During the book trailer creation, I learned the importance to work with my partner as a team. By deciding roles and communicating opinions with each other, we were able to effectively and enjoyably finish it. I placed “Nayami kaiketsu bu” at the end in order to make the trailer captivating for the audience. Since I put so much effort into this video production, (such as spending more than 30 minutes to produce a scene which was shown for only 0.5 seconds) I was able to add more details.
This is a very high quality book trailer. Exceptional editing skills are used so that not only are the drawings, photos, videos, and sounds put together seamlessly, but they come together to build up an exciting tone, as if the kids are on some sort of "mission." Some scenes are like actual movies and leave a huge impact on the audience, such as the introduction where the audience is taken into the classroom and the part with the eyes.
「臆病な僕でも勇者になれた七つの教え」
「the SIX ザ・シックス」
Tsukuba International School
Minami Kato (Gr. 10)
I made a book trailer about a book called “臆病な僕でも勇者になれた七つの教え:「自信」が湧きだす不思議な冒険”, and this was the first time making a book trailer. The part that I put most of my effort was using black papers and cellophanes for the animation. I like crafting and playing with materials very much, so I decided to use these materialsfor my book trailer. This was the first time creating an animation, so I struggled a lot when I was editing the video, and I think that was the hardest part for me. By creating his book trailer, I think I could understand the book more.
Tsukuba International School
Kokonatsu Kumakura (Gr. 10)
I decided to change the font, font size and the colours to emphasis some areas that were important in the book trailer. Last year, I had difficulty summarizing the book and ended up telling most of the plot so I spent more time on picking out the important sections in the book. The book I choose was a collection of short stories, so it was difficult to decide what I wanted to put in the trailer. I also tried filming the whole trailer on my own. Next time, I would like to make the music by myself too.
Kira, the main character, was called a monster by his own father because he was born with the blue hair. Although Kira’s sorrow and tears were displayed well using handmade art, and the text and background music were used effectively, viewers became confused when the cellophane arts and photographs were used together. Either use one or the other, or think about how to use both without interruption - this would improve the quality of the trailer.
Good selection of images and movies to describe the extraordinary qualities of the main characters, they also come together to set a peculiar, somewhat solemn tone. The flashing of the text to describe their anxiety and despair over not being accepted by others is also effective. The music matches the story and pictures. Narration could further improve the quality of the trailer.
「羊と鋼の森」
「母と暮らせば」
Hokkaido International School
Ayaha Ikezawa (Gr. 12)
My main focus this year was to create the materials with my own hands to use. Although I downloaded a free piano music for the audio, I drew and filmed myself to collect as many visual materials as possible. By doing so, I was able to try out different motions and effects on the visuals that I never used. It was both interesting and fun creating this trailer. I've been participating in this contest for few times, and out of all of them, this year was the most enjoying year.
Tsukuba International School
Suram Shim (Gr. 9)
I created my book trailer focusing on the feelings of the main character, Kouji Fukuhara. The transition of the colors throughout my video expresses how the character is feeling. When there are some use of dark colors, it is when Kouji is feeling sad, depressed, etc. When there are some use of bright colors, it is when Kouji is feeling happy, delighted, etc. This feature goes the same with the music used in my trailer.Unlike last year, I tried using silhouettes for the characters so that it is easier to see what actually is happening in my book trailer.
The piano music used in the background not only matches the story, but also helps the audience focus on the story’s piano motif. The drawings tell the story clearly and in detail. You combined both video and illustrations, but the quality of your trailer would improve if you choose just one of them.
You have expressed the emotions of the main character well. You have included a little too much text and would do better with more animation or narration.
「羊と鋼の森」
「臆病な僕でも勇者になれた七つの教え」
「悩み部の結成と、その結末」
Hiroshima International School
Monet Shiji (Gr. 9)
This year, I challenged myself by creating an animation using stop motion. During the procedure, I faced many challenges as the scene where the girl fists her hand. Using the technology was difficult as well, but I eventually got used to it. To express the theme and message of the book, I emphasized the piano since it is one of the most important concepts within the book. To do so, I included multiple shots of a piano in the trailer. Also the background music is played by a solo piano, which creates a somewhat musical atmosphere throughout the trailer.
Hokkaido International School
Ryu Katayama (Gr. 9)
Compared to the book trailer I made two years ago, I felt like this year’s is a better quality in terms of mood and how smooth I had created. I used free stock images instead of drawing them by hand since I am not really good at art. Since it was more than 2 years since my last one, my video editing skills has improved from various outside projects. I think this video can show the slight sad mood of the story and showcasing the general plot of the book. I am very pleased with how this video turned out.
Canadian Academy
Insun Woo (Gr. 11) & Kei Jinguji (Gr. 11)
One difficulty was finding the theme, because each chapter has a different story in this book. So initially, we attempted to show 3-4 stories in the trailer. However, doing so turned out to be extremely challenging because the trailer looked messy. Thus, we changed our plan, which was to have the trailer revolve around the main characters. This allowed us to create a more coherent trailer. We tried to appeal to the audience that all the stories in the book can be read in ‘5 minutes’ because high schoolers often do not have enough time to read, and, therefore, short stories are appealing to them.
The stop motion effects of the drawings bring out a secretive, and somewhat lonely atmosphere to the trailer. The fact that the entire clip is in black and white also enhance this tone. The abstractness of the trailer gets the audience interested, but can make it hard to see what the book is about.
Viewers can feel the sorrow of the main character, Kira, felt when he was called a monster by his own father. There were times when narration was not audible, and where intention and effectiveness were not clear. You have used the scenery and classroom images, but if you were to use different images to convey what Kira had to go through, the feelings and hardship he experienced to gain the Ark, would make your trailer better quality.
The trailer matched the story. I recommend using narration in the first part instead of, or in addition to, the text. The credits say there is a person who did narration, but it was not included. That would also make the quality of the trailer better.