Media students' big screen hopes for book trailer
Released: Tuesday 1st May 2012 at 12:50
SUNDERLAND media students have created a movie-style trailer to promote the launch of a new book by an acclaimed North East author which is bidding for a prize in a US competition.
R.D. Ronald commissioned the final year students to produce a fast and furious trailer to promote the launch of his latest novel – The Zombie Room, a psychological thriller based around the drugs and sex trafficking industry.
Book trailers have become a hugely popular promotional tool in America and the University of Sunderland students are now using the production company they’ve jointly set up, called Contrapunto, to offer a niche service in the UK producing big screen trailers to promote authors’ latest works.
The Contrapunto team - Amy Swan (Producer), Adam Gerber (Director), Marie Ferrie (Cinematography), Josh Rafé Coles (Assistant Producer), Luke Garnham (Assistant Director/Gaffer), Lewis Bonner (Editor), Lucy Richards (Sound), Neville Glean (Camera) and Nehir Glean (2nd Assistant Director) - are also hoping that their entry into this year’s International Movie Trailer Festival Awards will provide a platform to get their work showcased to a global audience.
R.D. Ronald, from Newcastle, said: “I wanted to approach the book trailer from the angle of a student production because I hoped that by finding the right crew, with a mixture of hunger, talent and enthusiasm, we could work together to make a fantastic end product.
“I approached Sunderland to help with the project because of the university’s reputation as being one of the best in the business, and I am delighted with the results.
“The time frame available to organise the entire project was pretty tight, and the number of shoots, locations and actors too was really quite expansive. I believe the actors and crew on one particular shoot numbered around 60, which for a student production was handled magnificently with the utmost professionalism.”
To produce the trailer, the team had to source more than 30 actors and 20 locations across the North East, as well as creating props and costumes which would highlight the book’s plot, without giving away too much of the story.
The trailer will also form part of the students’ final year projects for their degree courses.
Adam Gerber, 23, from South West Wales, said: “We’ve all been overwhelmed by the results and enjoyed every minute of our involvement in such a specialised project.
“To produce the trailer we needed to get an understanding of what the book and author were all about. It was certainly an interesting challenge on how we could tell the story without giving away too much.
“It was also a challenge for the crew as we had so many different people and places to look for. But we have learned so much from this experience, it was an amazing.”
Amy Swan, 25, from Newcastle, added: “We decided to launch Contrapunto as a business while working together at university, hopefully we can create a niche company from this experience, specialising in book trailers. It’s a new concept in this country, and we hope we can take our company forward in this area.”
The Zombie Room publishers, Book Guild, are also impressed with the results of the trailer.
Laura Lockington, Director of Marketing & Publicity at Book Guild Publishing, said: “A very urban, cutting edge professional trailer. It sums up the book very well. There has already been interest in major film companies with this title – and I can quite see why!”
RD Ronald added: “I love the way a book trailer can ensnare you, much in the same way a movie trailer of music video can too. Bringing together a kaleidoscope of imagination and imagery into a 90-second bundle.
“I think book trailers are already becoming the future of book marketing. In the States they have been consistently growing in popularity over the last decade, and publishers in this country are only now beginning to catch on.
“I would be happy to work with the university again on a similar project, although any future students would certainly have some big shoes to fill.”
The Zombie Room is due out in July, and is available to pre-order now from book shops and online.
To view the trailer log on to Contrapunto’s website: http://www.contrapunto.co.uk/
For the trailer, to become a success at the International Movie Trailer Festival Awards it needs support and votes! You can help now by voting here: http://bit.ly/HRBcnS
Watch an interview with Director Adam Gerber and Josh Rafé Coles online: http://bit.ly/HP4lPP