There is always something interesting going on in Salem. Yesterday my over-the-fence neighbor, a museum interpreter turned screenwriter turned romance novelist, was shooting some six-second Vine videos next door at Hamilton Hall to publicize her forthcoming book, The Rebel Pirate (2nd in the Renegades of the Revolution series). She graciously allowed me to pop over and see the action. As one of the central characters in the novel is a British naval commander, the redcoats are in the picture and it was fun to see one running around the Hall–especially in sneakers (the floor was a little slippery for swordplay). The conceit of the scenes was a romance reader sitting amidst the characters of the novel come to life, and so they were played out, again and again–including a last bit where the characters creep in and turn the pages for her! (Really cute but hard to photograph from afar–look at the Vine). Observing how much effort goes into a six-second film certainly gives one an appreciation for how long it must take to produce a full-length feature! Despite some ongoing window restoration (inside and out), the Hall looked great and provided the perfect romantic setting.
P.S. This was not the only Salem “set” I visited this past year: now that it is beginning to get accolades, I do want to remind everyone that several scenes of American Hustle were filmed in Salem last spring—see my post Filming on Federal.
January 15th, 2014 at 7:51 am
Hehe, thanks for sharing the trials and tribulations of a romance novelist with us! Great stuff. A lesson to all of us authors – what can go wrong will go wrong on the day of shooting your book launch video:) It seems almost safer to be old-fashioned and stick to presenting at local libraries.
January 15th, 2014 at 7:53 am
I think it went pretty smoothly, but technical things definitely take time–great results though.
January 15th, 2014 at 7:59 am
I agree, the hall and dressed up participants look gorgeous.
January 15th, 2014 at 8:18 am
I think the Redcoats had the most rediculous uniforms of any fighting units in world history. Red is the worst color for combat.
January 15th, 2014 at 8:58 am
A British naval commander in a redcoat? Something’s amiss. I am no historian, but the works of Patrick O’Brien and Horatio Hornblower would suggest that a British naval officer wouldn’t be caught dead in a red coat. Red coats were for the army, as well as the navy’s marines. Naval officers in the 18th and 19th centuries not only wore blue coats, but they also held their army counterparts in low regard.
January 15th, 2014 at 9:05 am
You know; I was thinking that myself but let it go as this is historical fiction AND the redcoat looked so good in the HH setting. But I knew SOMEONE would bring it up! Well; I haven’t read the book yet, but maybe he is not the central British character but a more villainous figure.
January 15th, 2014 at 9:03 am
Sorry, C.S. Forester. His books were about Horatio Hornblower.
January 15th, 2014 at 9:11 am
LOVE Horatio Hornblower, especially Gregory Peck as Horatio Hornblower.
January 15th, 2014 at 11:19 am
The Hall photographs beautifully–even on a rainy day!
To answer Matt’s question, because Vines are only 6 seconds long, we decided against trying to shoot scenes from THE REBEL PIRATE and instead set out to create short, shareable videos that conveyed the feeling of opening up a book and being swept into the world of the story. And we wanted to reuse as many costumes and actors as we could from our trailer for THE TURNCOAT, which was shot at the Shirley Eustis House in 2013
, to connect the books in reader’s minds and give the world of the series visual continuity.
This was my first experiment with Vines, which have to be shot on camera phones in the portrait position, but the limitations of the medium are what make it fun. I’m going to continue to play with the platform, and plan to make some Salem architecture Vines. It’s a neat format for say, 6 solid seconds of gambrel roofs to share on Twitter or a collection of 17th century jetties and pendants!
January 15th, 2014 at 1:42 pm
Well there you have it–I obviously got swept up into the world of the story!
January 15th, 2014 at 11:20 am
Reblogged this on Donna Thorland and commented:
Great Post from Donna Seger who visited our Vine shoot!
January 15th, 2014 at 9:44 pm
Thanks to both Donnas.
And, to be clear, i enjoyed the short. Well done.
January 16th, 2014 at 8:21 am
From Holland a great compiment for your blog! I love history, and so I love this blog. My english is bad, but I love to follow you!
Kind regards Cora
January 16th, 2014 at 9:05 am
Thanks, Cora–happy to have you here.