Skip to main content

Newsletter

.

How I created my book trailer

Many of you may have noticed that I have a book trailer on Youtube for my book: The Damnation Plays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHJQHrdOx68

Well, there were several stages in producing the book trailer. Since my camera wasn’t working I decided to use stock images for my book trailer. There were several sites where you can get free stock videos such as:

https://www.videvo.net/

https://www.videezy.com/

https://videos.pexels.com/

However, I wanted something a bit more polished and I found the range of stock videos limited. I had a particular vision for my book trailer and none of the free stock videos sites provided these. On the other hand, I knew that I was on a limited budget so I wanted something that wasn’t too expensive. I couldn’t afford http://www.shutterstock.com/ so I googled and looked for sites that offered quality stock videos for a reasonable price.

One of the sites that I decided upon was https://videohive.net/ . The price was attractive as each video clip worked out to be no more than £5 per footage. I also loved the fact that you can pay by PayPal, which for me meant extra security in the payment process. Hence, I paid for and downloaded four clips which I thought would be suitable for my book trailer.

The next step was a bit of a learning curve. This was deciding to find a video editing software for the trailer. I wanted to use a free video editing software due to my budget and also the fact that I was not going to be editing videos all the time. I just wanted something simple to fulfil my needs. In other words, I wanted something that was simple, would allow me to export files in suitable formats to Youtube, had a range of after effects which I can apply and hasn’t got a huge learning curve. This task turned out to be harder than I’d expected. Windows Movie maker would have been sufficient for my needs but with me being the technophile that I am, I researched more software. After deliberating for a while I went for a brilliant software called Da Vinci Resolve (https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/uk/products/davinciresolve). I loved its interface and it was pretty easy to use. It also offered more functionality that Windows Movie Maker. Also, Unlike Blender, another animating and video editing software, it didn’t have a steep learning curve.

So, I started to edit the clips, created a suitable transition between one clip and the next and added texts. After several hours with some hit and miss, I came up with the finished product.

There was just one thing missing and that was the sound. I knew that adding sound could be expensive so I opted for royalty free music site. I liked a site called http://www.bensound.com/ and it was there that I picked a music that had the right atmosphere that I wanted to convey.

I learned several things from my experience: Creating a book trailer doesn’t need to be daunting. Furthermore, it is something that you can create yourself. However, I would not discount the input of a professional. On the other hand, creating a book trailer can provide a fun and interesting experience.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Some writing groups are dreamkillers

When I was a writing beginner I found comfort in writing groups. They can give support and encouragement to young authors and some tips to improve. On the other side of the coin though they can be the very thing that destroys a budding career. When I started to dream about writing big, I joined a lot of writing groups on the internet - mind you, this was back in the early 2000's - and I found that they were very supportive and everybody cheered each other on. Now, with the rise of social media it seemed that the tides has turned and everybody has something to criticise each other on. Perhaps this ties back society - due to upheavals happening in the world right now people has become meaner as there's a lot more stress inducing things going on.  I've always tried to be gentle on new writers, and I probably won't criticise them by saying that they could look it up on Google. I've always been of firm belief that It takes time to get to the position you're at now an

North of river Eve free for a limited time

Readers check out these groups for deeply discounted books. Find your next summer read here.  ALL GENRES: The entire country is one giant daycare! E-Books Under $6" https://storyoriginapp.com/to/FBtPYqC Re-Kindle: Kindle Unlimited Authors – ALL GENRES: JUNE"  https://storyoriginapp.com/to/lcsp0o6 Also, North of River Eve is free to download for a limited time. Get it before time runs out and most importantly don't forget to leave a review. 

Writing a good villain that is unforgettable

 In this post I will be sharing my opinions about my experience of writing a good villain a.k.a the antagonist in a story or a novel.  I must admit - I love a good villain. It simply gives a story an edge. I believe that the same effort devoted to writing the hero should be devoted to writing a villain. What I despise most is a lazy, card board cut out villain when the whole story has been going so well before.  A good villain lift up the story, gives the hero a challenge and give us a reason to root for somebody. Furthermore, a villain doesn't have to be a physical person. It could be a force of nature, circumstances or unexplained phenomenon, but a villain must be compelling.  ⭐Make your villains have a cause other than serve as a plot device. A fully fleshed out villain should have a cause to behave the way they're behaving even though the cause might not seem rational to the readers or even the author themselves.  ⭐Make them sympathetic but at the same time reminds us why t