People say they love books, because it's like having a movie in your head. Sadly, that won't do for everyone. Others will prefer a real movie. After all, it's the same thing, right?Wrong. Most people seem to favor TV over a book. They need something they can watch, and with little effort. Why go through the trouble of visualizing things in their head when they can enjoy something that does it for them?
This is what writers must compete with. It's not enough to have sufficient magic with words to match the musical soundtrack, costume design, real life setting and glamorous actors of a blockbuster. How do you get interest for a book when there's the internet? If you can snag the attention a teenager with a PS3 for just thirty seconds, there's a good chance you can snag anyone.
These Will Do
A nice picture on the cover could make a person read the title, but not always the synopsis on the back or the 200 pages inside. Getting a person to read a book is a step by step process, and mock trailers concentrate on gaining enough interest to push people to read that one paragraph synopsis.
What are mock trailers? You know . . . taking someone else's work, slicing it up, and putting it together differently to pass it off as your own.
For those who are thinking copyright violations, stop. Mock trailers are not official works you put into your resume. Mock trailers are meant to be shown to friends on Facebook with a little confession that says, "This is a false trailer made from clips of So-So Movie, all rights belong to respective owners". Mock trailers are done for fun and practice, to hone that gift which makes a person spend thirty bucks on a bulky hardcover.
Watch a movie commercial on TV. Take note of how you feel as you watch it. At the beginning a person may feel that it's just a film about aliens invading Earth (again) with shaky camera work worse than The Blair Witch Project. At the end, the heart is racing, and muscles are clenched and waiting to jump up and go see the movie.
That brief interval is enough. In thirty seconds your attitude has completely changed. You wanted to see that movie. With a mock trailer, the job is to learn how to create the same effect for a written story.
Mock Trailer How-To
Consider these: How do you think a commercial for your story would look? What clips can be used? Would music or no sound at all give the right mood? Take a minute to scribble on a notepad and draw out the key scenes.
Example: My story is about a spy who pretends to be the hero's best friend. I need clips with a boy in a hood. I'm familiar with video games, so I'll search among them for clips that I need.
The Kingdom Hearts trailer, Deep Dive, wins the prize. Download that and a song to go with it. I only want thirty seconds of music, so I choose a length that fits the trailer best. Then it's a matter of cutting it out and arranging the scenes. I also want some text. What lines best describe the story without giving anything away? Using quotations from my own characters are a safe bet.
Edit until desired effect is realized and you have converted the trailer to the right format. Post the end result on YouTube or a personal website and ask for opinions. See if I've interested people enough to read a paragraph. Remember to confess that those clipsactually belong to a corporation who could sue my hair off.
Repeat the process until I feel I am a master of winning attention with a mock trailer. Try and try again. Then learn how to make a real trailer from scratch.
And there I have it. In a short amount of time this mock trailer has stirred yet more curiosity towards my book, enough for people to read the synopsis, if not the book itself.
Can a trailer be made even with Windows Movie Maker? Sure. I'd recommend it for first timers who don't know how to make those cool little animation effects, much less have the horrendously expensive programs to make them with.
Windows Movie Maker comes with preset transitions, effects and the same, simple way to cut out parts of a movie clip or song. Everything else is a matter of clicking and dragging an object to the place that's clearly marked what this place is for. For those who have not the patience or the time to read the instructions, just glance down every list of commands and fool around with a clip to get used to them. It won't take long. And there are plenty of tutorials online otherwise.
Then Take It to Their Leader
No longer are writers confined to using bold-faced tag lines. No longer can a book expect to be looked at only by a reader who likes that genre. Now, there's another way.
It's not rare to see a book publicized through television commercials, though it's likely a book by a well-known author. Those of the pen -- or laptop keyboards -- are realizing that there's an advertising opportunity to be had. Amateur writers, at least, want to show that their works are capable of so much more, and therefore worth reading despite the lack ofdegrees.
So go. Go forth and make your mock trailers, then your real commercials. Show how writers are capable of projecting an image into a reader's head in more ways than one. Accomplish the incredible act of attracting a person to books more than movies with a date, more than the art of free cable TV. Go. Go and conquer!
Nicole Kim is an amateur writer trying to edge her way into the freelance writing business. She currently holds a temporary job as a writer for a Web-based video game. "It's not quite my dream job, but very close!" Kim says.
