Video trailers are the big thing these days. A friend of mine, Fran Lee, published at Ellora's Cave wrote that "a book trailer can sell more books than a $500 ad in a trade paper. There's just something about music and video combined in a catchy manner that makes folks pay attention." Fran Lee created a trailer for my FRENCH PERIL. She only used the book cover but in such an artistic way, she made it a great trailer.
You can watch it at you Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBVTnTfOGkE&feature=channel
I created two video trailers for TO LOVE A HERO and BABIES IN THE BARGAIN, using Windows Movie Maker. It took some practice but wasn't difficult.
Windows Movie Maker comes with Microsoft Window and you probably have it on your computer.
Just click on START and then ALL PROGRAMS and then Windows Movie Maker.
Here are a few steps: Capture Video, Edit Movie, Finish Movie, Movie Making Tips.
1. Capture Video:
1.1- Import the pictures you plan to use in Collections.
1.2- Drag them down, one by one, on the show time line.
2. Edit Movie
2.1- Click on picture
2.2- Click on Make Titles and Credits
2.3- Write your caption, either on the picture or in between pictures. It takes some practice to do it right.
2.4- Repeat for every picture.
2.5- Play with video effect and video transitions for special effect.
2.6-Go back to Capture Video to import the music. Be careful. You can't use copyrighted music.
3.Finish Movie
3.1 Save to computer
3.2- Upload on you Tube.
Okay, it's not difficult. It just needs practice. And believe me it's fun. Keep your trailer under two minutes. No one have the patience or the time to see a longer video. Here is my trailer for
TO LOVE A HERO: I use some pictures I bought from iStock, a picture site, and some pictures I took during my trips to Belarus.
And here is my trailer for BABIES IN THE BARGAIN: The babies are my own grandson (with blue eyes) and granddaughter (with brown eyes).
If you like the two trailers above, can you take a minute and rate them at youTube? Here are the links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE5eXfUznGw&feature=channel_page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQaxyIdXuAc&feature=channel
If you want to make your own trailer, I will be happy to walk you through the steps. Again, it takes time and patience, but it's worth the effort.
