Creating Your Own Book Trailer

The moment I responded to a comment about one of my book trailers, I knew I had to follow through and write about how to create your own. So I'm going to put it down recipe style and start with the things you need to make it happen.

Tools:
Movie editing software (Windows Movie Maker WMM, Wax, imovie [I think that's what the Apple version is called]). I list these options, because they are free, easy to use and with a little creativity can give good results.
A picture of your book cover
You may want to include a picture of yourself if you like.
The blurb from the back of your book
Royalty free images and music
Time patience and practice!

I'm just going to imagine that some of us are clueless about computers here and explain the process using WMM. Go to Start > Programs > WMM.

When the program opens you will see at the bottom of the window, a Timeline. At the upper right, a screen. At the upper left a Task panel and in the center, a section where you will be see your images/music that you will be working with. This middle pane can also show the different options offered in Effects/Transitions found under the Edit section of the Task panel.

I would recommend that you start off with playing around with the options so as to get a general idea of what everything does. From the Import section of the Task panel, click on pictures, find the ones you want to use. When you have made your choice (press and hold the Ctrl key to select more than one at a time), they will become visible on your center panel, same for any other media you import. Bear in mind if you are going to use a film clip (say of yourself speaking about your book), WMM only caters for wmv and avi formats. Any other formats will have to be converted. I use the free version of Any Video Converter to do this (Google it).

Click and drag your pictures onto the Timeline, do the same with your audio/music files. You might want to juggle them around a bit, make the duration of a particular picture longer than another, trim down the music etc. Try right-clicking on your files in the Timeline to see other options, like fade in/out. Click on an image that you have dragged into the timeline and select Effects from the Edit section. Have a go at applying each one and seeing how it works, and which is best for to highlight on the story you are trying to tell with that image. Do the same with Transitions.

Like anything it might take a little practice to get things the way you want it, but simple works best. Also bear in mind that a good trailer lasts about 60-90 seconds. You don't want your audience to zone out before you get your message across. Think of the way tv commercials work.

Things to consider:
Copyright. You don't want to shoot yourself in the foot before you even get anywhere. Using a track from 50cent or any other artist without prior (written) permission will get you in trouble.

Use royalty free music and pictures. Images can be found for free using advanced search options on Google. Being that my genre is predominantly sci-fi, bear in mind many of NASA's image stock are under creative commons license (free to use), but do cross check to make absolutely sure.

Most of my images are my own personal photos that I took myself. Even if you don't have much to work with, the fonts used can make your trailer eye catching. Notice in the book trailer for my second novel (Let Sleeping Gods Lie), at times I have used capitals to give the sentence a different visual appeal and break the monotony of it.

I get royalty free music from a site called Incompetech - http://incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free
You are invited to make a donation, but if nothing else the owner of the music Kevin Macleod, appreciates if you give his name a mention or add a link back to his site.
For sounds, like the shots heard at the end of my most LSGL trailer, I go to soungle.com they have hundreds on offer, all free to use.

Its a good idea to watch as many trailers as you can, both for books and movies. Learn from other peoples mistakes, how would you improve on my trailer for example? Too long, okay make yours shorter and snappier. Boring music? Choose something lively, but be sure it compliments your story line.

When choosing music, I try to keep it neutral, I love RnB, but I don't use it on my main trailer. If I really think something fits, I might do a second trailer so it appeals more to the market of readers who would benefit from knowing my book has a soulful vibe to it.

Dress Up

My my, it has been a while! After finally finishing and publishing my second novel 'Let Sleeping Gods Lie', I'm back to having more time to blog and you know, basically rant and chat nonsense about life.

Goodness, where to begin? Hmm, I guess I could start with my most recent achievements - no not the book, I'm referring to other personal milestones. As some of you may (but most likely not) know, it was my birthday last week and well, last year both my cousin and I decided we'd finally delve into the unknown and wear a dress. Okay it might not seem like a big deal to you, but I assure you, this is phenomenally HUGE! The last time I wore a dress was 8 years ago and that was because it was my father's funeral and my mother forbade me to stroll in wearing trousers. Alas, my shoppingitis kicked in something wicked and before I knew it, 365 days had passed without my ever once having ventured into a shop for the purpose of 'getting frilly with it'. So this year I decided I'd try again and got off to an amazing start for how I found myself mesmerized by a frock that more than likely hypnotized me with all its decorative circles, but something came over me and I had to have it. No idea if or when I was actually going to wear it, but for some reason, I needed it in my life. No pause for thought, I bought it and my friend who was on the phone with me at the time sounded as if she might choke, for the shock of hearing me cooing over how pretty it was.

I don't know, maybe the cold had frozen a couple of brain cells, but I brought it home and hung it up in my wardrobe only taking it out to sneak a peek at it once in a while. I bought it in winter and fortunately I hadn't totally lost my mind, my allergy to cold superseded my shoppingitis that had gone AWOL, and thus kept me from wearing it out and freezing my tits off.

New year brings change and I guess the additional 12 months on my age insisted that I should do something different, I would wear my dress. Wow. Dare I say, I actually liked it! The maxi dress is just my style. Short #leavenothingtotheimagination is so not my cup of typhoo, but this I could get used to. So much so, that exactly a week later I found myself traipsing around the mall with my sister shopping for more. Oh I think I just saw a pig fly... If that ain't something to write home about, maybe the fact that not one of them are black (my sister is a professional shopper and tyrant who dissed all my first choices), in fact one of them has big blotches of pink something or other on it.

Okay so yes, when I got home I did crawl into my bed and fall straight to sleep for how much it all took out of me, but wait, there's more! Today I got to feeling all slick and pulled out my wedgie sandals that I have only ever worn twice for how they give me vertigo and cause the balls of my feet to scream blue murder. I managed 2 and a half hours of looking elegant without my face getting all medusa oblongata (long and stoney). I didn't even concede and buy a new pair with which to get me home on my feet and not my hands and knees, AND the 2.5 hours were spent SHOPPING! Yes damn it I would stand up and curtsey if I had any feeling below my ankles, cuz I am alllll dat and a bag of Walkers Sensation crisps (thai sweet chilli flavour)!

Tired as a mofo again, but I will say this; although my life has taken a turn into the controversial and my sanity may be slightly in question. In the words of Alex Jones, for those who think I may now have become a danger to the world - I have absolutely have no intention of killing myself! Just getting a lil more brave and in your face is all ;).