The Book Trailer Manual

How to Make Your First Book Videos

For your first few videos, while you’re learning software, I suggest you do a couple slide shows. The first should be on Animoto.com Read more on Animoto here. Animoto.com will give you an easy transition into the process and you’ll find out something about your aesthetics. It’s free and easy.

The second video, made with the same set of images & sound, should be with the Vegas Movie maker software, or something similar. A slideshow on Vegas will teach you the software in a simple way. It’s not free, but it’s a step up in software and you’ll be glad you did it.

What you Need

You’ll need about 12-20 photos in a .jpeg or .png format and a sound track. You can buy something from a place like iTunes, or you can try a sample sound track that comes on most computers (search for any sound files and see what came preinstalled). You’ll need to sign up with Animoto.com for a free account and buy the Vegas (or similar) software.

Learning Transitions in 30 minutes

First, try a 30-second video using the free service at Animoto.com. It’s simple:

1. Create an account at Animoto.com
2. Log in and click on Create a Video.
3. Upload your photos. You can drag-and-drop them to rearrange the order.
4. Add a title page, by clicking on the T-text icon at the bottom.
5. Upload your sound track; or you can choose from Animoto.com’s library.
6. Choose a speed for the photos to show, either 1/2 speed, normal speed, or double speed. This is the feature you should play with. Professor Dull, Associate Professor of Digital Filmmaking at the University of Central Arkansas, said one of the mistakes beginners make is to linger too long on one picture. Animoto.com allows you to remix a video numerous times to play with this. For now, leave it at normal speed and click on finish. Animoto.com will take a few minutes to create the video. You can navigate away and it will email you when the video is done.

   After watching the video, you’ll see a Video Toolbox button below the video box. Click on that and remix the video at 1/2 speed and double speed.

Here’s my first Animoto video.

Evaluate the Video. Watching the video, you’ll notice that the appeal of an Animoto.com video is the transitions, or how it moves from one still image to another. This eye candy adds movement and appeal to an otherwise bland slideshow.

There are aesthetics to consider here: do you like the extensive use of transitions? what speed do you like the photos shown at?

Slideshow on Vegas: couple hours

It’s time to try the Vegas software or something similar that offers direct control of the images, sound, transitions, special effects, etc. It’s a step toward a more professional look.

Use the same photos and sound track that you used on the Animoto.com slideshow.

1. When Vegas starts, it has a Help screen. If it doesn’t, click on the Show Me How button on the top menu or click on the Help and search the index for the step you want to take next. You should probably do a couple of the overview tutorials, but then click on How to Make a Movie or Slideshow.
2. You’ll want to do these things: create a project, import media (your photos and sound track), add media to the timeline.
3. Add a title page: follow the tutorial to generate media for the text track.
4. Follow the tutorial to add transitions.
5. So far, you’ve just done what Animoto.com com did, it just took you a lot longer! But you want to add another step. Within any photo, there are areas of greater interest and Vegas allow you to pan across a photo and zoom in on those details. Follow the tutorial for Pan/Scan.

Congratulations! You’ve done a great video!

Here’s my first video made with Vegas.

Upload to YouTube.com For practice, you might want to follow the procedures to upload your video to YouTube.com. You can always mark it private, so no one else will see it. Besides familiarizing you with the process of publishing online, it will also give you chance to see how your software performs online.

It’s interesting to compare the video you created and Animoto.com’s videos. You’ll appreciate better the eye candy that Animoto.com adds. After doing it myself, I found that Animoto.com’s was too heavy on the transitions. I liked using the pan/scan feature better to direct the eye. The automation of Animoto.com was mindless and didn’t always direct attention where it should be.

Your Next Videos

The slideshow teaches you how to use your software. Now, it’s up to you. The process is the same if you add slides or video, so take your video camera out into the world and start taping and making videos!

2 Rules for Beginners to Follow

Professor Dull suggests two rules to start:

1. You should be able to see what you want to see.
2. You should be able to hear what you want to hear.

The nuances of videotaping could be studied for a lifetime and these two rules would still apply. Do whatever you have to with light, camera angle, etc. to make sure the viewer can see what you want them to see. Do whatever you have to with microphones to make sure the viewer can hear what you want them to hear. Good rules to videotape by.

After taping, edit and revise until it’s right.

Practice, practice, practice. You’ll need to practice creating memorable ideas, videotaping and editing before you’re ready for prime time–or YouTube.com.