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It is time for the next step in making your own novel/picture book trailer...you can totally handle this one.
First, bring your homework to the table.
How many frames do you want in your trailer? Remember your homework last week...figuring out that number.
Now, with that number, you are ready to write your script. One simple line for each photo frame.
Make it short...the viewer will only have a second or two to read and process the words.
Make it flow and,
Make it match your story. Be true to what your story is. Find the main thread of story and follow it.
Also, be thinking of images you would like to match to these lines. For example, in my trailer..I knew I wanted the line "a preacher's daughter" with something that might symbolize this like a single flower or piece of lace. Make a note of these images on your script.
The second part of your homework is to hit the following four websites
Sign up for the free membership on the ones required (as noted below) and just get a handle on what the site is. We won't actually be using the sites until next week... but it will be easier if you already know them a little bit.
The websites are:
onetruemedia.com - sign up for the free level of membership. this site is our actual composition site.
morguefile.com - sign up for the free level of membership. this site is an excellent and safe resource for public domain pictures
flickr.com - sign up for the free level of membership. this site also has good public domain pictures, but you need to be careful because not all pics on the site are public domain (in fact, most on this site are not). If you use this site in our next step, you will need to be sure to be using the public pics.
publicdomain4u.com - this is the music site we'll be using.. no sign up required, but you might want to fiddle around. Go to the homepage, scroll half way down to the list of music categories (ex: punk rock, new wave, classical, etc)..click on the category and listen to some music.
keep a list of your new passwords to these sites!
Okay..that's it. Do this and we are half way there....whoopee! Don't quit on me, guys. I'm really excited to see your trailers in a few short weeks.
Questions: Who's still out there? Who new is jumping in? Can you help spread the word? Authors pay real cash for these trailers and we're learning how to do them for FREE....even if you don't use this particular trailer much, the process of learning will come in use someday...I promise!
if you get stuck, feel free to email me at tesshilmo(at)comcast(dot)net
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20 comments:
Off to tweet this, Tess!
I'm worried...but willing! I can do this...I can do this...
thanks for the guidance.
I haven't done any of this. I may have to join in late and see what I can come up with.
thanks, Randy!
Lucent1: oh yes, you can totally do this.
lotusgirl: you have a great, finished novel...you should do this. this is something fun to have for any kind of work we've done...any kind at any level.
Okay, I'm with you! I was simply going to pay someone else to do a trailer for me, because I'm so unsure of my skillz in this area. But I'll go sign up for these places and join you next week. *gulp*
Hi Tess! I just found you so I can't join THIS project but I'm in on any future ones!! This sounds fun! HUGE congrats on your book. Doesn't the wait to publishing feel excruciating?!
Tess, this is so simple and brilliant! I love that you're sharing all this and helping others make good trailers. I'd just emphasize that writers not do a trailer until they are very certain what the heart of their story is. That, to me, is the key to hooking a reader with a trailers.
It sounds so simple.. or you make it sound so simple!
Cool info. I don't think I am ready to do this with my book yet, but I will absorb the info anyway :)
I'm trying to convince my MFA friends to do this with me next summer. I'm holding onto these posts for guidance---thanks!
What about me? Since I already have one. Can I just go in and fix it? Or do you want me to do another? SPEAK TO ME. :)
Elana: no gulp required..this is cake stuff! You have to be organized a little for a second, but it is pretty straightforward. Then, when the big bucks come in, you can pay for a fancy schmancy one
Erin: thanks for visiting..yes, the wait is forever. that statement makes me need to pop over and see how you know that so well...
Glam: excellent points, as always
Michelle: it is!
Tabitha: I understand. Though, I made my trailer pre agent, pre contract. That is almost the best time to make it because you have full creative license.
Anita: yes! convince them :)
Robyn: I'm speaking, friend. You can go in and make changes...you can keep what you want and put in new where you want. But, for this purpose I will be using OneTrueMedia as the compositon site...did you use that site? And, you might want to search pics on MorgueFile..they have some good ones. So, I guess my answer is to first decide what you want to change and then go in and sign up for the sites that will apply to those changes. Why don't you email me if you want to chat out the specifics...tesshilmo(at)comcast(dot)net
I wondered how they did this. Can't wait to make mine when the time comes!!! :O)
Interesting discussion.
If anyone has a moment, I'd really appreciate your views in a book trailers survey we're running here:
http://bit.ly/bXiqbk
No surprise perhaps that 100% (so far) of authors AND publishers think that authors are going to have to do a lot more of their own promotion, and book trailers fall within that.
I think Tess is spot-on helping writers make your own trailers for free. If you can (and I agree that you can), then you should. But I'm also trying to get a handle on what's a fair ballpark price for a professionally-made trailer (that's one of the questions in the survey). And also who should pay - author or publisher! You can guess that authors and publishers have different views on this one :)
This is so sweet of you to do this, Tess! I hope all benefit from it. I confess I love making trailers and other videos set to music. I use Powerpoint to visually put the pictures and text together, then use Videowave (because it's the software I happen to have on hand) to make the trailer. A bit overkill, I know...
Have a lovely night!
Thank you for being so generous in sharing your knowledge. I think your trailer is amazing!
These are great lessons Tess! You are awesome.
I've done zero homework, and I guarantee I'll do zero homework on the next two installments, but I am learning so much from this series and have it bookmarked for when I want to make a book trailer. Thank you so much for sharing all this!
I'm going to give it a try when I'm snowed in this winter...
alright...some working now, some saving the info for later...all good stuff. thanks for following along :)
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