Video trailers for books... Log Out | Topics | Search
Moderators | Edit Profile

RAMSEY CAMPBELL » Discussion » Video trailers for books... « Previous Next »

Author Message
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

R.B. Russell (Tartarusrussell)
Username: Tartarusrussell

Registered: 02-2010
Posted From: 81.154.154.166
Posted on Wednesday, January 05, 2011 - 10:13 am:   

I created a video trailer for Robert Aickman's "Sub Rosa" last night, but I can't help feeling that that the medium is an odd one for publicising a book... (What's that phrase about "dancing about architecture"...?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGTdBi3eN4Y

I think there is some advantage in showing the physical book, but is it possible to hint at any reading experience through the medium of video?

(If there is a sudden spike in sales I'll make some more )
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Zed (Gary_mc)
Username: Gary_mc

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 195.166.117.210
Posted on Wednesday, January 05, 2011 - 10:17 am:   

Anything you can do to raise awareness of a product's existence surely has to be worth doing, right? I doubt these things actually incease sales dramatically - they tend to be seen by those already in the know - but there's always the chance that you might snag a few buyers via YouTube viewings, etc, if you have a striking trailer.

Plus, we live in an age of image-obsessed idiocy, so I guess a book trailer helps push book awareness into those regions. Maybe.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

R.B. Russell (Tartarusrussell)
Username: Tartarusrussell

Registered: 02-2010
Posted From: 81.154.154.166
Posted on Wednesday, January 05, 2011 - 10:47 am:   

I think you're probably right, Gary.

When I first started publishing books twenty years ago there were, perhaps, a dozen different places to send review copies and attempt to publicise supernatural fiction. I'm not convinced that the Internet has increased the market, but it has certainly fragmented the venues for publicity and promotion. To replace the usefulness of a print magazine such as, say, "All Hallows", information needs to go to several different forums, and a multitude of bloggers. I'm assuming that video trailers are one part of the new way of doing things... (This is not meant as a grumpy old man's complaint - just an observation.)
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Zed (Gary_mc)
Username: Gary_mc

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 195.166.117.210
Posted on Wednesday, January 05, 2011 - 11:10 am:   

Ray, the biggest probem facing publishing, I've learned, is making people aware that the product is out there - this is even more difficult with the indie press, where there are no advertising budgets. A lot of great work goes unnoticed, even by we who know, and follow, the field.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Gary Fry (Gary_fry)
Username: Gary_fry

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 129.11.76.216
Posted on Wednesday, January 05, 2011 - 11:55 am:   

I made a video for my PS novel and it got 500 hits (though most were generated by my steering folk that way).
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Frank (Frank)
Username: Frank

Registered: 09-2008
Posted From: 85.222.86.21
Posted on Wednesday, January 05, 2011 - 12:03 pm:   

Personally, and no disrespect to people who have made trailers for books, but I think, as Zed said about image-obsessed idiocy, the trailers are going to have to be a lot better than they are to attract an audience outside of the usual people who will look anyway.

For me the trailers are great, I love them, but they need to have all the allure of a trailer for a film, which, let's be honest, unless you're Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, or Dan Brown's publishers, nobody has the money for such a venture.

What an age we live in ):
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Zed (Gary_mc)
Username: Gary_mc

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 195.166.117.210
Posted on Wednesday, January 05, 2011 - 12:04 pm:   

Yeah, some of the book trailer from the bigger publishing houses are pretty amazing. Stephen King's latest book even had short films made for each story...they're on YouTube, btw.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Gary Fry (Gary_fry)
Username: Gary_fry

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 129.11.76.216
Posted on Wednesday, January 05, 2011 - 12:15 pm:   

It's just a bit of fun. MS Movie Maker is a clunky pile of poo, but it's fun getting it to do fun things. Like, fun.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Gary Fry (Gary_fry)
Username: Gary_fry

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 129.11.76.216
Posted on Wednesday, January 05, 2011 - 12:18 pm:   

You know, my experience in the small press is that nothing generates sales spikes other than the desirability of the product/author. Reviews don't lead to (m)any sales. Linking to websites results in few sales. Folk either want the book or they don't, and no amount of carrot-dangling makes a jot of difference.

Just my penny's worth.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

R.B. Russell (Tartarusrussell)
Username: Tartarusrussell

Registered: 02-2010
Posted From: 81.154.154.166
Posted on Wednesday, January 05, 2011 - 12:31 pm:   

I have to admit that I've seen couple of seriously good video trailers for books, but I didn't consider buying the book as a consequence. Apart from anything else, (and not wanting to undermine my own efforts!), they aren't exactly objective :-)

A review by a critic I respect, or a friend who shares my tastes, is a different matter entirely...
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Zed (Gary_mc)
Username: Gary_mc

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 195.166.117.210
Posted on Wednesday, January 05, 2011 - 12:43 pm:   

To be fair, these book trailers from the big publishers are aimed at targetting yur average passing book buyer, not enthusiasts like us. ie. the kind of people who would be swayed into buying by seeing a good one.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tom_alaerts (Tom_alaerts)
Username: Tom_alaerts

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 194.78.35.175
Posted on Wednesday, January 05, 2011 - 05:31 pm:   

I thought the Sub Rosa trailer was quite ok for something essentially zero-budget. But probably, to be bluntly honest, too static to lure people not yet familiar with Aickman.

I did like the trailer of the excellent recent ghost novel Dark Matter; and the publisher did a cool competition: cut up and remix the trailer to make your own trailer variant.
Here is the book trailer, it gives a quite accurate idea of the story atmosphere:
http://www.michellepaver.com/trailer-for-dark-matter
You'll find several fanmade variants on youtube.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

R.B. Russell (Tartarusrussell)
Username: Tartarusrussell

Registered: 02-2010
Posted From: 86.141.54.133
Posted on Monday, January 10, 2011 - 09:31 am:   

I'm sure Tom's right about the Sub Rosa trailer being a little too static. I've tried another which hopefully has a little more life to it :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ-I1gEb5ZQ
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Gary Fry (Gary_fry)
Username: Gary_fry

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 82.26.202.244
Posted on Monday, January 10, 2011 - 09:53 am:   

That's pretty good, Ray. But I'd set the first line in the text and "But they are not alone" on single page, to be followed by the descriptive stuff. Those are dramatic lines.

Also, it's all still a bit flat. MS MovieMaker has some good 'cut' tools which can demarcate scenes. Might be worth adding some to grab attention midway through, cos at the moment, this visual presentation of the book is like a written advert. I was concentrating on reading the text and paid little or no attention to the background images. Therefore, you might want the text to 'breathe' occasionally, so viewers can get a good glimpse of those creepy scenes.

Good music.

All in all, I liked it a great deal, and offer my thoughts to be taken or left as you wish. :-)
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

R.B. Russell (Tartarusrussell)
Username: Tartarusrussell

Registered: 02-2010
Posted From: 86.141.54.133
Posted on Monday, January 10, 2011 - 10:03 am:   

Thanks Gary. I have to admit that I was hoping to take a little attention away from the images because they've been plundered from "The Bride of Frankenstein" and "The Student of Prague" ;-)
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Tom_alaerts (Tom_alaerts)
Username: Tom_alaerts

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 194.78.35.175
Posted on Monday, January 10, 2011 - 02:52 pm:   

Ray, I will check your clip tonight.

A recommendation: if you have access to a Mac, then the latest update of the standard iMovie application features an awesome trailer wizard. I've not yet seen it applied to a book trailer, but I think it is possible.
Have a look at:

http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

R.B. Russell (Tartarusrussell)
Username: Tartarusrussell

Registered: 02-2010
Posted From: 86.141.51.154
Posted on Monday, January 10, 2011 - 03:39 pm:   

Hi Tom,
I'm using a PC and some pretty basic software. I'm not sure how serious I am about making videos, but I've been having fun...
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

R.B. Russell (Tartarusrussell)
Username: Tartarusrussell

Registered: 02-2010
Posted From: 81.154.85.73
Posted on Monday, January 17, 2011 - 04:25 pm:   

Here's a trailer for "Dark Entries" by Aickman which is a little less static (courtesy of footage from an Aickman TV adaptation):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnDtrVNDBUc

Add Your Message Here
Post:
Bold text Italics Underline Create a hyperlink Insert a clipart image

Username: Posting Information:
This is a private posting area. Only registered users and moderators may post messages here.
Password:
Options: Enable HTML code in message
Automatically activate URLs in message
Action:

Topics | Last Day | Last Week | Tree View | Search | Help/Instructions | Program Credits Administration