Trend slave that I am, I've decided to join in on the book trailer craze by asking my twelve year old to put one together. I think she did a wonderful job, especially considering she was working with a budget of $0 (some of the fancy ones I've seen must have cost many thousands with impressive graphics, animation, sfx, live action, etc.). She used Windows Movie Maker, public domain photos (except for the cover), and creative commons licensed music.
I'm not convinced that book trailers "work," nor, obviously, that it's a good idea to spend a lot of bucks producing one, but I do place them squarely in the "It couldn't hurt," column.
What do you think about book trailers? Help? Hindrance? Meh? Has a book trailer ever tipped the scales in favor of you buying the book? Let us know in the comments.
6 comments:
I think they can work wonders! My own has had several comments from people saying "makes me want to buy the book" (although whether they actually did is anybody's guess). But in any case, they're no different to bookmarks and, as you say, can't hurt! ...at least with a budget of $0.00, which is what mine cost too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJQvJVAgQdI
And the original, with music from The Village movie, is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD6Lmo9qIaI
Nice job with yours too, Roger! Or rather, nice job Roger's daughter! I think it's a good addition to your arsenal of Dragonfriend stuff. :-)
Thanks, Keith. I liked yours quite a bit and it was one of the reasons I decided to try one for myself.
I'll pass along your compliments to my daughter. Granted, I'm her Dad, but I think she did an awesome job!
I quite enjoy watching them - particularly if I know the author, but they won't pursuade me to buy the book. I'm one of those people who reads the blurb, then the first page, and if I'm hooked at that point I buy it.
Your daughter did a fantastic job! Great choice of music, images, text! She's very talented :)
Thanks, SS! She'll be thrilled to hear your compliments!
I think your daughter did a great job.
I'm on team "it couldn't hurt."
I honestly don't think it has translated into book sales per se, but I do classroom visits and the teachers/kids like watching the trailer, plus it's great publicity when I approach teachers and librarians. It's a nice bonus to have one.
I crated a live-action trailer for about $700 and raised the money entirely on Indie GoGo. But I pulled a lot of favours from friends in the film industry, and I love filmmaking, so it seemed like the logical choice.
http://thewhiteforest.com/2011/05/23/brigitta-of-the-white-forest-book-trailer-launches/
Post a Comment