After I made the book trailer for The Maiden Seer, I went on to make one for Loveweaver, which I felt was more well developed. Since I had a few weeks left on my paid month of Animoto, I decided to create another book trailer for The Maiden Seer.
Using the same format of still slides, I added addition images to further tell the basics of the story. The main thing I wanted to ramp up was the music. After a good deal of searching through websites that ask hundreds of dollars to license a song, I found Melodyloops. $12?! There I also found the perfect score by Jon Wright for my book trailer.
I fully own the fact that the music is dramatic, but the build was what I was after. And because the beats are per second, it made it easier to sync the music to my slides.
I begin and end with my book cover, keep to one font (except for my book title), and don't make you read too much. It's a minute and a half, which is on the long side, but that was to utilize the score.
I make no comments or opinions about the book since I have not read it. What I write is about the trailer only.
This book trailer for the book Jazz Baby by Beem Weeks shows a much more restrained effort from Fresh Ink Group than what I saw in my previous post.
They've apparently got a wide range of special effects, design options and talent at their disposal. But the secret to a successful book trailer is to decide on a theme -a vibe - and stick with it throughout.
With the Jazz Baby trailer they do that. The newspaper on screen with bold headlines and with photos alive with black and white video clips is very clever. It really sets up the story question, and a clear idea of time and place. The jazzy score is kinda perfect.
I make no comments or opinions about the book since I have not read it. What I write is about the trailer only.
The book trailer for Fantasy Patch by Steven Geez is the silliest thing I've seen in a long time. I think it may actually be a joke. Maybe a satire of book trailers?
This thing is all over the place with no theme, countless unrelated images, video clips, goofy special effects, varied fonts, and the dreaded voice-over. Adding so many elements is distracting, rendering this trailer as comical and ineffective.
I still don't know what the book is about, but I did get a good laugh. That is what they were going for, right?
I make no comments or opinions about the book since I have not read it. What I write is about the trailer only.
The video for Taylor Marsh's Below the Beltway is a tidy, near perfect book trailer. Although I don't care for the typeface chosen here, and the font size should have been more consistent, the trailer is put together simply and effectively: The book cover appears at the beginning and end, and the captions introduce the characters, the setting, and the conflict/story question.
The images show us time and place, and the musical score has a seductive vibe. All in about one minute.
I make no comments or opinions about the book since I have not read it. What I write is about the trailer only.
Wow. This book trailer for Happily Never After: As it is Written by TL James is fine for an overly-produced video with a pounding, dramatic score. But what the heck is the book about?
The whole point of a book trailer is to pique interest, to compel the audience to go buy the book. In this case, there's no story question, no indication of who the characters are.
Ah. Perhaps it's all done in fun. It's supposed to be silly. Kind of a parody. I get it now.
It's question I didn't need to ask myself since I have some graphic design know-how, Photoshop, and was able to work my way through the process using Animoto. They've got an easy-to-use platform, nice templates, subtle effects and a large selection of license-free music.
I'm not suggesting I've made my two book trailers with the production level of a professional service. But in deciding between the make-your-own and pay-someone options you'll need to consider two things.
Mostly, you'll need to consider how much it will cost to make your trailer. If you're willing to pay someone, I found two sites online, The Books Machine and Circle of Seven Productions.
Between the two, The Books Machine has the prettier website, and offers other services to both readers and authors. I didn't investigate further on those other services, but looked at what they do for you in terms of a book trailer. Their package comes in currently at $390.
Both sites make great looking (if a bit over-designed for my taste) book trailers.
I've never added it up what I spent to make my trailers. I'll do that now, calculate what I spent to make my book trailer for Loveweaver.
I previously had spent a lot of time at Dreamstime searching for images of my hero, heroine, and background images that I used to make my book cover. Even though the money was already spent, for sake of this calculation, here's the total for those plus two additional images I needed: About $100. For other needs, I did hunted around online for "free" low res images that I could blur or revise for background detail.
I used Animto's trial version online until I got the hang of it and then purchased one month of official use for $42.
So, it cost me just under $150 to make my own trailer. The trailer for The Maiden Seer was done via the same scenario, although, I had already purchased the month of Animoto.
The other thing to consider is do you have the skills and talent to design a trailer yourself? You'll need to search for images that suit you, choose the appropriate music, and create an effective storyboard.
Anyway, what I'm getting at a dozen paragraphs later, is that it's very possible for you to create your own trailer if you want to save some serious cash. It's at least worth going to Animoto to play around and see.
I make no comments or opinions about the book since I have not read it. What I write is about the trailer only.
The book trailer for The Guardian by M. J. Kobernus illustrates both some features I like in book trailers, and some I don't.
First the good news. It's thematically consistent with its images, color palette and fonts. The score is pitch perfect for the subject matter. The creator makes fantastic use of existing Amazon reviews, and in communicating through the captions. We get a cover image in the beginning, and while I like to see a cover image again at the end, we do get the title in bold at the end, and also the author's name in bold on a single slide.
The bad news: I'm not a fan of the special effects of the jiggly credit slide with the ink disintegrating off the page. That in combination with the captions leads me to think this is a documentary on the History Channel about lost ancient civilization rather than fiction.
However, on the whole does it all work in piquing my interest in the book?
I make no comments or opinions about the book since I have not read it. What I write is about the trailer only.
The book trailer for The Treasonous by Rachael Ritchey has the making of my favorite flavor.
The video is book-ended by the cover image with the author's name visible. The video is made up a still images rather than action clips. The score is just right - dark, not overly dramatic.
I don't care for all the vertical images, however, with the black spaces on the sides. One has a find a way to format all the slides horizontally for a seamless flow.
There may be a tad too much to read, but here I quibble. The captions actually do a good job of outlining the plot and in asking the story question.
I make no comments or opinions about the book since I have not read it. What I write is about the trailer only.
This trailer is fun in how it straddles the fine line between creating dramatic suspense and being a parody of a movie trailer.
It is successful, in spite of the "cheese factor" in asking the story question through an array of similarly themed images underpinned by a dark cinematic score. I like how care was taken matching up the effective captions with the music.
My main critique is that the author's name is not easy to find. It's there at the final credits, though I had to pause the video to see it. My advice to those making book trailers is to ALWAYS bookend your video with an image of your cover with your name visible.
Or even have a single slide with the author's name.
I make no comments or opinions about the book since I have not read it. What I write is about the trailer only.
Live action rather than image-based book trailers can certainly work and be effective. This trailer for The Graham Sage by Anna Belfrage is an example where it does work.
The footage of the couple is without dialogue (always wise) and is just out-of-focus enough for us to fill in our own ideas of who these people are. The scenery is evocative and the score is fraught with tension.
The simple captions tell the story well - if maybe including some spoilers - and make us care about what happens to these two.
That's the whole idea of a book trailer, to spark enough of an interest to make us want to read the book(s).
I make no comments or opinions about the book since I have not read it. What I write is about the trailer only.
Listen to me. All of you. Stop with the male baritone voice over. The book trailer for Naupaka Blooming was made silly with it.
Otherwise, I know right away what this book is about. I understand the setting and I know "the story question." The slides are fine and the duration is sufficient to get the information across. Good job showing the book cover at the end of the trailer.
But the "IN A WORLD ..." voice over from movie trailers, which became running joke, has also rendered this book trailer into a near-parody.
I can envision a Hawaiian girl's voice as a first-person narrator, giving the trailer a more direct connection to the book. "We weren't supposed to fall in love. But we did ..."
I make no comments or opinions about the book since I have not read it. What I write is about the trailer only.
Books are about reading. But with videos, not so much.
So, if you're going to make me read a long scroll of text, you'd better be sure it's a clean, easy-to-read typeface, and not in all bold caps. That will just enrage me and compel me to write a snarky review about your book trailer.
Kudos for keeping it at 40 seconds, and I see there's a follow up video, which I won't watch.
The image of your book cover at the end is quite stunning. There. I ended on an up note.
I make no comments or opinions about this book since I have not read it. What I write is about the trailer only.
Here is a sure-fire formula for an effective book trailer:
Start with a three-sentence premise. Also known as "the elevator pitch."
Then, use any great quotes from good reviews in a clean typeface. If you're lucky, the words of the reviewer can describe what your book is about so much better than piecing together a bunch of images or video clips you've purchased from a site like Shutterstock.
Use one background image that sets the tone for your trailer and matches your carefully selected musical score.
Be sure to show your book cover at the end.
Make your video under one minute long.
And there you have it, the book trailer to The Widow by Fiona Barton.
I make no comments or opinions about this book since I have not read it. What I write is about the trailer only.
Although, this book trailer truly makes me want to read it ...
Clocking in at just 40 seconds, the teaser for Whispers by Aram Keledjian does the trick.
Animated script in ink is painted across the pages to create sepia tones and intrigue. The just-the-right-level of dramatic music underscores the text, inviting us to know more, to feel a sense of urgency.
This is a master class in how a book trailer should be done.
I have not read this book, but may in the near future.
It makes a slow start since we first see images related to the author. Once the book-related portion begins, the imagery, captions and music are all quite effective and dramatic.
There seem to be several different covers, including one that includes the author, herself? These may indicate various books in a series? It's not clear to me.
These multiple cover images dilute the potency of the video overall for me, but it does its job.
