Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Skeleton Walks Pet Brain - Promoting Literacy

I finally made the YouTube video I've been dying to work on for rmonths. Maybe it's best that I didn't get around to making it until now because I just discovered some special effects for iMovie, and they sure came in handy for this clip. I think the fast forward effect worked well. See what you think!

It's only 42 seconds long and I hope you'll get a kick out of it. 
I tried to add child appeal to the important message of promoting literacy for kids: 
"Funny Bones says...
Exercise your brain...
Read to Succeed." 
It has a snazzy little tune (from iMovie) and a cameo shot of Curse at Zala Manor,
 first book in the Monster Moon series. I never did make a book trailer for it, so this will have to do!

For those who can't view the video, here are some still photos mixed in with the clips:






One thing I've learned about vlogs and YouTube videos is that the shorter they are, the better, although if it's a tutorial, viewers will watch a longer clip.

As I explained in my earlier post with the Dancing X-Ray Skeleton video, I turned my daughter's room into a studio when she moved out. Then I had to hurry and shoot the videos before we downsized and move into an apartment. 

Here are some pics of the room decorated with props I have for book signings and school visits:


I used cloth tablecloths, plus plastic throwaway tablecloths from the dollar store. Right before Halloween you can find lots of spooky good deals. My Monster Moon co-authors and I have collected props to use at author events. They sure came in handy for setting up my makeshift studio!


My son moved out and got married, but he left a lot of stuff in his old closet, like a blinking crystal ball and these stacked skulls that light up. They're kind of scary looking for little kids, so I added eyeglasses, some weird eyeballs, a clown nose, a pirate patch, a corn cob pipe, and a beaded Egyptian-type head-dress to make it funny. Or not?

The ghost scene is from the dollar store, as was the skull tote bag hanging on the left.
The bird cage has a dollar-store crow inside it, but you can't see it well in the picture.

This is Brain on a leash. When my co-authors and I do school visits,
we like to take it along and tell kids Brain likes to sniff out good story ideas.
I made my Brain out of papier-mâché. Unfortunately, the shape isn't quite symmetrical.
I think I need to fix my Brain!


The stuffed dummy is wearing my werewolf mask (Wild Hairy). That Frankenstein climbing through the wall is another prop from the dollar store, as is the spider web background and the caution tape that reads "Beware. Enter if you Dare!" 

A fringed purple throw blanket hanging at a slant looks kind of cool, huh? That psychedelic poster is from a party we threw for my husband's 40th birthday, almost 20 years ago. I'm glad I saved it because it sure came in handy for this funky setting!

Good thing I shot plenty of videos before I had to tear down my studio to move. I have lots of clips of Funny Bones telling jokes for kids. Now I just need some time to work on editing them. Gotta get them loaded on YouTube well before October rolls around.

This past year I've discovered how much fun it is to make videos. It's another wonderful creative outlet for me. To view my other video creations, you can see them on my YouTube page.


What creative outlets do you enjoy? Do you find that you have many, or do you like to focus on one?


22 comments:

Jennette Marie Powell said...

I can't see the video on my phone, so thanks for including the stills! It looks really cool! For my creative outlet other than writing, I love doing my own book covers, as well as designing the book interiors. Since I no longer do much graphic design for work, it's fun again. I also like sewing clothes, but hardly ever have time.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

It was cute! I bet if you could do that for a living, you would.

Old Kitty said...

I liked the slow motion effect! And the brain on a leash is fab! Where's the music from? Yay!!! Take care
x

LynNerdKelley said...

Jennette - I'm learning that people with mobile phones can't always view the videos, so I added those stills at the last minute! How cool to be able to design your book covers, plus design the book interior! I never had the patience to sew clothes. I sew curtains and drapes, but like you, just don't have time for it anymore.

Alex Thanks! Yes, I sure would do this for a living if I would! So much fun!

OC - Thanks for your input about the slow motion effect. And Brain will be so happy to hear that you think he's fab! LOL! The music came with the iMovie program, which came with my MacBook Pro. It took me six months before I discovered that gem on my laptop! Haha!

Romance Reader said...

Amazing! I enjoyed watching it all! Brilliant!

Riya

alarnarosegray said...

Lyn, great video, and love the concept of taking your pet brain for a walk! Mine refused yesterday, and then I heard myself saying (about my own video footage): "That crapage was foot" (ie. that footage was crap). And it pretty much summed up my problem for the day :)

August McLaughlin said...

Wow, Lynn. I'm impressed! Love your video and the whole post. I've never seen literacy promoted as awesome-ly. ;)

I think it's so important to have other creative outlets, particularly since writing is my day, night and often weekend/holiday job. (ha) I often turn to cooking singing and coming up with creative cards and gifts.

Coleen Patrick said...

Lynn this is so cool! Great idea, great visual--love it. :)

Tameri Etherton said...

Super cute video! You put tons of work into that studio. Wow. Half the things you mentioned I didn't even notice the first time because I was fixated on Funny Bones, but on second viewing I looked for the fun additions. What a clever idea. I can't wait to see what you come up with next!

susielindau said...

I LOVE it and what a great message! Your set is amazing. I would think that it would really appeal to kids too!
Great job Lynn! You are so creative.

runningfromhellwithel said...

Wow--this is amazing! I love how creative you are, and how you interwove video, art and music to create this. Sent here via August, by the way.

Pat O'Dea Rosen said...

The video was short, snappy, and on message. Your makeup, btw, wowed me. You're good at so many things, Lynn.

LynNerdKelley said...

Thank you all for your wonderful comments. It's funny how an atta-girl or two can pump us up, huh? You all make blogging so worthwhile!

Writer Pat Newcombe said...

Great videa clip! Love the funny bones character...

MunirGhiasuddin said...

Thanks for the reminder. I have to exercise my brain.

Nas said...

You did a amazing video and the message comes across brilliantly!

Heather Murphy said...

Hi Lynn, I'm stopping by again to award you with the Stylish Blogger Award. Come visit my blog to collecct :)

FEDO said...

Interesting..

Robyn Campbell said...

You are so amazingly talented, you know that? This is awesome, genius! (Tell hubs I said you are.) Funny bones! I love you! :-)

Scott said...

Wonderfully done. Loved the music.
I guess one of my outlets is the social game listed on my own blog.
It's entitled "Wizards101" and is great fun. The Blog Post is "The Great Social Fight".
Anyway, saw you at Susie's Blog party and stopped by to say hi.
Scott
Kindredspirit23

Anonymous said...

Hi Lynn! This is Chris Sheridan from WP, and thanks for visiting my post from Susie's party.

I'm really impressed with your creative talent and abilities, and you have convinced me that I also need to take my brain out for a walk! But first, before I can do that, well how do I get my brain out? I tend to be very literal in the way that I interpret things sometimes, and I hope that I'm not missing something here...

I've got an electric saber saw that can make very accurate precision cuts, and I think that it may be my best tool for the job here.

If you don't hear from me again, well something probably went wrong, but I'm not worried about it, because I'm very optimistic and positively delusional too!

Wish me luck, Lynn! :-)

Stacy Green said...

Here from Susie's great blog party. Wow on the video. You're so creative and original. Really enjoyed the video and your positivity!