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I'm going to post four discussions...one each Monday over the next month. I hope you'll come along, do the homework and by the end of September you will have a fantastic and FREE book trailer to link on your blog. Even if you don't have a completed novel to work with yet, you can still participate and learn for when the time is right.
LESSON #1 : Know What You Want
There are all kinds of trailers out there. Super short...long and flowy....scary.....thought provoking....
The tone and length of your trailer should match the style of your novel or picture book.
Ask yourself: what kind of story is this? What length of trailer would work best?
Your assignment this week is to watch the following four trailers. They are all very different in tone, style and length.
Decide which appeals to you most and then count the number of frames in each trailer.
That number is what we will start with next Monday.
Here are your homework trailers to watch:
Randy Russell's trailer for his novel Dead Rules (Harper Teen 2011) is a great example of a short trailer (only 22 seconds)...it is also very atmospheric and haunting. Click HERE to see it.
Michelle Davidson Argyle (Lady Glamis)'s trailer for Cinders (August 2010) is a bit longer at 1:11 and she uses some of her own photography/novel cover in it. A very different feel from Randy's but quite suiting to this wonderful story, I think. Click HERE to see it.
Angie Smibert's Momento Nora (Marshall Cavendish 2011) trailer is even more different. It is quick at 41 seconds and uses a lot of group/people images. The music is more upbeat and really gives a different feel. click HERE to see it.
And last is my trailer for With A Name Like Love. It is very different from the three above and by far the longest at over 2 minutes. You can see it HERE.
Now give this some thought. What appeals to you most? About how long do you want your trailer to be? How many frames were in the trailer you most identified with? WRITE THAT NUMBER DOWN FOR NEXT MONDAY'S POST
Oh! And, spread the word! Invite friends to join us! At the end, I'll post links to all your completed trailers and we'll have a rockin' party to celebrate...prizes and all!
Whose jumping in?
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23 comments:
I'm a little nervous but willing to try! Thanks for doing this...I'd be clueless without some direction and think it might be fun to learn along with others :)
Tess, this is fantastic! I'm so excited to see what everyone comes up with. And thanks for posting to my trailer. I'd join in but I've already done trailers for all my WIPs. Of course, I can always do more...or a new one for my new WIP that only has 500 words so far. Somehow I don't think that would go over well. :)
Oh WOW, Tess! This is great, I came by just in time. Looks like I'll be having grandbaby sitting on my lap while try to keep up with this series. Thanks for all your hard work.
I hope your weekend was a good one. And, have a great week.
lucent1: much funner with friends!
Glam: you are one of the people who inspired me to ever make a trailer. thanks for that.
dellgirl: that is a beautiful image...sweet grandbaby on lap. And, I think I'll post the series in the sidebar when I'm done so it'll be there.
That is so awesome Tess! What a great idea. I wish I had a trailer ready to go. Thanks for the advice on trailer making. =)
Tess,
This is so cool! I've only had time to look at yours, and I've seen Michelle's before. I will check out the other ones, and I can't wait to learn how to make one myself.
Can't wait to check out all four trailers. Genre really affects everything!
Hiya, Tess. Aw thanks for much for using one of the Dead Rules teaser trailers in your discussion. BTW, when I asked M-2 Productions to do one UNDER 30 seconds, they said it was the first time anyone had asked for a trailer that short. I think I'm ADD.
One book trailer I saw referenced on galleycat/ mediabistro recently was the work of an author who hired actresses to read her book on a subway and laugh. The talent fee for each was around $25 and she ended up with a series of them. I thought this was a terrific idea.
Awesome! I'll have to watch these when I get home. Thanks, Tess!
Okay, I will! I've always thought I would never, ever have a trailer, but you know I succumb to most pressures. And this seems like something most authors do. So yeah. I'm in!
Carolyn: someday soon, maybe?
Davin: name change friend? ooo...you're so intriguing ;) And, I'd love to see a trailer on any of your work. That cannibal one especially!
Jill: yes, genre definitely does
Randy: ADD..hahaha. I like the shorter one. I might do another trailer and cut it down. And, love the actress on the subway idea. That's creative.
Tere: Might Evangeline make it into a trailer? I'd love to seeit.
Elana: come over to the dark side... I'll lure you with promises of prizes. Plus, I'm curious about Control Issues and would love to know more about it.
Ahhh! Scary! This is one thing I haven't had the courage to take on yet, so your challenge is perfect for me! I'm IN!
And wow, I love the music in your trailer Tess. I had no idea you were a musician!
I think I like Dave's trailer best as a model for the book I'll probably try to put this together for. All the trailers you shared were really different and interesting.
Thanks for doing this!
Um, excuse me. That would be RANDY. ;)
Ali: Randy's trailer style would totally suit what I know of Desolation. I'm glad you're in!
Alright. Will do. Book trailers are a cool, new idea.
I'm terrified, but I'll give it a go... Thanks for the gentle SHOVE, Tess. :)
all of those sample trailers were very effective. Can't believe how good the one was that was only 22 seconds long. I won't be participating, but this a great idea Tess.
I'm jumping in! Thank you so much for this, Tess! I'm excited to learn how to make a book trailer! : ) And now off to watch the trailers you mentioned!
Mary A: hooray :)
Sharon: haha...it's just for fun anyway. We can make the trailers and then choose what to do with them later, right?
Mary C: I'll keep a posting in the side bar for those who might want to refer back in the future.
Cynthia: I'm so glad!
Well, this is something I've been thinking about for awhile. Maybe this will actually get me to do something about it.
Tess! Whew, made it. I'm diving in.
You know I have one. Am I happy with it? Eh, I loved using Ivy and Cassidy. (Actual real girls that I know and love.) And I thought since it was a trailer, I shouldn't use punctuation. (Yeah, I'm a dummy.) I'm not sure about my music. *Kicks self for not being musical like Tess*
HELP... ;) Off to do my homework.
Alissa: what does Nike say? Just do it! :D
Robyn: absolutely NO musical talent required! There is tons of free and fantastic music out there to choose from. No worries, friend. And, glad you're joining us.
I LOVE Randy's and yours, but hadn't seen these others. Thanks for the links!
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