Kim's Craft Blog -- Fiction, Memoir, Creative Writing: The Video Book ...

When I launched my memoir, Teaching the Dog to Think, this past spring, I was told by the marketing sages that I absolutely had to do a book trailer. This advice made my heart sink. Book trailers have always had that Madison Avenue hard-sell feel to me--And, of course, this sort of work falls mainly upon writers these days. (You can tell I've been dragged my heels about this whole book trailer idea because my book has been out since late winter, and I'm just getting around to it now.)

My first move was to watch a million other book trailers. Once I did, I realized that I simply didn't know what I wanted. Some trailers I saw had very high production values and looked as if the author was already making the Hollywood movie (perhaps some of them were), while other book trailers were home-made affairs with the author speaking directly into the camera in a confessional sort of way. Some trailers strayed out into left field--into animation or "cute video teasers" that were attractive in themselves but that often left you scratching your head as to what the book was about.

Finally, I had the good sense to do what I should have done in the first place: I turned the project over to someone else. I hired a Producer.

During the "dog days" of August, my Producer and I spent a week shooting each other book trailers and author videos that we each liked by email. My Producer urged me to focus upon "the story of the book," which turned out to be very good advice. I had already written a synopsis and several promos for Teaching the Dog to Think, but the script for the book trailer had to be even more distilled. Book trailers are really very short--And you have to get your message across swiftly.

The writing process consisted of adapting short phrases from the book and stitching them together in a loose organization. Again, my Producer and I shot script drafts back and forth for a week or two. And then it was time to record.

I didn't like those "confessional" videos, where the author speaks directly at the camera, and so my Producer ended up having me speak in voice-over while the camera panned over still photographs. This is a nice technique for a memoir, because it providers a more "active" feel than a mere slideshow, but still gives a "retrospective feeling" to the material. And the voice-over provides a nice sense of contact with the author's voice without feeling that she (or he) is blaring at you.

I had a case of nerves sitting down in the recording booth for the first time, since I'm not a professional actor. However, my Producer is, and he gave me different things to think about as I read the script, and different approaches to try. We ended up recording three or four different takes, each in a different style (one "quiet" take; one take as if I were "reading to an audience"; etc). Having an approach to think about while we recorded had a calming effect on me--which may have been the whole point.

The next thing I knew, my Producer was saying, "Okay, that's it. I think I have enough."

"You do?" I said. I was surprised that we were done so fast, but my Producer was leaning over me, unhooking me from the recording apparatus. If I'd known how easy this was going to be, I would have done it much sooner.

?I can't tell you how grateful I was to be able to turn the editing and mixing over to this competent young man.?Still, it would not be exaggerating to say that my expectations were extremely low. I didn't have that many good still photographs to use, and I wasn't sure what my Producer would be able to do with them.?And, like a lot of people, I have an active dislike for the sound of my own voice.

Also, I couldn't imagine how our little script that we'd cobbled together could result in something on film. Call it a lack of imagination, as well as a lack of experience on my part with video and sound production.

A few days later, I got to see the rough cut. I had a glass of wine in my hand to calm my nerves and the firm conviction that the book trailer would be positively cringeworthy. This feeling was not directed at my Producer, whom I was sure would do his best--but at the material I had provide him. Oh dear. This was going to be a disaster, and it would not be his fault, but mine.

The video started, the camera panned across the pictures, my own voice spoke in my ears--and somehow (miraculously!)--it wasn't awful. In fact, it was kind of, well, kind of good. Could it be? Yes, it was. It was definitely, unexpectedly, darn decent.

The photographs of the dog were adorable, especially the puppy pictures, and they were seemingly animated by the motion of the camera. My own voice sounded much better than it ever had before--not squeaky or whiny--I still don't know how my Producer managed that. ?And most importantly, the trailer was good enough to use, and was definitely not cringeworthy. ?Check it out, and--as you watch--enjoy those adorable puppy pictures:

Source: http://kimscraftblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-video-book-trailer-my-experience.html