In the last post, I explored four low budget book trailers. Well here are the big boys. Not always better, as you’ll see. Most of these have a hefty budget and were most likely produced by the publishers.
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
This trailer certainly has that Hollywood feel. It clearly delivers the premise of this books. I’ve actually read the sample chapter and it dovetails with this trailer almost scene for scene. It shows the reader exactly what he or she would expect.
Going West by Maurice Gee
Are you amazed? You should be. The cut paper art is breathtaking. I couldn’t take my eyes away. Now, can you tell me what the book is about? Yeah, there was the voice over reading snippets from the book, but I didn’t listen. The visuals overpowered the text. This is an example of the production team going too far.
I can’t say for certain, but I believe the art may be by Peter Callesen.
The Return Man by V. M. Zito
The trailer, put together by Swank Banana Productions, sucks you in with very simple visuals and text that interacts with the smoke. I have to say, I was drawn to this trailer. I can see the same techniques working on a smaller budget (perhaps without the fancy text).
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
The illustrations by Keith Thompson drive this book trailer. It shows that if you know someone who can draw, the trailer can center around this artwork. Again, this does a superb job of hitting it’s target audience of steampunk readers.
Tim Kane
All the videos were interesting, but a couple of them did not bring home the message of the story. I think, of the four, I like the last one best, maybe because I like alternate histories and gears and stuff. As fascinating as the paper art one was, it certainly did detract from the actual words that, I assume, tell what the story is about. (I’d have to listen to it again with my eyes closed to know for sure!) The monster one was fairly clear about the story premise with interesting graphics. I was confused, at first, about what The Return Man was about. I didn’t realize it was about vampires until I read the reviews. Thanks for sharing these, too! It just goes to show what to do if you’re making your own book trailer – and what NOT to do! 🙂
Exactly. Think of the money spent on some of those. And the low-budget ones were quite a bit better.
[…] is key, no matter how you are published. Book trailers are the rage. Tim Kane wonders if a Hollywood-designed book trailer would help your book, while Lada Ray lays out how to make a book trailer on a […]