Last summer break, I went to the software lecture in Tokyo to learn how to make animation just for this trailer video making. I chose to make an animation because last year, I noticed that I never saw animation in the sakura book trailers. However, I wasn't very prepared until the last minute because of the planning and the delusions. Therefore it turned out not satisfied as I suspected, but I added more sound effects to not lose interest from the viewers.
Tsukuba International School
Shun Kawata (Gr. 10)
This year I illustrated all of the images I used in the book trailer. I added a lot of images because I wanted the audience to understand the setting of this book in detail. Since this book was about mountain-climbing and life of a female mountaineer, I focused on the natural scenery. The images were not just a freeze frame. I added small movements inside the images such as fluttering flag of Japan and changing color of sky. This way I replicated the scenes inside the book to introduce the book.
This is an extremely high-quality work that skillfully combines hand-drawn illustrations and texts. The sound effects are combined well, and in the part explaining the situation in the castle, lively tension full of reality is produced. If narration is combined, it would have been an even better-quality work.
Visual images using hand-drawn illustrations and the back-ground music are combined well, resulting in the expressive work that uses technology effectively. If narration was combined, it would have been a higher quality work.
Hiroshima International School
Soya Shinkura (Gr. 9)
This year, I spent a considerable amount of time brainstorming ideas on how to actually make the book trailer. All my ideas involved drawing, which I’m not particularly skilled at. Then, I realised that I could build the castle - the main setting of the book - on Minecraft. After I had decided on the medium, I needed to decide the “mood” of my book trailer. Happy? Hopeful? Adventurous? Mysterious? Dark? Finally, armed with the medium of the trailer, the “mood” and a fitting background music, the actual creation of the book trailer went very smoothly.
This work accurately visualizes the content of the story, using Minecraft effectively. The visual images were beautiful and the sound effects were creatively used. If the narration was combined, the beauty of the image would have been further enhanced.
"Kimi wa Tsukiyo ni Hikari Kagayaku"
『君は月夜に光り輝く』
Doshisha International School Kyoto
Yuuki Kitada (Gr. 9)
I made this book trailer in a way that makes the audience want to read the book, while conveying the story through simple phrases, visuals, and audio. A great example of this is how I presented a shocking phrase in white text on a red back ground with a shift effect at the end of the trailer, which made it stand out from the rest of the video, and surprises the audience. Even though this was my first time creating a book trailer, I was satisfied with the outcome.
"Taiyou to Kimi no Koe"
『太陽ときみの声』
Tsukuba International School
Sameer Sharma (Gr. 9)
This was my second time participating for the Sakura Medal Book Trailer contest, and it was another great opportunity for me, since I usually do not read Japanese books. The book got interesting and I could kind of visualize how the trailer would look as I read more and more. I was motivated to work on my trailer, and this time I wanted to make something that could make the viewers buy the book, because honestly I thought the book was great, and should be read whether you are a soccer fan or not. I was using a much complex software, compared to last year, which led to a bit of stress and frustration during the starting when things weren’t going very well. However I’m very satisfied with my final product.
"Mata, Onaji Yume wo Miteita"
『また、同じ夢を見ていた』
Tokyo Metropolitan Kokusai High School
Sota Shibano (Gr. 12)
Chun Soon Yun (Gr. 12)
In order to deliver a clear image of the book’s story to the audience, we used simplicity as a main theme throughout the trailer to also draw the audiences’ attention. We used lines from the book that would be relatable to many of us. Also, color contrasting was another tool used in our trailer to symbolically illustrate the time and space of the book.
The bright colors of the work seem to symbolize the joy of the day that the two main characters were able to find each other and the greatness of connecting with others. The viewer can also understand how the two people got their mind through the screen of the smartphone and the "want to do list". Furthermore, the work stimulates the viewer's curiosity by not specifying what ‘the last wish’ is.
Although it is slightly disappointing that there were some problems with the transition, such as a part of BGM being cut off, the work clearly makes the viewer feel the courage and challenge spirit of the main character, who puts himself on blind soccer over trials. The narration would have made the viewer understand and feel his decision more tangible.
The overall work is well edited and organized. The visual images are beautiful, the transition is smooth and easy to see, but too much text. The work would have rather been a higher quality piece by adding narration.