I’ve always
been intrigued by the idea of doing a book trailer, but had decided it was
something for “the future.” They either
required thousands of dollars to hire a professional to produce it or a graphics/technological
dexterity I didn’t posses in order to do it myself.
However, a last year, as part of a family book club, we read “The One and Only,” by Emily Giffin and as is my way, after finishing, went in search of more information about the book and author, which is when I stumbled across the very simple trailer for the book:
However, a last year, as part of a family book club, we read “The One and Only,” by Emily Giffin and as is my way, after finishing, went in search of more information about the book and author, which is when I stumbled across the very simple trailer for the book:
This was a
revelation: No actors! No location shoots! No storyline! It was short!
After
watching the above, I was emboldened enough to believe that maybe I COULD come
up with something cost-effective and not too terribly complicated. After poking around on the Internet
(seriously . . . what DID we do before the Web??) I saw a few tutorials on how
to use PowerPoint to create book trailers and gave it a whirl (there are lots
of other video programs out there that are far superior to PowerPoint, but
frankly, I’m not that ambitious or artistic, so PowerPoint it would be).
My PowerPoint
skills have always been rudimentary at best, but I was able to cobble together
something halfway decent before going in search of royalty-free music, which
proved to the biggest challenge. Some
sites charged upwards of $50 for two minutes of music (about only 30 seconds of
which I’d even be using. Definitely
couldn’t justify that expense.)
And then I
stumbled upon Animoto (cue the singing
choir), a program that lets you turn photos, text and video clips into rich
videos.
This was yet
another revelation: It was easy! It was fun!
I’m almost
embarrassed to say just how much of a blast I had exploring the different
styles and concepts Animoto offered as I developed my book trailer – not to
mention how fast and painless it was.
However, I
still had the music conundrum, as what Animoto offered at my price point (Read:
FREE) wasn’t quite right.
And yet
another stumble, this time into JewelBeat,
which offers a vast library of royalty-free music to choose from for
$2.99. Two dollars. Ninety-nine cents.
I fell in
love.
In no time,
I found the perfect music for my trailer.
I was so enthralled by the process, I quickly created another one for my
next book (stay tuned!). And another one!
For now,
here are the fruits of my labor:
A few tips:
-
Animoto
offers a few different pricing plans. I
used the free option, which allows you to create a 30-second video. Anything over 30 seconds and the meter starts
running. While the free option limits
you to certain styles and music choices, there was still quite a lot to choose
from.
-
Google
“Royalty-free images” and you’ll find a treasure trove of sites with pictures
you can use for your video. Animoto also
offers a small selection of images and video that you can incorporate into your
trailer.
-
While I used
JewelBeat for music, iTunes also offers a wide variety of royalty free songs
and sound effects. You can buy
individual songs or whole albums (some compilations have up 100 songs and
effects. It’s like a candy store!). By the way, JewelBeat’s $2.99 price point
includes the purchase of a standard use license, which allows for up to 1
million views. There is also an extended
use license for $9.99, which offers unlimited views. I chose the standard license, but you can
upgrade to an extended license at any time.
-
Animoto offers the option of upgrading your
final video to HD for a one-time $10 cost (hence the $12.99 price tag for the
whole trailer). Do it. It will make your video crisp, clear and
professional looking.
-
Have
fun! Playing around with Animoto was
more than a little addictive and believe me, if I can do it, ANYONE can.
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