I feel a creative day coming on. I have just had some banners made for my other website, and my designer has done a great job. Here’s an example:
She’s also designed all my book covers for the last five years, and I am more than happy with what she does. While that was going on, I started looking at making short videos of the book covers so I could get them shared around social media. Later today, we have piano and model building followed by a quiz, so all that sounds pretty creative too.
The reason for the short video idea started in Athens… When I was laid up with the flu, I took to my phone and thought I might as well have a look at these ‘reels’ that pop up on Facebook. Well, I think I was hooked after about five minutes. All those ‘fails’, people having silly accidents, people doing daft things, cats, what it’s like to take a cruise, more cats, a couple of adverts to flick through but no hassle, then people doing extraordinary things, gymnasts doing unbelievable moves, a lot of college wrestling for some reason, more cats, random scenery, then a few more cats, building site mishaps and a few cats…
There is a darker side to it. I’ve caught a couple of videos that I didn’t want to see, like people having skateboard accidents which looked like they didn’t end well, but then if you’re going to do daft things on narrow railings, and you’re a boy, you have to be prepared for the inevitable nutcracker. Now and then a video will pop up of gym-fit young men showing off their bare chests, but also waggling their dangly bits in their shorts (what’s that all about?), and I can’t tell you how many Indian men I’ve seen swimming in muddy rivers for no reason, or playing practical jokes on each other in most alarming ways. But, among all that, are some short videos by creatives, like a quick blast of music or dance, and sometimes, book covers. These seem to be a more sedate kind of ‘reel’, just the cover, a few static words of text, and some background music, so that’s what I am going for. Whether it will help sales or not is another matter, but you can find them on my Jackson Marsh page on Facebook where I’ve so far put up two or three, and they are pretty dire, but I am still learning.
Meanwhile, back in the other real world, I’ve been up since four thanks to a blocked nose and an active mind. The medical helicopter has been in and was met by the ambulance (not for my nose). I don’t know if that was an exercise, it’s not really my business, but it was there for half an hour, so I’m assuming it wasn’t an emergency. Just an unusual time of day to arrive. Our emergency response volunteers are always doing training exercises and manoeuvres, so maybe they were having a practice.
Whatever, it’s a little blowy out there this morning and only ten degrees, mind you, it isn’t seven yet, so things should warm up later.
