Tuesday 12 June 2018


I make a promo/teaser video for social media…

OFF into Glasgow again…I have some videos to upload and am meeting a pal later.

After dropping Margaret off I stop at McDonalds for coffee and wifi. I manage to get the new Whisky Trail video uploaded to YouTube and Facebook ready for ‘go live’ on release day next Thursday (21 June).

The 350 meg files upload in less than five minutes. That’d have been a 24-hour job from our connection at home.

I decide to make a ‘square format’ teaser video to post round social media and try and build a wee buzz about next week’s release. The square format is preferred for Facebook and Instagram, but making it isn;t so straighforward.

You can’t change the format of a video in iMovie and although it;s posible in Final Cut, it’s a bit of a pain.

Much simpler – and faster – is to create a square ‘slide’ in Keynote or Powerpoint and drag the video clip straight onto it. Then you can crop, size, add graphics or whatever you want then export it as a movie file. Done!

I had a bit of a problem getting InstaGram and Twitter to accept or play the video file, but after simply changing the filename extension from .m4v to .mp4 it all worked a treat.

Once done I park up at Glasgow Green and wander into town to meet my pal JJ from Wisconsin. We have a coffee then hit Non Viet for some lunch before walking through town.

I pick up some stuff form the mailbox and we carry on to the car an JJ comes with me to pick up Margaret and say hello.

We drop JJ off back in the city centre, get our shopping and make for home.

The wee teaser video’s been getting good traction – lots of comments and shares. Once I get some Spotifty pre-save links to create a tangible call to action I’ll likely turn it into a Facebook and Instagram ad.

Friday 22 July 2016

AN ONLSLAUGHT of emails keeps me busy after breakfast, then my pal Rab calls – he needs some guidance on updating his website and wonders if I can make up some notes for him.

It takes me a good couple of hours, but hopefully it’s a good step-by-step guide to make the updates he wants to be able to do – not just this time, but for future reference too.

The outside grill’s needing cleaned after last night’s burgers…and the wooden ‘worktops’ on each side could do with some attention. They look a bit manky and with Margaret’s brithday gathering next month it’d be a good idea to clean thing up a bit. I grab a sander out the shed and rub them back…then Margaret wipes them down with meths and gives ’em a couple of coats of stain. Quite a difference!

I didn’t have time earlier int he week to cut the grass at the front of the house so I give it a quick run over with the mower then get back to work.

There’s a nice wee breeze keeping the midges at bay and I need a walk. I load up some podcasts and head off on one of my regular walking routes.

On the way back I change podcasts and notice a 4G signal on my mobile….mmmm…I wonder if I can do a Facebook Live stream? Yup, no problem – I do an off-the-cuff ‘broadcast’ about next week’s Estonia shows, answer some questions that come in over comments and then finish my walk.

I check when I get home and the post has a reach of 16,491, 101 likes, 58 comments and 1,900 video views – that’s a bigger reach than all my combined page posts over the last 10 days. Unbelievable traction….just need to find a way to harness this opportunity!

Back home I open a beer and make our Korean BBQ beef yum yum rice bowls…that’s a mouthful in more ways than one 🙂