Over the years I’ve created several very, very low-budget online videos.
One such tradition is creating a happy dance every time I reach a followers milestone on this blog.
A few months ago I surpassed the 500 mark (woot!). I made this fancy finger dance video with the same red satin gloves worn on the cover of my first book, Beneath the Satin Gloves. The stage was a picture frame covered with a fluffy black bath towel and a lace shawl for dramatic effect.
That’s right, kiddos. I’m the Repurpose Queen.
This is the minute-long “masterpiece” you saw…
What you didn’t see…the hours of cussing that went into making that video.
Even me, a lifelong dancer, was forgetting my freaking finger choreography. Dammit!
Since I was kneeling on the floor—in my jammies, I might add—behind the frame, the chintzy stage kept collapsing. Shit!
And right when I had the perfect take, the gardeners struck up outside of my apartment with their ear-splitting background music. Dammit, shit, and some other ladylike words I won’t share.
Another tradition I slave away at are book trailers for every release. In these videos I give behind-the-scenes tidbits in the hopes that readers will connect with the inspiration of the story and take a chance on one of my books.
But I’m not talking to real humans, I’m talking face to face with my smartphone camera. Nope, it’s not easy.
I’ve been thinking about doing a bloopers reel for some time. But I always shied away from the idea for two reasons. Firstly, video editing, though I’ve learned to enjoy it, is quite time-consuming. Secondly, would anyone even think it’s funny?
Well, hell if I know! But this time I made the blooper reel anyway for NOLA FRAN EVIE.
Because nobody’s perfect, and I’m certainly not. So why not have a few laughs?
If you missed it, here’s the seemingly flawless book trailer…
And what really happened, the bloopers…
[…] Fran, Evie by Britt Skrabanek […]
Fun post! I’m afraid my real video would too closely resemble a blooper without me even realizing. I’m definitely not video material. You are. 🙂
LOL! Videos are never easy and I create them with some reluctance, believe me. I just think they are a nice addition to what we do as writers. Connecting people through visual avenues can be very cool. : )