Making of The Burning Book Trailer
What
would it be like to simply touch something and know
everything about it? Its history, its sins, its secrets?
Living a lonely life, afraid to touch too much, afraid
of what you might see. Ann Van Helsing thinks she may
be insane. But it isn't insanity that is Ann's curse,
it is a psychic power like no other.
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her
touch is her curse
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That
power in itself would make for an incredible story! In the
year 1822 having a psychic power such as Ann's would make
you appear insane…or cursed. But, Ann's nightmares have just
begun. Though she has been denied human contact due to her
unique curse, it was a man that she touched that changed her
life. Not a man…something…else.
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The
Burning, a novel by Susan Squires is
a classic tale with a twist. Vampires have intrigued
and entertained us for many years. But, the vampire
Stephan Sincai comes with demons of his own. His world,
his life…a curse. The things he knows are abominations,
the things he has seen are hell on earth, the things
he's done…such sins as to drive a normal man mad. Stephan's
torment is all that he knows and now…Ann has touched
him.
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Stephan
in battle
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Reading
this novel was one of those experiences where you just keep
thinking…wow! Where in the world did the author come up with
this idea? You sit there (at 3 a.m. in the morning because
you can't sleep till you're done with the book) thinking,
there is just no way this can work out. How will this end?
You
care so much for Ann and for the tormented Stephan that they
become as interesting as the powers they possess. Here are
two people, believing they are cursed for all their lives,
and now they share their curse with each other…like it or
not.
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Ann
is afraid to help
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Stephan
carries Ann away
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When
Susan Squires asked Circle
of Seven Productions to create a Book Trailer®
for The Burning everyone was thrilled. The executive producer,
Sheila Clover English, had known Susan and her husband, Harry
for years. Both are authors and both are very talented.
The
story was a period piece which would be a challenge, but it
was a vampire novel, which is a specialty genre for COS. The
twist was Ann's power. That was what made the story stand
out at first. The way she discovers what Stephan is, the way
her life has had to be…it was amazing! The real issue was
the characters. After reading the novel it was clear that
the main characters would have to be people who could portray
all the facets of each. Ann had this vulnerability to her
and it was important that people see it. Her sad life, her
vulnerability made her courage all the more fantastic.
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Ann
in the nursery
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Blair
ready for final scene
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Finding
the right actress to play Ann was important. Joe Gruberman
of Bronck's
Park Productions, who is a production
partner of Circle of Seven Productions, would do the
casting and direct and edit the project. Sheila Clover
English would write the script with Joe, then fly out
to Arizona to oversee this very important project. "Joe
has always given us great work and I was thrilled to
be able to work along with him," says English.
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Joe
Gruberman
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Ann faints
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Joe
found the perfect person to play Ann. Blair O'Neil had
this soft, caring, vulnerable look to her that the camera
just loved. Fairly new to acting, Blair admitted to
being just a little nervous, but you'd never know it
to watch her work. After reading the script and knowing
about the story she was intrigued by the character she
would portray. "I just tried to imagine how Ann would
of felt having the power that she did," says O'Neil.
It was the power of the character that seemed to intrigue
her most. "One might think it would be the greatest
thing at first... but then you might be finding out
things that you really don't want to know! It could
be the greatest thing, but it could also end up being
a burden as well." Blair recognized the loneliness this
character would have felt and that came across in her
acting.
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When
Blair was asked what it was like to work with Vince Reign
who played Stephan she said, "Vince was a lot of fun to work
with and is a very easy going guy. He gave me a couple of
pointers! I was comfortable working with him and think he
is a very talented actor." And she is right! Not only is Vince
a talented actor, but he is very easy going and brought a
great deal of humor to the set. When we asked Vince what he
thought of working with Blair he said, "It was a pleasure
to work with Blair. Blair is so beautiful. She's got a charisma
about her. She charmed all of us and laughed at all my jokes,
even when I wasn't telling one.....wait a minute?...Was she
laughing at me?!" Vince kept everyone entertained and
laughing between shots.
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Vince
and Blair
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Getting
into costume
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Vince
and Blair pose
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It
was amazing to watch Vince. He has a young look to him
and with all of his playfulness I wondered how he would
be able to pull off the character of Stephan. Stephan
was a tormented soul, so very opposite of our Vince.
But, when Joe called "action" it was like this incredible
metamorphosis happened. It was a little creepy to see
the transformation. He went from smiles and laughs to
this brooding, soulful being.
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Stephan
materializes
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Michael and Vince
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Vince
is an experienced actor with a great deal of training.
He took his time to study Stephan and saw a vulnerability
in the character that he wanted to portray somehow.
It was a great mix of vulnerability and strength, pain
and pleasure. Vince was the perfect Stephan!
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Joe
Gruberman, director, DP and editor on this project has a great
deal of experience including work on an HBO project and other
television projects. It was interesting to watch Joe. You
could see him really watching the acting while also watching
the story itself unfold. He has a 6th sense almost that allows
him to visualize what all the pieces of the "puzzle" will
look like in the end. Joe has worked on trailers with other
prestigious authors such as Christine Feehan, Douglas Clegg
and Susan Kearney. He was thrilled with the idea of this storyline.
Even after the shoot he came up with brilliant ideas during
editing that helped to convey the story. There's the initial
scenes where Ann touches the bed and we see this brief white
flash of light. This wasn't in the original script, but it
was a brilliant editing decision!
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Blair
and Joe using green screen
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Joe
sets up for first scene
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The
book was great material to pull from, so the trailer turned
out exactly the way we'd hoped it would. Stephan gave us an
engaging tormented hero, and Ann gave us just the right…touch.
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Blair
and Vince in final scene
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Ann
confesses
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