Yesterday I wanted to share my new book trailer for Dark Companion, but my blog didn't wanna upload it. Anyway, here it is. Just FYI, my character Jane is mixed race and describes herself as having skin that's "an indifferent tannish." But Lucian's also supposed to be a big athletic blond dude, so make of that what you will.
Publishers contract out most of their book trailers and so they're all slide shows with stock photos, a little text, and non-royalty music. The stock photos may or may not look anything like the characters. Bestselling authors might get a video of higher quality, like this one for Paolo Bacigalupi's The Drowned Cities.
Personally, I prefer fan-made trailers, which can be anything from live-action performance to clip compilations. The fan-made trailers are labors of love, and great care is taken in making the video accurate to the story, and the music accurate to the mood. Here are a few fan trailers that I found for popular books. See what I mean about the passion of the video makers? (The action of this vid for Patricia Brigg's Mercy Thompson series starts at about :33}
Would I ever buy a book because of a trailer? No, but I enjoy watching them.
GRATUITOUS VIDEOS OF THE DAY
And now for a little Friday fun with wrong, bad men!
Here's your Richard Armitage treat! Have a great weekend!
14 comments:
I'm in blogging mode today, so I'll share your trailer on Suburban Vampire a little later this afternoon, Marta! I don't usually buy books based on trailers either, but I love seeing how different publishers/authors approach them. They're fun to watch.
Hi, Cat! Most book trailers are produced by the same company, which is why they all look the same. I've seen some fun author produced vids, and I especially like Mario Acevedo's hilarious Lego stop-motion vampire trailers.
I've seen Mario's Lego trailers. They're highly entertaining!
I don't think Amulet Books creates trailers for authors, but I have some ideas up my sleeve for mine...
Cat, I bet you can make a fab one for your YA gothic. You know, this would be a good venture for some tech savvy person because right now the choices are limited.
I'm surprised more book-trailer-producing companies aren't showing up. It would be a great opportunity, as you said.
I just shared your trailer at a new post: http://suburbanvampire.blogspot.com/2012/05/ya-gothic-fiction-update-new-trailer.html. I'm already planning to buy DARK COMPANION, so I don't need to be swayed by a trailer, but I'm more than happy to help spread the word about the novel.
Well, Circle of Seven quite famously trademarked "book trailer" years ago. And I'm okay to trademark, "Oh, pulleeze."
Thanks for posting the trailer! And isn't that book cover gorgeous?
Geez--the things people will trademark these days! I didn't realize that about Circle of Seven.
I'm glad you liked the SPLINTERED cover. A.G. Howard is another Amulet Books author. I'm not sure if I'll get the same designer she has, but I'm dying to know what they'll come up with for my book. I'm about to go into line edits, so I'm guessing I'll start hearing tidbits of info soon.
Hi, Cat, I had terrible cover karma for my Casa Dracula series and for Nancy's Theory of Style. Some publishers are more attentive about great covers, and Tor asked me before coming up with my current cover. Actually, what I thought would be cool was a teen in a old-timey chemistry classroom, lots of dark wood. I also thought a cottage among birches would be good.
Amulet has some gorgeous covers! I hope you get one.
I remember you talking about your problems with the Casa Dracula covers. A teen in an old-timey chemistry classroom would have been intriguing for DARK COMPANION, but the cover they produced will more than likely catch the eye of fans of paranormal YAs. I love the title lettering they designed.
Thanks for the well wishes for my cover. I've been told by other Amulet authors that the designers read the books, so I'm curious what they'll choose as the main image for the story. Naturally, I'm picturing all sorts of possibilities.
It shows special attention that the designers read your book. You better share the cover art with me so I can post it here! Have a great weekend.
Thanks! I'll definitely share the cover as soon as I'm allowed.
Have a great weekend, too! Nice chatting with you again.
Some awesome trailers here! I agree about boring trailers that all look the same - I had my daughter make mine using Second Life and it turned out really different and interesting. The platform allows you virtual freedom to create just about any scene and character you want.
You can see it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGBH6VtjLSQ&feature=player_embedded
Hmm, the Dark Companion trailer says "the video has been removed by the user." :-(
But I really, REALLY enjoyed the Spooks compilation. Might just have to rewatch "North & South" now ...
Thanks for another great blog post!
Hi, Angela, and thanks for sharing your trailer! I've seen other people use Second Life. Also, can I borrow your daughter sometime!
Hi, Danielle, the video's being redone and I just approved the new narration which is closer to the plot. Let's see how it turns out!
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