Trailers are a new and unique way for publishers, illustrators and authors to promote their new works to a large and hungry audience. Using illustrations from the books themselves, along with original scripts, music, and voiceovers, Ian and his partner, animator Djeki Morris, have created trailers for publishers such as Penguin Random House and Skyhorse Publishing. To view a trailer, click the book cover.
Princess Pulverizer
The trailer for the Princess Pulverizer book series was commissioned for use on a school visit book tour, and shown to students three months before the actual publication of the first two books in the series. It was also used as part of an advertisement announcing the series in Publishers Weekly’s Children’s Bookshelf. With limited artwork at the completion stage, Ian Burwasser and Djeki Morris were able to create the trailer with a combination of artwork provided by the illustrator and original graphics designed specifically for the trailer. The medieval mood and levity of the series was then punctuated through Ian Burwasser's original script, music, sound effects and voiceovers.
Magic Bone The Magic Bone book trailer was commissioned to be featured on an author school book tour, and created to appeal to younger students. The only directions to come from the author were for the voiceover artist (Ian Burwasser) to “channel his inner dog” and have fun. The use of animated text throughout not only encourages young readers to practice their reading skills, it also adds color and interest to the art and story.
The Kid From Planet Z This project was created for Penguin Young Readers to help market the launch of a new series. Although there were only two books available at the time, the combination of cover art, interior illustrations, and original graphics (not to mention Ian Burwasser's space age music and sound effects!) made for a cohesive, hilarious animated book trailer.
Happy 15th Anniversary Katie Kazoo! This trailer was designed to commemorate the milestone anniversary of a best-selling children’s chapter book series. The artwork used included covers and interiors from many of the books in the series. The two-person script, music and voiceovers provided new potential readers with everything they needed to know about the Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo universe!
Project Droid This trailer was designed to make kids laugh their heads off—and encourage them to purchase books in the Project Droid book series published by Sky Pony Press. The four-color covers and black and white interior illustrations from the first four books in the series were provided by the publisher, and Ian Burwasser and Djeki Morris did the rest. The Project Droid trailer was featured on the 2019 GKCR Award Book nominee page.
George Brown, Class Clown The George Brown, Class Clown trailer was created to be used online and during author visits to schools. The art used for the animation process was provided directly by the illustrator. In addition to creating the script, music and voiceover, Ian was presented with the additional challenge of creating burping sound effects to punctuate the premise of the series. Rather than do them electronically, he chose to create every burp by hand…or make that by mouth.