Young House Love

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Finally! Some Book Project Sneak Peeks…

One of the things our publisher does is have each of their authors create a short video about their book. A movie trailer of sorts – but for a book.

Book Cover Only

Artisan suggested we hire a little film/editing crew to do it, but like true DIYers we took it as a fun challenge to see how much we could do ourselves. So we came up with an outline, wrote a little script, hired a local video genius to shoot it for us (who also happens to be our brother in law) and edited it ourselves in Final Cut Pro back in March. And now that we’re two months away from the official book release date (Nov 6th, aka Election Day) we’re finally allowed to share it! Wahoo.

We had to finish the video so early because our publisher needed it for a spring sales conference in March, so as soon as we got back from Hawaii the pressure was on (see how bare the trees are in this pic?). Thankfully all of the projects were already finished for when we shot all of the book photography over three weeks at our house in February, so one day of shooting video and setting up little impromptu vignettes wasn’t too tricky. It was actually really fun.

Superlatives Video Shoot

The funniest thing is that we handed in our outline for all of the projects in the book about a year before this video was shot, so finally seeing the projects in real life in a polished format like this (since it was well before we saw any final book proofs) was kind of surreal. I guess it’s akin to baking a cake for a year or two and finally getting to taste it.

The weirdest part by far was recording our nerdy little voice over (while sitting in a closet using our iPhones) and layering that in there. Allow us to share this reenactment so you can picture it (Burger was playing the role of “Supervisor”):

Voice Over Record

And for those of you at work who can’t watch videos, here are a few still shots (there are a lot more sneak peeks of various projects in the video though):

Video Screen Shot1

Video Screen Shot5

Video Screen Shot7

Video Screen Shot8

Video Screen Shot9

Video Screen Shot10

Video Screen Shot11

Video Screen Shot13

Video Screen Shot14

We’re so relieved to finally be able to reveal some of the projects in the book – even if it’s only a small portion for now. Thankfully in less than two months the book will be out (you can pre order it here) so all those kitties will be out of the bag. Can’t wait! Free the kitties!

Have you guys ever written a video script and attempted to make a somewhat polished little YouTube ditty? It’s kinda fun, right? The clothesline concept was all John’s – and we love how it allowed us to squeeze in a few bonus project peeks. I’d say previewing 15 projects in a little over a minute is pretty speedy, indeed. You know we like to cram stuff in there (slash are terrible secret keepers). Woot!

Comments

  1. Kelsey says

    haha, Looks like it’s straight from the voting booth to the book store to my couch for me! :)

    You two are adorable. It’s ridiculous to be so cute & so talented at the same time. Geez.

    Reply

  4. Christina says

    My favorite part of the video is at 0:47 — I’m a VA girl having been raised in the Tidewater area for a good part of my life. I’m so excited for the book to be released! And y’all did a great job on the video too…

    Reply

  7. Jessica says

    Yours is the only blog I actually read daily, and the smile of pride on my face when I watched your book video was ridiculous!! My boyfriend thinks I’m crazy. Me: “Well, yea. I don’t KNOW them. But I kinda sorta know them.”
    Him: “You’ve never met these people. Why are you so excited (lol), I don’t get it”
    Me: “Well I don’t understand why you get so excited watching grown men in tights chase each other and a ball. I’m just proud of them, okay?!”

    In short, CONGRATS!! I’m proud of you.

    Reply

  9. Nicole says

    As an avid YHL reader I´m definitely looking forward to the arrival of my next “US box of treats”, sent every so often by my in-laws all the way to Brazil! This time it will bring me THE BOOK! Hooray!The video made me wanna seep up time :)
    congrats!

    Reply

  12. Sherri says

    Loved the video and the projects. I have a plain-Jane dresser that would be a good gradient project. I pre-ordered the book a while ago. I also got my BFF one for Christmas!!You guys are naturals. You always talk about your dorkiness, but I see you two and your presentations as heart-warming and lovable!! Congrats and keep up the good work and inspiration!

    Reply

  14. Megan says

    I live in Australia and I’m now in the process of trying to get my husband to get me your book as a Christmas present. I love your video and that pillow is so cute thanks for the idea.

    Reply

  17. Kendra says

    Congrats you two! It made me smile that you were (playfully!) fighting over which state should be in front – my husband and I are from 2 different states. We would so be doing that too ;)

    Reply

  18. Danette from Oz says

    YAY for you guys! What a huge accomplishment. The video is so creative…you guys are going to have huge success with the book! (Hope you still remember us little ‘followers’ when you make the big time!) Congrats!!

    Reply

  24. Katelyn says

    wow.. I’m so use to you guys talking about “secret book projects” that it’s going to be so weird to never read that again! Bring onnnn the count down!! I’m beyondddd excited!! I feel like I need to make a paper chain countdown…

    Reply

  26. Erin says

    Did you guys notice that you are currently on your 8th day on Amazon’s current Top 100 Bestsellers! You are #54!! Congrats! I enjoy reading your blog each day. I feel like you guys are my friends even though we have never met…no creepy intended!

    Reply

  27. megan, perth western australia says

    I am sick at home with a cold today and that little video made me smile!!!! you are sooo cute, the ombre dresser looks awesome

    I cannot wait for it to arrive, I will have to wait a little longer down here in Australia, mid December :(

    Megan xxx

    Reply

  28. Laci says

    I just choked on my diet coke out of excitement!!!! MADE. MY. DAY! Awesome-ness!!!! Good thing I was at home when I saw this because I just choked, eeked, laughed, snorted, cried, and then sighed. I was about to promise I’m not a weirdo, but promising you’re not a weirdo is probably one of the weirdo-club qualifications. eeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkkkkk!

    Reply

  30. lindseyrochele says

    Such a great video! I love it! You guys are adorable and I love the shot of Burger on the rug! Can we be friends? :)

    Reply

  32. Tarnya Cook says

    Love the video, great job. I ordered the book the moment you announced pre-orders, can’t wait for it to released.
    xx

    Reply

  35. Tania says

    I pre-ordered the book a few days ago and now I’m even more excited to get it. Early Xmas present for myself, woo-hoo! I’m hoping to have some time off around the holidays (staycation for us this year) and get to some of these projects with my mom (one of the most creative people ever and most doting grandma in the world) for my daughter’s room. I love ombre and am thinking a gradient nightstand might be in order! Congratulations, guys!! So happy for you and for us readers!

    Reply

  36. Tania says

    Oh and I forgot to mention in the train board post comments my most cherished memory from my very happy childhood was of my parents making me a dollhouse out of a sturdy cardboard box. I had seen one at Toys R Us that I wanted but it was a few hundred dollars, a fortune back in the 80s. But since mine was customized for my dolls and my preferences (I got to pick out the “wallpaper”, scraps of printed contact paper in my favorite colors), I loved it even more than anything that could be bought and played with it hours and hours and hours. I bet 30+ years from now, Clara will still fondly remember the train board and the play kitchen!!

    Reply

  37. Tania says

    Last comment for the night, is that dress Clara is wearing in the “Us” thumbnail from Carters? My daughter has the same one, and I remember looking at it and wondering why it looked so familiar! Now I know why!!

    Reply

  39. Charlotte says

    I’m french, I live in Germany, and I wasn’t sure to find it here in Europe. But hurray, it available here too (and I already pre ordered it of course)! They say here the book release date is Nov 1th, can’t wait…

    Reply

  41. Kim Murdoch says

    As a library devotee w/ Yankee frugality (finally) coursing through my veins, it’s exceptionally rare that I eagerly await the opportunity to purchase a book, at full price, as soon as it launches (forget waiting for holiday gift-receiving) – honestly cannot recall my last book splurge, but counting down the days until our 8-year-old (Design Star fan) + I can scheme which projects to tackle first. Kudos on your amazing accomplishment – can’t wait to break in the binding!

    Reply

  43. Annelies says

    Please stop blogging you two so I can actually get some work done around here ! ;-)
    So does Amazon keep you posted on how many people already pre-ordered? Must be mindblowing if you compare it to when you started out with just family reading…
    Anyway awesome job !

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I wish! We can see our ranking number go up and down, but it’s a mystery as to how many books you have to sell for that to move around like that (I think it depends on total book sales for the day, so it fluctuates).

      xo
      s

  46. Jennie says

    My baby girl, Luci, loved the music in this video so much, I had to play it three times so she could keep dancing! The Burger sightings were pretty popular with her too :)

    Great work you guys – the video is great, and I can’t wait to see your book in November!

    Reply

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