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New film "trailers" for books award

29.11.07 Joel Rickett

A new project to create film “trailers” for books is being launched by The Bookseller, in partnership with the Random House Group, Play.com and the National Film & Television School (NFTS).

The inaugural Book Video Awards will see NFTS students and alumni develop 90-second films based on three novels to be published by the Random House Group early next year. The videos will be launched in March 2008 and screened via Play.com, thebookseller.com, YouTube and other viral sites.

The winning film-makers have already been selected by a panel of judges including NFTS director Nik Powell, acclaimed producer of “Mona Lisa”, “The Crying Game” and “Little Voice”. A team led by Felix Wiedemann is adapting Small World by Matt Beaumont (Bantam); Catia Peres is working on Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff (Heinemann); and Chamoun Issa is producing The Outcast by Sadie Jones (Chatto).

Peter Bowron, group m.d. of RHG, said it is a “ground-breaking” experiment: “This is a completely original way to ensure awareness of our titles reaches a young adult and light-reading audience. The creation of short films could prove a creative and fresh way to market our books via multiple digital forums.”

Ros Lawler, RH’s digital marketing and publicity manager, added: “From a digital marketing perspective it puts us on a level playing-field. We’re often in spaces where we’re up against the music industry or the film industry, and this is a good way of seeing whether we can do the same for books.”

Producing the videos will challenge the NFTS teams, said Powell. “It’s a really interesting project to undertake—showcasing a whole book in a mere 90 seconds to tantalise and enthral readers into buying the books. There’s a good budget and the NFTS is providing resources such as cameras, editing facilities and stage spaces to enable the three films to be made to a really high standard.”

The project fits Play’s profile as a cross-entertainment retailer, added the site’s books manager Georgina Stoaling. “Short films help raise the profile of new titles, attract new audiences and aid sales. The three titles are very different from each other and the treatments chosen mean the finished films should be compelling.”

Bowron said the partnership with Play is crucial: “We would like to see the films in as many places as we possibly can around the web, but having them directly connected to a place where people can actually make a purchase is a powerful thing.”

Joel Rickett Prize Book Video Awards

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