The Morning Watch: What Made Darth Vader Visually Iconic, How Movie Trailers Manipulate You & More

The Morning Watch is a recurring feature that highlights a handful of noteworthy videos from around the web. They could be video essays, fanmade productions, featurettes, short films, hilarious sketches, or just anything that has to do with our favorite movies and TV shows.

In this edition, explore what made the original Star Wars trilogy villain Darth Vader so visually iconic. Plus, find out how the movie trailers you watch every week manipulate you, becoming a successful industry in their own right, and listen as Will Arnett answers the web’s most searched questions about him.

First up, a new video essay from Nerdwriter explores how Star Wars villain Darth Vader became visually iconic despite the fact that he only appears in nearly 34 minutes of the entire original Star Wars trilogy. From the lighting to his silhouette, the visual presentation of Darth Vader seems tailor made to make him stand out, even in the darkness.

Next up, Vice explores the art of crafting movie trailers that are intended to convince you to spend money on a movie ticket. While attendance in movie theaters may be down, the movie trailer industry is enjoying a bit of a golden age. Trailer industry mogul Mark Woollen says that these days, “trailers have become their own form of entertainment” that can be enjoyed “the same way they listen to a song.” Find out more in the full video above.

In conjunction with the release of Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, star Will Arnett participated in Wired‘s auto-complete interview to answer the most searched questions about the actor. Who is related to Will Arnett? Is Will Arnett from Canada? How did Will Arnett get famous? Find out the answers to all those questions and more.

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