I have a real love/hate relationship with book trailers. All book trailers, everywhere. I am a content creator…even though it wasn’t called that when I started over 20 years ago. I was a news writer who happened to be good at tweaking commercial copy to tighten it up or give it more pizzazz. I suppose we didn’t really have a specific word for that. As the years went by and I did more freelance work online, people would say “Wow you’re a fantastic content creator.” It would usually be followed up with “Why aren’t you on TikTok/Facebook Live/Instagram Stories/Insert other social media here that I don’t know how to operate.” Well…that’s why. I create the content, I do not have the computer/software skills to shoot and edit video. I can tell you what I want where…where an audio clip should be cut and edited, I can tell you every word, every screen, every video shot, but I don’t have the equipment or know how to produce it myself. And that’s where FriesenPress came in.
You can choose a bunch of different paths when you hire FriesenPress to publish your book; they have an extremely comprehensive list of services. Lots of it I didn’t need…and a few things just happened to come along with the stuff that I did need. Like a book trailer.
Lord Love a Duck. I didn’t want one. Granted, I have seen some good ones. Actually, the most recent one I liked was for Robert Dugoni’s latest book The World Played Chess. You should read it. Better yet, get the audiobook because it’s completely next level. But I digress. For the most part, I find Book Trailers to be too long, badly acted, rife with cheesy music, or they simply don’t grab my attention which is what their primary goal is. And yes, after working in media for as long as I have I will admit to being Inordinately Picky. I’ll give you that.
The first storyboard draft I was given was not at all what I had in mind. You have to understand, companies are basically tied to using stock footage from various websites. I totally get that. They did what they could with what they had. But the second I saw it, it was wrong. Well, the great thing about FriesenPress is that they don’t set anything in stone until you are happy…no matter how we end up getting there. So I asked a LOT of questions about formatting and what was needed to see my wobbly vision through. And…one evening my oldest son ambled up behind me at my tiny little upstairs desk where I was fretting over the storyboard, pulled up a chair, and said “Mum, I can help you with this.” And all of a sudden…we were inspired.
I hired Kyle Martin of Nitram Aerials, he’s local here in Rosthern, and our message was short and to the point. I needed creative genius. He was available the next morning. DONE. I looked out the window…we were losing light but still had time. BOYS, GRAB THE DOG AND GET IN THE CAR! We blasted out to Macdowall and under my son’s direction I shot a bunch of video clips on my phone on the road where Sergeant Schrader and Constable Anson drove trying to find evidence of the initial domestic dispute.
The authentic RCMP uniform you see in the clip is borrowed from Russell Hanson at the Mounted Police Museum in Duck Lake. My oldest son wore it while I shot the video as he’s the only one in the house skinny enough to get it on!
Then there was the voiceover. I was dead set on that. I had only ever seen one other FriesenPress book trailer with a voiceover and was told that the author had arranged that themselves. I shouted on the phone GOOD FOR THAT AUTHOR! I asked details about how it needed to be sent in order for production to use it…and we were off. I messaged my college instructor at Western Academy Broadcasting College and asked if he had a top notch student who would be willing to do the work and what did he think was a fair wage for 1 minute of audio? In true Don Scott form, he said he would do it for me just for the fun of giving it a go. WHAT is even happening right now? I was floored at his generosity and so thankful. Don and I had a time in school. He knows the bidniz (it’s a WABC thing) and I was young and sassy and he knew I could handle whatever he threw at me. Not in a quiet way, I didn’t, LOL but he knew he wouldn’t damage me by challenging me to BE BETTER. Going there was the best thing I could have done for my career and now my son will be going there when he graduates next year. *Tear* But I digress, again.
So with killer aerial footage and Kyle saying “You know what would be cool?” and adding the idea of the glitch effect (I told you…creative genius), Don providing the voiceover, William re-writing the script with me and laying out each video shot, and choosing new music for the background, we sent it all to the FriesenPress production team with our fingers crossed. What would they do with all these random parts? Would I like it? Would we have to start all over again…again? Well, I think they BOSSED it…but you be the judge:
