“Cinematic writing” A new craft talk caught my eye. Halfway through writing TANGLES, and experiencing a growing sense of this-is-the-one, I signed up. As I worked my way back through my manuscript, reworking certain passages, deepening descriptive summaries of place, and tightening dialogue, a kernel of an idea formed. At its essence, TANGLES is a mystery. One that my protagonist Luke doesn’t realize he’ll have to solve until well into the story.
An AI rendered image of my hero, Luke. Photo credit Steve Lawson
I spent the better part of a day rewriting Luke’s encounter at a county sheriff’s office. Those short bits of dialogue inspired the trailer opening. The county sherriff, a doubtful seasoned officer of the law, meets a brash young scientist. The conflict was inherent in their voices, but in a time where most things were expressed with agreed-upon civility that was just starting to be loosed by the protests sweeping the nation in the 1960s.
I penciled out an outline, and various plot points I wanted to express cinematically, but how? With a period novel (historical fiction), giving the reader a sense of time and place is imperative. The book trailer had to purvey that in a minute or less.
Alfred Hitchcock, suspense master
A fan of Hitchcock, especially his dream sequences, I took a page from his book and sketched out a swirl of images—the harpooned whale, a mule deer, the Klickitat maiden, the grand Columbia River, a vintage woman poised on the phone, a boy-man on a pier—that represented key moments in the storyline. Originally there were twenty-three such plot points, one of many challenges during development.
A collage of images representing plot points in Tangles. Photo credits to Unsplash
In March of 2024, I called up Terri Morgan, a longtime pal who owns one of Seattle’s top modeling agencies, TCM Models, and asked for videographer referrals. She connected me with Steve Lawson of Friendly Voice Studios, a professional who I’d crossed paths with in his television days. Delighted to be working with such a knowledgeable pro, I sent him a sketchy outline along with a file of royalty-free (or almost free) images.
Steve Lawson of Friendly Voice on location for TANGLES book trailer May 8, 2024
The images would constitute the swirl (or the rabbit hole, "the one called Hanford") and would be done digitally, but we had to enact the scene. That meant actors, and back to Terri, I went. She sent me multiple comp cards with headshots of a variety of male actors who could play the sheriff. Dennis rose to the top, but he wasn’t cheap.
I determined that if I paid for a “sheriff,” I couldn’t afford to pay for a “Luke.” Luckily, I have twin sons about the age of Luke, the male protagonist in the TANGLES dual narrative, and I pressed one into service with a promise to flex to his work schedule. Luckily, that schedule was controlled by him, being a founder of his law firm.
Bryce Blum, founder of ESG Law Group, arriving on location May 8, 2024
Next, I scouted locations with the help of another pal, Barrie Thompson. We needed an older building, with clean white plaster walls and a room withfew if no windows. I envisioned a bulletin board of sorts behind the sheriff’s desk where the conversation about finding evidence in a cold case would take place. Barrie walked through several buildings in and out of Seattle. I twisted the arm of an admin at my health club, to let me tour their behind-the-scenes rooms, but nothing fit our criteria.
Amy Tipton, founder of Belltown Artwalk and director of Downtown Seattle Artwalk
Returning from my fruitless tour, I bumped into a local entrepreneur, Amy Tipton, founder of the Belltown Artwalk. The gallery that serves as the hub for the second Friday of the month ongoing event is in the same block as our condo building. I recounted my mission and Amy said, “What about the lower level of my building?”
First Avenue building used for TANGLES trailer shoot location with front entrance highlighted for the team.
We wound down the spiral staircase to the basement floor below the smaller gallery space and Amy flipped on the lights. “The space is used as a sewing school several days a week,” Amy said, as I scanned the various tables and chairs spread out across the otherwise cavernous area.
Katie Fly's studio and sewing center, 2307 First Avenue in Seattle
“Low ceilings,” I said. “That’s good for filming.” The closeness created a mood I likened to noir.
Amy nodded. “The only daylight is from the sole window above the stairwell.” She flipped the light back off and we fell into mostly darkness. Perfect for filming.
Pegboard covered the far wall and rafts of fabric were piled across the counters used for cutting. I spotted a table that could easily serve as a sheriff’s desk and the pegboard was a no-brainer for the bulletin board. As to furniture for our “set,” turned out the location had it all – we were set!
Katie Fly's studio and sewing center, 2307 First Avenue in Seattle
“It’s Katie's space,” Amy said, referring to the woman who ran the sewing school. “but she only teaches in the afternoons. A morning shoot shouldn’t be a problem.”
A quick text exchange with Katie firmed up a shoot time and day, and a small fee for the space. After coordinating all the players – Dennis the actor, Luke aka Bryce Blum, the sound guy, Aaron, and Steve Lawson director – I set about creating a prop list.
Sherriff’s khaki ‘uniform’ shirt
Sherriff’s badge
1960s banded collar outer jacket
County Sheriff insignia or sign
Black and white photo prints of plot points (22)
Mid-century desk chairs – 2
Mid-century vinyl desk
Assorted bulletin board notices – Wanted posters, County Picnic, Hiring notices, et cetera.
Costumes and props for TANGLES book trailer: sheriff’s shirt; county sheriff sign, 1960s men's vintage look
Etsy had the costume parts. I set about creating the content for the bulletin board. A nod to my late mother-in-law, an avid reader who I traded books with druing her lifetime. We often spoke about the villains always being who you least expected. The placement of my “fictional criminals” WANTED posters assured anonymity, but I think she would have delighted in being the “little old lady who you'd never suspect of forging checks.”
Fake WANTED poster for TANGLES trailer shoot, featuring the late Ruth Blum, avid reader, beloved grandmother
I was hopeful about using the song, “Sing Sing Sing” by Benny Goodman and his orchestra, but the licensing fee was out of my budget reach. Steve saved the day with a similar tune that builds the same tension and was only a flat fee of $75.
In the midst of final edits to the manuscript and a flurry of deadlines, shoot day – May 8th – arrived. Armed with a double latte and a fruit and cheese platter, I requisitioned a rolling cart from our condo and toted my wares a half block down First Ave.
Steve Lawson and his crewman were already at the door. We navigated to the back hall elevator. Once inside the basement room, setup took little time.
Camera equipment from Friendly voice on set, sewing studio in background
Dennis arrived and Steve began some test shots, adjusting lighting and sound accordingly. It took a half hour or so to get the right camera angle. One that would show “Luke’s” silhouette and Dennis’ face along with the period-setting bulletin board in the background, but Steve, masterful in this arena found the sweet spot.
Camera angle used in final cut of TANGLES book trailer
My son Bryce arrived, and he donned the 1960s Temu jacket and Dennis made quick work of his wardrobe changes. I pinned on his Sheriff’s badge, approved the right pair of eye glasses, and we were off!
Bryce Blum and Dennis M on set of TANGLES book trailer shoot
I’d printed up the ever-so-short script. A total of only six lines of dialogue, you’d be surprised how many takes occurred. Getting the right tone was important. The pitch of a voice can make a huge difference. We did a few run-throughs before filming.
Dennis M, Aaron of Friendly Voice, Bryce B on location for TANGLES book trailer, script in foreground
What they say about the first take being the best - well that’s almost true. In the end we did about thirty-five takes and Steve pulled bits from four of them (most in the first 10 takes) to create the final version. Getting Dennis’ skeptical stare at the end of the conversation was pivotal. Look closely at his eyes in the shot below.
Dennis' "look" during critical moment of TANGLES trailer
Next came a flurry of in-studio digitalization. Finding the right template for the "rabbit hole" was a challenge. Steve tried six different templates before choosing on the one used. Who knew there were so many ways to disappear down a virtual hole?
Original inspiration for rabbit hole sequence.
The animated “swirl” went from 27 images to 9 – a series of cuts to hit the time mark. Steve’s creative genius showed. He mocked up multiple key images into period newspaper front pages, highlighting important plot points for the viewer, fiddling with the graphics until he landed on a template that worked.
Original mockup of plot point image inserted onto old newspaper front page not used in trailer
We tried the explosion at three different points before settling on its final position in the video. The timing of the author endorsements was tricky but we managed to hone in on the readability by making them appear individually.
Endorsement quote from James Anderson, award-winning critically acclaimed author of The Never-Open Desert Diner
“What about an old typewriter click-clacking in the background?” Back to the drawing board went Steve, coming up with the perfect stock video of someone tapping away on a vintage Corona. “And what if we put the scene inside a vintage TV?” I told you Steve was brilliant, right?
The vintage television frame used for the scene in TANGLES book trailer featuring stock video of vintage typewriter. Photo credits Unsplash
“At some point, we have to be finished,” Steve intoned via email when I sent probably the 43rd tweak to the final slide. I just couldn’t settle on the text about where to buy the book. Forty years in retail seemed to leave my body at a critical moment, but in the end, we settled on this.
Final image in TANGLES book trailer, shot, directed and edited by Friendly Voice
How to release it? That’s where my publicist came in. On October 16th - @Stephisbooked released my trailer to her 13,000+ followers. So far her exclusive release post has garnered 598 likes, 251 comments, 178 shares – making my trailer her top post in the past few years. I’m forever grateful for her support.
Bookstagrammer @Stephisbooked tally page/post of exclusive release of TANGLES book trailer
If you are on Instagram, I hope you’ll take a moment to view it here, like, and leave a comment. https://www.instagram.com/p/DBMDmWUxkWN/
Finally, thanks again to the entire team, Steve Lawson at Friendly Voice, Terri Morgan, Barrie Thompson, Amy Tipton, Katy Fly, and last but not least, Dennis and Bryce - for turning my vision into a reality. Reach out to me with any questions. I love interacting with my readers!
That's a wrap! Trailer team photo, left to right, Aaron, Dennis, Bryce and Steve, May 8, 2024
Onward to December 3rd – Pub Day!!
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