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‘Hang On A Minute Lads, I’ve Got A Great Idea’ – Unique Exhibition In Bexhill – 7th July to 1st October 2012

Creative and Art Events, Editorials

Having a dad who loves the brilliant well known film ‘The Italian Job’ I was dragged down to the de la warr pavilion in Bexhill this weekend. However, what I was to find was not a ‘dull’ art exhibition, but a full size bus hanging off the roof.

Taken by Alice Stansfield, 08/07/2012

From the 7th July throughout summer this year the exhibition on the roof on the pavilion is art inspired by the final scene of the movie ‘The Italian Job’. Commission by Richard Wilson, sculptor Richard Wilson’s work fills the roof for a very action packed photograph. Known as his most ‘daring work’ the bus is a replica on the coach in the film balanced on the roof and moving to really resemble the finally scene of the classic film.

Inside the pavilion is details about how the coach was put up and some details on the film. All I really felt this needed to improve the experience was some blinds on the coach as the windows are instead blurred out to make it really look like a model, where instead I feel they could have gone all out to make it look like a real coach. Although driving up to it was scary enough to make anyone believe it was about to fall!

The best part, it’s free and you get a lovely view of Bexhill!

Photo taken by Alice Stansfield, 08/07/2012

Photo taken by Alice Stansfield, 08/07/2012

Also inside the pavilion are other art exhibition rooms. Gallery 1, which is open to September 16th, is titled ‘Everything Flows: the art of getting in the zone’. It features ‘moving image works’ inspired by succeeding in sport, again all free with the option to give a donation for more things like this to happen.

You can always finish the day in the cafe or on the beach. A lovely day out this summer for all the family, as they say.

By Alice Stansfield.

The ‘Hang On A Minute Lads, I’ve Got A Great Idea’ is on exhibition until 1st October 2012 – for more information please visit 

http://www.dlwp.com/event/richard-wilson2

Alice Stansfield your friendly neighbourhood vlogger: http://www.youtube.com/user/HisLittleEmo

Feel free to Tweet me if you have any questions or feedback:  @hislittleemoo

Email me for anything extra: aostansfield@hotmail.co.uk

Area:   UK   Britain   East of England   East Midlands   London  North East   North West    Yorkshire    Scotland    South East   South West    Wales   West Midlands

A Jack Of All Trades – By Emily Foster

Editorials

This week at work I got into a spot of bother with my boss. He was concerned that I had been potentially sharing insider information on Limehouse Books, telling the secrets of our trade. He was annoyed because I had told people that last week, instead of working, we spent a day cleaning his flat.

Now, I should stress that I did volunteer to help him with the task. On Saturday night he hosted the Limehouse Summer party, and it was me who insisted his flat was at least vacuumed before people could be allowed in. The tidying was necessary to fit us all in. Cleaning the kitchen was just for extra sparkle.

However the experience did make me think about all the other things I do at Limehouse Books, as well as being a designer. Working for such a small company, the more you can learn a little bit of everything, the better. And, as always, there is lots to learn.

By Zfaerman

There’s fun stuff, like organising events and press coverage. This covers most of our marketing and publicity side of things – attending networking events, forging partnerships with other organisations to host events with (for wider audience reach), finding and contacting new ways to gain press coverage through newspapers, magazines, radio.

Being trained in the editorial side of things means I get to be a lot more involved in book projects than just coming from the designer’s perspective. This includes proofreading and editing at the early stages – later everything is proof read professionally by a freelancer.

Then there’s bookkeeping and managing invoices. You’d think that with such a small company keeping track of the finances would be easy, but this is much more effort than you think. We use online bookkeeping software.

There’s other little tasks that keep cropping up too: posting on Facebook and Twitter; attending meetings and liaising with anyone involved in a project, from printers to authors and potential clients; submitting books for awards; responding to any queries.

As you can see, there’s lots to do. It’s hard work, but varied, engaging and, most of the time, fun. Apart from the cleaning… 

By Emily Foster

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/emilyjaynefoster

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Andy Farr Brings the Spirit of the Olympics to Leamington – 17th to 5th August 2012 – Leamington Spa

Creative and Art Events, Creative and Art News

“The power of the sprinter; the poise of the gymnast; the joy of victory; the exhilaration of the dive; the agony of defeat; the audacity of the high jumper… Every sport has its own unique rhythm, its own secret pattern, its own code.”

After the success of his solo show ‘The Space Between” in 2011, Andy Farr will be bringing the spirit of the Olympics to Gallery150, in Leamington Spa.

After a period of experimentation with abstract landscapes and cityscapes, the artist, who returned to painting in 2008, after what he refers to as “a brief pause of twenty years”, has shifted his focus to capturing the essence of movement. This fascination has led to a series of works inspired by carousels, dance, horse racing and sport. The artist begins each work by watching a slow-motion film of the subject to isolate the underlying rhythms, which he sketches then builds into a pictorial composition.

In the ‘Rhythms in Motion’ exhibition, which runs from 17th July-5th August 2012, this highly experimental artist will be presenting a series of works inspired by sport, movement and the emotions and achievements of athletes.  In an impressive play of brushstrokes, depth, colour and light, this series of considered works show echoes of Kandinsky, Boccioni and Rothko, culminating in a complex blend of styles and textures, that hover on a line between Abstract Expressionism, Cubism and Futurism.

The private view of the Rhythms in Motion exhibition will be held on 17th July from 7pm.

Venue: Gallery150, Regent Court Shopping Centre, 9 Livery Street, Leamington Spa CV32 4NP.

Opening times: Tuesday- Saturday from 11am- 6pm and Sunday 11am- 4pm.

Area: West Midlands

MUNGA – By Alice Stansfield

Editorials

“Nations shall not lift Sword against Nation Neither shall they learn War any more”  Micah 4:3

Although the title could stand for many things it actually stands for: Model United Nations General Assembly.

The event took place at Uckfield Community Technology College, one of the only colleges that holds a MUNGA for their sixth form students,  on Friday 29th June. After a few days of research preparation for the students, and a quite a few weeks of preparing the event by staff, it all came together. The event allows students to learn the process of debating and research into sections known as resolutions: Universal Primary Education; Gender Equality; Environmental Sustainability; Crime and Punishment; and Migration. Each group of students had a country they had to research, for example I was a delegate for Russia and then was in the Environmental Sustainability resolution.

After a welcome by Principal and Secretary General and opening statements from delegates, resolution debating sessions began. Separated from teams and put into rooms with nobody else from your country meant you had to know your stuff! Promoted by a member of staff, known as the Chairman of the debate, students promptly began debating.

As an example of what happen in the rooms,  the Environmental Sustainability debate began strongly ,promoted by the Chairman Chris Brooks, focussing on ‘further demands that Japan stops hunting whales and fishing on industrial levels using factory ships worldwide’ due to the destruction it causes. The delegate from Japan (Will Baker) began to debate why what they do is a good thing compared to other situations that other countries cause, but the delegates from China (Luke Lee Brewin) and Palestine (Jack Ashdown) demanded there be a change. After much debate of what needed to be done the resolution was changed to say it would be revisited in a few years. From this the students learnt how to debate and how a MUNGA is normally run where resolutions can be changed.

Thankful for a large buffet lunch provided by the college, students returned to the main hall to report back what had happened in separate resolutions and then begin debating as a whole country about Human Rights. Palestine, China, America, Russia and Israel were big speakers in the hall, along with other countries, on debating the issue of differences in Human Rights. The Secretary General ran the debate and helped organise the students to debate towards changing resolutions in order of what the majority voted for.

On Monday 2nd July students were presented in assembly with certificates for the day with thanks to them and all the staff who helped out with the event, which occurs annually and is a great event to learn new skills, information and to add to CV’s. The day had clearly been a success with comments it has been ‘The best we’re ever had’, but will they top it next year?

Special thanks have to go to Mr Williams, Mr Simmons and all the teachers who were Chairman’s and assistant chairman’s on the day.

By Alice Stansfield.

Alice Stansfield your friendly neighbourhood blogger! http://www.youtube.com/user/HisLittleEmo

Feel free to Tweet me if you have any questions or feedback  @hislittleemoo

Everyday I’m Tumblrin  http://wonderlandreject.tumblr.com/

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London Design Festival 2012 – Craft Central Events – 17th to 25th September

Creative and Art Events

Celebrating the diversity of UK contemporary craft and design, Craft Central brings you 3 intriguing events for the London Design Festival:

One Day Designers Sale: Interior Products

Date: Monday 17 Sept 2012, 12noon – 7pm

Venue: Craft Central, 33-35 St John’s Square, London EC1M 4DS

FREE ADMISSION

Treat your home! Distinctive contemporary craft for the home at discount prices. The One Day Designers Sale is back… but think bigger, better and bolder for London Design Festival 2012. For one day only, find distinctive contemporary craft for the home by over 30 UK designers cherry picked to help spruce up your pad!

Delve through the tempting interior products on sale, including: Design K’s vibrant furniture; Charlene Mullen’s unmistakable cushions; IKUKO Iwamoto’s intricate ceramics; Loughlion Design’s ingenious kitchen solutions; and Kate Clarke’s colourful homeware to brighten any kitchen. Celebrate London and bring the city indoors with London Kills Me’s distinctive prints and Michelle Mason’s famous cushions.

Lighten up with HAM’s quirky ‘hammade’ printed products; Sarah Bonallo’s inventive upholstery; Namiko Murakoshi’s adorable Hairy Babes ceramics; Haidee Drew’s playful interior products; and bring a smile to breakfast time with Takae Mizutani’s My Egg & Soldiers tableware.

As well as sneak previews of exciting new work, snap up bargains from previous collections. Make the most of the extraordinary discounts on offer (with selected items up to 50% off retail prices) and make your house the envy of the street!

This exceptional shopping treat is topped off by meeting the maker in person – come and meet…

Alice Bree, Alison Brent, DesignK, Charlene Mullen, Chris Edwards, Daniel Spring, Deryn Relph, Gina Pierce Design, Haidée Drew, Helen Foot Design, Henna Craft, IKUKO Iwamoto Ceramics, Jane Sleator Ceramics, Jayna’s Designs, Scamp Baby Gifts, HAM, kate clarke London, The Intricate Project, Linda Gifford, Lok Ming Fung Ceramics, RALLI Design, martin Horgan, Suitcase Susie, Michelle Mason, Namiko Murakoshi, Nancy Straughan Printed Textiles, LondonKillsMe, Loughlion Design, Chairs By Sarah Bonallo, Stewart Martin Johnson, Takae Mizutani, Tina Vlassopulos, and Tracey Bush.

More details at  http://www.craftcentral.org.uk/september-sale

 

Inspired by London

Dates: 18-23 Sept 2012

Opening times: http://craftcentral.org.uk/calendar

Venue: The Showcase, Craft Central, 33-35 St John’s Square, London EC1M 4DS

FREE ADMISSION

Collective exhibition by seven London based designers. United in their passion for all things London, an eclectic group of 7 designer makers join forces for the London Design Festival. This London themed exhibition will showcase the diversity of art, fashion, interior products and jewellery inspired by our capital.

Exhibitors include:

Bronagh Kennedy – Distinctive limited edition digital prints inspired by London’s landmark buildings.

London Kills Me – Prints, cards, wall hangings and interior textiles inspired by the history and architecture of London and its changing urban landscape, using traditional artisan printing methods.

Vic Lee – Limited edition screen prints of London’s neighbourhoods and streetscapes.

Rosemary Lucas – River Thames themed contemporary jewellery, including sterling silver cuffs.

Michelle Mason – Interior products inspired by London’s bus destinations, its skyline, landmarks and iconic transport. Sarah Eyton –

Bold fashion accessories, including cuffs depicting London’s skyline.

Amy Keeper – A new collection of contemporary jewellery inspired by vintage London market traders tokens from Smithfield and Spitalfields Markets.

 

Rob Braybrooks – Exhibition

Dates: 17-23 Sept 2012

 Opening times: http://craftcentral.org.uk/calendar

Venue: The Corner Shop
Craft Central, 21 Clerkenwell Green, EC1R 0DX

FREE ADMISSION

Designer maker, Rob Braybrooks brings a slice of Cornwall to Clerkenwell for the London Design Festival with his hand cut wood relief wall hung designs and art pieces.

Inspired by the back-lit silhouettes and lines created in natural and urban landscapes, he produces delicate light birch wood hand cut relief upon dark painted frame boards. 

 

About Craft Central

www.craftcentral.org.uk

At the cutting edge of craft for 30 years, Craft Central (CC) is an oasis in the city – actively promoting, nurturing and strengthening the future of UK craft and design. Designer makers flourish through insightful support, affordable studio spaces, accessible exhibition facilities and valuable opportunities. We understand designer makers, connecting over 600 through our growing dynamic national Network. We build relationships within our creative community and reach out to diverse audiences. CC is a destination for innovative craft and design, showcasing stimulating exhibitions, talks and ‘meet the maker’ experiences. 

Area: London  South East

The Makery Workshops – Bath

Creative and Art Events

The Makery is a place where people can come and learn how to be more resourceful.It is a place where things are thought of in terms of their potential; re-using what would otherwise be thrown away; getting people to look at objects in a different manner.  And re-using things in such a way that the finished item is just as great as something you’d buy in the shops. Forget that – even better, because it’s been made by hand.

The Makery hold a huge range of workshops including printmaking, bookbinding, sewing, lingerie, felt making, knitting, embroidery and jewellery.

To find out more and to see the workshop calendar visit 

http://themakeryonline.co.uk/workshops/

Area: South West

Wild Whispers: The Diary of a Filmmaker – Episode 1

Editorials

It dawned on my fairly recently what a long hard struggle it is being an independent artist, possible more so being an independent filmmaker.  I thought, if only I REALLY knew what it was like in the world of filmmaking would I have done things differently?  I’m not sure.   In these articles I will document how things are in the indie film world.  I plan to shoot a feature next summer.  Will it happen?  HOW will it happen?  Well, dear reader, with any luck you shall be privy to the process, the ups and downs, the ins and out, the triumph and despair of such ventures.

I first decided I wanted to become a filmmaker when I was at college.  For a while before that I knew that I didn’t quite think in the same way as my peers.  I think I wanted to be a pop star but not playing an instrument, being able to write a song or even hold a tune put paid to that.  Then I saw a few films that left a mark on me.  I saw how film was going to become my form of expression.  It was more than that though.  It wasn’t just about telling a story, it was about creating a FEELING.  Even now, I’m not interested in art that just tells stories or in art for art’s sake.  I need to discover a FEELING.  I think that’s it, my overriding desire as a filmmaker is to create a feeling in films.  That’s the only way I can explain it, at least for now.

My first thoughts were ‘how will I make it in this industry?’  A mistaken thought.  There is no film ‘industry’.  Hasn’t been for a long time.  Not in the UK anyway.  Eventually I realised that there are creative people who work on films and filmmakers who create films from the bottom to the top.  I realised, after a brief flirtation in the erm, ‘industry’ that it was the latter camp I fell into.  So from now on it was a case of working full time to pay the bills but filmmaking was always my REAL career.

And that’s when the dawn hit me.  I was an outsider.  My role was to pull various fragments together from inside my head and from the real word to make things happen.    Years of hard work, years of working as an outsider to, well, pretty much everything.  The long slog.  This is a potted history, I will reveal more about these films, and the process of making them, over time.  First up, I made a few short films with varying degrees of success.  No funding, just using what was available to me.  Even back then it became fairly clear to me that public funding was a tricky issue.  I don’t have anything against public funding at all.  It is fairly obvious that it’s a deeply flawed system though.  Still, that’s a discussion for another day.

After a while it dawned on me that I needed to make a feature film.  Public funding simply wouldn’t be forthcoming for what I wanted to do so I set off to the Arctic to make a documentary about life up there.  How does that work?  Well, I volunteered for a charity and that effectively paid for my film.  The in-kind budget was around 10,000UKP.  Naturally, as is the way being an indie, I did the project for free.  Which was fair enough, of course, nobody asked me to do it.  It was my own project.  The film took some time to edit but ‘East 3 – Exploring a Frozen Frontier’ premiered in New York in 2007, went onto play in Chicago, toured the UK and then screened on UK television.  I was even interviewed about it on BBC Newsroom South East.

A few more short films followed (by now I was getting better at promoting them and they were all broadcast on UK TV).  The method and philosophy remained the same, shoot with what I had to hand, create a feeling.  This year I realised I had gone as far as I could with my old short films and so packaged them up into a compilation DVD ‘Caged Fire – The Short Films of Mr Young’  It felt right to say goodbye to these films as I now need to focus on a new set of objectives.  Yes, more short films but a feature film too.

Now, we come too making the second feature.  This time, a narrative film.  The question is, ‘how does one get from where I am now to making a feature length story?’  Will it even work out?  I have no idea.  Not yet.   I guess this diary will reveal all.

So, would I have done things differently?  I doubt it.  It’s very hard but also very rewarding when you follow your own path.  Right now the only genuine path for the independent filmmaker is the one you make yourself.  It’s a wild path with only whispers in the wind to help.  With any luck though I might see some paths that have been cleared already and I certainly hope, with the wise and not so wise words in this diary, I may just clear a path or two for you.

You can buy both  ’East 3 – Exploring a Frozen Frontier’ and ‘Caged Fire – The Short Films of Mr Young’ here:

www.themoontheeye.co.uk/onlinestore

Mr Young

Independent Filmmaker

www.themoontheeye.co.uk

www.facebook.com/themoontheeye

www.twitter.com/Mr_Young

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Garden Adventures – By George Langridge

Creative and Art Events

This week I found myself a little busy with coursework, however I decided I would see what I could find in the garden. I was actually surprised at how pretty some of the things -that I take for granted- in the garden are.

Gardening, It’s Not For Me

I started out looking -with distracting hay fever- for little insects and quirks. This is what I found.

Green Bug

As soon as I stepped out of the door I noticed this little insect on the bush next to the window. I took this picture from about three or four different angles but decided to stick with this one as it is almost at eye level (from creatures perspective, as I’m not 2ft tall). I like this photograph because even though this insect is the same colour as the leaf the contrast -pumped in post- really makes it stand out. I also like the way it is a captured moment in this creature’s life.

Little Figure

Although this photograph isn’t artsy or particularly impressive in any way, I do like it. This is because it is actually cutely hidden in the garden, also it is fairly cute. In post-production I pumped the clarity and popped the blacks to add a bit of ‘pow’ to what was a terribly bland photograph.

Pretty Hidden Flower

I decided that I would look around the back of the bushes and in obscure places. I then found this flower and was amazed that the dog hadn’t yet chewed on it. I was tempted to make this black and white but then because it was sunny in the garden – I was sat on the bench editing- I thought it just had to be vibrant. As I gain experience with a DSLR I continue to be amazed at what my little 18-55mm -f/3.5- kit lens can actually do. I guess I am still amazed by depth of field.

To see the full resolution images and my other photographs check out my Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgelangridge/

I am currently looking for people willing to allow me photograph them candid. This would entail them doing what they do -ie. Working in a workshop/studio/kitchen- and have me photographing them doing it. If you would be willing to do this or model for portraits get in touch with me at georgelangridge95@gmail.com or on twitter @georgelangridge .

Twitter/Instagram: @georgelangridge

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Working For An Indie Record Label – Part 3 : Pitching To A Record Label

Editorials

So, we’ve covered a few bits about the thought process that goes into getting a record onto iTunes and into shops and also sourcing and producing artwork for the release.

Next up, I want to touch on Press Releases and Biographies. Record labels receive bucket loads of these together with a CD attached. Some are good. Some are ok. Some are downright awful!

Now, for those of you that don’t know, a Press Release is a piece of paper that contains a brief overview of the release you are trying to push out to media or radio or labels. Every release we do at the label has a press release to go with it, telling whoever reads it about the release, collaborators, interesting facts and angles, and also a little bit about the band too. Traditionally these are usually written up by the Print (Magazines/Newspapers) PR company you have on board to work the release. Throw a photo in if you like and you’re sorted.

A Biography is just that. A history of the band or act written by someone else. A page long should suffice, but obviously it all depends on how long the subjects of it have been going. Be honest, big yourself up and try and get someone outside of the band to write it. An impartial biography reads much better than a fan boy one.

Of course, if you’re signed to a label or management, then you don’t really need to worry about this, as someone else will be writing all these up for you. However, if like most of the examples I receive you’re unsigned and doing it yourselves, here are a few pointers for you, from what I’ve seen.

Press Releases/Biog

  • Keep them to the point. By all means, shout to the heavens about your achievements; you’ve got every right. Just don’t waffle. Lots of indie labels run small crews, so a 4 page copy about your band is not a smart move. Keep the meat of your text somewhere on your website or Facebook page where someone can find it, and make your press release interesting so people want to find out more.
  • Appearance and presentation. Humans make first impressions on another person in under a second or something ridiculous like that. Same theory applies when you submit your info to a label. I have received a press release written in crayon (by what appeared to be a 4 year old) on lined Winnie The Pooh paper (I think) with cut outs of the bands photos thrown in for good measure. Arty, yes. Easy to read, No. By all means be inventive and creative. You want to stand out. Just don’t make it difficult to read. The best one I have seen had a brief hand written hello, press release, a biography and upcoming gig dates with a sticker, a CD and some badges.
  • If you can afford to or you think it might help, throw in a few gig tickets. Personally, I will always try to at least make it to the show if someone sends some tickets through the post to us about their band. I’m a musician, and tickets are income. So if they’re prepared to lose £12 and send a few tickets through, I personally am more likely to go and watch. It’s a nice gesture.
  • Emails. We live in a digital age. However, here are a few tips for you guys sending links about over email…
    • DON’T ATTACH YOUR MUSIC FILES TO THE EMAIL! Trying to download 45.3MB of attachments is not only annoying; it slows down receiving the rest of your emails. Link to your Soundcloud/Band Camp/Myspace.
    • Write a bit more than “Hey, listen to my band. Thanks, J. Bloggs”. Throw a bit of your bio in, leave a few links to music and gigs and videos. Don’t drown the email with words, but give us some assets.
    • This is an important one. Don’t, for love of all that is good and tasty in the world, paste 300 email addresses into your “To:” or “CC:” section. Use BCC, A.K.A. Blind Copy. It sends the email to everyone, but the recipients don’t see the 299 other labels you’ve sent your band to. Personalization is key here. Talk to us directly, not a blanket “Hi guys…”.

I hope this helps you guys out when it comes to trying to pimp your band out to labels or management. I will leave you with one, final piece of advice.

Know what label you are sending music to. Sunday Best are traditionally Leftfield, Hip-Hop, Dance, and Indie with bands like Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, Dub Pistols, Max Sedgley, and Beardyman. For example, the death metal band who sent me a CD of music for our consideration, I enjoyed. Next time though, send it to Earache or Nuclear Blast, you might get a better response. KNOW YOUR TARGET!

By Luke Crook

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Hoodwink – The Art Project For Non Traditional Space – Open For Proposals – Ends 22nd July 2012

Creative and Art Events


Hoodwink is a unique commissioning project initiated by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council Arts Development Unit that extends contemporary art practice beyond gallery spaces and public art arenas and places it slap bang in the middle of the hustle and bustle of daily life, such as in supermarkets, pubs and shopping centres, harnessing the potential for large-scale engagement with existing users.

Hoodwink is calling for proposals from artists working in the UK to make a site-specific response to an independent music venue, The Forum in Tunbridge Wells. The commission, worth £7000, represents an exciting opportunity for the artist involved to work in new ways and reach new audiences by showing in a non-traditional space and to make new connections with Kent physically and theoretically.

They have organised 2 open sessions to view the venue, talk to staff and Hoodwink project managers on 2nd July and 3rd July.

For more details and to download a brief go to: http://www2.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4857

Contact by emailing: hoodwink@tunbridgewells.gov.uk

Connect on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/396956693682730/

Area: South East  London

An Interview With Ben Cameron – Illustrator and Artist

Creative and Art Events

Ben Cameron is an illustrator and artist based in Kent who often works from the same coworking space as myself. I find his work really inspiring and I thought you might like to know more about him.

So Ben, most creatives say they have always been creative, has there been a time you didn’t feel that way?

Strang Paul was actually developed about 3 years ago, when I was working in retail, because it was such a stifling environment, tedious and boring. So to combat this I decided to start doodling and sketching small cartoons in my lunch breaks. From there my drawings grew in ambition and size.

Did you study any creative subjects or are you self taught?

In school, I studied expressive arts and then onto Media studies at college. Some people may think that I missed out on not formerly studying art, but then isn’t creativity about expressing yourself? I did take part in a lot of creative workshops when I was younger but I lost interest as I became older.

If you could collaborate with anyone who would it be?

The answer is ANYONE. Without sounding clichéd I honestly believe that everyone has something to share creatively. With this in mind I decided to start an open project called Doodleshare. This is open ongoing project for anyone to take part in. I am always looking for new projects and people to share interesting ideas with.

Who inspires you both locally and universally?

Lots of people, it is hard to list individuals – but if you look at who I follow on Twitter you will get an idea. But professional artist wise I would say Moose Allain – he has a good balance between word play and beautiful drawings, whilst using interesting techniques for both – this all ties in beautifully with his Twitter feed.

Locally – my Mum – while I was growing up she was incredibly creative. She drew cartoon murals on my bedroom walls and helped me with my school projects, such as creating little books and pieces of work. She encouraged me to focus on attention to detail on things like colours, layout and text. As well as being incredibly supportive and encouraging, she also suggested that I take part in extra curricular projects during summer holidays.

Do you have a “creating” playlist?

It is constantly changing, sometimes it’s my music collection on shuffle, other times it will be a TV series playing in the background. My music taste is very wide, every day is different.

What would you like to achieve in the future?

I want to keep my work interesting for myself and others,supporting myself as I do so.

Can you recommend a creative website you love?

Twitter! It ties everyone in so well, it is the best news service in the world. The amount people I have met through Twitter and been inspired by is ever growing. I can get fantastic feedback about my work and give feedback to others. 5 years ago there is no way I would be able to share my work in the same way.

You can find more work by Ben Cameron on StrangePaul.com and you can contact Ben for commissions on bencameron@me.com

By Natasha Steer

Attribution-NoDerivs (CC BY-ND) Ben Cameron

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Art Odds and Art Sods – All Work Under £50 – Group Exhibition at Deaf Cat Coffee Bar – Rochester – 25th June to 15th July 2012

Creative and Art Events

Art Odds and Art Sods is a group show at The Deaf Cat Coffee Bar, Rochester, featuring prints, paintings, books, photographs, jewellery and hats from:

Wolf Howard
Matthew Bray
Jim Hill
Sara Norling
Rikard Osterlund
Darrell Hawkins
Bjorn Veno
Zara Carpenter

ALL WORK UNDER £50!! A great way to start collecting art!

From 25th June -15th July (10.00am-5.00pm)

Deaf Cat Coffee Bar

83 High Street

Rochester

Kent

Area: South East

‘Not the Usual Suspects’ at LSA’s Summer Show – Warwickshire

Creative and Art Events, Creative and Art News

Leamington Studio Artists (LSA) present a rich and exciting showcase of over 100 works by 68 local and regional artists.

This year, Gallery150 will be hosting the ‘2012 LSA Summer Show’, ‘Not the Usual Suspects’ in the Livery Street gallery, in Leamington, Warwickshire.

This coveted annual exhibition will feature the work of LSA members and non-members from Leamington and across the Midlands.

With a steady rise in members in recent years, the show has become increasingly more popular and covers a broad range of mediums, including painting, drawing, photography and sculpture by talented emerging and established artists alike. And, this year, there will be over 100 works by a good 68 artists, some of whom will be exhibiting with the fifteen-year old organisation for the first time. Visitors to the show will also be able to get a preview of works by a number of artists participating in the up-coming Warwickshire Open Studios (30th June to the 15th July).

This year the audience will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite artist. The winning artist will be awarded a cash prize of 500 pounds and a special feature in Artspace, the LSA arts journal, which has been in print since 1998. All of the voters’ names will also be entered into a prize draw and the winner will receive a Giclée print of ‘Not the Usual Subjects’.

Not the Usual Suspects will run from 26th June until 15th July 2012; the private view, will be held at Gallery150, on Tuesday, June 26th from 7 pm.

Gallery150, 9 Livery Street, Regents Court, Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV32 4NP

Opening times: Tuesday – Saturday 11am – 6pm / Sunday 11am – 4pm.

Area: West Midlands

A Medway Vision Special – Why Medway Needs a Film Festival

Editorials

Yes, I know.  I’m a filmmaker.  It’d be strange if I DIDN’T want a film festival in Medway.  But the fact is, Medway needs a film festival and what’s more there are some very pertinent reasons why:

1/  Strategy – One of Medway council’s priorities is to harness the creative industries to bring cash and other nice things into the area.  What better way to do that than to set-up a festival that draws punters in and gets them drinking and eating in local venues?  Good for creativity, good for the local economy.

2/  Skills sharing – It’s not just about money either.  It’s about building confidence, skills, pride and hearing voices.  Local people from all walks of life can get involved, from the volunteers who help set it up to the local talent who can display their hard work.  Alongside this, local and not so local filmmakers can share skills with a variety of local communities in order to develop voices, to develop the Medway story, if you will.

3/   Special times, special measures – As I have been arguing in these articles, Medway is in a special place artistically right now.  This needs to be capitalised on.  Film festivals mean creative guests, means more networking, means more creativity.  It’s a win, win situation.

4/  Prestige – Most self-respecting places the size of Medway have film festivals.  And I believe we are more creative than most.  Many of these festivals start off small, some even remain small.  But the point is, knowing your town will be hosting a selection of the best moving pictures from around the world AND running them side by side with local work that’s equally as effecting can only be a good thing.

5/  Promoting and watching film – I don’t mean the standard Odeon fare.  That’s easy to see.  Just go to the Odeon or pop the tele on if that’s your bag.  I mean the more leftfield stuff, the challenging films that build from the film festivals to become important pieces of cinema.  Surely we want to be part of that?  Surely we want access to films not available at the cinema chains?

6/  Education – What better way to convince the next generation, or even this generation of film fans, that there is more to life than chain cinema films?  Independent features, international documentaries, short films, music videos…you can almost taste the excitement can’t you?

7/ It’s already started – Yeah, I couldn’t resist.  I’ve already set up the webpage www.medwayvisions.tumblr.com in the hope that the creative people of Medway come on board and that the audience will be willing to come and watch.  My film company The Moon The Eye will run the show but I can’t do it on my own.  Heck, I wouldn’t even want to try.  It needs people, organisations on board to lend a hand in whatever way they know how.  Yes, it NEEDS you.  It’s here, but it will only work if we ALL get involved.

So, who’s with me?

.

Mr Young

Independent Filmmaker

www.themoontheeye.co.uk

www.twitter.com/Mr_Young

www.facebook.com/themoontheeye

Mr Young

The Wall Breakers – Inspiration From USA

Creative Communities and Inspiring Websites

Sometimes we hit a wall, a creative block. But there are things that can help this common part of a creatives life, something that is certain to help is the website “The Wall Breakers”. Set up by two guys from Brooklyn – James Scully and Matt Weckel – the site features inspirational artists and their work as well as various creative news and inspiring features that might just get your creative juices flowing again.

To see this website full of all round creative coolness visit www.thewallbreakers.com

You will also find the feed on Twitter and Facebook.

Area:   UK   Britain   East of England   East Midlands   London  North East   North West    Yorkshire    Scotland    South East              South West    Wales   West Midlands 

Draw Your ‘art’ Out! – By Alice Stansfield

Creative and Art Events, Creative and Art News, Creative Communities and Inspiring Websites

Last night (20/06/12) at Uckfield Community College, East Sussex, students from year 12 to year 13 (6th form) displayed all their hard work throughout the last year in the art and photography department. The creativity of the students was clearly displayed across three class rooms that had been transformed to create the exhibitions.

Work shown ranged from finger paintings; photo shoots; all the way to projections. This will be the students worked that will be sent out to exam boards to give them a final grade. Nearly everything shown should take pride of place in a London art exhibition.

The inspiration of the pieces were given by themes, such as ‘mood’ and ‘changing beauty’ of which the pieces of photos were created. However this wasn’t all created in a classroom. Some work was taken in the school’s photography studio, of which I myself have been in to be a model and it’s a very enjoyable experience as the students I worked with were professional with everything they did.

The art was shown all over the classroom walls on canvas and taking up entire walls. From pictures of cats to waterfalls and portraits the talent shown was remarkable, making the evening a success. All they needed was the examiners to visit and see people’s reaction to the work to give out amazing marks they deserve.

Each piece of work came with a project book explaining the process of completing the project. Although some were hard to read as the pages were completely full, they represented the creative minds overflowing.

The school should hold more evenings like this and advisable to other school’s in order to display the student’s work of which they should be proud of!

You can watch a video of the event here, featuring a vast amount of the work: 

By Alice Stansfield.

Alice Stansfield your friendly neighbourhood blogger!  http://www.youtube.com/user/HisLittleEmo

Feel free to Tweet me if you have any questions or feedback  @hislittleemoo

Everyday I’m Tumblrin  http://wonderlandreject.tumblr.com/

Area: South East

THE USCARS

Creative and Art News

With stars in their eyes, students from Uckfield and Beacon, in East Sussex, met at Uckfield Picture House for an award ceremony of their film studies and media studies project finished exam pieces.

This award ceremony has taken place every year for the past six years with an afternoon of watching the student’s work, whether it be music videos or trailers, and then giving out awards in categories for hard work successfully achieved.

Every college should celebrate the students work in such style like this event!

Speeches from students were short and sweet, but overall the evening was enjoyable as always.

Explaining the event (and an award I received):

This also mentions a new YouTube mini series coming soon!

Below is a picture of the winners with their smiles and prizes.

By Alice Stansfield.

Alice Stansfield your friendly neighbourhood blogger!  http://www.youtube.com/user/HisLittleEmo

Feel free to Tweet me if you have any questions or feedback  @hislittleemoo

Everyday I’m Tumblrin  http://wonderlandreject.tumblr.com/

Area:   UK   Britain   East of England   East Midlands   London  North East   North West    Yorkshire    Scotland   South East    South West    Wales   West Midlands  

Fashionable Structures Exhibition – 27th June to 9th July 2012 – UCA Pop Up Gallery – Chatham – Kent

Creative and Art Events

Emerging from the recent UCA Final Shows, Fashionable Structures exhibition is a fusion of selected Architecture and Fashion work, which have been brought together to highlight where they coincide, as mediums and ideas.

Fashionable Structures includes work ranging from garments to digital design, drawings, models, video and photography.

The exhibition will take part in the Medway Open Studios on the 7th and 8th of July.

Launch: 27th June  4pm -7pm

Opening Times

Monday:
10:00
 –
17:00
Tuesday:
Closed
 –
Closed
Wednesday:
10:00
 –
17:00
Thursday:
Closed
 –
Closed
Friday:
Closed
 –
Closed
Saturday:
10:00
 –
17:00
Sunday:
Closed
 –
Closed

The gallery is located on the upper level of the Pentagon Shopping Centre.

Area: South East

Artists in the Woods – Sunday 8th July 2012 – Oare Gunpowder Works Country Park – Faversham – Kent

Creative and Art Events

The Swale Arts Forum are happy  to be organising this years GREEN EVENT in association with the Friends of Oare Gunpowder works, Swale Borough Councils Park Dept and Groundworks Medway .

Artists booked in:

BIG Fish
The Gunpowder Works x5
Los Salvadores
Swale Sings
Tel Tyler
Ken Rowles
Mark Thatcher
Sheppey and Sittingbourne Writers
Sioux Peto – Litter Angels
Dean Tweedy
ECO SHED
Polka Dot Arts
Val Tyler
Colin Barnard
Nick Stewart
Daniel Nash
Andrew Parker
DaniArt photography
Marvellous Murals- facepainting

Friends of Oare

Swale Arts Forum

For more details please visit www.swaleartsforum.org/artists-in-the-woods-2012

Area : South East

Writers Revolution – Worldwide Feature Film Screenplay Competition – Closing 30th September 2012

Creative / Artist Wanted, Creative Opportunities

Writers Revolution is a feature film screenplay competition that provides the opportunity for talented writers to advance in their career.

The winner of Writers Revolution will receive a four day trip to LA, where they will meet with top producers and agents with $3000 spending money, a year’s representation with top US management company Zero Gravity Management, three mentoring sessions with the Gersh Agency and Untitled Management in Los Angeles and an 18 month screenplay option with Intandem Films and Writers Avenue Films.

There will be a further four runner-up prizes of three months representation with Zero Gravity Management and a 12 month screenplay option with Intandem Films and Writer’s Avenue Films.

The competition is open to entrants from all over the world, as long as their entry is submitted in English. All screenplays will be considered by Intandem Films and Writer’s Avenue Films, with a selection of the top 50 then entering the final stages where a short list of five screenplays will be considered by the judges.

Entry Fees

  • Early entry fee: £35 (from 7th June to 15th June)
  • Regular entry fee: £45 (from 16th June to 16th September)
  • Late entry fee: £55 (from 17th September to 30th September)

For more details visit www.writersrevolution.org

Competition! Win Free Tickets To: Prima Homemade – Creative Stitches & Hobbycrafts Show – 6th to 9th September 2012 – Bluewater – Kent

Creative and Art Events

Have you always wanted to take up a creative craft but never known where to start? Then come along and embrace the homemade trend that is sweeping the nation at the fantastic Prima Homemade – The Creative Stitches & Hobbycrafts Show at Glow, Bluewater from the 6-9 September. The organisers of the UK’s most popular craft show have teamed up with Prima to give visitors a truly memorable day out with over 200 exhibitors offering the very latest products, ideas and innovations in the world of creative craft.

The show will feature a brand new display of stunning Masquerade Ball costumes that will showcase the glitz and glamour of the silver screen. With gowns originally worn by some of Hollywood’s finest leading ladies including Drew Barrymore, Uma Thurman, Sienna Miller, Minnie Driver and Catherine Zeta Jones, each costume depicts the exquisite detail and craftsmanship that has gone into its design. The display will include Drew Barrymore’s stunning shimmery fairy winged outfit from the Cinderella tale ‘Ever After’, Sienna Miller’s corseted dress from the romantic film ‘Casanova’ set in 18th century Venice and many more beautiful examples of extravagant big screen fashion throughout the ages.

Pop along to the brand new Prima Live area where you will be able to meet the Prima Craft Team and pick up top tips and advice from the experts. There will be a host of exciting features to discover including fantastic Live Demonstrations from interiors expert Selina Lake. Selina will be demonstrating her ‘Homespun Styling’ throughout the show and sharing her interiors trend predictions for the season ahead including her irresistible Cath Kidston-inspired creations. If you want your home to reflect your personality, style and passion for crafting and be full of homemade pieces and one off treasures, this is the demonstration for you!

Do you have a passion for fashion? Then don’t miss the fabulous Dressmaking Workshops hosted by expert Janet Palmer. Janet will be offering people the skills and knowledge to embrace make do and mend, showing you how to spruce up and stylise your wardrobe using only a needle and thread! As well as this, Catherine Woram’sKids Workshops will offer a chance for children to get involved in crafting and get hands-on to create their very own masterpieces to take home!

Brand new to the show, The Market Place will showcase some of the finest handmade jewellery, crafts and gifts from talented designers and makers from across the UK. Browse through the gorgeous selection of finished crafts and discover unique and charming pieces that any friend or family member would love!

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

All winners have been notified.

FACT FILE

Prima Homemade – The Creative Stitches & Hobbycrafts Show

Glow, Bluewater, Kent

6 – 9 September 2012

Open 10.00 – 16.30 (Saturday 09.30 – 17.00)

Tickets:

Adults £8.00 on door (£6.00 advanced price when ordered by 5pm Mon 3rd September)

Seniors £7.00 at door (£5.00 advanced price when ordered by 5pm Mon 3rd September)

Children under 16 free if accompanied by an adult (otherwise £3)

Buy tickets on-line at www.ichf.co.uk or Phone Ticket Hotline: 01425 277988

*COMPETITION TERMS AND CONDITIONS

    • Closing date is 12th August 2012
    • One entry per person.
    • There are 5 pairs of tickets on offer, a total of 10 tickets.
    • Employees (and immediate family members) of any company involved in the Competition or, if relevant, any advertising agency connected with the competition are not eligible to enter the Competition.
    • In the event that any entrant is disqualified from the Competition, in our sole discretion we may decide whether a replacement contestant should be selected. In this event, any further entrant will be selected on the same criteria as the original entrant and will be subject to these Terms.
    • You must not sell the tickets. If you are unable to attend the tickets may be passed on to another creative or returned to Creatabot so another winner can be selected.
    • Competition entries must be made in the manner and by the closing date specified on the Competition Notice. Failure to do so will disqualify the entry.
    • We reserve the right to disqualify any entrant if we have reasonable grounds to believe the entrant has significantly breached any of these terms and conditions.
Area : South East       London

Chilterns Craft Show – 24th to 27th August 2012 – Stonor Park – Henley-on-Thames

Creative and Art Events

Embrace the summer months and visit the Chilterns Craft Show from the 24 – 27 August where you will find the best that British craftspeople have to offer. Set in the beautiful surrounds of Stonor Park near Henley-on-Thames, this inspiring show will showcase handmade and unique arts and crafts for the home and garden, live music, features, displays and a stunning show garden as well as delicious food and drink.

More than 250 craftspeople from all over the UK will be showing why handmade is best with some fantastic gifts and treats for the home and garden. With everything from ceramics to glassware and jewellery to paintings, the show offers something for everyone.

This year teams from Rowan Forestry and Toad Hall Garden Centre will be joining forces to create a stunning Show Garden for all to see. Showcasing some sumptuous plants and flowers along with water features, sculptures and ornaments, this is the ideal place to get inspiration for your own tranquil oasis this summer.

Brand new to this year’s show, the Graduate Marquee will showcase the work of newly qualified designers and makers from across the UK. If you fall in love with one of their designs you will be able to purchase it at the show and take away some special, unique and limited pieces from talented British makers.

Dont miss the Good Food LiveArea which is a must-visit for all foodies! Head to the Live Cookery Demonstration Theatre where guest chef Paul Da Costa Greaves will be whipping up some mouth watering demonstrations with lots of inspirational and easy ideas that will transform your summer cooking.

Stock up on delicious goodies in the Specialist Food & Drink Marquee where you will find some of the finest produce around including cheeses, marmalades, chocolate, chutneys, fudge, wine, beers and much more besides, sure to tempt even the most strong willed! Finally, match the perfect wine to your feast at the Tutored Wine Tasting. With a selection of wines from around the world, it’s your chance to pick up tips from the experts and leave ready to impress any dinner guest you might have.

Get involved in one of the hands-on workshops and activities including ceramics, paper making and stamping – there will be something for all of the family to take part in. Visit the Traditional Rural Crafts Demonstrations where experts will be showing you how to get the most from traditional craft techniques. This is your opportunity to learn more about basket making, wattle hurdle making, stick dressing and furniture making.

Make sure you book your special advance ticket to enjoy the splendour of the Stonor Park Manor House and beautifully tended gardens. Set in the Chilterns, the views from Stonor Park are spectacular and are blessed with an array of fantastic wildlife including deer, pheasants, hares, red kites and buzzards plus many other woodland creatures.

There is plenty of fun for all of the family, with lots of activities for children including face painting, bouncy castles and a children’s play area, as well as live music and craft workshops. Make sure you don’t miss the Chilterns Craft Show this August Bank Holiday – you won’t be disappointed!

FACT FILE

CHILTERNS CRAFT SHOW

24-27 August 2012

Open 09.30 – 17.30 (17.00 Friday)

Adult £6.50 (Advance £5.00) Senior £5.50 (Advance £4.00)

(Advance tickets need to be booked before 5:00pm on 20 August 2012)

Child under 16 free if acc by parent – otherwise £3

BUY 10 ADULT OR SENIOR TICKETS Get One Adult Free (In advance only)

COMBINED CHILTERNS CRAFT SHOW & STONOR PARK HOUSE & GARDENS

Adult and Senior £10.00 (In advance only for Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday afternoon visits only)

Buy tickets online at www.ichf.co.uk or phone Ticket Hotline 01425 277988

Follow on Twitter @ICHFUK & Facebook www.facebook.com/ICHF-Events
Area: South East   London  Oxford

Two Mopeds, The English Countryside And A DSLR – By George Langridge

Creative and Art Events

I decided, in all of my wisdom that a road trip on 50cc mopeds would be a good idea. Fortunately my friend is as ‘bonkers mad’ as I am, so we headed off in the strong winds and occasional down pour.

The Route

When I said, “Let’s go for a road trip on our mopeds”, I didn’t think we would have ended up where we did. We left Chatham and headed to Pluckley, from there to Ashford, then on to Hythe, Dymnchurch – where it became too windy to continue – and then turned back through Hythe, to Folkestone. Here we decided to plan our route back to Chatham, which went through Canterbury, Faversham, Sittingbourne and Rainham.

The Pictures

I thought I’d start with the trusty 50cc mopeds that carried us along our mega-sized road trip.

The trusty vehicles.

This picture was taken outside of Pluckley, where I got us lost – again. This picture captures the awesomeness of our road trip, these little mopeds only have 50cc (the grey one has 49cc) engines, which is no more than 40mph managed to carry us over 70 miles (taking into account the bendy country roads, and getting lost) without breaking down or exploding. So, yeah, we held up a huge amount of traffic, sorry. I chose the de-saturated look because I thought it really shows how exhausted this mammoth trip made us, especially our backs, and numb behinds.

This has a cool story.

Coming along one stretch of road we noticed it was very quiet, so we pulled over and I grabbed my camera. If you look at her face you can see she is looking at me and something in the distance. I am in the middle of the road, on one knee with camera in hand. Behind me is mister trillion tonne lorry… It could have turned out worse I guess. Other than this you can clearly see the enjoyment that accompanied this trip.

*Note to self/photographers – Do NOT stand/kneel in the middle of a road to take a photograph*

If not a little windy.

Just outside of Folkstone we pulled up next to the beach to stretch our legs. I think it is safe to say it was a little windy, which explains the cutting off of the side mirrors (flags and other things where in the way). With this photograph I decided to keep it a little dark and gloomy, to keep with the sky and show the weather. Although I added a little colour to really show the colourfulness of my helmet, yes I wear a bright, ‘hello, look at me.’ helmet.

All in all the day was truly enjoyable and I would love to do it again, although maybe on a 125cc or 600cc and maybe in the sun and heat.

For other photographs and the full resolution versions of these pictures, go to my Flickr stream – http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgelangridge/

Also check out my Twitter and Instagram : @georgelangridge

I am still on the hunt for any volunteer models to model for a few hours, to help improve my portrait photography.

George Langridge

Area:   UK   Britain   East of England   East Midlands   London  North East   North West    Yorkshire    Scotland  South East    South West    Wales   West Midlands  

Limehouse Design : This Is What I Do – By Emily Foster

Editorials

As a fellow creative, you will understand that not everybody understands us.

Since finishing university and making my first proper steps into the world of work, I am often asked what it is I do now. For an elderly relative, it is enough to state briefly that I am working in publishing (books have been around a long time). For my friends outside of the creative industry, this might not be enough; to them, I am the Graphic Designer, and sole creative person of the group. Even though they’re not sure what this truly means, the title seems to satisfy them.

But none of this is enough for my creative friends, nor enough for the Creatabot readers, I feel. The other creatives always seem to ask more questions; they need to know exactly what and how and why. They need the specifics. Luckily, ours is a sharing community, so here I plan to share exactly what it is I do, design-wise, at Limehouse Books.

So what is it that I do? And what does that involve?

First, the obvious. I create covers, and lay out the text, of the books. This involves some direction from my boss, the Managing Director of Limehouse Books. It involves accurate page sizes with bleeds and margins, and exporting to pdfs. It involves liaising with printers and pre-press teams who check (note: check, not fix) your file for you.

What else? There’s design for a purely digital purpose. The Limehouse magazine, for example, which is released online-only, and various digital catalogues. All of these can be seen here: http://www.slideshare.net/limehousebooks. There’s also a few other, little pieces that need to be done. Creating pack shots of books to go on our website, for example, or making an advert as a banner to go on another website. A desktop wallpaper, an event flyer, a cover image for Facebook.

However, all this stuff is still pretty standard. Loads of other companies manage their own creative output just fine. One of the hardest things about working for Limehouse is that we don’t do this with an experienced production team. We do this just us. Just me – the fresh-faced design graduate, not too much experience but eager to learn – and the Managing Director – smart but still doesn’t understand what a baseline grid is.

This sometimes makes for a very scary working day. At the moment we are preparing our next VIB – Very Important Book – to send to print. This project is different as we are producing it in collaboration with another company – so there are more people to potentially disappoint. If this wasn’t enough, we are printing not our usual two thousand copies, but ten thousand copies of this book. If this goes wrong, it will be all our (read: my) fault.

And why am I telling you all this?

I share all this for you to understand. If you feel like you’re in over your head – don’t worry, so do we. We learn as we go along. Being a designer, especially at Limehouse, is much more than knowing Indesign inside out. It’s about having motivation, about listening and learning all the time. Half of what I do now, I didn’t even dream of this time last year. And I hope I still feel the same in another year’s time. 

By Emily Foster

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/emilyjaynefoster

Area:   UK   Britain   East of England   East Midlands   London  North East   North West    Yorkshire    Scotland   South East    South West    Wales   West Midlands  

Fuse Festival a Real Success and Plans Already Underway for 2013

Creative and Art News

Fuse Medway Festival came to a close this Sunday after a fabulous weekend of free entertainment from local, national and international outdoor performers.  Huge audiences enjoyed the Friday night’s Opening Parade, an explosive weekend programme of street theatre, dance, circus and music and Saturday and Sunday spectaculars. This was new artistic director Lélia Gréci’s first full year at the helm and her choice of artists and programme proved to be a winning formula.

Says Artistic Director Lélia: ‘It was an incredible weekend for audiences and performers alike – from circus all the way from India, provided by Kawa, to our very own ‘home grown’ commissioned artist Jane Pitt and her floating festival choir Ri-zound.  It was also an honour to host the premiere of a unique piece of work for the under-fives, Little Universe, which surprised and delighted its young audiences and their families.’

In order to plan for next year, Fuse will be taking on board all feedback provided through audience surveys gathered during the festival. People can still offer their feedback on www.surveymonkey.com/s/fuse2012. If you want to have your say about next year’s Fuse in a more informal manner, why not pop along to the Brook Theatre, Chatham, on Monday 9th July at 6pm and make the festival truly yours?

Fuse Medway Festival is jointly funded by Medway Council and the National Lottery through the Arts Council England and the 2013 Festival runs from 14-16 June.  For more information visit the website at www.fusefestival.org.uk, or join them on Facebook or Twitter.

Area – South East

#Digibury – Meet Up For Digital Types – July 11th 2012 at 7pm – Canterbury

Creative and Art Events

Digibury is the meet-up event for digital types in Canterbury!

They meet up on Wednesday 2.0 (the second Wednesday in the month – oh hai!) for talks, demos, messing about with digital stuff and drinks.

Around 50 people show up every month and they have 2 or 3 speakers giving talks which are short, sweet and personal with plenty of time for questions and conversation.

Lineup

He’s going to talk about ‘ethical hacking’, ‘penetration testing’ and other exciting stuff in relation to hacking the mainframe, being a l33t h4x0r and his research on “the GIMP ScriptFu buffer overflow vulnerability.” Whatever that is when it’s at home.

The speakers are going to talk about how they took advice from previous Digibury speakers and knocked out a geo-fencing game in a couple of afternoons.

Daniel made a robot. Keith developed the neural network which made the robot afraid of the colour blue. They’re coming to Digibury as part of their community service.

The event takes place at 

The Farmhouse, 11 Dover Street, Town Centre, Canterbury CT1 3HD 

– it starts at 7pm and finishes at 9ish.

For more details please visit http://deeson-online.co.uk/digibury

Tea presents: Stuart Turner and the Flat Earth Society – 16 June 2012

Editorials

There is something about small venues and they don’t come much smaller than the cellar of the Singapora Lounge in Rochester. TEA presented an excellent evening of guttural blues-rock form Stuart Turner and the Flat Earth Society, stomping through a set to launch their new album ‘On The Brink Of Misadventure.’ Ably supported by somewhat settled hobo, William Harper, they created an oasis from the football and towiesque pseudo-hell usually occupying this part of town. Surveying a catalogue of slide, picked and thumping numbers, whilst haunting the dimly lit nowhere, the band mesmerised an audience set on looking beyond an easily packaged night out.

The brutal cry of ‘Decimation’ leapt out from the set, calling us all back to the workhouse on a well deserved Friday night, as Mr Turner threw aside his megaphone to focus on some thorough guitar beating.

Rochester has been in dire need of an alternative High Street venue. Somewhere unshackled from the zombie march towards clubland, and although a cellar full of music lovers might seem a small start, there is hope below ground.

More about Stuart Turner and the Flat Earth Society can be found at http://www.myspace.com/stuartjamesturner

By Roy Smith

www.royalansmith.co.uk

Area : South East

Life Powered By Caffeine and Other Things That Inspire Me – By George Langridge

Editorials

I thought I would share with you what inspires me to photograph. Also I thought I would tell you what my personal photographic interests are.

What Makes My Mind Tick

When I am out shooting (imagine it now, a mop headed teenager with a Nikon strap) I am inspired by a huge variety of things. These things change depending on what I am shooting – if shooting to a brief or challenging myself -. If I am shooting street photography I grab my inspiration from people and the streets around me.

Space and Stall.

This shot I took in Camden Market sums up my street inspiration almost perfectly, notice the small details on his desk. Also his little hiding spot. I thought this was a great shot, personally. The shot kind of incorporates this man’s culture and habits/way of life as well as this 1/250th of a second.

My main influence is people and animals. I mean, every person that walks past must have a story. What has just happened to them? Where are they going? Where have they just come from? I think I have developed a huge number of scripts/story outlines based on this curiosity.

What’s his story?

This image really shows my inspiration in people. I think I actually planned a script around this particular cyclist. This man must have a story, similar to this photo. Other than my usual inspirations I had started a competition with a friend, to see who could get the most candid photos – I think I won. My favourite part to this photograph other than the man on the bike (well framed if I say so myself ) is the people walking along the path behind him, I think it reminds you that it is real life and that life continues outside of the image.

My inspiration does not stop at people and animals, I am also inspired by beauty and interpretative beauty.

Interpretative beauty.

I would class this image as interpretative beauty because it has no immediate subject -as such- and it is something that most people over look. In reality I believe that the little things are just as beautiful as the bigger things.

Give Me A Choice

Personally, I love to photograph people, not portraits, more candid and street. I really enjoy the rush and context of a candid and street photograph. It is also a great way to kill a few hours watching people without just watching.

I was recently given an old Pentax MX (35mm film) which I have only just found some batteries for, now I am itching to get it in to my kit bag and shoot. With its 50mm prime lens, I think it will be coming to London with me next time. If you have any suggestions on good places to shoot candid or street, get in touch or leave a comment.

@georgelangridge

I am looking to improve my portrait photography, if you are interested in being a model for a day drop me a tweet – Medway Towns Only.

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‘A Monster Hit’ – Review of Frankenstein

Editorials

That quote as the title, taken from ‘Time Out’ does not give justice to the amazement my eyes just saw. I have just witnessed the encore screening of Danny Boyle’s adaptation for the stage of ‘Frankenstein’ shown at Uckfield Picture House and other cinemas across the UK as part of the National Theatre.

Mary Shelly’s original is undoubtably a narrative beyond its time and Boyle’s new creation creates a distort and unbelievable production. The staging is original, unique and so simple it’s complex. I say this because of the limited props on stage at any time, but how this created a new world to the audience to view moveable scenery, a revolving stage and a forever flowing performance scene after scene.

Now I only say this on screen of the live performance and not the physical experience of being there myself, much as I would have love to. But this opportunity put forward by the National Theatre is one to take advantage of! Especially for a drama and media student like myself. Starring the remarkable Benedict Cumberbatch, who you and I must love from ‘Sherlock’, this brings him into a new level of powerful acting. I saw him as the monster, but the actor himself changes roles on performances with the incredible Jonny Lee Miller. Both actors were like brothers, but the creature and the creator portrayed some of the best acting I have ever seen. Once the play had finished I realised I was actually in a cinema and not caught up in a corrupt cruel world.

Studying the gothic genre in English Literature this year I will luckily be studying Frankenstein and find this an inspiration to my work and a starting point for what I think will become one of my most passionately loved stories. I recommend to you all to see this if you have a chance: or any of the National Theatre plays, it’s a whole new experience and revolution in what on-screen and in theatre can create, where will we go next?

On the official website I looked up whether a DVD of the production will be made:

‘We have no plans to release a DVD. We know from letters, tweets and emails that a great many people wanted another chance to see the production – and these encore screenings have been scheduled in response to that huge public demand. Our rights arrangements with actors and crew don’t currently permit DVD release, and we’re also keen for as many people as possible to experience the broadcasts in the format for which they were created: broadcast in HD to cinemas.’

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/69696/productions/frankenstein-faqs.html

I can tell them now if they do make a DVD this is something I will watch over and over and over and over again. I believe something new can be found in it every time.

Before the play itself was shown a small film on behind the scenes in rehearsal was shown which was a huge insight into creating the world on stage. To be part of that workshop must have been thrilling.

This is something that has changed my view on acting on stage and spilled my imagination on ideas for my drama devised piece for my exam this year.

By Alice Stansfield.

Alice Stansfield your friendly neighbourhood blogger!  http://www.youtube.com/user/HisLittleEmo

Feel free to Tweet me if you have any questions or feedback  @hislittleemoo

Everyday I’m Tumblrin  http://wonderlandreject.tumblr.com/

More productions can be found here: http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/ntlive

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East End Film Festival – 3rd to 8th July 2012 – London

Creative and Art Events

Founded in 2000, the East End Film Festival is one of the UK’s largest film festivals. An annual multi-platform festival held in London, the EEFF presents a rich and diverse programme of international premieres, industry masterclasses, free pop-up screenings and immersive live events. The EEFF’s mission is to discover, support, and exhibit pioneering work by global and local independent filmmakers, and to introduce viewers to innovative and challenging cinematic experiences.

Attracting an annual audience of more than 30,000, the EEFF has established itself as a major international film festival situated at the heart of London’s most dynamic quarter, hosting an active year-round programme as well as producing its own fringe festival in CINE-EAST, a day of completely free cinema across 100 East London venues. Committed to the work of first and second time directors, the annual EEFF showcases more than seventy features film screenings, several short film programmes, and a variety of cross-arts events and industry activities across a six day festival. The EEFF’s established awards system includes: Best Film (reserved for first and second features); Best Documentary; Best UK Short Film; and the EEFF Short Film Audience Award. Featuring in the jury for EEFF2012 will be industry experts Dexter Fletcher, Sandra Hebron, Adrian Wootton and Joe Wright.

The EEFF boasts large audiences, ever-increasing industry support, high levels of international press coverage, and a large and incredibly diverse range of partnerships with organisations such as Amnesty International, Sheffield Doc/Fest, World Pride, Digital Shoreditch and Film London. As the only film festival operating in the Olympic zone during the Olympic period, the festival will be receiving unprecedented levels of attention in 2012, and will be showcasing films to diverse, engaged audiences in record numbers.

EEFF 2012 takes place 3rd – 8th July 2012 for more details visit http://www.eastendfilmfestival.com/

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INDIE GAME : THE MOVIE – Film Screening – 29th June 2012 – Rochester – Kent – UK

Creative and Art Events

Creatabot have their first event! And its a biggie! We are hosting the screening of INDIE GAME : THE MOVIE in Rochester, Kent on the 29th June 2012.

This brilliant film looks at the underdogs of the video game industry, indie game developers, who sacrifice money, health and sanity to realise their lifelong dreams of sharing their creative visions with the world.

Following the making of the games SUPER MEAT BOY, FEZ and BRAID, this Sundance award-winning film captures the tension and drama by focusing on these developers’ vulnerability and obsessive quest to express themselves through a 21st-century art form.

As you can tell, Creatabot treasures creativity so we are thrilled to be hosting this screening!

For more details about the film visit http://www.indiegamethemovie.com/about/

Details are as follows:

INDIE GAME : THE MOVIE

Ticket price: £6.60 BUY TICKETS

Date – 29th June 2012

Location – Rochester Visitor Information and Art Gallery – 95 High Street – 
Rochester
 – Kent – ME1 1LX

Time:    Doors at 7.15pm       Film starts at 7.45pm

Popcorn and refreshments will be provided!

Attendees can also attend the Tigercats gig at the Deaf Cat for FREE – compliments of TEA concerts!

 http://indiegametigercats.eventbrite.co.uk/

For more information please email natasha@creatabot.co.uk

Area – South East Kent London UK Britain

Cape Crusaders Overpowering Action Man?

Editorials

For my EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) I am studying the superhero genre linking to me studying media studies. I am only at the early stages of research, but so far a recurring theme of reports I am reading are about the superhero genre replacing the action genre as it ‘fades away’.

Recently, ‘The Avengers’ has been known to be seen as the biggest superhero film of all time, beating ‘The Dark Knight’ and other releases. This film contains many superheroes, such as The Hulk, Thor and Captain America. However, this film does contain action, but is put into the ‘superhero’ genre as it’s a comic adaptation and also the given that there are men in capes flying around saving the world, as usual.

As I point out in my vlog here it is the year ‘OF THE SUPERHEROES’ and will be a genre that will be across the media and magazine covers throughout this year making comic books popular with newbies and even something that inspire my EPQ. (more details in future articles).

Genres do adapt and change over time to fit the audience, I am seeing much evidence of this in my project through the superhero genre specifically with Batman who went from a cheesy light heart adaptation to a Gothic blurred line between hero and villain. So the superhero genre will most likely always appear as having elements of action due to the good VS evil fights, but using hybrid genres these have also contained elements of comedy (*spoiler* In ‘The Avengers’ the fight between Hulk and Loki) and romance (*spoiler* In ‘Spiderman’ (1) the upside down kiss between Peter Parker and Mary Jane).

But does this mean the attachment of action and superhero will make action alone die out? From the looks of things the answer is no, most genres will never fully die out – so it seems. The genre may simply ‘fade out’, as put forward by Sylvester Stallone.

‘As Sly told Entertainment Tonight days ago: “This genre, unfortunately, is becoming… let’s just say it’s fading away.”’

http://galaxieblog.com.my/blog/permalink.asp?id=5655 (13/06/12)

Maybe Stallone or ‘Sly’ is right, even though ‘The Expendables’ earned more at the box office than the superhero ‘Green Lantern’.

Personally I feel the superhero genre is as powerful now as it will ever be what we Robert Downey Jr. signing up for six films all together this year: 3 ‘Iron Man’ and 3 ‘The Avengers’. Maybe the superhero genre will fade away for a while after bombarding the media and it’s audience throughout the last year and the next. Hopefully though it is a genre that won’t fade out for to long if it does as superheroes is something we all need in our lives, even if it is just on the screen or a comic book.

By Alice Stansfield.

Alice Stansfield your friendly neighbourhood blogger!  http://www.youtube.com/user/HisLittleEmo

Feel free to Tweet me if you have any questions or feedback  @hislittleemoo

Everyday I’m Tumblrin  http://wonderlandreject.tumblr.com/

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A Medway Vision 9 – Capturing Reality

Editorials

Over the course of these articles one name keeps popping up.  So many times I would ask an artist to send a picture of themselves and time after time the email back would say ‘oh could you credit this to Phil Dillon, it’s one of his’ Phil Dillon has, over the course of the last few years single handedly captured the look and feel of this ‘Medway Vision’, this startling, vibrant and fiercely independent artistic scene.

Phil Dillon has produced some astonishingly powerful images that somehow capture the grit of real life but never makes them dull.  His subjects convey a sense of drama and excitement that is very tricky to pull off.  Phil manages it with apparent ease.

Phil began “carrying a camera around all the time” in 2006 “I was interested in changes in my local environment, and how the seasons and time of day affect the way places are lit by the sun. Then I got interested in how Medway had changed over time and started digging old photos out of the MALSC archives and recreating them. After that, I began to consider what regeneration would bring and what it would take away forever. It was while I was reshooting the archive stuff that I approached the Brook Theatre because I wanted to get up on the roof. The staff were very interested and extremely helpful, and this resulted in me being given an all areas tour of the building and subsequently being offered an exhibition. That’s how I became a photographer by accident”

Working with just natural light, you can see Phil’s photography adorning album covers by bands such as The Len Price 3, Groovy Uncle, Theatre Royal, Crybaby Special and the Monsters, Stuart Turner and the Flat Earth Society and Wheels, among others.  But, for me it’s the hundreds of live photos Phil has squirreled away that make me most excited. Looking at pictures, such as the one of Lupen Crook, he clearly knows how to take the tension from a room and coolly pop it into his camera.

Maybe it’s his musician background (Phil had been in bands for years before concentrating on photography) that makes his pictures say so much about live music.  Maybe it’s his love of live music.  Phil explains, “I like real life and the moments it allows us to capture. I try to point up things you might not have noticed about a place, or show it to you from a different perspective. With music, I try to take pictures that capture something of the music itself, portray the performer and make you want to hear the music”

When you see his pictures they speak more about that artist than any written review ever can.

Although not influenced by any particular photographer Phil admits that his love of music means that “a lot of Mick Rock, Kevin Cummings and Linda McCartney (massively underrated)” informs his work.  Phil has had three exhibitions to date: 21st Century Cave Painting in Medway (2007), Exposure (2009) and Two Sides of the Same Coin (with Daisy Parris) in 2011.  In addition to these, he has contributed to a number of group exhibitions by Medway Eyes.

But what of the future, where next for a man charged with capturing the essence of this ‘Medway Vision’?  “I’ll do something biggish in 2013, I think. My work gets released all the time, either digitally through my Flickr portfolio or physically through the CDs and records they appear on. I’m thinking about doing another exhibition, or perhaps a book in both digital and physical formats. The working title is ‘On The Record / Off The Record’.”

Phil Dillon captures these Medway times so perfectly, so dramatically that we can only hope that this planned exhibition and book comes off because, frankly, our lives would be poorer, less real if you will, without it.

You can find out more about Phil Dillon and his photographs at: www.phildillon.co.uk

Mr Young

Independent Filmmaker

www.themoontheeye.co.uk

www.twitter.com/Mr_Young

www.facebook.com/themoontheeye

My Life’s Fascination With Fashion – The Story Of Henrietta Franklin

Featured Creatives

Henrietta Franklin is a fashion label run by Sharon Richards from her shop and studio in Gillingham, Kent. Designing and making made to measure garments for women and children, Sharon is one of the few fashion designers that still see’s through each stage of her garments being made – from her initial sketch through to the finished garment. Sharon talked to Creatabot to tell our readers how she got into fashion and remains independent as a designer…

I progressed into fashion naturally, I believe because I was an only child for the first 8 years of my life as well as the fact  I was also an only child among my parents’s piers. Let me explain: on birthdays and at Christmas I received many presents, one year when I was about 8 I had accumulated 7 dolls and they all needed clothes! My mother dabbled in making curtains and the odd dress for me, which is where I got started, by using the off cuts. I began by making dolls clothes and my hunger for clothes making and design progressed from there. At John Burn’s primary school, Battersea, we had needle work lessons, which stretched my imagination. At secondary school, Garret Green, Tooting, I took needle work and art as subjects, which I enjoyed. I remember my art teacher Sue Skelton, she was very inspirational. She opened my mind to many options in art and design.

I went onto to study at the London College of Fashion, I remember the interview day.  I remember what I wore, of course I do, I designed and made it! To this day I believe that was the biggest and most important event of my life to date. I got in! I studied there for 4 years, it was a wonderful time. I was one of the lucky ones: I was offered a job at my end of year fashion show: for an outer wear company.

“To succeed you would need to stand out and have contacts in large established fashion houses or be prepared to globetrot to places like China and India”.

From my experience I would say that my formal fashion education was paramount in facilitating my path in fashion. Unfortunately the fashion industry is an ever decreasing circle in this country. The combination of the intervention of computers and ever shrinking world make it feel almost like a pointless venture for new students leaving universities. To succeed you would need to stand out and have contacts in large established fashion houses or be prepared to globetrot to places like China and India.

The fashion industry “Rag Trade” that I worked in was primarily run by 3 ethnic groups. The largest of which was from a Jewish background mainly based in the West End of London, North London: Greek/Turkish Cyprian backgrounds, and the smallest group was in East London from Pakistani and Bengali backgrounds. I personally did not fit into any of these backgrounds so could only go so far. I started out as a designer/pattern/cutter at a Jewish company and ended up in design/sales at a Greek Cyprian company actually based in Cyprus. I felt that was the top of my career within the “Rag Trade”.

I soon reached a point though when I realised I wanted to be independent in my career, so the next natural progression was working for myself. This is when Henrietta Franklin came out of the shadows.

When I think about who inspires me today, I have to say Natasha Steer locally, she is an eclectic little maverick, she helps people to stand up for themselves, something she has done for herself successfully. She exudes confidence subtly. She is a bright light in the community that can only get brighter. Universally I have to back into history. Samuel “Sam” Sharpe – a Jamaican slave who played an instrumental part in the beginning of the journey that ended slavery. He is a part of why I am free and here today.

What about the future? I can answer that kind of question easily – to have a successful international business. Truly, in today’s economic climate my goal is to keep my business going.

Henrietta Franklin specialises in day wear, evening wear, wedding dresses, bridesmaids dresses and mother of the bride outfits. Sharon has also created the label “Tropical Fruit” which is her new range of hand made children’s wear made from natural fabrics wherever possible.

Visit www.henriettafranklin.com to see more of Sharon’s work.

You can contact Sharon on 01634 321 522

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Unravelling the National Trust – Call For Artists – Closing 31st July 2012

Creative / Artist Wanted, Creative and Art News, Creative Opportunities

Unravelling the National Trust is a series of exhibitions that aim to showcase extreme and conceptual craft in a site-specific context, showing in three different National Trust venues across the South East of England from 2012 – 2014.

The second exhibition is due to open at The Vyne, part of The National Trust on June 28th 2013. It will run for 6 months from this date till 7th January 2014.

Unravelled is a new arts organisation that works with artists and crafts people who explore extreme and conceptual craft. The directors of Unravelled and the curators of Unravelling the National Trust are Polly Harknett (Independent Curator, formerly Contemporary Craft curator at Hove Museum & Art Gallery), Matt Smith (Independent Curator and Ceramicist) and Caitlin Heffernan (Artist ). The group and exhibition are supported by Arts Council England, the National Trust and the Headley Trust.

Submissions Sought

For Unravelling the National Trust at The Vyne are offering ten commissions for artists or makers using or subverting the notion of craft in extreme and conceptual ways. Proposed artworks should be site-specific and engage with the idea of creating interventions within the historic house setting, or within the gardens at The Vyne.

They aim to include a broad cross section of artists working in a variety of media and at various stages of their careers. The aim of the exhibition is to provide a high profile showcase for contemporary artists and makers and engage artists with historic houses and their archive collections. It is strongly recommended that prospective artists visit the property before submitting their proposal. 

The brief and full details are available here – http://www.unravelled.org.uk/news.html

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Videogames – Money vs Creativity – By Jack Bulmer

Editorials

Industry

Videogames are big business. That’s sad really, the business part. It truly is a creative medium that has, for a part, been transformed from a bunch of guys having fun and making games because they want to, to a bunch of guys in suits deciding how best to monetise their product. It’s like all the fun is being sucked out, and the games industry has become just that, an industry churning out yearly updates to products. Rarely are people making games just for the fun of it. Even independent games are changing and becoming more ‘about the money’.

I didn’t fully realise this until I started working for a company. The first thing on their mind was monetization. Not gameplay, story or even graphics. Just, ‘how much money can we get from this?’. It was actually difficult to design such a money-based game that I couldn’t continue doing it, it felt morally wrong to charge players for something so easy to create. Sure, not every game is like this, but rarely do you see a new title released without some sort of purchasable extra. Things like this used to be free. It makes me wonder if this really is a creative industry, a lot of decisions are already made based on target audience and potential sales, so as a game designer, it’s up to us to just implement these systems.

Spectrum

I don’t understand why some people still think videogames are aimed at children, it’s an archaic view and I am glad it’s slowly changing. I suppose it’s a generation thing.  ‘Videogames’ is such a broad term to be categorised. Depending on who you ask, the first videogames someone will think of will probably be completely different to someone else. Titles such as Space Invaders, Grand Theft Auto, Minecraft, Guitar hero, Final Fantasy, Katawa Shoujo, Child of Eden and Heavy Rain are each placed far apart in the spectrum of ‘Videogames’. In a way, when people generalise videogames, it’s on par with generalising any other form of creative industry.

Generally, the industry as a whole has to learn from the mistakes of others, especially when imitating them. Really, games are just taking the best parts of other mediums. Storytelling in games has improved because of cinematic techniques being used and a deeper focus is being put on character design and development. Music has not only just influenced games through music-rhythm games, but also through dedicated soundtracks, evolving from simple melodies to full orchestral scores.

Immersion

I think videogames have the potential to be the most immersive medium to portray a message or story, more so than a film or a book. To me, it just makes sense that as an active part in a story, you feel more immersed than a spectator. This isn’t true for every game, but many try to make you create relationships with characters. Final Fantasy is well known as a character driven series of games. I’ve heard people talk more about how Aeris died and how they felt that any other character from any media. I think immersion in videogames helps the player experience emotions that wouldn’t be possible in other media, due to the choices sometimes presented.  I remember when I felt remorse in a videogame, and I didn’t expect it at all. I had the choice to kill an innocent family for some gold in Oblivion. I did, and the game auto saved. I just couldn’t continue. Experiences like that don’t happen in other media.

Future

I do not believe there is going to be a crash, like in the past, but I think videogames will branch off and separate from each other. Like I said before with the spectrum, I think they will separate and go down different paths. This is already happening, I suppose. For example, I’m not sure how similar two games like Heavy rain and Child of Eden are. They seem nothing alike. Games are also spreading into popular culture, and the gamification of non game contexts has only just begun. Gamification in itself is a really interesting topic, and probably what I’ll write about next!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this article!

By Jack Bulmer

@J_Bulmer

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Working For An Indie Record Label – Part 2 – By Luke Crook

Editorials

Hello again!

So, the last article was a bit of a ramble aimed at some of the tech/admin steps you go through at a label to take a release from X tracks on a CD-R or Pendrive and getting it out to digital and physical retailers worldwide.

This time, lets talk about something that’s a little more…well, creative!

Artwork.

Next to the music itself, artwork is in my opinion the next more important part of a release. Before streaming music became so incredibly popular, all you had to go on was if you’d heard it on the radio and how awesome the front cover looked!

So, where do you start?

Well, first things first, you need an idea. Whilst it might sound stupid, you can waste a lot of time if you don’t have some direction, because more often than not, the music is more or less done before the artwork starts, and no-one wants to rush. Following that, you need a designer to put it all together. This can take some time too, so make sure you’re looking out for one. Check out other CD designs you like, artwork, even book covers. Students are good, as they are cheap! Friends are even better! Discussions about whether you can gloss finish, matte finish, pantones/fluros (neon colours), metallic effects, how many pages you want in your booklet/inlay, how you want your digipack to fold and open will follow that. Lots of fun!

Then, once you’ve got a designer working on your great idea, you need to work out formats. CD/Limited Edition CD/LP/Digital/Magical Unicorn Edition.

Now, on the surface, a pack shot (Album Cover) is a pack shot, but format changes everything. CD’s are fairly straight forward and versatile. If it’s a jewel case, your inlay/booklet doubles up as your pack shot! Yaaay! All you need after that is your artwork for under the tray (where the CD slots) and artwork for the back of the case, which more often than not has the track listing. Digipacks are slightly different, because it’s all printed onto one piece of card and then folded. It can be gatefold, 2 fold, 3 fold (Rammsteins latest release opened out 5 ways if memory serves!). You need to remember where the slot for your inlay (if you have one) is going if you have one too!

Now, before I go any further, I’ve forgotten to mention one of the most important aspects of artwork. Label Copy. Label copy is essential the bible for the release. It’s a document containing everything about the album/single. Catalogue number, artist, title, track listing, publishers, copyright and publishing rights, collaborators, thank yous, websites and loads more. Most of this will go into your booklet and back cover for legal and information reasons.

Great, that’s the CD covered. Oh…what about the LP? No booklet there (Unless you’re feeling fancy!). So, you’ve not got to go back and ask your designer very nicely if he/she can do you a whole new template. Front and back sleeve (And center if it’s a gatefold) and stickers for the vinyl. This leads me back to my point about making sure you know all your formats before you go to design, otherwise you’ll: A. Irritate your designer or B. End up having to pay more for another format design. LP’s tend to have a far more stripped down label copy on them, purely for the sake of space.

Digitally, its pretty simple. Just a packshot. Bliss. Through iTunes you can also get a digital booklet to go with it if you want, as an added extra.

All of that, when all most people will ever see is the pack shot, when they walk past it in the shops or scroll past online. That’s your one chance to catch their attention and get them interested. The rest, that’s their reward for picking it up.

Always run it past your artist for approval. They don’t need to see it at every stage, just when there is a significant change or update.

Oh, and don’t forget to proof read it. Lots!

by Luke Crook

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YouTube – The New TV? – By Alice Stansfield

Editorials

Image

We went from no television, to black and white, to colour and now the internet – to sum up our channel viewing quickly. Our technology is forever advancing, but where will it go next? Across the media platforms: print, broadcast and emedia, it is clear to see the popularity of emedia constantly growing in the new generations, but will broadcast via television die out?

The simple answer is we don’t know, but in some way or another it will always continue as we advance in technology. Whether it be posting a video on the internet or watching the next series of Sherlock on your sofa seeing if you can work the mystery out before the man himself, broadcast will always be around.

However, a popular form of broadcast lately has been a convergence of emedia and broadcast on a very popular website ‘YouTube’. YouTube, as Wikipedia defines, is ‘a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos. Three former PayPal employees created YouTube in February 2005. The name and logo of the company are an allusion to the cathode ray tube, a display device used since the early days of electronic television. This website has proved popular in the last few years with a certain species known as ‘vloggers.’ If you don’t know what a vlogger is it is a person who makes video blogs or to dumb it down – an individual who sits in front of a camera and talks about their life (I am one of those people and proud to say so!).

The reason vlogging has become so popular over the years is that anyone can make a vlog. Yes even you. The reasons it seems so popular is it’s free to upload; free to get feedback and a great way to share your content. YouTube isn’t only a place for vloggers, anyone can upload anything whether it be…

a music video

a short film

or a video of their cat looking adorable

But why am I suggesting this could become ‘the new TV’? Well, like I said, the generation of today is moving more towards emedia than any other platform. Possibly due to user generated content (UGC) of putting your own information online and the internet becoming so powerful. With this mass audience open to the online virtual world 24/7 it seems silly not to consider the fact that the internet is the perfect place to, as YouTube says, ‘broadcast yourself’.

BBC themselves have their iplayer available on their website for those who don’t wish to watch the programme on TV at the time it’s on or don’t have time to, etc. As you can Subscribe on YouTube (meaning you would get updates about that channel when they upload a video) it becomes an online TV for yourself to view who you want when you want. Therefore, in the future if we are so glued to the laptop screen now, then who is to say we won’t move from our TV screen to permanently look at the internet to watch when we want.

Yes, however, there is now the option on things like the Sky Box to have On Demand settings meaning you can record programmes and watch them when you choose to, but the internet is somewhere where you have it all in one place. So I can see why YouTube itself may not become ‘the new TV’ but the internet itself may take over the idea of a family sitting down on a Saturday evening with their dinner trays to watch the latest episode of ‘Doctor Who’, because of this on demand system.

This isn’t a good or bad thing, it’s just another thing that moves with the times, keeping up with the generations which are forever changing. Either way the idea of a story being told through word of mouth, reading or watching will always be in place. YouTube is just one of the websites that gives the opportunity to get yourself out there and allow others to see you rather than fight for an audition to appear on the big screen, the little screen is just as good – and by the looks of things has more viewers. So just think, what will you be watching?

By Alice Stansfield.

Alice Stansfield your friendly neighbourhood blogger!  http://www.youtube.com/user/HisLittleEmo

Feel free to Tweet me if you have any questions or feedback  @hislittleemoo

Everyday I’m Tumblrin  http://wonderlandreject.tumblr.com/

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Introducing A New Creatabot Contributor – Alice Stansfield

Editorials, Featured Creatives

We have a fab new contributor – Alice Stansfield is a creative Vlogger from East Sussex who will be bringing a nice selection of articles and videos to Creatabot.  We are really looking forward to reading and seeing her work and we thought you would like to know more about her.

So Alice, what is your creative background?

I used to be in a local group at my college called ‘Spiritus’ which performs at festivals (such as London and Brighton) so I would be dancing, on stilts or designing costumes. From this I got really into choreographing and directing scenes and routines. In primary school I was part of a dance club but this was when my dance really started. However, at this point I became more involved in drama and recently left a club I was part of for 3 years performing on stage, directing, making films and more. Outside of this drama club I audition at National Youth Theatre and performed at the Royal Shakespeare Festival.

I’m still very into my drama studying at it at AS level and hoping to carry it on to next year with media studies. Studying media has made me want to continue it on to University as I love making films and for the last few years I’ve been making vlogs (video blogs) and other projects to put up on my YouTube channel and one I share with two friends called ‘TwoNAC’ (www.twonac.com).

At GCSE level I won an award for a project I did, ‘The Barnes Gate Manor Award’ for a project I wrote called ‘Ripper’ and made a trailer for with a friend. At my college, outside of my subjects, I film and write some articles for the school website to gain experience. Also, a few years ago I entered a competition with people at my school to write a short story (one page long) to be published in a book called ‘SAGAS’. I was one of the people to get published and still try to write short stories today, although my stories become more video based. Recently I have been busy writing lyrics for a song, which my friend is creating as part of his music experience and we have already made a music video. 

Creativity has really made me who I am and I have left a few things out, but this is the things I have done and currently do that really shape my creative mind.

Who inspires you both locally and universally?

Local inspiration has to come from working with friends, as cheesy as it sounds, without working with people ideas do not get shared. At this point in my life where we are all in college still and fresh with ideas, listening to each other and experimenting with ideas is inspiration itself.  

Universally, many actors are inspirational (such as: David Tennant) but mainly people from YouTube such as Alex Day. Those who amaze so many people out of just putting their content on YouTube and make money from something so simple, are so inspirational to me.

What would you like to achieve in the future?

In the future I would like to still be making video projects and be able to earn a living out of what I make. I am still unsure which area of media I would like to go into, but would love to always be making videos.

Can you recommend a creative website you love?

A creative website I love, as mentioned before, has to be YouTube where people share all their video projects to make their own channel content. Another website I use is Flickr where you can share photos for others to see. Both these websites produce UGC (user-generated content) meaning people can give feedback on what I and others have worked hard on which really boosts confidence and allows improvement to be made.

Thank you Alice, we are really looking forward to seeing your articles!

Find Alice:

@HisLittleEmoo

http://www.youtube.com/hislittleemo

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Faversham Festival Presents – Mad, Bad and Misunderstood – Opera – 15th June 2012

Creative and Art Events

More about Faversham festival at http://www.favershamfestival.org.uk/

Area – South East