Author Topic: I stopped...  (Read 262 times)

R. C.

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I stopped...
« on: October 11, 2024, 08:15:45 AM »
... tilting at windmills, damning the tide, and screaming at the moon over AI destroying the world as we know it.

UPDATE 12-OCT: I revamped the format to fit Amazon Advertising rules and made several changes based on suggestions.
UPDATE 15-OCT: I added captions.

Let me know what you think of this (sound on):

http://www.rcducantlin.com/wp-content/uploads/GBMC-Preorder-1x1-v4c.mp4


RC
« Last Edit: October 16, 2024, 07:42:23 AM by R. C. »
 

Lorri Moulton

Re: I stopped...
« Reply #1 on: October 11, 2024, 12:06:12 PM »
Is the AI the voice?

It's a fun video.  Two things...without the sound on, it doesn't make much sense.  I prefer words over just names, but with the CC on it would probably be fine.

And the second is about consistency. If you show five people and one woman is African-American, then one woman should probably be African-American in the shot of the five friends.  I know that it's very difficult to find good images for making book trailers, but I would try something else to make that work.

This is one reason I quit trying to do promos for one of our series.  It focuses on three women (one is Native-American) and four generations...starting in Edwardian times.  Almost impossible to find any images, so that might be one reason I eventually try AI. 

Author of Romance, Fantasy, Fairytales, Mystery & Suspense, and Historical Non-Fiction @ Lavender Cottage Books
https://lavendercottagebooks.com/
 
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R. C.

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Re: I stopped...
« Reply #2 on: October 11, 2024, 09:51:00 PM »
quote author=Lorri Moulton

Is the AI the voice?
Yes. I used Elevenlabs.io

It's a fun video.  Two things...without the sound on, it doesn't make much sense.  I prefer words over just names, but with the CC on it would probably be fine.
Oddly, I had captions and the "focus group" hated it. I switched to the new version but will re-consider a hybrid.

And the second is about consistency. If you show five people and one woman is African-American, then one woman should probably be African-American in the shot of the five friends.  I know that it's very difficult to find good images for making book trailers, but I would try something else to make that work.
This is bugging me too. I will think about a change to the sequence/content.

This is one reason I quit trying to do promos for one of our series.  It focuses on three women (one is Native-American) and four generations...starting in Edwardian times.  Almost impossible to find any images, so that might be one reason I eventually try AI.
I used Runwayml and have had reasonable success. DEFINITELY watch a few tutorials on how to create good prompts before burning credits with experimentation. Trust me... I know about burning through credits.


R.C.
 
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R. C.

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Re: I stopped...
« Reply #3 on: October 11, 2024, 09:53:35 PM »
Also, if anyone is interested, I created a process document with the tools I used while learning the tools and process.  I can reprint it here if anyone is interested.

R.C.

alhawke

Re: I stopped...
« Reply #4 on: October 12, 2024, 04:05:06 AM »
I'd recommend you mix in more lake forest scenes between the characters. In some ways, I think only showing characters detracts a bit from your summary.
 
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Bill Hiatt

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Re: I stopped...
« Reply #5 on: October 12, 2024, 11:18:45 PM »
Yeah, a series of shots of people who are really good looking but aren't doing anything except having the wind blow their hair doesn't tell us much about the book. The video is definitely somewhat at odds with the audio. Also, that kind of character display is getting really common--because AI is better at that than at action scenes. For instance, there's a trailer on YouTube that explores what a Justice League trailer would have looked like in an earlier era. It's mostly famous actors standing there in superhero costumes, displayed one at a time. (In other words, it's not like any real trailer for a superhero movie would have been, ever.)

The only remotely murdery thing in the visuals is the bloody handprint at the very end. It may be impractical to do a genuine action sequence, but maybe someone lurking in the shadows or something. Or people looking actually worrying instead of looking like they're posing for a photo shoot.

The voice sounds a lot less mechanical than it would have sounded even a few years ago, but honestly, it still needs a little more emotion, particularly at the point where the speaker reveals that his friends are being framed and that he knows whodunit.


The text itself is great. I'd buy the book based on the text, which does make the good sound like a great read. But if I didn't know you, the video would make me want to take a pass.



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Lorri Moulton

Re: I stopped...
« Reply #6 on: October 13, 2024, 04:42:15 AM »
I like the new photo at the end!


Author of Romance, Fantasy, Fairytales, Mystery & Suspense, and Historical Non-Fiction @ Lavender Cottage Books
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R. C.

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Re: I stopped...
« Reply #7 on: October 13, 2024, 04:57:39 AM »
Yeah, a series of shots of people who are really good looking but aren't doing anything except having the wind blow their hair doesn't tell us much about the book. The video is definitely somewhat at odds with the audio. Also, that kind of character display is getting really common--because AI is better at that than at action scenes. For instance, there's a trailer on YouTube that explores what a Justice League trailer would have looked like in an earlier era. It's mostly famous actors standing there in superhero costumes, displayed one at a time. (In other words, it's not like any real trailer for a superhero movie would have been, ever.)

The only remotely murdery thing in the visuals is the bloody handprint at the very end. It may be impractical to do a genuine action sequence, but maybe someone lurking in the shadows or something. Or people looking actually worrying instead of looking like they're posing for a photo shoot.

The voice sounds a lot less mechanical than it would have sounded even a few years ago, but honestly, it still needs a little more emotion, particularly at the point where the speaker reveals that his friends are being framed and that he knows whodunit.


The text itself is great. I'd buy the book based on the text, which does make the good sound like a great read. But if I didn't know you, the video would make me want to take a pass.


Bill,

This is good feedback, something I can use to improve the trailer. 

A piece of marketing data that may change your thoughts about the video is that I used the faces to create a "that one looks like me" vibe. This means that if someone sees something that strikes them as familiar, they will be more likely to continue viewing it.

That given, I may add something ominous to the faces or shorten their duration. 

R.C.

PJ Post

Re: I stopped...
« Reply #8 on: October 14, 2024, 04:43:08 AM »
My advice is to storyboard the promo like a short film, and then try to recreate those shots with AI. Runway, for example, has video that can create action. You don't need much to generate interest. And even a short clip can be cut into multiple edits. Just a thought.
 
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Bill Hiatt

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Re: I stopped...
« Reply #9 on: October 14, 2024, 06:22:44 AM »
Quote
A piece of marketing data that may change your thoughts about the video is that I used the faces to create a "that one looks like me" vibe. This means that if someone sees something that strikes them as familiar, they will be more likely to continue viewing it.
Interesting!

I see what you're going for. In that case, though, it might be better to not have the name of each character appear. The context makes it obvious that these people are the friends the narrator is talking about. Their exact names won't mean anything to someone who hasn't read the book, but showing the names might make people less likely to relate one of the images to themselves.

I took a look at the alternate cut with black in it and somewhat shorter duration photo montage. That seems to be an improvement.


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