Скачать или смотреть Simply Stylus--Creating A Cinematic Book Trailer on a Budget

Book trailers can be an excellent marketing tool when you make them something people are excited to watch. Here I give you my best tips for creating a cinematic book trailer on an indie budget.

Links:

Website: www.SimplyStylus.com and www.jeannicolerivers.com
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Notes:

a. As I finished up my sophomore novel, Black Water Tales: The Unwanted, I decided that I should take my marketing plan up a notch by creating a book trailer. Great idea, right? Yes, until I began my research by Googling “book trailers”. Talk about disappointment. Most book trailers (the ones not promoting big-budget authors like Stephen King and J.K. Rowling) were packed with stagnant images rolling languidly across the screen, music that failed to capture the sentiment of the story and bad font, but ALL of this was not even the worst part. When I began researching the companies responsible for these projects and their prices, I nearly fell out of my seat. To get little more than a glorified PowerPoint, prices started no less than $500 (and that was on the low side). For trailers, still simple, but with a more cinematic feel, I was looking at thousands, some of them up to $10K, which is ridiculous and completely out of touch with reality when targeting the indie or small press author. But lucky for us, there’s a work around. Because I also have some background in acting, I figured that I could produce my own book trailer on a budget, I did and so can you. Check out my book trailer at the link posted below.
Here are some tips for producing your own cinematic book trailer on a budget.
i. Keep It Simple: A budget-friendly book trailer is simply NOT the place for moon walks, explosions and high-speed car chases, but uncomplicated does not necessarily equate to unimaginative or valueless. You will have to get creative, but creative is your specialty, right? If you have an action book, you may not be able to shoot the woman parachuting out of the plane, but you can film the assassin mounting his weapon about to take out his highly sought-after target.
ii. Find the local film community: It will be a little more difficult if you live in Preston, Idaho, but even in smaller areas, you can find people. There is always a film community, it may not be the exact same kind or size that it is in Hollywood, but that is not important. Look into local film industry meetups or contact acting schools or community theaters, who many times have a database of actors and crew and would be happy to send out your crew call and casting call for free.
a. Most times you must pay your crew, but not necessarily. Everyone is always looking to gain experience. Shooting a horror trailer, you may meet a video editor who has all her own equipment and is willing to work for little to nothing because she’s been wanting to add some horror to her portfolio.
b. Actors are more willing to work for credit and footage. In no way am I encouraging taking advantage of actors; if you have the budget, pay them, but if you are on a super tight budget and you will not be making any direct profit from the book trailer, your actors will likely be willing to participate in exchange for the professional footage for their demo reels.
c. Be up front about your budget (or lack thereof). Let people know that you are paying for everything out of pocket and/or that you are on a shoestring budget.
iii. Get organized
a. Shooting a film, even a super short that will ultimately be made into a book trailer is no small amount of work. By the time you hire cast and crew, you should have an outline of how you want the trailer to look, a script, a budget, etc. The most important roles will be your cinematographer or DP, then your editor, hire them first (many times that is the same person), then other crew if you need them and last, the actors.
iv. Trust Yourself
a. No one knows your book or understands your vision better than you. So what, if you have never directed a book trailer before, ultimately all that you are doing is bringing your work to life and no one will work harder to extract moving, vibrant life from your story.
By no stretch of the imagination am I saying that my book trailer is the best one out there, but what is key is that it is an authentic reflection of my work and within my financial plan. For a professional cinematographer, actors, editing, the little stock footage (images, sound, etc.) that I did use, I spent approximately the same amount for cinema graphic video that I would have paid a company for one of those slow-moving slideshows (approx. $600). By producing my own trailer, I got a product that I am proud to put my name on and I could not ask for much more.