Book videos are popular on YouTube and author fansites, but rather than pay a company to make one, you can do it yourself with a bit of technical know-how and these tips.
A Creative Challenge
When author Brenda Coulter decided she would like a book video for her inspirational romance novel 'A Season of Forgiveness', she knew she wouldn’t be paying a company to create it for her. As she says in her blog entry about the project, “I viewed it as a creative challenge and approached the project as a temporary hobby.”
Sheila Clover English, CEO of Circle of Seven, a company that shoots professional book videos, agrees that the home enthusiast can do it themselves. She feels that there are several factors to take into consideration:
Questions to ask yourself:
- Do you possess the technology, ie, the software and/or editing system,or do you have access to one?
- Do you have the creative skill?
- Are you already comfortable and adept with technology?
Do The Research
Coulter advises the potential book video creator to spend a few hours watching book videos on YouTube – or anywhere else – taking note of the things that interest or irritate.
Next, consider what software to use. You may already have the necessary tools on your computer. English has seen Microsoft Powerpoint used to advantage, and others have used free slideshow software, but Coulter took advantage of her computer’s built in Microsoft Moviemaker. Macs also come with a suite of tools to make and manage video creations, with software like iMovie.
Keep it Focused
Coulter advises video creators to make sure the content fits the book well. As she says in her blog, “Don't show a string of photos of mist-covered Scottish highlands if your book is about a Scottish pirate who doesn't set foot on land until Chapter Twenty. Find some pictures of booted feet and swords and cannons and old ships, instead.”
Find Audio, Video and Stills
Though ‘free use’ video clips (not only royalty free, but requiring no fee) may be hard to come by, a lot of book videos use stills instead; free use stock photos are readily available. Coulter also says that “Decide whether you want to narrate your trailer, use catchy music, or both. Do a web search for ‘royalty-free production music.’ Free music is difficult to find, but it's out there.”
But do be careful of the overuse of some popular sound clips. If you’ve done the appropriate amount of research and watched enough book videos, you likely will have heard the familiar strains of Beethoven’s Fifth several times, according to Coulter.
Put it All Together
It may take a while to learn all of the aspects both technical and creative, and it will certainly take more time at first than you expect. English offers some hints on creating book videos for the home enthusiast.
Three top tips:
- Don’t make the video too long. No more than 2 minutes, but around 1 minute or 1.5 is better.
- Don’t make your text do tricks throughout the video. It’s exciting to have that function but annoying to watch text slide in or wiggle in or other such neat tricks throughout the entire video.
- Don’t put so much text on the screen that it's now in competition with your visuals.
Honest Feedback
One thing Coulter advises for the home book video maker: once you think you're done, get a second opinion. “Ask a handful of people who are not your blood relatives or best writing buddies to view your trailer and give you their honest opinion of it. After nearly every one of my ten testers said black screens with nothing but text on them were boring, I figured out how to superimpose my text on the photographs. Thanks to that and other input from my testers, the video was greatly improved.”
For Brenda Coulter’s account of creating a video for A Season of Forgiveness, see her blog entry Promoting Your Novel: How to Make a Book Video
