Tag Archives: multimedia

A book about movies isn’t complete before it shows the action in video segments

2017-10-30

When professional stuntman H-P Virkki decided he is going to write a book about the work of stuntmen, he also decided that it would have to include video clips that show the action. He had to wait for the ebook technology to catch up with his vision, but once Apple had introduced the iBooks Author publishing tool, the long process of creating the book could begin. The exciting result is a available as an ebook Stunts, Scenes and Safety – Introduction to Movie Stunts.

For a publisher, H-P Virkki’s vision for a book that comes with video clips is an ambitious one, since plenty of work is required to get all the pieces fit together. The distribution of the book must be managed as well, because delivering an ebook with a large file size and video content is not a trivial thing. Ebooks created with iBooks Author could be delivered via Apple iBooks Store, so there was at least one global distribution channel for the book.

Later, the book was also converted to EPUB and Kindle formats in order to reach wider audiences.

The second key theme of the book – in addition to the introduction to the work of stuntmen– is educating young movie lovers about the requirements movie business sets for aspiring stuntmen. The book has plenty of valuable tips for anyone who is thinking of squeezing into movies.

Writing a book is one thing, but filming segments that actually show some of the key concepts of a book is a completely different thing. How can a writer create video segments for a book? Since H-P Virkki is a professional in the movie industry, he knew what he had to do in order to capture the film material he wanted for his book.

Here is an article by H-P Virkki where he tells how he created the movie segments for the book Stunts, Scenes and Safety.

H-P Virkki at Stage 32.

More about the book.

Oolipo brings interactive ebooks to smartphones

2017-10-04

Oolipo is an ebook reading application for mobile devices that comes with a dedicated content creation tool. Authors can embed interactive elements into their ebooks, as well as audio and video. Once the new Oolipo ebook is ready to be published, it is delivered via Oolipo bookstore to readers who can view the book on their smartphones and tablets. This is not the first time when interactive ebooks get a dedicated system. What does Oolipo mean for ebooks?

Oolipo describes its mission as follows:

“We believe that reading today means watching images, gifs, and videos, listening to audio, sharing and chatting with friends, interacting with characters. That’s why we created an interactive multimedia format for mobile and tools that enable you to create new stories with them.”

Let’s study Oolipo’s proposal for rich multimedia ebooks from two perspectives: A) fiction and B) nonfiction.

A) Fiction. At the moment, all sample ebooks at Oolipo web site are fiction. The general description of Oolipo also focuses on storytelling as the primary focus for the application. If you download a sample ebook to your phone, you will find pages with text, pages with sound effects, pages with animation, and perhaps with a question which direction you want the story to take.

Oolipo is in sensitive zone here. When someone is reading a fictional book, he or she sees the book’s world her own way. Another reader may see it differently. Audio and video elements that are intended to complement the reading experience actually change the world the reader sees in her mind.

B) Nonfiction The natural application for multimedia ebooks is nonfiction and textbooks. They benefit greatly from elements like animation, audio and video. Also interactive elements like questions and answers can be very helpful to readers who are trying to learn and understand something that is new to them.

An obvious example of a remarkable tool for creating and reading rich multimedia ebooks are works created in Apple iBooks Author. It shows how interactive and multimedia elements really have a role in the future of books. Travel guidebooks, for instance, can show more about a destination with rich media elements.

Creating interactive fiction books inevitably brings the role of book closer to games and movies. It is not a bad thing – on the contrary, something new may be invented. The author has many tough choices to make if he or she wants to create a fictional book in Oolipo.

If you want to create an Oolipo ebook, you can apply principles of visual storytelling familiar from movies or illustrated narratives, use audio and voice for atmosphere, and interactive elements. The elements can be images, gifs, videos, sounds and audio files, text, animations, links to websites (or other episodes), and chat messages.

Here is a video that shows how to create stories for Oolipo:

Some day, someone will get this right – maybe it is Oolipo, maybe someone else. It is fascinating to see if we still call it a book or something else.

Ebook news digest: tips for aspiring writers, Instagram book deal, ebook subscription success

2016-07-24

Ebook news digest July 24, 2016

ereader, woman reading on bench, wolf g, flickr

Photo by Wolf G. https://www.flickr.com/photos/39559585@N00/

8 things I wish I’d known before writing my first novel (Marie Claire)

Author Kate Mosse shares a few tips for aspiring writers, and although her tips focus on novels, they are relevant for non-fiction writers as well. Once a writer has dived deep into the writing process, we would like to highlight two key tips that Kate Mosse shares: Success Is In The Editing Not The Writing and You Don’t Have To Write Chapters in order. In other words, the ugly truth in writing is that editing takes more time than the actual writing, and once you have a solid plan for your manuscript, you can write it any order you like. A tip from us: write the first chapter, introduction and opening paragraph last.

An Instagrammer with almost 2 million followers reveals how to take the perfect travel photo (Business Insider)

Solid advice for travel photography. More travel photography at Instagram.

Seeking to Make Content ‘More Alive,’ E-Book Publishing Tool Takes Off (the algemeiner)

Creating an ebook that features nice, beautifully laid out images, perhaps video clips and even interactivity requires more work than writing a book with a few photos or graphs. That’s why an application that lets the author or the publisher easily and quickly produce a multimedia book is a valuable tool. Ourboox is an online tool that is trying to do just that. It is the first step into right direction, but at the moment it is primarily suitable for home users who want to share their memories with others. That said, Ourboox has potential. Commercial multimedia ebooks still require the use of a professional tool, like the Apple iBooks Author. View samples of travel guidebooks that feature multimedia here.

Edinburg author used Instagram as vehicle to showcase writing (The Monitor)

Victoria Lopez knew very well that Instagram was for photographs and videos, but she used the online service to share snippets of her book manuscript that she was writing. After getting a good number of followers, she was contacted by a book publisher who asked if she was interested in a book deal. She was, but she also realized that it was the opportunity of a lifetime: she contacted other publishers to get the best deal. Our take: An inspiring story, but it is truly exceptional to get a book publishing deal via Instagram.

Who said Indians won’t pay for E-books (Economic Times)

In general, the large population of India maybe reluctant to purchase products online, but there are exceptions. The Economic Times reports of an ebook subscription service Matrubharti that has managed to establish new business on digital products. “As a consumer, I do have resistance to buy readable content online. However, if I’m given a subscription, like in a library, it makes the decision easier.”

Here is how an author assessed the pros and cons of working with a publisher

2015-10-21

H-P Virkki is a stuntman and stunt coordinator who has written a book Stunts, Scenes and Safety about the skills needed for creating action scenes for movies and home videos. The ebook includes not only plenty of tips for aspiring stunt actors, but also actual video footage on planning and performing stunts on a set.

Stunts, Scenes and Safety was published in April 2015. Recently, H-P Virkki realized that people tended to ask the same questions about his book. We asked the author what the most common question was and what his answer was.

H-P Virkki

The most common question is: How did you find a publisher? Since it’s an ebook, would it have been possible to publish it without help?

H-P Virkki: “Yes, it is possible to self-publish an ebook, and hire an editing service to help with the manuscript. For me, it was clear that I wanted to work with a professional publisher.”

“In the beginning, I tried out Apple iBooks Author in order to see whether a multimedia book would really be plausible, and to see how illustrations, text and comics would interact. When I realized it worked all right, I focused on the content and trusted that when the time comes, I’ll find a good partner. Only after the manuscript and video segments were ready, I really started to look for a publisher. After I was convinced that I didn’t want a combination of a printed book and a DVD, I decided not to approach many traditional publishers, but rather look for a digital specialist.”

“Finding a publisher wasn’t actually very hard because for over two years, I had kept a close look on ebook experts who were active in the field. Klaava was an obvious number one from the very beginning – not least because they published articles about movies, music and other entertainment in the company blog.”

“The publisher quickly understood my vision, and we started working together almost immediately. I think the main reason was that the publisher found the multimedia aspect of the project visionary, and the movie theme was also down his alley. I just remember that we were both pretty excited because we felt we were doing something new.”

“I really should say a bit more about the benefits of having a professional publisher. It is tremendously helpful to work with a person who has practical solutions and helpful suggestions whenever you are unsure of which way to go. It is also important that someone whose area of expertise is outside your own field keeps asking questions about your own industry. Many things that are obvious to you and your filmmaker buddies are complete gibberish to a normal, balanced reader.”

“In a multimedia book, there is so much to do. You have to design the layout for each book format, take into account all different reading devices, and get the text, drawings, cartoons, links and video clips to work together. I think I was lucky to have a balancing teammate in the project.”

H-P Virkki performs an Aikido excercise at a skate park.

H-P Virkki’s book Stunts, Scenes and Safety – Introduction to Movie Stunts available now.