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See how Mike Pratt creates his 'Worlds Apart' artworks His ‘Worlds Apart’ series is highly original. Watch the video to see how he creates each one and then read more below about Mike and his latest You Tube videos.
Mike Pratt's great local You Tube videos
about Groby, Leicester and more
The pandemic lockdown passed some people by, for example those providing providing essential services. For them life became very much harder, made worse by the knowledge that those in the front line were at greater risk of picking up an infection. Most people were asked to stay at home, but even this created it's own problems, not least financial difficulties, school closures, the ending of social interaction and the problems of running a home without leaving it.
Those who had to fill their days with activity may have taken more exercise outside the home, caught up with the gardening, or tackling those long postponed jobs around the home. For Groby resident Mike Pratt and his wife Sue it provided the opportunity to create more videos to add to his collection. Premiered on facebook to a large audience Mike has then made them available on You Tube, where surprisingly few have seen them so far.
Although he trained as an accountant over the years he's been involved with ceramics, website design, painting (mainly acrylics) and now photography combined with graphic design. The creator of award winning website Groby.org.uk, and the “Worlds Apart” panoramic photo montages, he has enviable skills in the creation, management and manipulation of images and videos. Although it is may be unintentional the videos are generally short, so they are ideal for the internet browser who, we are often told, has a short 'attention span'. Nevertheless they do grab the attention as the content they contain is concise and presented using computer graphic techniques which make them eye catching, informative and entertaining.
Two of his most recent lockdown creations are longer – over 5 minutes each. In the first Mike followed the nesting of two swans at Groby Pool and the two cygnets that resulted from their springtime romance. The second follows the early days of the cygnets on the Pool.
He has also created a series of Magic Postcards, using words, images and special effects to tell the story of local landmarks. These include the Stamford Arms and Chaplin's butchers, in addition to the Corn Exchange, railway station and Clock Tower in Leicester. If history isn't your thing a few tongue in cheek videos may relieve the gloom of the last few months – an interpretation of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody and Groby's One Hole Golf Course.
At a time when summer holidays abroad are off the agenda Mike and his wife Sue may enjoy looking back at their videos of their visits to France and Italy, and these are also very short and worth viewing.
Mike's facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/mikefromgroby.