Archive for the 'News' Category
Trailer wins New Covey Award!
I got the happy news today that the trailer I produced for Martha Powers’ Conspiracy of Silence has won two awards. In the January 2009 New Covey Trailer Awards, Conspiracy of Silence won both the “Most Artistic Trailer” and the “Most Intriguing Trailer” Awards.
Enjoy!
-
- New Covey Trailer Award for the Most Artistic Trailer
-
- New Covey Trailer Award for the Most Intriguing Trailer
Comments are off for this post
Putting your book video online
People ask me all the time where they can put their book videos (aka booktrailers, book trailers, book peeks, book previews, etc.) online. Here’s what I’ve found.
1. YouTube: Definitely post your video here. It’s easy, you’ll pop up in searches, and they provide you with “embed code” so that you can add the video to your web site without actually, well, putting it on your web site. You just cut and paste the code onto your page (or you have your web guru do the cutting and pasting) and — bam! — your trailer is on your web site.
2. Google Video: I’m not a huge fan of Google Video because I haven’t figured out how to crack their quality code. It doesn’t seem to matter how closely I follow the suggested technical specs. The video still looks awful once it’s uploaded. However, it may pop up in search results, and it’s just not that hard to post it there. Why not do it?
3. Other video hosting sites: I’ve experimented with Phanfare and Vimeo. There are more. Upload your video to as many of these sites as you want. None of them are as big as YouTube, but more exposure can’t hurt.
4. Book trailer sites: These seem to have a short life span, so I hesitate to recommend any specific sites. Three that seem to have stuck around for a while are www.previewthebook.com, www.watchthebook.com, and www.book-trailers.net.
I’ll post additional info as I learn it myself. Perhaps over the next year or so, the online book retailers will make it easier to post book videos to their sites.
Working with Mary Alice Monroe
It was a joy and a privilege to do a book trailer for Mary Alice Monroe. She’s a truly lovely person, and she has such an amazing voice! I think from now on I’ll only get her books in the audio version. She recorded the voice-over for the trailer, and I love listening to it.
Swimming Lessons
by Mary Alice Monroe
Book Trailer for Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles
I love the music for this trailer. Apparently other people do, too, because I’ve had the question come up in the comments section on YouTube. It’s one of the “Jingles” that came with iMovie HD (imagine clip art, only sound effects and music). They don’t credit the artist, but it’s called Motocross. Love it!
Leaving Paradise
by Simone Elkeles
Shooting original video footage
In this video, I shot original footage for the first time. Now, I’m not saying I have a career ahead of me as a cinematographer, but I think it turned out well. The only downside is that it will likely make me more ambitious on future projects.
I used the video feature on my digital camera. Turns out good lighting and a steady camera are the two most important elements in beginner filmmaking. Once I had the footage, I used several different effects (exposure, aging, etc.) to create the right mood and — conveniently — mask the quality level of the original footage. If you have any other tips, I’d love to hear them.
Crime & Clutter
by Cyndy Salzmann
Book trailer for Death Angel by Martha Powers
Nothing like a little suspense thriller to focus your attention. I really enjoyed making the trailer for Martha Powers’ Death Angel. You’ll have to let me know if it builds enough suspense and makes you want to buy the book.
Death Angel
by Martha Powers
My First Book Trailer
Just one more reason to love my iMac. Turns out iMovie is the perfect tool for making book trailers (or book previews, or book peeks, or whatever you want to call them…). Check it out:
How to Ruin a Summer Vacation
by Simone Elkeles
