An Interview with a Book-Trailer Director

Last week, I posted a fan-created video for Laurie Faria Stolarz's Blue is for Nightmares. Since then, I've had a chance to correspond with the video's creator, Madison of M2 Productions (check out her other videos, too). Our short but interesting exchange is below:

AK: First off, can you tell us a little about yourself?

M2: Believe it or not, I'm sixteen years old. I attend the local high school and work as a clerk at the local library. On the side I love to make videos, like the Blue is for Nightmares preview that I recently posted on YouTube. You can find all my videos that I've created there. I also enjoy creating art, any kind. This can include paintings, drawings, stories, and even videos.

AK: You not only made an awesome video for Blue is for Nightmares, but you’ve made a video for the soon to be released Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer—which presumably you haven’t read yet—and for a couple other books. Could you tell me a little about why you make these videos? What made you start? Were you inspired by a video someone else made?

M2: Well, I'm not quite sure exactly how I became interested in video making. Both my parents work in television, directing the news or making commercials. For some reason, I absolutely adore movies. There's just something about them that makes me feel all excited. When I first started making videos, they were just fun ones about my friends and myself. Then I began to see other people's videos on the web, and I guess they inspired me. Another thing that could be the main reason for me making these videos, is the story on which the movie is based. Without books like Blue is for Nightmares or Eclipse, these videos wouldn't have been made. I feel that creating videos is something that I will be doing for life. Why? Because I love it.

AK: How do you do it?

M2: When I start making a video I almost have a system right from the beginning. I always choose the music first. Music is the greatest key to movie making. It adds emotion to moving pictures on screen. What else can do that? But overall I guess it usually depends on the sort of impact I want people to have when they watch it. I want them to be on the edge of their seat, or by the end of the video, really wanting to pick up that book and read it. If the music and the pictures/film are well put together it can have this effect on a person every time they watch it.

AK: What kind of computer system do you use?

M2: For some reason that question makes me laugh. See, my editing system is nothing but a cheap program that came with my computer: Windows Movie Maker. It's not much, but I'm able to make videos and post them on YouTube. I've always wanted a better system, but for now I spend my time admiring the one my dad uses at his work. It gets the job done and something is better than nothing

AK: What’s the key to a good book video?

M2: Like I just said above, it's the hope that the video will have a great enough impact on the people who watch it, so they will go and want to read that book. Just like a movie trailer, it has to leave the viewer wanting more. It's like going to the movie theater. I never want to miss the previews because that's I exactly what I am trying to do with my videos on YouTube. It draws you into the story, before you've even seen the movie or read the book.