Making Trailers

Michael Loring

When I was first being published, one of the things I thought would be really awesome to do is have a trailer made for Dehumanized. I've seen a lot of other books with such amazing trailers, and I had hoped that I'd get one as well. Unfortunately my publisher said that book trailers were a dying marketing tool, and I was saddened by this. The publishing world is changing at a fast rate, even for those who self-publish, and we all must adapt. But, really, when have I been good at conforming?

I'm sure a lot of authors wished for a trailer as well for their books, but were unable to have one made for a multitude of reasons. It sucks, it really does, but I'm about to explain how you can finally have that trailer you've always wished for! (Cue overly-excited salesman voice)

Let me first explain how I ended up finding this way of making trailers. It was a few weeks ago when I got the idea of making my own trailer for Dehumanized, and I began to look into how I could do it with my very, very, VERY limited tools and budget. I found websites that did trailers for you, but their costs ranged from around 250-1000 bucks, and that's just not worth it. Trust me. So, I did what I normally do when I can't figure something out: I pleaded for someone on Facebook to help me, and who was the person to answer the call? Emma Michaels of course! Always the superheroine. She had made her own trailer for her new release, Owlet (which you should so check out!) and I knew that if anyone could make a trailer for me, it was her. But, as we were discussing what kind of effects and imaging we could use for the trailer, she showed me this website a friend of hers used to make a trailer for their book. I'm not exactly sure what she said when explaining it, but the words "free" and "easy to use" were used so I was sold instantly!

So, I went and looked at the website to see how it all works. And let me just tell you, this website is the best! It's slightly limited, but what it does have is freakin' AWESOME! It's absolutely free, and does most of the work for you! How can you not love it?

The website - Animoto.com - offers unique styles for your video, a list of videos and pictures you can use in your trailer royalty free, and gives you the choice between a pre-set list of songs or a song of your own choice that you can download easily onto the server. You can upgrade and pay for the extra-cool stuff, but when it's for free you can make a thirty-second long, professional-style video that takes only as long as you do to make it. Once you've downloaded the song you want to use, chosen whatever video or pictures you would like (you can also download your own pictures or videos), typed in the text that will be featured, and arranged everything in the order you want it to appear in, you can preview your video and then produce it. For me it only took two minutes for it to be finished, and when it was done it was absolutely PERFECT!

I seriously recommend everyone use this sight if they have no other choice, because it is the perfect tool to use for making your very own, personalized trailer for your book or any other project you have out or in the works. Don't believe me? Check out the trailer for Dehumanized:



Hopefully that was enough to convince you.

Good luck everyone on making your own trailer!

-Michael Loring.

www.michaelloring.com

Animoto.com