One of the things our publisher asked each author to create was a short video about their book — a little movie trailer for a book. We loved the idea and treated it as a fun, do-it-yourself challenge rather than hiring a full production team.
Artisan suggested we hire a small film and editing crew to handle the trailer, but we decided to take it on ourselves. We started with a clear outline and a short script, then hired a talented local videographer (who happens to be family) to shoot the footage. We edited the final cut on Final Cut Pro back in March. Since the official release date is two months away, we can finally share the finished video now. It was a blast to put together.
We had to finish the trailer early because the publisher needed it for a spring sales conference. As soon as we returned from a long trip, the pressure was on. Luckily, all the projects featured in the book were already completed when we photographed the book content over three weeks at our house in February, so organizing one day of video shooting and setting up a few improvised vignettes was manageable and actually a lot of fun.
It felt surreal to see the projects rendered in a polished, cinematic way because we had turned in our project outlines about a year before the video was filmed. For months those ideas existed mostly on paper and in our heads; finally seeing them come to life on screen was like baking a complex cake and getting the first bite after a long wait.
One of the strangest and most amusing parts of the process was recording our own voice-over. We ended up sitting in a closet, using our phones to capture the narration, and then layering that audio into the edit. The DIY setup felt goofy and intimate at the same time — one of those moments where you realize creative work doesn’t require high-end studios to be meaningful.
For readers who can’t watch video at the moment, we included several still shots that offer sneak peeks of projects featured in the book. These images show a selection of the ideas and finished pieces you’ll find throughout the pages. The video contains many more quick glimpses, but the stills serve as a handy preview for those viewing from work or with limited bandwidth.
We’re relieved and excited to reveal a portion of the projects now, even though it’s only a sample. The full book will be available soon, and then readers will be able to explore all the projects in detail. We can’t wait to share the rest — there’s a lot of practical inspiration and approachable, hands-on projects throughout the book.
A lot of the energy in the trailer comes from the clothesline concept, which John came up with. It gave us a clever way to include quick previews of many projects while maintaining a cohesive visual thread. In a little over a minute of footage we managed to spotlight around fifteen different projects. That rapid-fire style fits our love of packing lots of ideas into a small space and our tendency to be enthusiastic (and sometimes terrible at keeping surprises).
If you’ve ever written a video script and tried to create a short, polished clip for YouTube or social media, you know it’s a unique creative exercise. Balancing clarity, pacing, and visual interest in a brief runtime is challenging but rewarding. We enjoyed choosing which projects to highlight, deciding on quick visual transitions, and recording little bits of narration that would guide viewers through the preview.
Putting the trailer together reinforced how collaborative and hands-on this whole book project has been. From concept to completed projects, to photography and now to the trailer, every stage involved problem solving, experimentation, and creative decisions. Seeing the final trailer made all that effort feel worthwhile and gave us a tangible early glimpse of the finished book experience.
We’re counting down the weeks until release and are excited for readers to see the full collection. In the meantime, we hope this short behind-the-scenes look and the still images whet your appetite for the book’s projects and approachable DIY ideas. Thanks for following along — we’ll share more as the launch date gets closer.