Book Trailer Reflection

While I think the final products are pretty neat, creating book trailers can easily turn into a rabbit hole of finding music, images, and video. I think that if I'm going to continue with them, I'd need a way to streamline the process - namely, a way to not get distracted by all the flashy options and the overwhelming directions one could go with 30 seconds to a minute of time.

Choosing the book to trailer was easy - The Forgotten Book is a new YA title that I recently finished, and it's an easy sell to the right reader. Anyone looking for a contemporary Pride & Prejudice retelling set in a boarding school in the German countryside will want to check it out. Also, there's a book that makes the things you write in it come true, a missing schoolgirl, and other fairytale-esque details.

Then came choosing the video platform. Animoto was simple, though even with its pre-made storyboards and limited design control, I still found myself spending ample time sorting through songs, trying out different images, and reworking my final product. I could see myself using this platform again, and I think that once I've made a few different videos, knowing which storyboard/song/etc I want will come easier.



For my second trailer, I choose to use WeVideo since it had the easiest sign up/was the most clear about having a free plan. At first glance, WeVideo seems to give the user more freedom. The video editing and effects tools were easy to play around with, and I had more control over the music as well. Once I realized I was "trying out" a few premium features, I had to dial back a few of the edits I had made, but there were still enough tools for me to create. I modeled my WeVideo video after my Animoto one to keep things simpler, but was still able to personalize more aspect (the option for multiple songs, fading in and out of each screen).



I've usually seen book trailers done by students or teens for either an assignment or because they love a book that much, and I can definitely see how this platform could be useful for a teacher or librarian to engage kids with different technology in relation to something they are reading. In a public library setting, it would be cool to use one of these platforms in library programming - technology or makerspace-wise, then let kids play around with it and create their own book/movie/etc trailers that the library could then share via social media or embed to a website, similar to what the Chicago Public Library has done using its YOUmedia space.