Five Second Flick Theater: The Punisher and Deadpool--A Disarming Duo

Welcome back to Five Second Flick Theater!

Since this is the final Punisher and Deadpool episode, I thought I'd end it with a bang.

Or at least with a lame sense of humor.

Stern Rake Studio Website

Well, I finally launched an actual Stern Rake Studio website yesterday. 

I've been tinkering with it for over a year now. I'm not 100% satisfied with it, but I'm not sure what else to do with it. 

So instead of letting it continue to lay dormant, I thought I'd launch it. 

I'll continue to work on it when I figure out how to improve it.

In the meantime, I hope you like it:

SternRakeStudio.com 

Enfilade 2016 Games for Young Warriors

During this year's Enfilade!convention, one of our GMs hosted a couple of short games geared for kids.

Above is a slide-show montage of his games.

Enfilade 2016 Feudal Battles of the Far East

I have to admit that my knowledge of Asian military history could fit into a sake cup.

So it's always refreshing to me when I do stumble across something beyond my Euro-American centric studies and activities.

During this year's Enfilade convention, four GMs (gamemasters) ran sessions set during Asia's feudal era. 

So my second Enfilade montage is devoted to these games.

Zulu Games at Enfilade 2016

While I posted about our Enfilade Convention's Silver Anniversary Ceremony four months ago, it's been over two years since I made a gaming video.

So last week I decided to get back on track and start sifting through the 1,100+ photos I took during the convention and start composing some themed videos.

I thought it be appropriate to start off with a shout-out to one gamemaster (GM) who hosted a Zulu War or Boxer Rebellion game during every period.

I don't know how Bill does it every year.  I ran three games back-to-back a few years ago and I was mentally exhausted.

Late Commenoration for the 950th Anniversary of the Battle of Hastings

(Image from Wikipedia's entry depicting the death of King Harold at the Battle of Hastings)

I was off-line for a couple of days, hunkering down for a storm that fizzled, so I missed commemorating an important anniversary in military history.

"Number Eight" of the The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World (Hastings) was fought nearly a millennia ago, on 14 October 1066.

Over the weekend, a thousand re-enactors participated in celebrating the battle's anniversary.

(Image from: ABC Net, Australia)

For us non-re-enactors, our familiarity with the Battle of Hastings looks more like this, reading from the warmth and safety of our homes:

(Image from:  British Battles)

Or, for talented wargamers, (of which I am not one of them), the battle is an embodiment of "War is Glorious" on our tabletops:

(Image from:  Tree Frog Treasure's Toy Soldiers Forum)

And for us YouTubers, Kallistra Ltd produced a video of their tabletop battle just a few years ago.

(Image:  Still shot from Kallistra Ltd's Battle of Hastings Video)

If I'm still around--and cognizant--in 2066, I'll try to be more timely in posting about the Millennial Anniversary of the battle.

PNWA 2015 Workshop Review #11: Book Trailers for Marketing & More

For this workshop review, I thought I'd use my webcomic trailer to Breakout from Bongolaan--as an example of what not to do when creating a book trailer. 

I made my initial trailer before I attended a lecture on making book trailers.  I actually like my latest trailer, which I remade when I took additional photographs for my webcomic, despite its shortcomings which I'll mention in parenthetical comments on this post.

This workshop was hosted by Rian Fiske and Steve Ahlbom of Visual Quill.

First, what is a book trailer?

--It's an advertisement for your book.

The internet has changed the way we market products and today's society is the most marketed in history.

What a book trailer is not--

--A plot reveal (mine is)
--A story summary (mine is)
--More important than your book (I'm still writing my webcomic, so I hope not)
--Boring! (I hope mine isn't)
--Unappealing (I hope mine isn't)
--Too focused to a specific person or group (okay, mine is guilty of this last one)

A good book trailer--

--Has a good script, is brief and creatively edited.

Time length:

30 Seconds = Good
60 Seconds = Okay  (mine's just over a minute)
90 Seconds = Not Good

A book trailer should evoke a visceral response from a viewer, not an intellectual one, and the mood should be similar to the book.

A book trailer is an important part of book marketing because--

--It takes advantage of the explosive growth of online advertising videos.
--It's on a shareable medium.
--It fosters a deep like-know-trust connection.
--It keeps your book in a reader's mind.
--It's cost effective.

Some interesting statistics--

--Viewers are 64% more likely to buy your book.
--There's usually an 80% increase in conversion rates on your website.  That is, visits turning into actual purchases.
--There's often an increase of 2 minutes per stay per viewer on your website.
--92% of mobile viewers share videos with others.
--There's a 19% to 300% increase of sales if a book trailer supplements e-mails and flyers.
--These statistics hold no matter what genre you're writing.

Elements of a good book trailer--

--Visually hint at what takes place.
--Keeps the story moving and is not too short, or too long.
--Uses a good selection of graphics and music.

Bad book trailers are everywhere.
--Most aren't trailers, but rather do-it-yourself (DIY) slide shows (like mine).
--DIY tools exist, but you still need to use them correctly.

What makes a book trailer bad--

--Low quality graphics and photos.
--Too many graphics.
--Too much explanatory text.
--Poor music.

The five elements that make a quality book trailer are:

1. It's not a plot reveal.  Think of it as a pitch session.
2. Plan the entire trailer with a story board.
3. Production quality is essential.  Hire a professional, if necessary.
4. Know what style you're using and make sure it all hangs together.
5. Don't confuse building your brand with selling your book.

Here are some tips if you are going to go the DIY route:

Your book trailer needs a script, so here are some things to consider--

--Start with your book's synopsis.
--Duration should be between 30-60 seconds.
--Consider this rule of thumb:  50 words = 30 seconds of video.

Utilize appropriate music for your trailer.  Music sets the emotional tone and should coincide with the tone of your book.

Editing tools for your DIY book trailer--

--PC users can utilize Windows Movie Maker.
--Mac users can utilize iMovie.
--Tutorials are available on Lynda.com.

And speaking of websites, there are several doityourselfers can make use of.

(Image found on: Freepik)

For free high resolution images there's--

--Unsplash and
--Gratisography

For images that you have to pay for, but may be unavailable elsewhere, check out--

--Veer
--Getty Images and
--IStockPhoto

IStockPhoto also has video and music available for downloading.

One site dedicated to video downloading is VideoBlocks.

(Image found on Lakewood Music Boosters)

To add music to your book trailer for little or no cost, there's--

--FreeStockMusic, and AudioBlocks

While paid sites include--

--Premium Beat and
--Pond5 (which also includes photos, videos and sound effects)

For my book trailer and the gaming videos I've produced, I've used--

--SoundDogs (which also includes sound effects)
--Shockwave-Sound,
--and my personal favorite has been--
--Kevin Macleod's Incompetech (Kevin requests donations for downloads)

On deciding whether to use voice-over or text in your book trailer, either will work if done well.

Once you've made your book trailer you'll need to distribute it.  For this, you'll have to go beyond Facebook, YouTube and Vimeo.

Upload your trailer on top websites in your niche or genre, along with your personal website, your Amazon Author page, library catalogues, and distribution sites like OneLoad.  Also, be sure to set up a computer to play the trailer during book signings.

If you'd rather hire a professional to create your book trailer, there's a few questions you need to keep in mind--

--How much will it cost?
--What can I expect?
--What will the pro do for me?

Prices range from $400 to $4,000, with $1,200 being the average.  The more material and input you provide, the less it will be in price.

As to the last two questions, you'll have to discuss the details of the services a professional offers to provide.

With all this information, hopefully you'll be able to say "Lights! Camera! Action!" soon.

(Image found on Pintrest)

Watch Mojo's Top 10 Major Plot Holes in Movies

Writing a tightly woven plot is difficult work, and writers--even best selling ones--often fail to plug the Plot Holes.

Watch Mojo gives us their Top Ten Plot Holes in movies.

There's plenty more. 

Can you think of any plot holes that truly annoy you?

Watch Mojo's Top 10 Movie Bullies

"A strong antagonist makes a strong protagonist, which makes a strong story."

Some antagonists may indeed have redeeming qualities, while others are just plain as--, I mean, bullies.

Watch Mojo gives us the Top 10 Movie As--, I mean, Bullies.

Watch Mojo's Top 10 Fantasy Movie Cliches

I've loved fantasy ever since I started reading Conan the Barbarian comics as a teenager.

However, as with every genre, fantasy literature is loaded with clichés.

Watch Mojo gives us the Top 10 tropes found in our favorite fantasy stories.

Watch Mojo's Top 10 Worst Movie Plot Twists

Plot twists are an awesome tool to keep your readers & viewers engaged in your story.

However, some plot twists fall flat.

Watch Mojo has come up with the Top 10 flat-line plot twists in movies.

After watching this video I'm thankful I haven't seen most of the films that "made the cut."  Especially The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 and Savages.

The climax to both movies turned out to be "it-was-all-a-dream" scene.

In the writer's workshops I've attended, I learned this was the #1 way to tick-off your readers & viewers.  I'm surprised the producers of Breaking Dawn and Savages thought the viewers would be okay with the "oh-never-mind-the-cool-finale-that-didn't-really-happen."

But then again, I never read either of the books the movies were based on.

While I hated the 2005 version of War of the Worlds, I'm more forgiving of the plot twist, because I did read the original source material (now 107 years old).

Watch Mojo's Top 10 Typical Movie Character Stereotypes

Stereotypes are a quick & easy way to define characters for readers & viewers.

However, they're often overdone, to say the least.

Watch Mojo identifies the (debatable) Top 10 Typical Movie Character Stereotypes.

College Humor Presents: 21 Steps to Making an Oscar Movie

We'll find out tonight if any of the Oscar-Nominated movies incorporated any of these 21 Steps.

Angus and Bride: A Scottish Winter Story | Mythology w/ Dael Kingsmill

Geek & Sundry's Mythology Vlogger, Dael Kingsmill, presents the wintery tale of Angus and Bride.

College Humor Presents: The Six Christmas Movies You Live Through

While College Humor's humor tends to be risque and guy-centric, some of their videos have their endearing moments, like this one.

Best wishes to you in whatever "Christmas Movie" you're currently living through.

Breakout from Bongolaan Book Trailer II

For the past several weeks I've been working on Chapter 9 of my webcomic Breakout from Bongolaan, which I hope to post within the next couple of weeks.

During this time I also took a look at Breakout from Bongolaan's "book trailer," and decided some renovation was in order.

After spending more time tweaking it than I originally planned to, I posted it on my YouTube Channel.

Thank you for watching.

Corpse Bride - Victor Makeup Tutorial - Collab w/ Natasha Dubois

My high school friend's daughter is a makeup artist with a series of tutorials on YouTube.  Here latest--The Corpse Bride--is just in time for Halloween!

Buying Board Games Down Under

Dael Kingsmill rants about discusses the problems Australians have when buying boardgames and other merchandise.



I get turned off about on-line purchases when the shipping and handling (S&H) fees are over $15 (US).  I can't imagine contending with the prices our Australian gamer friends deal with.

YouTube Movie # 32

Well it's a little late in coming, but I finally uploaded the Studio's 32nd YouTube video, Enfilade 2014: The Obscure Movie, in honor of this year's gaming theme:  Obscure Theaters. 

Normally, I try finish my NHMGS Enfilade shows within a few weeks after the convention is over.  But this year I wanted to get The Chronicles of Culhwch y Drewllyd published first, while the SAGA Tournament's events were still fresh on my mind. 

Other "Life getting in the way" issues also delayed production, primarily dealing with a busy Fire Season at work. The season's not over, but the issues have dwindled down enough to give me the spare time to complete the movie.

At least it's in time for the as-yet-to-be-named-theme Enfilade 2015!

History Of Godzilla (with Arris Quinones of Variant Comics)

Here's another History of Godzilla video.  This one includes the various Godzilla comics.



I've watched a bunch of Godzilla movies, including the 1998 version (and liked it), but I've never read any of the Godzilla comics.



It looks like I've got some catching up to do.