I had a lot of fun making this trailer, trying to capture the essence of the book in photos, without giving away any spoilers.
When I make a trailer, I start by writing the script, keeping in mind both what I want to say and what photos I have that might work with it. In the real world, I’m a photographer as well as a writer, so over the years, I have created a huge stock photo supply for myself. I dig into that and start copying and pasting photos I want into a file. Sometimes, I find a photo that would be so perfect, I tweak the script. Then I create any new photos I need for the project.
Once everything is set, I upload the photos into Animoto, the video making program I use. Once they’re there, I type in the script, and then start tweaking. This is the part that takes the longest. I have to decide where on each slide I want the text to appear, or if I want a slide of just text, and I make sure there is a sense of sentences running throughout it. This is where I lose track of time and realize I’ve worked through a meal, or whatever. Once I get all the visual work done, I delve into Animoto’s library of music and start listening to samples. Usually one with the mood I’m looking for jumps out at me. I know some writers who chose the music first, but I tend to go for words to start off. Then I put it all together and I have a book trailer.
So a few notes on this trailer:
The first shot of the tree limbs and starburst is one I took a long time ago on a frosty morning in my front yard while I was out experimenting with my starlight filter. That shot seems magical to me.
The fire shot is one that will show up a lot in my dragon trailers. I took it at a bonfire at a party my neighbors held a long time ago. (Yeah, I’m that person who’s not sitting down with a drink watching the flames. I’m the one with a camera getting too close.)
I had trouble deciding what to use to symbolize modern day Vermont, so I chose some cars with Vermont plates in a parking lot. (The second car back, the dark blue one, was mine. I traded it in a few years ago.) The store front was in downtown Burlington.
The suit is my husband’s. That’s one I took on purpose for the trailer.
Most nature shots are from around my house. I have a very well photographed brook.
The swords belong to a friend who let me spend some time with them. It’s helpful to have a friend with swords as well as a husband with suits.
Yes, that’s my handwriting on the Notice note
The cliffs are from northern Vermont near a pond I like.
The classroom is in the school where I worked with special ed kids for seventeen years. I used to sit in classes and think about Varian as a teacher a lot.
The sunset is from our camp, of course.
The handholding shot is one I cheated on a little. I didn’t actually take it–my daughter did and gave it to me. She was in the right place at the right time, and I wasn’t. I did major editing to it, though.
Once it’s all done, I share it with my editor and whoever I can get to watch it, and everybody has different ideas about how to improve it, and I get frustrated with the whole thing and put it away for a while, and then dig it out and work on it some more until I eventually feel like it’s what I was envisioning.
And that’s the trailer. Thanks for watching!