Making a publicity video Moira Butterfield

I managed it! I managed to make a book publicity video and post it on my own Youtube Channel (which I did not have until a few days ago) and on Instagram TV (which I didn’t even know existed until a couple of weeks ago).

 

I’ve done this because publishers want as much as possible from us in terms of online material, and I knew I had to bite the bullet and step up – even though I am not yet sure who will watch it other than my family and friends (see last month’s blog).

 

During lockdown I did a great Society of Authors workshop with Candy Gourlay and Chitra Sounder which made filming seem less daunting. Because I don’t have novel chapters to read out I decided I wanted to be a ‘roving author’ -  not sitting at a desk. That meant filming outside when the weather was sunny – giving good lighting. I discovered it’s best to face towards the sun when filming, though not so much that I had to squint.

I did put on sunglasses at the end, for effect.

 

I read up on selfie sticks and chose a BlitzWolf Bluetooth Selfie stick that has an extendable arm but also doubles up as a tripod. It has a (tiny) remote control so I could, in theory, turn it on and off from afar – but I admit I haven’t got the hang of that yet. 

 

I also followed up on Candy’s tip to get an autocue app on my phone, which is excellent.  I’m using Teleprompter – I can type in a script or link to one on the computer and then choose the font size, colour and the speed it scrolls up on the phone screen. As I film I can see the script and as I’m looking at the camera nobody would know I was reading it.

 

I split my video into separate takes to make things easier and I chose an outfit that looked bright and breezy.

 

So, all set with my plan, I ventured outside one sunny morning, and discovered just how incredibly noisy my neighbourhood is. Neighbours coming out, dogs barking, recycling trucks, strimmers, radios, car horns, kids shouting, motorbikes….It took all morning to do it in different locations, and I ended up with a few takes that made me look insane and scary, but I eventually got the hang of it. It was fun to do and the hardest thing was finding locations where I could film undisturbed.

Shut up, everybody! I'm filming!

 

I gave the videos to a friend who, for modest payment, edited it together with some of the book illustrations and added some groovy sounds (that is way beyond me). He’s given me a tip for next time – leave more of a pause before starting to talk and also when ending a take – so he can edit it more easily. He did two versions – landscape for YouTube and portrait for Instagram TV. We changed a few things and then got ready to post.

 

I was concerned this was going to be difficult but it was easy enough. It took me a while how to work out how to link Instagram TV with my Instagram story function but I did it with the help of online instructions – There are lots out there. It all seemed pretty intuitive.

 

I have no idea who will watch these but who knows? I feel much more confident filming now, so I guess as I add in more videos I might get more interest. At least I can say I did it, and it wasn’t beyond me.

The video ends with the cover and information, though not details
I might have to change for foreign editions.

 

It’s not too difficult, and it’s a lot of fun! (I bought a cheap halo light to help with indoor filming but haven’t tried that yet, so I will report back another time).

 

Check me out here, and do let us know any other filming tips you might have.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk74GKogEymUxb3HBNUNzhg?reload=9

Moira Butterfield
www.moirabutterfield.com
Twitter @moiraworld
Instagram @moirabutterfieldauthor

 

Jane Austen on YouTube by Keren David

Last week felt a little empty. No sense of anticipation at 4.55pm on Monday and Thursday. No twitter feeds to check and recheck. No twitter chats with fellow author Zoe Marriott about the nuance, the romance, the drama of our latest fix.

Darcy and Lizzie play Darcy and Lizzie ...

If you felt similarly afflicted you’ll know what I’m talking about. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries ended last week, a project that made me think anew about the future of books, television, story-telling in general.

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, updated to the present day, re-located to California and told through social media. Lizzie has a video blog, posting twice a week for a year, so does her sister Lydia. Her other sister Jane posts on Pinterest, Lookbook and Tumblr. Almost every character  is on Twitter, even Kitty Bennet, who is a cat (a clever move, Kitty in the book does little except cough and stare).

 Later in the series there are videos from Georgiana Darcy (renamed Gigi) and most of the main characters make appearances in Lizzie’s vlogs, or are  played by other characters in scripted ‘costume dramas.’  In one of my favourite episodes Lizzie forces Darcy to act as himself.

Some people I know couldn’t get past the first few videos, and indeed didn't really get it at all (‘Some ghastly American woman  murdering Jane Austen,’  as one of my friends put it.) I resisted trying it out for a long time. But then I watched one video. And another. And then I watched 80 in one day, completely transfixed by the sheer cleverness, the inventiveness, the new insights and the performances – especially that of Mary-Kate Wiles as Lydia. And for the last ten weeks of the series I was hooked. A new video was posted and life stopped for the few minutes it took to watch. 

Hank Green (brother of the YA author John Green) and Bernie Su, creators of the LBD Diaries are planning a spin off, in which GG Darcy goes to Sanditon. They're raising funds to bring out the LBD dvd and talking about adapting other classics. 

Some UK authors create twitter accounts for their characters, some write blogs in their names. Some make film trailers for their books, others  sell film, television or theatre rights and may be lucky enough to see their work performed. In the meantime there’s a boom in UK vloggers, building up big audiences for their films on YouTube. As the mother of two teenagers I can confirm that YouTube is big right now, with kids seeking out vloggers to follow.
 

When will we see a British LBD? If they can take on Austen, why can’t we nab The Great Gatsby? Or how about  adapting out own books for YouTube?  I've seen the future and I think that Jane Austen would approve.