Liana’s first shooting script (first of many) –

And here’s the link to the full trailer again –
