Jun 2, 2010

Book trailers

Reading: Desire Untamed, Pamela Palmer
Watching: Masterchef
Listening to: no one in particular
Making me smile: Working on a new story!!

I have been doing a lot of research into trailers lately for a workshop. I love them. They are mini movies and if done well, can give a bit of an insight into the books potential story. But I have seen some shockers too – drawn out, long, take so long to get to the point. Those ones not only bore me so that I can’t watch to the end – but they kind of turn me off the book too.

The first one that really caught my eye was the one for Erica Hayes's Shadowfae.


It had great music, great images and told a great story in minuture. It set the tone of the book for me. It made me want to go out and buy it. The other day Jess Anastasi sent me one for Sherrilyn Kenyon's League series.




It is really good - really professional - very slick. But is it really any more effective than Erica's low budget version? Not to me.

And while we are here - let's look at one of our own. Mel Teshco's HER DARK LORD trailer which I love.



Again - effective uses of images and music. It tells a story - one that intrigues me. I have read HER DARK LORD and it was brilliant.

So what do you think of Trailers - do you like them, hate them or are indifferent? Do they influence you in at least taking asecond look at a book or they have no impact at all?

11 comments:

  1. Hey Tracie,

    I'm not particularly techie-minded, so book trailers are only things I go look at if a friend has one or it's pointed out to me. But I love the concept and I'll be really interested in what other people think.

    Thanks for posting these for me to watch (I said I only see them when someone points them out, lol).

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  2. Thanks for posting these, Tracie! Like Rachel, I never look at book trailers -- but I think I should start paying more attention to them!

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  3. I love Tessa Dare's book trailer - it's on her website. First she explains she doesn't have a big budget and is using her iphone, macbook and her children's toys. I found it cute. I also liked the book.

    Laine

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  4. Rachel and Emily - I am looking at them a lot lately for the workshop I'm doing for the conference with Vanessa Barneveld.

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  5. Laine,
    I love Tessa's trailer - and I definately want to use it in the workshop.

    Sorry - I posted the last post as the other me.

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  6. Thanks for posting Tracie!! Sherrilyn Kenyon's looks like a movie clip, awesome =)

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  7. I'm a bit of techno-dunce so I tend to wait until someone points a trailer out to me too, Tracie! I enjoyed the one's you've posted and also the Tessa Dare one that Laine mentioned! But I confess that I don't go looking for trailers to see if I might be interested in a book.

    That conference workshop should be a heap of fun with you and Vanessa! She's made some terrific trailers for Anna Campbell's books!

    A well-made trailer is great but I can see that a poorly-thought-out one could be quite detrimental to a book's prospects. Trailers for books might be something that really takes off over the next few years, do you think?

    :)
    Sharon

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  8. Or perhaps it's already taken off and I'm just catching a coat-tail! LOL

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  9. Sharon - they are starting to take off. I have started thinking about trailers in a different way since I started making them.

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  10. Mel - you are welcome - you make a great trailer.

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  11. I agree that some book trailers can be so long & drawn out - & tell too much of the story instead of showing. I do love all the three clips above. It has to work together as whole - the music, the images, the blurbs.

    Oh and there was a big production one of Acheron that I saw when the book was released. Very movie stylised which suited it.

    (BTW - sorry I'm late)

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