Lead: 39 Amaze: 10 Direct: 22 The book deals with a tough subject, the death of a adult as it pertains to a young child. Like the subject the trailer is gentle and caring. Like the other Strauss House Productions trailer, the images are from the book. Each picture is shown with a Ken Burns […]
The Copper Tree – Hilary Robinson, Mandy Stanley Read More »
Lead: 9 Excite: 86 Amaze: 8 Direct: 47 Humorous animated trailer created completely by the author. At 2:30 it is on the long side but 47 seconds are spent on the praise and directive so the real body is 1:43 which is still long. The directive is unusual. It begins with a brief statement on
Schrödinger’s Caterpillar – Zane Stumpo Read More »
Lead: 5 Excite: 18 Amaze: 4 Direct: 13 Cute children’s book trailer. The animation and music/sound creates the setting. Pure character approach, no hint of plot line. It is difficult to do an effective 39 second trailer. This one does it admirably. Lead Analysis Lead Grabs you right at the start with animation of a
Gangsta Granny – David Walliams Read More »
Lead: 7 Excite: 220 Amaze: 7 Direct: 13 An interesting long trailer at 4:07. Using time-lapse video and animation to introduce this nonfiction book. I find this trailer long but it does hold my interest. Very interesting use of a whiteboard. Time-lapse video of drawing on a white board Length: 4:05 but holds your interest
Where Good Ideas Come From – Steven Johnson Read More »
Lead: 10 Excite: 33 Amaze: 6 Direct: 5 This was the trailer that got me interested in analyzing book trailers. A very well done fast-paced cinematic approach that uses all stock video and images. One of the fascinating elements is the spoken narration often does not match the words on the screen. The trailer is
Ghostman – Roger Hobbs Read More »
Lead: 24 Excite: 22 Amaze: 7 Direct: 10 One of my favorite trailer with wonderful illustrations by Keith Thompson and a great hook. Great premise. The animation is stream-punk in style and the final line hooks the viewer. The animation is not complicated but effective. One of my favorite trailers. I ended up buying and
Leviathan – Scott Westerfeld Read More »
Lead: 6 Excite: 37 Amaze: 8 Direct: 14 While the Furnace series trailer is technically simple it pulls you in with hard images and pounding music. The target audience is clearly young males and the author has built a strong following in FaceBook. Very powerful lead that grabs you in six seconds. Extras Author interview.
Escape from Furnace Series – Alexander Gordon Smith Read More »
Explicit language Lead: 12 Excite: 87 Amaze: 35 Direct: 16 This is one of the most effective trailers I have seen, or should I say heard? The trailer is a radio drama to introduce the main character Miriam Black. The visuals are a playing of the dialog in words on the screen in an interesting
Blackbirds and Mockingbird – Chuck Wendig Read More »
Lead: 5 Excite: 99 Amaze: 26 Direct: 12 Here is an excellent example of an authorial trailer, astronaut Chris Hadfield’s book An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth. An authorial approach uses the author’s skill and experience as the focus of the trailer. These books are usually asked for by author not title. While
An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth – Chris Hadfield Read More »
Lead: 5 Excite: 45 Amaze: 8 Direct: 8 Great upbeat guitar music. Lead off with Emma Donoghue name for author recognition. Set in the old west the main character is a woman who likes to dress as a men. The trailer spends most of the time introducing her. Sounds like an interesting person to
Frog Music – Emma Donoghue Read More »