Book Trailers- Behind the Camera

Book trailers...some are amazing works of cinematic art. Some, not so much. There are companies you can hire to create these masterpieces for you. Someday, maybe I'll hire one as well. For now, I'm saving my pennies and making my own.

How, you ask?

On my laptop at home. No, I don't have some high tech computer or fancy software. Initially, I thought that's what I would need, but it turns out all I need is my Dell laptop. No, I don't have a Mac.

When I was browsing the apps in the app store, looking for video software, I realized that my laptop came with a movie maker app. Free. Who knew. I bet there are dozens of other useful apps on my laptop that I don't even realize are there. Make sure you check out your own computer.

Selecting photos images: Here you need to make sure you are using royalty free photos, or you have purchased photos with a license to use them. This is not the time to use a photo of Chris Hemsworth you found on Pinterest.

Music is a great way highlight the text and photos. You will need royalty free music. You can find it on iTunes. Do not use your favorite song or title from the playlist you created for your book unless you have the specific written permission from the artist to do so.  I know it's tempting, but don't do it.

Titles and script should be kept short and sweet. Something that can be read at a glance in less than seconds seems optimum in my opinion.

The software you use will come with lots of different tools to animate the trailer. Play around with each of them to determine how you want photos to fade from one to the other, as well as titles, and font.

I've found it's better to keep your trailer under one minute, so you don't loose the interest of the audience. I'm currently working on a trailer for Sea Breeze, my new romance scheduled to release May 27th, and very excited to debut it, once the cover is revealed.

Below is the trailer I created for Sweet Dreams. Take a peek if you're interested. One of these days, I'm going to figure out how to use live-action images.

Thanks for tuning in. Happy Monday.

Sea Breeze is scheduled for release May 27th. Stay in the know by joining My Dream Team. Members will receive the first two chapters of Sea Breeze in the May newsletter for free. Click the link to sign up. http://eepurl.com/bjAzz1

You can find more information about me on my website at www.jennifersenhajiauthor.com