What Makes A Good Book Trailer

What Makes a Good Book Trailer?

Good book trailers should include the following:  Title and author of book  Image of the book cover  Details/summary of story—keep it simple, DO NOT include paragraphs  Possibly an important quote from book  Hook at the end of the trailer to attract readers, but DO NOT give away the ending  Music/audio, should match mood of the story  Video and/or images  Credits that include creator’s name and cites sources for images, quotes, music, etc. Clearly state where each image was found.  Length—2 to 3 minutes long, no more than 3

Steps to Creating a Book Trailer

1. Brainstorm—make a list of words associated with the book—could be places, people, things, emotions, colors, atmosphere, themes—major elements in the story 2. Fill in a storyboard of your trailer. Look at your word association list for ideas. In planning images, think of alternatives in case you can’t find what you originally plan. Remember, when planning text—think captions not paragraphs 3. Gather pictures and/or video. This will take a great deal of time. Create your own or get free ones online by googling “royalty free images.” Or, try these sites below: http://www.dreamstime.com/ http://us.fotolia.com/ http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/ http://www.wikimedia.org/ Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page 4. Upload images and video into Windows Moviemaker or whatever software you are using to create your book trailer. 5. Put the pictures/video in the desired order. 6. Add text and captions. 7. Edit—once you have the basic pictures and text setup, check trailer length, image/font compatibility, check spelling/grammar of text, add transitions and timing, review placement and word choice, etc. 8. Find music to match the length of your movie (or cut to fit). Match your story mood. Create your own or get free music and sound clips by Googling “royalty free music.” Or, try these sites below: http://www.soundsnap.com/ http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/pir/free_music_loops.shtml http://www.brainybetty.com/soundsforpowerpoint.htm http://www.openmusicarchive.org/ http://opsound.org/ http://ccmixter.org/ http://www.neosounds.com/ 9. Final edit—check that you are happy with the results. Tweak anything that needs to be changed.