Book Trailers.
You either love 'em or hate 'em. At least that seems to be the general consensus.
Book trailers have 'technically' been around since about 2002/2003 and are often associated with YouTube. They're not to be confused with fan trailers, though the two could be similar in design and execution.
The major point I'd like to make in this post is this: a book trailer is not a movie trailer.
While movie trailers already have the video and audio complete and are usually compiled of edited material seamed together, book trailers require much more, depending on how elaborate you want to get. You (as an author and/or video editor) have to convey words into images and sound, and that's where the controversy begins.
Should you show the character's face?
Should you show a scene-by-scene teaser?
Should you include just text or images and text?
Should you shoot for a short, quick, 20-30 second teaser or the longer, more intricate one-minute mark?
I'm usually not a fan of book trailers that show characters' faces, though there are several book trailers I like that do so. Rather than go step-by-step of the likes/dislikes, I'm going to link my favorite book trailers and give reasons as to why I think they're stellar. Everything from homemade to full-out production budget (models, costumes, professional editing, etc) will be included (pending information available online).
CANDOR - Pam Bachorz: Pam made this trailer on her own for only $69.90 (per her blog post here). One of the best lines she uses in her post that sums up the major problem I see in most book trailers is that you're making a marketing piece that leaves people wanting more - you're not writing a book report.
I really love how clean and crisp the photos and text are, but even more so I love how it effectively communicates the hook of the story without going overboard (i.e. sounding like a book report, as demonstrated above). It's under a minute, not cluttered and is a good pace.
MOCKINGJAY - Suzanne Collins: Scholastic made this book trailer, and I love its simplicity. While showing the characters' faces for CANDOR worked well, I don't think it would have worked for the HUNGER GAMES books. Instead, they went the route of manipulating the video so it looks like a live feed, as what the districts witness during the games (if you've yet to read this book, I'd prefer you stop reading my blog now and pick it up).
Instead of relying on heavy graphics/illustrations, they focused more on the mood via transitions, effects and music. Sometimes that's all it takes to grab the audience's attention.
LINGER - Maggie Stiefvater: She's brilliant. Period. Rather than go into everything, step-by-step, I'll just link you to her blog where she discusses the process in three posts. Start at the bottom and work your way up.
Essentially she did a stop-motion animated trailer - but there's more: she created the storyboard, wrote the music, got friends and family to help create the music, shot the stop-motion, etc etc etc.
It literally gives me goosebumps every time I see it.
I love this trailer, because it's an example of thinking outside the box: there are no words. Just mood via music and stop-motion images. It's amazing. She's able to convey a message without words - for an object that's comprised of written words. She was also able to show the characters via silhouettes.
Love it.
Though clearly all three had different budgets and executions, they all accomplished the same goal: they hooked the person watching the book trailer by ensuring the mood was right and the hook was strong.
Post 2 will be up later this week, with more links for trailers made by a professional, an interview, and a final note on pros/cons to making/paying for one. At that time, I'll call for a discussion on your thoughts for the paid-for vs. self-made book trailers.
What are your thoughts on the book trailers above? Are you pro or against showing characters' faces?
~K
You either love 'em or hate 'em. At least that seems to be the general consensus.
Book trailers have 'technically' been around since about 2002/2003 and are often associated with YouTube. They're not to be confused with fan trailers, though the two could be similar in design and execution.
The major point I'd like to make in this post is this: a book trailer is not a movie trailer.
While movie trailers already have the video and audio complete and are usually compiled of edited material seamed together, book trailers require much more, depending on how elaborate you want to get. You (as an author and/or video editor) have to convey words into images and sound, and that's where the controversy begins.
Should you show the character's face?
Should you show a scene-by-scene teaser?
Should you include just text or images and text?
Should you shoot for a short, quick, 20-30 second teaser or the longer, more intricate one-minute mark?
I'm usually not a fan of book trailers that show characters' faces, though there are several book trailers I like that do so. Rather than go step-by-step of the likes/dislikes, I'm going to link my favorite book trailers and give reasons as to why I think they're stellar. Everything from homemade to full-out production budget (models, costumes, professional editing, etc) will be included (pending information available online).CANDOR - Pam Bachorz: Pam made this trailer on her own for only $69.90 (per her blog post here). One of the best lines she uses in her post that sums up the major problem I see in most book trailers is that you're making a marketing piece that leaves people wanting more - you're not writing a book report.
I really love how clean and crisp the photos and text are, but even more so I love how it effectively communicates the hook of the story without going overboard (i.e. sounding like a book report, as demonstrated above). It's under a minute, not cluttered and is a good pace.
MOCKINGJAY - Suzanne Collins: Scholastic made this book trailer, and I love its simplicity. While showing the characters' faces for CANDOR worked well, I don't think it would have worked for the HUNGER GAMES books. Instead, they went the route of manipulating the video so it looks like a live feed, as what the districts witness during the games (if you've yet to read this book, I'd prefer you stop reading my blog now and pick it up).
Instead of relying on heavy graphics/illustrations, they focused more on the mood via transitions, effects and music. Sometimes that's all it takes to grab the audience's attention.
LINGER - Maggie Stiefvater: She's brilliant. Period. Rather than go into everything, step-by-step, I'll just link you to her blog where she discusses the process in three posts. Start at the bottom and work your way up.
Essentially she did a stop-motion animated trailer - but there's more: she created the storyboard, wrote the music, got friends and family to help create the music, shot the stop-motion, etc etc etc.
It literally gives me goosebumps every time I see it.
I love this trailer, because it's an example of thinking outside the box: there are no words. Just mood via music and stop-motion images. It's amazing. She's able to convey a message without words - for an object that's comprised of written words. She was also able to show the characters via silhouettes.
Love it.
Though clearly all three had different budgets and executions, they all accomplished the same goal: they hooked the person watching the book trailer by ensuring the mood was right and the hook was strong.
Post 2 will be up later this week, with more links for trailers made by a professional, an interview, and a final note on pros/cons to making/paying for one. At that time, I'll call for a discussion on your thoughts for the paid-for vs. self-made book trailers.
What are your thoughts on the book trailers above? Are you pro or against showing characters' faces?
~K
