Now that you’ve written the book, got your artist working on the cover, you want to create a book trailer. Rather than go into the “why” part, I’m just going to dive right in.
A book trailer ought to entice your audience to read your
book. Much like a movie trailer, you want to focus only on the main characters
and plot.
Watch Movie Trailers
Although there are a few good book trailers out there, movie
trailers still do a better job of enticing people into theatres. And since your
aim is to hook readers to buy your book, this is one place to start. Go to your
favorite movie trailers website (I use http://trailers.apple.com/)
and start watching trailers to stories similar to yours or that have similar
themes. While you’re watching them, look for how text is presented or words
were used, jot down a few notes as you go (remember, you can always stop or
repeated video as you go). Afterwards,
make a list of movies you love and watch their trailers (you can Google the
movie title and find the trailer that way). Again, jot down what you liked most
from that trailer. While you’re doing all of this, keep your skill set in mind.
Don’t expect to do feature film if you’re not even familiar with PowerPoint. If
you like specific special effects, you will most likely find a how-to on the
web if you take the time to search for it. I mostly used Video Copilot’s
tutorials for most of my effects. Since
I am writing this for individuals with experience in After Effects or similar
software, I won’t go into what you need to learn as it has a very high learning
curve. As I’ve mentioned before, I suggest you head over to Andrew Kramer’s
website here to learn more if you are
interested.
Warning: Do not be tempted to start buying images yet! First
work out the script, then buy the images. Otherwise you will waste money on
images, sounds or movie segments you won’t use. In a later post I will tell you where to find images at a reasonable price, along with music, audio and video segments.
1. Dialogue or Twists
It helps to narrow down pieces of dialogue or twists in the
story that can either be added as text, sound bites and/or images during the
trailer.
2. In The Beginning…
How do you want to begin your trailer? This is the
introduction to the story. Did you want to start off with a question, a phrase,
quote, or maybe a thought-provoking image that swells with a chord of music? You’re
setting things up, so you want to make sure to show the audience the subject of
the story. I struggled with this, so I watched a few trailers and found the one
that I really liked, I Am Number Four.
3. Hit Them Where It Counts
The middle of your trailer should consist of narrative
(either text or audio*) that tells the audience was is going to happen. It
would be the “what is” part of the Duarte formula, with you working up towards
the “would could be.” Use images, text and music to build tension towards the
big finale. Remember, this is a teaser to hook the audience. So use enough
information to whet their appetite without giving everything away.
*You can add audio narratives with Sonokinetic’s TrailerVoice. My
next trailer for By Virtues’ Design will include it.
4. End With A Bang
Some have suggested ending your trailer with a cliff hanger,
with everything else leading up to that cliffhanger. I’ve done something similar
with The Shaman’s Beacon. The theme of your story should give you some
inspiration. The music at this point ought to end with a dramatic end (a
drum-hit or crash or even heart beat or flat-line sound).
5. Where and When To Buy
Make sure to put a few seconds (10 ought to be enough) to
display where to purchase the book. It should include a website as well. When
you are ready to upload the video to YouTube of Vimeo, you can add URLs to the description
as well.
6. Storyboard the Trailer
There are plenty of templates out there to help you
storyboard your script. I created my own with 3x5 cards with a simple concept
and related phrase. I then taped it to my hallway wall, which got no lack of commentary
from my peanut gallery loving family. You don’t have to tape it to a wall, but
I prefer to see it in quasi action. Hence the wall. Plus, it’s easier to
picture the movie if its spread all before you.
Be prepared to write, rewrite, and get stuck. It took me
forever to do my trailer because I was doing everything from scratch, including
the special effects. I now buy my templates from Videohive.
This lets me focus on the script and less on the special effects.
Optional: Splash
I added a splash to the beginning of my video for Red Sage
Publishing, along with an introduction to the author. You don’t have to have
this, but I did it as a courtesy to Red Sage Publishing.
On my next installment, I'll go over the Storyboard process, how to conceptualize an idea into a graphic, text or music.
On my next installment, I'll go over the Storyboard process, how to conceptualize an idea into a graphic, text or music.
Other Resources on Book Trailers
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