Mothership: Featured Book Trailer #2

Hey guys, and belated happy labor day! Was a bit too busy running around to actually blog about it, but I celebrated by running down to the B&N and catching up on the last Maggie Stiefvater book I've left unread (Ballad) before The Raven Boys comes out. And then I worked on the short story for this month's challenge. (Short stories are my new love right now, but more on that in another post.)

Today I'm just popping in briefly to share this fantastic and hilarious book trailer for Mothership, the first book in a new trilogy by authors Martin Leicht and Isla Neal. This is not the type of book that usually catches my eye, which is why I was so impressed when it managed to do just that. My first impression was Juno in space, which made me go, hmm and click play. I was grinning my way through the whole trailer, and I literally laughed out loud at the end. This trailer is well worth the watch.
 





It's obvious this trailer was created by the publishers, but most of the elements that made it so great were simple and easy to replicate. Lots of subtle sound effects to induce comedy. Photographs of four characters. The cartoon effect could be replicated with some basic knowledge of Photoshop.

I'd guess the more complicated effects--like coloring the cartoons in real time--were created with a motion graphics program like Adobe After Effects. That's admittedly a bit trickier. Thing is, you don't need After Effects to get that real-time coloring look. You could simply film yourself coloring it in real time, or take pictures between coloring steps, and get the same effect.

Food for thought!

Truly and always,
-Creative A

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece: Featured Book Trailer

Saw this trailer today, and loved it. I think it's a great example of how simple trailers can be--although it had film and actors, the sets were everyday, and there wasn't a single special effect. What really caught my attention was the twist at the end. Nobody points it out, but you can't miss it; the inherent conflict leaps out at you.






See what I mean? Gorgeous conflict. The book's Goodreads blurb never would have caught my interest, but this trailer did. And if you break down the elements, they are easily reproducible in cheap, simple terms--

1) Child actors could be a younger sibling, your own kids, children of your good friends or relatives.
2) The film could easily be replaced with still photos of a boy coloring, the mantelpiece, the swingset.
3) The setting--house, park, muddy road--are also found just about everywhere. Your house. A park or school playground near where you live. The muddy road is a bit more specific, but a stream, cornfield, etc would work as well.
4) Music -- this is the kind of generic song you could find online for free with little hassle. Not all music videos need dramatic soundtracks (or old fashioned songs.)

In other words? You could do this. I could do this.

Food for thought.

Truly and always,
-Creative A