Book trailer for "Night of the Living Trekkies"!

I picked up my copy of "Night of the Living Trekkies" today! And realised it already has a great book trailer for it on Youtube!


"Night of the Living Trekkies"
by Kevin David Anderson & Sam Stall

And, while on the subject of Youtube, I also love this German television promo for their SciFi channel:

Homework for Tristan!

On Monday night, I will be attending the fifth and final night of "Build Your Online Profile", a course presented by author/filmmaker Tristan Bancks, at the Sydney Writers' Centre in Milson's Point.

And we have homework! We are to present "a plan for our online future", by answering three key questions in five minutes.

1. Where do you want your online profile to be? Show us the kind of profile that you want to establish and why. If you like you can show us examples of people/companies who are already there now.

2. How will you get there? Priorities? And when?

3. How have your plans changed or developed since the beginning of the course?








An evolution of my web presence.

My strengths/interests are teacher-librarianship and TV historian. Both present opportunities for imparting knowledge and skills to others, but my current online presence is fragmented across many small sites. My recent 365 Photos project reminded me of the importance of established routines for blogging, to keep things current and fresh, and to bring browsers in for return visits. Site Meter indicates that Google Images searches of photographic material on the World Wide Web continues to be an important drawcard to blogs.

However, since starting this course, I have already:

* Bought a domain name, www.number96.tv.

* Revitalized my Twitter page - and added "Facebook" and "Twitter" buttons to my blog.

* Designed an "umbrella" webpage that will unite all my random web presences.

* Finally signed up as a channel owner on Youtube.

* Created a user profile for Creative Commons music at ccMixter.

* Created my first book trailer on Keynote, added a soundtrack from a Creative Commons site, exported it as a video podcast via iWeb, uploaded it to MobileMe and promoted it on Facebook, Twitter, Yammer, two teacher-librarian listservs and the NSW DET book rap being held to celebrate Book Week 2010.

I still need to:

* Create and upload the umbrella webpage for www.number96.tv. (Time frame: immediately.)

But, as a result of this course, I will also...

* Brainstorm with Andrew Mercado(?) and begin to create a series of podcast fan commentaries for episodes of "Number 96" which could be hosted on iTunes? (Time frame: next twelve months?)

* Create more book trailers to export as video podcasts. Students to be involved in the productions. Closer ties with a range of children's writers and illustrators. A renewed focus for collaborative teaching and learning with Web 2.0 in our (almost completed) school library. (Time frame: next twelve months?)

* Complete new, unrelated, picture book project - which is currently needing to transfer from my brain to paper. Exploit the online possibilities that will arise with publication and promotion of book. (Time frame: ASAP.)


"Mr Chicken goes to Paris" book trailer

Bonjour, Monsieur Poulet!

Leigh Hobbs' infamous Monsieur Poulet, of "Mr Chicken goes to Paris", climbs the Eiffel Tower and then (below, in my version of the story) seemingly meets an appreciative, time-travelling artist. (I'm actually working on a book trailer for this CBCA Awards nominated picture book. I hope. I have to produce something exciting for Tristan Bancks' final class on Monday night.)



Monsieur Poulet was crafted from yellow, black and white FIMO Soft oven-hardening modelling material. Background artwork is from "Mr Chicken goes to Paris" by Leigh Hobbs (Allen & Unwin, 2009).



I bought my copy of "Mr Chicken goes to Paris" the day it came out. It was one of those books you just couldn't leave behind in the shop. Earlier this year, when the CBCA shortlist came out, I grabbed a copy for school. At first, I thought I'd have to forfeit mine. Mai non!


By the way, the French chair (above) is an actual miniature prop
from the 2001 Australian movie, "Moulin Rouge!"



I must explain, too: I was reading "Mr Chicken goes to Paris" today to a group of K-2 students, one of who just *could not* cope with me calling the main character "Mr Chicken" - especially since we read "Kip" (about a rooster) and "Bear & Chook by the sea" yesterday. Every page, the poor kid kept putting his hands over his ears and yelling, "There. Are. No. Chickens. In. That. Book!"

His young colleagues were telling me, "We all have to just ignore him." We kept reading, but I had to avoid saying those magic words, "Mr Chicken", hence the main character was "Monsieur Poulet" throughout!

UPDATE: Okay, I think I've just managed to upload my book trailer as a VIDEO PODCAST! Music: "Parks On Fire (California Burning Mix)" by DJ Rkod (feat. Trifonic). http://ccmixter.org/files/DJ_Rkod/14745 is licensed under a Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/nc-sampling+/1.0/.