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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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
