Paper Cuts competition sees school students redesign book covers and imagine book trailers

IMAGINE if schoolkids were allowed to design the covers of their favourite books? Or make a book trailer — Spielberg-style — in praise of their literary lions? Pick your favourite

The Paper Cuts competition generated a big response from schools.

IMAGINE if schoolkids were allowed to design the covers of their favourite books?

Or make a book trailer — Spielberg-style — in praise of their literary lions?

PAPER Cuts 2014, an Education Department competition open to all Victorian secondary-school-aged students, did just that. The results are amazing.

The children are hoping you’ll definitely be judging the books by their covers.

Here we reveal some of the finalists and what they were hoping to achieve.

The students loved the quirky and creative challenge and tell us what inspired them. The judges included Eoin Colfer, internationally acclaimed, Ireland-based author of the popular Artemis Fowl series, Half Moon Investigations and The Supernaturalist, and Beth Frey, producer of Logie-award winning teen action-adventure series, Nowhere Boys.

More than 8000 people voted in the peoples’ choice category.

While the winners have just been announced we’ll let you choose which ones you think are best before letting you know which won.

Scroll down to see the winners, and add your comments below about whether you agree with the verdicts.

Christopher Barakat’s colourful interpretation of Jeff Kinney’s work

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Christopher Barakat, Antonine College

“The use of bright colours was influenced by Pop Art … the bright colours in the book cover bring out the poster, and it is more appealing to the people that will buy the book. The chairs and tables illustrate what the book is about and how mainly it is set at a school.

Olivia Wirata captures the sense of adventure in the Lemony Snicket series.

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

Olivia Wirata, Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket was a series of books I read during my childhood. I loved the mystery of the book and it taught me many lessons about the world. The series had a great influence on me and I will always love the way it was written and the adventure it took me on when reading.

Katharine Parker’s take on Lewis Carroll’s masterpiece.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Katharine Parker, McGuire College, Shepparton

I thought this classic book needed a different style for the cover. I cut the design from a single piece of paper and highlighted each picture with patterned, shiny and glittery papers. Each section represents part of the story; a pocket watch (White Rabbit), playing cards (Queen of Hearts), a mushroom (Caterpillar and growing/shrinking), teacups (Mad Hatter’s tea party) and the Cheshire cat.

Hannah Fitzgerald used the colour motifs in the book for her cover.

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

Hannah Fitzgerald, Kilbreda College

I did a background with the colours of orange and purple, because these are the colours of the two camps in the story. The spiders represent the servants of Arachne. I included the prophecy at the top of the cover because the series is based on this.

Lauren Girardi’s design.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Lauren Girardi, Loreto Mandeville Hall

Pride and Prejudice displayed a common theme of letter writing. This is reflected in the mirror in my design. In Pride and Prejudice, the written word is used as a dramatic device to further the plot and aid in the development of characters. These letters are most commonly written within the Barrett family drawing room which I have attempted to recreate in a more contemporary setting.

Bridgette Van Diepen

Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody

Bridgette Van Diepen, Nossal High School

Obernewytn presents a frightening and complex world which has been devastated by a nuclear holocaust. Its young heroine, Elspeth Gordie, takes the reader on a journey far into the mountains where she must unravel and confront a terrifying future, which will shape that of all remaining humanity. I’ve chosen to focus on her journey for my cover. Dark colours are used to reflect the almost tangible darkness present within this society. The birds and cat play vital roles in the development of the storyline within the novel.

Flynn Gilder-Smith’s bold and simple design.

The Fault in Our Stars, John Green

Flynn Gilder-Smith, Northcote High School

My cover shows the faults and imperfections of love through the heart rate chart and love heart. The tagline means that sometimes being crazy in love within numbered days is better than having an average relationship forever. I decided to keep my colour scheme/design simple and bold which I think will draw readers in.

Anthony Luu’s version of the Hosseini’s classic.

The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini

Anthony Luu, Wellington Secondary College

I choose to emphasise the protagonist’s (Amir) long search for his long lost nephew in the vast city of war-torn Afghanistan, Kabul. What lies before him is a dangerous and nostalgic journey and I wanted to depict Amir before he takes that journey.

Phillip Spathopoulos had fun with his effort.

Piano Lessons Can Be Murder, R. L. Stine

Phillip Spathopoulos, Carrum Downs Secondary College

I was interested in doing a Goose Bumps book as I really enjoy reading them and I’m currently really enjoying the genre of horror! I had heaps of fun making the book cover design as I was able to express a variety of horror photo images and effects, also the video was really fun to produce as I used images, real-life video from school and font to describe different scenes

Detail from Jessica Riordan’s cover.

Blonde, Joyce Carol Oates

Jessica Riordan, Star of the Sea College

I wanted to create a bold, contemporary and intriguing interpretation of Joyce Carol Oats’ novel Blonde, to capture the epic and tragic story of a Hollywood star whose beauty and fame is unforgotten in today’s society. I also wanted to keep the mysterious and simple style from the original book cover, but stray from the immediate link to Marilyn Monroe to widen a viewer’s interpretation of the book.

Hannah Smart kept her cover bold and simple.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky

Hannah Smart, Lilydale High School

I have kept my book cover for The Perks of Being a Wallflower as simple as possible because much like the characters on the outside, they may seem simple but once you delve into they’re very existence you would find that in fact complicated messages and emotions run through these fibres. There is a flower in the centre because Wallflower is often mistaken for a flower and not a person much like these characters who are overlooked.

Brittany Spencer tackles the topic with quirky graphics

Uglies, Scott Westerfeld

Brittany Spencer, Presbyterian Ladies’ College

Pimples, being too skinny or fat, nerdy, crooked teeth and hairiness are all features associated with ugliness, so I included this in the graphics of the title. The cosmetic surgery lines adds to the idea of having to be altered to be beautiful, and gives the cover some seriousness. The grungy background is used to create the effect of imperfect skin, without actually using a picture of it.

BOOK TRAILERS

Asylum, Madeleine Roux

Chelsea Schultz, Kilbreda College

I read the book Asylum because I am into scary movies and books. I have used the creepy music because it really gets your heart pumping and really intrigued in the trailer.

Paper Towns, John Green

Grace Archer, Canterbury Girls’ Secondary College

Paper people in paper towns, with paper personalities, are too much for 18 year-old Margo. In a desperate attempt to free herself from society’s wrath she embarks on an adventure, leaving cul-de-sac clues for her neighbour and narrator of the story; Quentin ‘Q’ Jacobson.

The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins

Summer Schultz, Warracknabeal Secondary College

My aim is to divulge the fundamental conflict in the story of The Hunger Games, where 12 boys and girls are coerced into killing one another for a tyrant city’s entertainment. By introducing the viewers to the context, and then exposing the audience to the brutal and fast action of the Hunger Games, they develop an understanding of the basic plot

Oh, the places you’ll go! Dr Seuss

Nick McKenzie, Wanganui Park Secondary College

I decided to make a book trailer on the Dr Seuss book Oh, the places you’ll go! I used lots of the pictures from the book and I also included some surprise bits too! That’s my cat, Sheba. She likes to go places so I thought that would be funny.

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

Chris Owens, Saint Francis Xavier College

I like creating videos for fun and contests, I enjoy editing videos and acting for Youtube, I wanted to enter this competition because I read lots and to join in on the fun.

Bluefish, Pat Schmatz

Charlotte Goodman, Kilbreda College

I chose Bluefish, because it’s a great story. My aim was to introduce the two main characters, but not to give too much of the storyline away. I like art which inspired me to draw all the pictures and then make them move.

Wonder, R.J Palacio

Chloe Chin, Shelford Girls’ Grammar

I read a book named Wonder by R.J. Palacio that touched my heart. It was a heartwarming story about kindness. I wanted to share this story by creating a trailer that will give others a glimpse of this astonishingly moving book.

The Last Thing I Remember, Andrew Klavan

William Ireland, Bellarine Secondary College

I created the trailer in hopes of immersing those who watched it into the world of the book, The Last Thing I Remember. I chose the book because it wasn’t popular enough in the community, and it had lots of action from page one. The music was copyright free and had a certain tone that I desired, and I used animation because it was more of a challenge to me.

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And the winners are of the Paper Cuts 2014 Book Trailer and Book Cover Design competition are:

Book Cover Design

First prize: Katharine Parker, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Second prize: Bridgette Van Diepen, Obernewtyn

Third prize: Brittany Spencer, Uglies

People’s Choice: Lauren Girardi, Pride and Prejudice

Book Trailers

First prize: William Ireland, The Last Thing I Remember

Second prize: Charlotte Goodman, Bluefish

Third prize: Grace Archer, Paper Towns

People’s Choice: Chris Owens, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

TELL US: Which are your favourite covers and trailers? Add your comment below.

Originally published as Paper Cuts competition sees school students redesign book covers and imagine book trailers