Book Trailers

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Parmenion

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http://youtube.com/watch?v=0PvdbSvdJ0o

Have a look at this the book is by Alex Scarrow, one of my top 5 for this year.

He is trying out a viral marketing thing to see what the feed back is and what people think, and may do another one to advertise his next book.

have a look and leave some comments for him

also do you think this type of thing could work for all authors??
 
That's very nicely done. Better by far than the vast majority of book trailers I've seen.

And lately I've seen quite a few, having reason to research the matter. As many here already know, I'm working on something of the sort myself, except that mine is fantasy and it will all be live action. The plan is to have a short version up and running by sometime next week.

To answer your question, I don't know whether these trailer videos will work for all authors, but I'm hoping it can be a helpful tool for new and midlist authors who don't have the same resources for promotion that the big names do.
 
That's quite cool. Shame about the music though - soundtrack to "Where Eagles Dare". Was waiting for Richard Burton to start calling "Broadsword to Danny Boy". However, much better than a written synopsis.

Will you, Teresa, be letting us know where we can view your trailer video?
 
I find the concept a strange one - I mean, when you see a film trailer, you're seeing parts of what you will eventually see in whole. You're sampling the actual thing.

But a video book trailer is surely misleading by its very nature? You can see some of the scenes acted out, but when you read the book you won't be seeing video and actors, you'll be reading a book.

Teresa, I know you have a trailer coming out soon, and I'm not going to put it down just out of principle - I am actually looking forward to seeing it, and I hope you reap the rewards for all the hard work put in :) I'm just not sure I would really connect with video trailers for books.

The Nazi-themed one at the top was ok, but tbh the text did all the explaining/teasing I needed. I would prefer a blurb on the back of the book to this particular video trailer (providing the blurb was done well). This is just me, though :)

EDIT - I've just had a thought - does anyone know of any machinima book trailers? I don't think they would necessarily connect any more with me, but I think they would lend themselves well to fantasy books with lots of characters and battles, cos you wouldn't need a thousand extras. I would be interested to see some.
 
Well, I see it as basically the same thing as the cover art -- only greatly expanded. It gives you a taste of what's in the book, but when you read the actual book what you see in your mind is naturally going to be a little different.

(Actually, considering some cover art I've seen, what the reader sees when reading may be totally different, at least if they're paying attention to the text.)

But of course it's an experiment to see whether these things are effective at all. Just like any other form of promotion, some people will be intrigued enough to pick up the actual book, others won't. The test will be to see how many potential readers will fall into which category.

Very few of the trailers I've seen were good enough to make me want to read the books in question. Most of them were actually pretty boring. Like reading the writing on the back of a book veeeerryy veeeeeerrrry slowly. The Alex Scarrow trailer actually interested me.

I think the main benefit of these trailers might simply be to get the name of the book out there, and to get people talking. The whole word of mouth thing.
 
Aye, I agree. I think if it wants to be like a film trailer (which seems to be the point), then it should follow the rules of film trailers. It needs characters, situations, a hint at plot, a hook etc. Some of these things can be toned down in a teaser trailer, but you have to make up for that with a more dynamic, exciting style.

I think trailers are an artform in themselves, and a lot of the time they are better than the film you were actually going to see in the first place. Perfect example - the Revenge of the Sith teaser that I saw when I got dragged to see Bridget Jones 2 :)
 
That’s one sweet trailer! Great idea for raising awareness of a work, and giving you a taste of the style and tone.

I LOVE film trailers, but they are certainly a tricky art to get right. One thing creators of book and films trails should bare in mind is that sometimes a trailer can give away too much and spoil the best lines, or the crucial plots twists. For example, on at least one occasion I’ve been aware that an apparent character “death” is a trick because I remember a scene from the trailer that hasn’t yet appeared in the movie, and that the “dead” character was in it! Actually took away a large part of the suspense for me. :rolleyes:
 
Well, it piqued my interest and I don't normally go for that genre. So I guess it works
 
That book trailer is interesting: it manages to create a sense of motion out of mostly still images, without live actors. I've been feeling bad about my trailer-in-progress because it lacks actors, comparing it to Teresa's trailer, which makes wonderful use of people acting in costume and makeup and interacting with one another and props against a green screen. But after watching the Nazi-bomb trailer, I have renewed hope for my own.

I wonder if the Nazi-bomb-trailer-maker obtained copyright permission for the still images and for the music?
 
Ok based on some of the feedback Alex Scarrow created a new trailer, would appreciate it if you popped along and left a comment or just some comments on here, all of it is useful so feel free to praise, or critic ...what ever you feel ...just let it out!!:D

cheers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fUqMw4vYb8
 
Parm - I enjoyed your friends trailer - the book definitely looks intriguing - beautiful underwater sequence.

TE - Your trailer looked like it was fun to make - I really enjoyed the flavor the music gave it - It leaves me wondering how the heroes will conquer the Empress - the heroes will win right?
 
Didn't like the remixed version, the music didn't fit the theme at all. It just droned on. There wasn't the same punch as the original.
 
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