Book Trailer Skillz
I’ve always been envious of the authors who have the budget to get cool book trailers made. But as a graphic designer, I also kept having the delusion that I could TOTALLY do something like that myself! Of course, once you delve into anything film-related, you will realize that it’s harder than it looks.
The Problems
The first problem, and hands down the hardest part, is having an idea of what you want to do. Without a script, a book trailer doesn’t get very far. But OK, I came up with scripts, and then discovered the second problem. How to turn still images into a video? I came up with some good options, but I think they amount to cool slideshows—still images with text—and I wanted more. I wanted video! However, I either can’t film what I want (it’s very difficult to find dragons in real life) or I can’t find stock footage I want, or I can find the footage, but it’s ridiculously expensive.
Cool Slideshow Style Trailer
The Solution
Movement! What makes a video interesting is that it moves. But how to make movement when most of my assets were static? This year, I did some work in Premier Pro and Adobe Express for the day job, and I started to hone in on some specific skills I thought would help my book trailer game.
The first was, of course, use more film footage. There are loads of cool stock clips available for purchase so I bit the bullet and bought a few. I tried to pick ones that could be used in multiple videos per book, so I would get more use per purchase.
Fix #1: Pre-plan videos to maximize asset purchases
Adding Filters & Effects
We’re all pretty familiar with filters on our phones, but some apps and software will also add additional effects. I purchased an app for my phone that easily adds smoke, glitter, glows, sunbeam lines or other effects to a still photo. This allowed me to add movement to a photo, export the clip and then mix it into my other clips for a final video.
Using Adobe Express I was able to stitch all the clips together, add transitions between each segment, and add text to the final video. The draw back was moving between platforms. It took a fair amount of time to gather everything, and move files from the phone to the desktop.
Fix #2: Special effects on top of still image
Effects & Filters Mixed With Video Footage
Ken Burns Effect
The second way I added movement to still imagery was to learn the Ken Burns Effect. Yes, that’s really what it’s called and yes, I also laughed. It’s video editing technique that applies slow panning and zooming movements to static still images and it’s named after the acclaimed American documentary filmmaker, Ken Burns. It adds movement and allows me to guide the viewer’s eye and tell a story with otherwise static visuals. This was a great technique because it allowed me to switch between horizontal and vertical formats more easily and not have to lose out on a perfect photo since I could now pan across a photo even a narrow vertical format.
You can see it deployed here in this book trailer. You will also see the use of green screen and a few other effects mixed in as well.
Fix #3: Move the camera across a still image
Green Screen
A green screen is a solid-colored backdrop used in video and photography production to isolate subjects. During editing, software digitally removes the green color allowing another image or video to show in those empty spots.
And this is the skill that makes me feel the most film-makery. There are lots of green screen animations available to purchase (and a few for free), and being able to add them to an existing clip makes it easier to create something really custom. Like in this instance I made a DRAGON fly in Hawaii!
Fix #4: Use green screen to get very specific footage
Well, what do you think? Did my hard work pay off and do book trailers work on you? Do you find yourself more likely to click on a video for a book then a still image and text?
Buy the Books
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Bethany Maines is an award-winning author of mysteries and romance. Bethany brings a fierce sense of adventure—and humor—to everything she does from world travel for the snacks to Cerberus cosplay and baking for the plot. When she’s not wrangling a daughter, a deadline, or a spreadsheet of character arcs, she’s usually found teaching karate or working on her next novel / screenplay. But whatever the problem she’s got a plot—and a spreadsheet—for it. A member of the Mystery Writers of America Northwest Chapter, a member of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association, and the co-runner of The Stiletto Gang blog, Bethany writes under the names Bethany Maines and Sirena Corbeau. You can find her at: bethanymaines.com or catch up with her on Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.
Learn more about the Stiletto Gang: Books
Congrats on putting together such a great trailer. Being honest, book trailers don’t catch my attention. I’d rather see a book and blurb or a review with a book cover. Sometimes a single reel will catch my attention but following an entire trailer feels like I am wasting my time when a quick perusal of the blurb gives me a better feeling if I want to read the book.
Heh. And that is why I also hate the “Praise For” back cover of a book jacket. Where is the blurb? Just give me the dang blurb! I don’t think any book trailer is a standalone piece. It should include a blurb in the associated post for exactly that reason!
Nice work, Bethany! I made a couple of book trailers years ago for Love, Lies and a Double Shot of Deception and Assault with A Deadly Glue Gun. Haven’t made any since, but you may have lit a fire under me. Or maybe that was one of your dragons getting too close?
Nice and short, and eye-catching.
Thanks for sharing your process. The videos are wonderfully intriguing.
In all honesty, a video is the last thing I want. Not too fond of reviews on the cover of a book either. Give me a cover and blurb about the book. Bless you for jumping in and learning how to do them!
Wowza! Bookmarking this one (and sharing it). Not sure if I have the patience to create one but…you never know!
I remember watching the final (very dramatic) conclusion to Sons of Anarchy, and then saw how it was filmed with the green screen. Fascinating stuff.
Thanks for sharing your hard work.