Stephen Spielberg, I am not!
So here we go into the next phase of the trailer production. How do the major movie producers do it? The image that I have in my head is Academy quality, but of course the reality is a whole other thing. I’ve no idea what I’m doing and can’t wait to get what I’ve done so far to my brother so that he can do the AVID thing.
After hours of playing the Wikimedia Commons tracks I finally decided on one that I think might have the necessary rise and fall, and length, for my brother to cut around it. Have sent to him for comment.
After that decision came the text. I took the blurbs from both books (yes, if this works, we are doing one for The Last Stitch as well), also found some key lines and key words. These have been sent to the graphic designer to render into the font she used on the covers and which she will then convert to PC friendly. Lots of emails flying around.
I put the text, lines and words in linear order and then went through the filed images from Wikimedia Commons and noted which images and indeed what part of those images I wanted to use. I compiled a very tentative shot-list out of that and against the music as I played it for the millioneth time: words in black, images and what editing might happen to the images in red. Emailed to my brother.
At this point I am waiting for replies from the graphic designer and the producer to see what the next step is. I realise that I could acquire the necessary software to do this myself, but I’m not technically savvy at all and have such a wonderful resource of skilled knowledge in my family, I honestly don’t see the point. My brother will do it so much better and not lose his temper.
Needless to say, I have done ZIP on the WIP! But never mind, sometimes business and promotion of the existing titles takes precedence. And this is FUN! So far.
Oh and by the way . . . family relationships are still good!
I can hardly wait to see the images you’ve chosen, because it will tell me so much about Eirie that I’ve only been able to guess at. Words can only do so much (you can tell I’m not a writer).
Zip on the WIP is pretty funny!
Not sure that you will get an idea of Eirie, Pat. Many of the images will be cut down and very close up for dramatic effect. In any case, I think your mind above all others, has probably sussed out the world of Eirie pretty well.
I hate to say this, because Peter Jackson has used New Zealand to such brilliant effect in LOTR and no doubt The Hobbitt, but Trevallyn and the Pymm Archipelago are very NZ. The Raj is a cross between India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Morocco (please any readers from those countries, this is a huge compliment, I assure you) and Veniche is . . . Venice, obviously. In the WIP, the Han is most definitely a cross-pollination of China, Tibet, Bhutan and Japan. Put images of those countries in your mind and you have the fantastical world of Eirie.
That sounds like an exciting project–I made a trailer for my as-of-yet-unpublished-but-i-can-dream-book, just for fun, using basic Windows software and photos I already had. It wasn’t exactly professional, but it was a great tool for learning how to focus a pitch in a different, visual way. Enjoy the process!
Thanks Rowenna . . . you are far braver than I. To do such a thing yourself is laudatory!
You are right in what you say about focusing a pitch visually. Whether I have achieved that or not in this early stage is a moot point, I suspect brother and husband will refine my ideas somewhat (for somewhat, read a lot!)
In the meantime I am enjoying it but the process has slowed as the graphic designer is in bed with a flu . . . the next blog re developments might be a couple of blogs away.
The family who works on a project together stays together.
“Steel is grown-up cardboard, design is grown-up play”.
Shot schedules are terrific.
And it’s great to hear about all the countries.
I don’t know that Spielberg himself works on the trailers. I think there are trailer specialists who work in the shorter form, and focus groups.
Adelaide, thanks for calling by. You are on the ball with everything. I agree, I’m pretty sure Spielberg would NEVER work on a trailer . . . I just wish I had a movie producer’s eye and acumen with the visual image!