Somehow I managed to get back home to sunny Wiltshire over the weekend from Lancaster without any delays! That was quite unreal considering everywhere on the route from Lancaster to Swindon was covered in inches of heavy snow. I feel really sorry for all those people stuck trying to get somewhere for the Christmas period, I hope everyone gets to where they need to and above all that Happy Christmas and a very Happy New Year.
I am back at home for the Christmas break until mid January so I won't be doing much blogging over the festive period (sorry - Chocolate and TV call me.....) but I thought at this point I could do my self evaluation of how the last few months have gone on the course, based on the Learning Agreement me and my supervisor drew up at the beginning of the course. Apologies in advance if it becomes a bit repetitive and a bit boring, I'll try not to make it boring (I promise!).
"Marcus has a core interest in technology and mediation, and a concurrent fascination with the languages of cinema. This includes representations and changing attitudes of gender in cinema, the impact of cinema in the cultural domain and society; how technology can be used in the live theatre space, specific interest in 50's and 60's film noir.
Practical investigation will include viewing performances, exhibitions and films - at Nuffield, PSG, festivals, Manchester / Liverpool and further afield - to better be able to place own practice in cultural / artistic landscape"
My interest in Technology and performance has been something which for the last 2 and a half years has been centred up till the start of this course at looking and admiring visual technologies are deployed in the theatre space. In the last few months, that has shifted not only to looking at how I can deploy technology into my artistic practice (e.g. using it in performances) but also how I, as an emerging artist, can use technology to my advantage of promoting myself, using Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, Flickr and IdeasTap online profiles to better publicise my work and my interests. I have not looked into the language of cinema in as much detail, in fact I would probably say that looking at the language of cinema is not the correct description, because it is more looking at the cultural impact of cinema and how cinema and film have become one of the dominate cultural forms in our society. How, as a form, it brings together huge audiences and is technically innovative in its ways of communicating with audiences. The language of cinema of course comes into this, but as something I would have a clear research interest in, I would say the cultural impact of cinema is much more a clear line of thought.
Visiting Galleries / Exhibitions and seeing performances was one of my main aims for this term for two reasons. Firstly to keep myself involved with the arts sector, making sure that I knew what the main ideas and discussion points were at any given time. Secondly It will keep me inspired and gives me the opportunities to try and see who I am working in similar context to, what work is similar to mine and if there is an audience for what I wanted to make. One of my big worries is that I don't want to make work which is only for me, It has to be for an audience to enjoy, experience, relate to, disagree with, agree with, hate, love or dislike. In getting to as many performances and exhibitions as I can,helps to get me involved. Of course the more you can visit the better, there is no set limit on how much you should see. Towards the end of the term, I saw less and less however I had always imagined that the beginging of the term would always be the time that I would see more work and that was the case.
I got to see lots of fantastic work such as Forced Entertainment's new performance 'The Thrill of It all' and 'Inspector Sands: If that's all it is' at the Nuffield Theatre, Lancaster. I was at the 'Leadership Lab Conference' at the Hive in Manchester, visited Exhibitions at the Cornerhouse in Manchester, Tate Modern in Liverpool, FACT in Liverpool and Manchester Art Museum.
"Theoretical interests and reading including Judith Butler, Philip Auslander and Jean Baudrillard, plus re - reading Sophie Calle, Italo Calvino, Georges Perec, Walter Benjamin"
This term has been about researching and developing creative and practical ideas informed by research. I would be honest in saying that academic research has been poor, due to the fact that my mind has always been focused on running with practical ideas. I felt during the term that academic research was slowing down my creative process and it was only when I felt that I had a context of what I was interested in then I could return to academic research. Now that I feel I am confident with the context (the city landscape) that I can return and carry out detailed research into academic texts and associated materials.
"Marcus has established a working pattern that includes a weekly planning session (evidenced in a blog), 2 studio based workshop sessions (one of which can include showing work to supervisor) and a reflective session on Fridays (again evidenced in the blog). Studio sessions will take the form of practical investigations around specific ideas, including gathering material from task - based walks and excursions, integrating low-fi technology, as well as creative writing tasks".
Establishing a working pattern of blogging on Mondays and Fridays has been a really stable part of the process thus far, something which has allowed me to really get into a pattern and divert my energies into trying to work out what I need to spend my time more on. The Friday blog especially has allowed me to be very reflective and sometimes critical of what I have done during the past week. I have not been able to have 2 workshop sessions every week, either due to rooms being booked or due to the fact that I have had a lot of paperwork to catch up with.
Next term I really want to learn from this term. I want to block book a room for the entire term before I return in mid January to ensure that I have a space which is mine during the week. Instead of doing 2 workshop sessions I want to have a session of between 3 and 4 hours where I try out a lot of different ideas, this because I think I work much better when I have my own designated time just to play about and make things! The way I have been researching ideas for workshops comes from a number of different sources such as newspapers, TV / Radio Documentaries, performances, academic research. This method of research really suits me, I don't find it easy to sit down with a pile of books and read so being able to obtain research from a number of different sources not only keeps the research process ever evolving but also presents a number of different avenues to obtain information and research. The thing I will take from this term would be that I did not make nearly as many things creatively as I would have liked. I was more concentrated on researching and trying to develop my own mission as an artist and seeing what my role was, understanding myself as an artist than trying to make lots of end products. Each week next term I would really like to make something (e.g. a short performance, a short film) and show it every week as a means of generating a bank of material and examples to work from, for my final piece as part of the MA Festival in September.
"Student's desired Outcome: Use the first term as a testing ground for ideas, and to reflect on them. To Produce a body of reflection in blog form.
This term has a been a testing ground for ideas, informed by research and viewing examples which suit my interests (e.g. film Noirs, Gangster videos, Media art, New Media Art) and trying these ideas out in a practical format and seeing how I can develop these ideas in the future. Throughout the term I have used my blog very regularly to update on my progress, explain my ideas and analyse what I have been researching and consequently making.
"Objectives / Learning Outcomes: Learn about own working patterns, what's effective, solo practice, independence. Develop a body of possible approaches and technologies that might inform the final project. To develop a low-fi aesthetic performance language through which to explore core concerns.
One of the main concerns I had before I started this MA was how I was going to work on my own. I have always been very independently minded but I was extremely worried about how I was going to focus my energies and not spiral out of control. I sometimes getting obsessive about work that I do, I am a perfectionist and I always want to produce the best work I can do. Over the last 3 months the course has taught me to really try and direct my energies into the area that is best suited. It has made me realise that I do enjoy working on my own but I love to socialise as well and working on my own, actively tells me to try and speak to as many of my friends and family who are not connected to my work as possible because otherwise it makes me think that they are not important. I went through this phase during the end of my third year and It is something I am very keen not to re-approach because it is definitely not the right approach in life, let alone in your early twenties when you need to work hard but play even harder!
I have become a huge advocate of Twitter in the last few months. It has become a really important tool in the way I communicate with people. As an individual artist and not part of an organisation, It is essential as I see it to talk to as many people in the arts sector as possible. Twitter in my opinion is my best tool, It allows me to interact with people who I am making similar work to and establish myself very quickly, allowing me to post blog posts, link people to my pictures on Flickr and make contacts.
I have developed a series of low-fi technologies that I regularly use in my workshops which I feel are going to play a big role in the development of future creative outcomes. I use a Pentax Digital camera to take still photos and upload them on to my PC whereby I can then edit, crop and re design to suit my purposes. I also use the Pentax camera to take video which I can then project on to surfaces. I also use software on my PC such as Quicktime (to play videos) and Microsoft Office to develop powerpoints and text based materials.
So after all that..what is planned for the New Year?
The next big deadline is the Work In Progress showing in mid February where all of us on PROCAP are showing our work to each other, which I am very much looking forward to. Getting people to see your work is often quite daunting but I am very much looking forward to getting feedback to my work and seeing what other people on the course have been upto.
Over the next few months I will be doing a work placement with The Performing Arts Development and Network Agency (PANDA) in Manchester looking at reviewing the current way we evaluate the success of the arts and trying to come up with a new strategy of how we evaluate the arts.
After all that, I'll leave you alone!!
Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Marcus
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Monday, 13 December 2010
Pitching, Work In Progress, Christmas.
It is coming to the end of a long, but very exciting and very inspiring term at LICA. Similar to what I said in the previous post, the last week of any term is always the busiest one. Deadlines loom, work springs up from seemingly nowhere yet it always seems to get done one way or the other. The difference I have noticed from Undergraduate to Postgraduate study is that working on deadlines has made realise that they are not everything in your life, you do have a life outside of your work; you need to eat, sleep, relax and chill out. These were factors I never used to factor into my work pattern, it used to be work or nothing. Even though there is a lot of content that I need to get done by Friday of this week, I feel much more clearly than I have done in previous years because of the experiences I have taken from them.
This week is going to be a busy one, yet as ever it is really exciting and really interesting to be involved with. Today (Monday) I am working on my Marketing and Promotional Strategy document for my business pitch on Friday. Although one can always think that marketing is a glamorous activity, there is a lot of leg work that goes behind the scenes which is fascinating to read up on and try and work out for yourself. It is very easy to say you will have a website and a Youtube Channel but if you don't know who your target audience is then there is almost no point because you'll end up missing your target audience. I've got a SWOT (Strengths / Weaknesses / Opportunities / Threats) Analysis to undertake for my artistic practice which is making me really think about my practice in a much broader scale. It is making me think if there really is a market for my practice, who are my competitors; who I am working in similar vain to. This is the first Marketing strategy I've done, so I am not expecting it to be brilliant, I want to make it the best I can, but I know it is the first one I have done so obviously it is not going to be of the highest professional standard. However I am learning all the time about all the different aspects to Arts Administration and I am really looking forward to hearing feedback because it will highlight things I have not possibly thought about, and ultimately it can make me more rounded in how I deliver information about my practice, which is a good thing!. (Not to sound Arrogant, I just really want to learn and always make things better!!).
Later on Today I am going into the Studio to rehearse for my work in progress tomorrow morning with Matt Fenton. I've got 3 main things to Show:
10 Photographs of a display called 'The City@Night' here's the flickr link to the photo set:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilleym/sets/72157625577153938/
A Text / Image Presentation using Microsoft Powerpoint which is a fictional text piece about arriving at Lancaster Train Station at night and visiting the various nightclubs around the city.
An overview of ideas for my short live / multimedia performance - using a video recorded on a webcam / photos of the city centre / video shot on a camera and some live performance with a soundtrack.
The work In progress showing is tomorrow (Tuesday) at 10am, I'm a bit nervous but at the same time I am happy that the development of these ideas has been an organic process. I set out at the beginning of the term to use this term as more of a research and development stage than a creative process and over the course of the term that is what has happened. This work in progress is an overview of the things I have been thinking about and what I have put into practice.
Friday is the day of my pitch, hypothetically to the Arts Council 'Grants For Arts' scheme. I'm very nervous as this is the first pitch I have ever done, but I'm also very looking forward to it because it gives me a platform to really engage people with my practice and really deliver a confident and assured presentation of what my practice is, where it has come from and where it is going.
Saturday Morning I head home back to Marlborough, Wiltshire for the Christmas break. I'm looking forward to spending some time home with my parents and my girlfriend and just let myself realise that my life isn't just dictated by my work.
In terms of working over the Christmas break I've got two major things to be working on: finishing off my 'Grants for The Arts' Application and Portfolio, along with my 5,000 word essay on the need for Theatre Institutions to be digitally innovative in communicating with their audiences. Hopefully they won't take all of the break to do!, I really want to eat lots and drink a (fair) amount over the break and reflect and celebrate on a great year!
Have a lovely week!
This week is going to be a busy one, yet as ever it is really exciting and really interesting to be involved with. Today (Monday) I am working on my Marketing and Promotional Strategy document for my business pitch on Friday. Although one can always think that marketing is a glamorous activity, there is a lot of leg work that goes behind the scenes which is fascinating to read up on and try and work out for yourself. It is very easy to say you will have a website and a Youtube Channel but if you don't know who your target audience is then there is almost no point because you'll end up missing your target audience. I've got a SWOT (Strengths / Weaknesses / Opportunities / Threats) Analysis to undertake for my artistic practice which is making me really think about my practice in a much broader scale. It is making me think if there really is a market for my practice, who are my competitors; who I am working in similar vain to. This is the first Marketing strategy I've done, so I am not expecting it to be brilliant, I want to make it the best I can, but I know it is the first one I have done so obviously it is not going to be of the highest professional standard. However I am learning all the time about all the different aspects to Arts Administration and I am really looking forward to hearing feedback because it will highlight things I have not possibly thought about, and ultimately it can make me more rounded in how I deliver information about my practice, which is a good thing!. (Not to sound Arrogant, I just really want to learn and always make things better!!).
Later on Today I am going into the Studio to rehearse for my work in progress tomorrow morning with Matt Fenton. I've got 3 main things to Show:
10 Photographs of a display called 'The City@Night' here's the flickr link to the photo set:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilleym/sets/72157625577153938/
A Text / Image Presentation using Microsoft Powerpoint which is a fictional text piece about arriving at Lancaster Train Station at night and visiting the various nightclubs around the city.
An overview of ideas for my short live / multimedia performance - using a video recorded on a webcam / photos of the city centre / video shot on a camera and some live performance with a soundtrack.
The work In progress showing is tomorrow (Tuesday) at 10am, I'm a bit nervous but at the same time I am happy that the development of these ideas has been an organic process. I set out at the beginning of the term to use this term as more of a research and development stage than a creative process and over the course of the term that is what has happened. This work in progress is an overview of the things I have been thinking about and what I have put into practice.
Friday is the day of my pitch, hypothetically to the Arts Council 'Grants For Arts' scheme. I'm very nervous as this is the first pitch I have ever done, but I'm also very looking forward to it because it gives me a platform to really engage people with my practice and really deliver a confident and assured presentation of what my practice is, where it has come from and where it is going.
Saturday Morning I head home back to Marlborough, Wiltshire for the Christmas break. I'm looking forward to spending some time home with my parents and my girlfriend and just let myself realise that my life isn't just dictated by my work.
In terms of working over the Christmas break I've got two major things to be working on: finishing off my 'Grants for The Arts' Application and Portfolio, along with my 5,000 word essay on the need for Theatre Institutions to be digitally innovative in communicating with their audiences. Hopefully they won't take all of the break to do!, I really want to eat lots and drink a (fair) amount over the break and reflect and celebrate on a great year!
Have a lovely week!
Friday, 10 December 2010
Its Not Snowing Anymore!! But it is Raining!
STOP PRESS!!
Its not snowing anymore in Lancaster!
....Its just returned to rainy and showery weather!. Above all else this is the most important development this week, along with my friends Jon and Leo's attempt at cracking the ice outside the LICA building earlier this week!.
This week has been not necessarily a stressful one, but a lot has been happening which seems to building upto an intense couple of days over the weekend and into the beginning of next week. On Tuesday evening as I said in my previous post, I met Charlotte Stuart to discuss through my business plan for my arts social media consultancy business which I am looking to set up very soon after I graduate. The meeting was really productive because it got me to try and think strategically about the development of the business in the next few months from doing the necessary market research to developing a business plan. On Wednesday I was really happy to finally get back into making some creative stuff, I love being able to just make some creative pieces, because it allows me to just delve into doing things which I really enjoy. I was developing some ideas for my performance with multimedia elements by shooting some footage of myself on a webcam with the lights dimmed in my room, as if I was just getting up, aesthetically it looked interesting especially with the lights switched off and it being projected on to a display board from a projector. However if the performance I'm aiming to be is around 20 minutes, 5 minutes of me getting dressed is not interesting. Over the weekend I'm looking to re shoot the webcam footage as well as taking some video in the centre of Lancaster, and on the campus of Lancaster University. I am having a meeting with Matt Fenton on Tuesday to show him an overview of the work I have been working over the last few weeks including showing him 5 or so minutes of my live performance / multimedia, 2 photographic displays and a piece of text to give him a true overview of my progress this term.
I've achieved a lot this week, with a lot on it is hard sometimes to try and keep your head switched on. Next week is going to be intense, due just to it being the end of term and a lot of things due at the same time (but that is life!)
Will update more on what is on next week, on Monday.
Have a lovely weekend!
Its not snowing anymore in Lancaster!
....Its just returned to rainy and showery weather!. Above all else this is the most important development this week, along with my friends Jon and Leo's attempt at cracking the ice outside the LICA building earlier this week!.
This week has been not necessarily a stressful one, but a lot has been happening which seems to building upto an intense couple of days over the weekend and into the beginning of next week. On Tuesday evening as I said in my previous post, I met Charlotte Stuart to discuss through my business plan for my arts social media consultancy business which I am looking to set up very soon after I graduate. The meeting was really productive because it got me to try and think strategically about the development of the business in the next few months from doing the necessary market research to developing a business plan. On Wednesday I was really happy to finally get back into making some creative stuff, I love being able to just make some creative pieces, because it allows me to just delve into doing things which I really enjoy. I was developing some ideas for my performance with multimedia elements by shooting some footage of myself on a webcam with the lights dimmed in my room, as if I was just getting up, aesthetically it looked interesting especially with the lights switched off and it being projected on to a display board from a projector. However if the performance I'm aiming to be is around 20 minutes, 5 minutes of me getting dressed is not interesting. Over the weekend I'm looking to re shoot the webcam footage as well as taking some video in the centre of Lancaster, and on the campus of Lancaster University. I am having a meeting with Matt Fenton on Tuesday to show him an overview of the work I have been working over the last few weeks including showing him 5 or so minutes of my live performance / multimedia, 2 photographic displays and a piece of text to give him a true overview of my progress this term.
I've achieved a lot this week, with a lot on it is hard sometimes to try and keep your head switched on. Next week is going to be intense, due just to it being the end of term and a lot of things due at the same time (but that is life!)
Will update more on what is on next week, on Monday.
Have a lovely weekend!
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
The End of the Term...Deadlines. Business Idea. Video Blog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK-TP23Y8cM
Its another day and yet more snow! Goodness me, this is getting a bit ridiculous isn't it? I can't honestly remember a cold snap as bad this and so early on in the winter, but then I'm getting old so my memory is probably going hehe! Its not really the snow that is the problem it is the bitter cold temperatures. The library on the Lancaster University campus is probably one of the warmest places to be in weather like this, so hence the sudden serge of people doing essays in the library this week! which is a a much better choice than being in your room on your own huddled around your radiator or like me in 4 layers under my duvet (I know - sexy or what).
Like every other student across the land (probably) the last few weeks of any term are always the busiest; deadlines due, work to be handed in, the Christmas holidays are coming (Mince Pies - Yum!). I only have two things which are in before the Christmas holidays. The first is a business pitch on the 17th of December, where I am pitching my artistic practice in the form of an application to the Arts Council for one of their funding avenues; Grants for the Arts:
http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/grants-arts/).
For this pitch I am producing a presentation, a business plan, a budget, and a marketing strategy, which is a lot of concentration on specifics, particularly the budget which requires a lot of focus and concentration. The second is a sort of an unofficial deadline, but I am treating as much as a real deadline, I am showing my supervisor Matt Fenton an overview of what I have been working on this term, so basically trying to get together as many things as possible to show him at the end of next week (16th / 17th December).
This week there is a fair amount on!. Yesterday (Monday) I re - launched collectively all the websites I am on, making sure they all had the correct profile information, the same pictures, the same contact information, that they could all link to each other. It was a bit of a faff, but it was well worth the faff because it has made it look co - ordinated and professional in my opinion (you may disagree - I would love any feedback you have!) Here are all the links to the various sites:
My Blog: http:
marcuslilleyartist.blogspot.com/
My Twitter Account:
http://twitter.com/#!/MarcusLilley
My Flickr Account:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilleym/
My Youtube Account:
http://www.youtube.com/user/marcuslilleyartist?feature=mhum
My IDEASTAP Profile:
http://www.ideastap.com/people/marcuslilley
Today I'm working on my marketing strategy for my pitch, which for some reason is taking forever to do because I'm being extremely lazy and trying to avoid reading a really good book called 'Creative Arts Marketing' so I really need to sit down and read it! Hopefully the snow and the cold weather will force me into the library and demand me to read the book! Later on today I'm having a meeting with Charlotte Stuart who has been running the Grow Creative Workshops at the Storey Institute this term to discuss a business idea I am working on, which I am looking to start up as soon as I graduate from my MA in September next year. Below is a summary of my business idea:
Creative Business Idea:
Working as a freelance social media consultant to arts organisations. Delivering Workshops to the organisation and individuals. Charging an Hourly Rate
Social Media - Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Blogging, Other Social Media.
Arts Organisations – Theatres, Galleries, Cross arts Organisations
What I Can Offer:
Profiling in conjunction with the organisation the interests, trends of the venue’s audience and what the organisation does and offers.
Create with them, their own distinct online voice.
Consulting with them to deliver their online objectives.
A specific approach to arts organisations, not a general marketer but someone who has a specific interest in the arts and is very passionate about the arts.
Someone who has a broad knowledge about lots of different arts organisations and social media.
I'm really sorry to sound so up myself, and so arrogant. This blog is really not meant to be pushing my own ego, just a place to talk about my development as an artist, I'm not awesome at what I do or brilliant, I'm just so passionate about the arts and really want to continue learning and developing myself.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) I'm going to have a full studio day (8 - 10 hours or so), I haven't been in the studio enough recently so I really need to get back on it. I've got some ideas for a photographic display, some ideas for short films and a few text ideas that I would like to try out in the display.
Probably over the weekend, I am going to get stuck into the 5,000 word essay I am writing on the need as I see for Theatrical institutions to be digitally innovative in the way they communicate to their audiences through social media and other digital outlets, which I have kind of neglected whilst I am working on my pitch, so need to get on that!!.
Hope you have a lovely week and your not to affected by the snow!
Like every other student across the land (probably) the last few weeks of any term are always the busiest; deadlines due, work to be handed in, the Christmas holidays are coming (Mince Pies - Yum!). I only have two things which are in before the Christmas holidays. The first is a business pitch on the 17th of December, where I am pitching my artistic practice in the form of an application to the Arts Council for one of their funding avenues; Grants for the Arts:
http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/grants-arts/).
For this pitch I am producing a presentation, a business plan, a budget, and a marketing strategy, which is a lot of concentration on specifics, particularly the budget which requires a lot of focus and concentration. The second is a sort of an unofficial deadline, but I am treating as much as a real deadline, I am showing my supervisor Matt Fenton an overview of what I have been working on this term, so basically trying to get together as many things as possible to show him at the end of next week (16th / 17th December).
This week there is a fair amount on!. Yesterday (Monday) I re - launched collectively all the websites I am on, making sure they all had the correct profile information, the same pictures, the same contact information, that they could all link to each other. It was a bit of a faff, but it was well worth the faff because it has made it look co - ordinated and professional in my opinion (you may disagree - I would love any feedback you have!) Here are all the links to the various sites:
My Blog: http:
marcuslilleyartist.blogspot.com/
My Twitter Account:
http://twitter.com/#!/MarcusLilley
My Flickr Account:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilleym/
My Youtube Account:
http://www.youtube.com/user/marcuslilleyartist?feature=mhum
My IDEASTAP Profile:
http://www.ideastap.com/people/marcuslilley
Today I'm working on my marketing strategy for my pitch, which for some reason is taking forever to do because I'm being extremely lazy and trying to avoid reading a really good book called 'Creative Arts Marketing' so I really need to sit down and read it! Hopefully the snow and the cold weather will force me into the library and demand me to read the book! Later on today I'm having a meeting with Charlotte Stuart who has been running the Grow Creative Workshops at the Storey Institute this term to discuss a business idea I am working on, which I am looking to start up as soon as I graduate from my MA in September next year. Below is a summary of my business idea:
Creative Business Idea:
Working as a freelance social media consultant to arts organisations. Delivering Workshops to the organisation and individuals. Charging an Hourly Rate
Social Media - Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Blogging, Other Social Media.
Arts Organisations – Theatres, Galleries, Cross arts Organisations
What I Can Offer:
Profiling in conjunction with the organisation the interests, trends of the venue’s audience and what the organisation does and offers.
Create with them, their own distinct online voice.
Consulting with them to deliver their online objectives.
A specific approach to arts organisations, not a general marketer but someone who has a specific interest in the arts and is very passionate about the arts.
Someone who has a broad knowledge about lots of different arts organisations and social media.
I'm really sorry to sound so up myself, and so arrogant. This blog is really not meant to be pushing my own ego, just a place to talk about my development as an artist, I'm not awesome at what I do or brilliant, I'm just so passionate about the arts and really want to continue learning and developing myself.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) I'm going to have a full studio day (8 - 10 hours or so), I haven't been in the studio enough recently so I really need to get back on it. I've got some ideas for a photographic display, some ideas for short films and a few text ideas that I would like to try out in the display.
Probably over the weekend, I am going to get stuck into the 5,000 word essay I am writing on the need as I see for Theatrical institutions to be digitally innovative in the way they communicate to their audiences through social media and other digital outlets, which I have kind of neglected whilst I am working on my pitch, so need to get on that!!.
Hope you have a lovely week and your not to affected by the snow!
Friday, 3 December 2010
Responding to your environment, Being flexible to Situations and responding to criticism in a positive way
It is strange when your routine suddenly gets turned on its head isn't it? I say this because in the last 2 weeks or so, my regular routine has been completely turned on its head. Before I go on, I would like to apologise for lack of blogging activity in the last 2 weeks, I was very ill last week and was in bed most of the week and last Saturday I went home for a few days. It had been pre planned for a few weeks but it was a lovely excuse to get home and get some rest (and lots of lovely home cooked food!). Even though I felt very bad that I wasn't doing any work or doing anything constructive (except for watching the entire second series of Reggie Perin on Iplayer...) It was definitely the right thing to do in hindsight, because working on my own there is no point in pushing myself necessarily and not making sure I am 100% fully fit because it will only make myself worse in the long term.
Like every where else in the Country, Lancaster has been hit by snow!! its lovely to see some snow in Lancaster and the canal which runs by house has been completely frozen over (of course the fact it is near my house makes it the most important thing in the entire universe!)
The nice thing that the last 2 weeks or so have taught me is that being flexible as an individual is very important. Prior to this year I would have taken far to much on and thought I was Superman and that I could do everything. The last few months have made me realise that I can't do everything and that being able to be flexible and respond to things, one situation at a time and not think everything is one big box of stress but a collection of smaller things that be managed one step at a time!. Even though its hard sometimes being able to see what could be a future risk is something else I have been able to see much more clearly. In previous years I would of really let things get to me and really stress me out badly, in tern not eating properly or sleeping properly. However I feel easier nowadays because I have been able to plan and be organised enough to try and limit the risks, not entirely rule out that things aren't going to crop up and surprise me, because that happens every single day, but I have begun to try and limit the risk of serious stress. This is really really important to me because I have been there and its not very nice at all, not just for me but people who are close to me!.
Another element I feel I am learning at the moment is the art of taking criticism. I have no problem in admitting I am a perfectionist, I like to have everything perfect that I do. However in recent years It has struck me that this idea of making things perfect, however honourable is sometimes very nasty in upholding. Mainly because sometimes I forget what is important, say If I am doing several things at once I would forget what is important or what thing should require the most attention due to its importance. Over the last few months I have begun to change my outlook and focus my energies on focusing on a single project at a time and trying to make it the best I can possibly make it. A nice example of the change in my approach was last Friday during a seminar for PROCAP we were all invited to begin the initial stages of writing our Arts Council Grants For The Arts application and read them out to everyone. The first was trying to write in under 50 words what it was we were trying to get funding for. The main criticism of mine was that it was not clear enough what I was doing. In the second section we were asked to elaborate further on our practice and what we were planning to do with our funding. Again the main criticism was that people still didn't know what I was planning to do. Now a few months ago I would of taken this criticism very personally and wasted my energy on thinking that I was bad at what I was doing. Instead I re wrote my pitch during my lunch break before a one to one meeting with Matt Fenton to discuss my pitch. It was very explicit in what I was planning and what I wanted to do. It just showed to me that I am able to respond to criticism more productively than I have done before. No one likes taking criticism, especially working solo however I see it as a very productive exercise because it allows for a discussion of my practice to take place and gives me feedback, sometimes things that I had not anticipated would come out.
Up until the Christmas break I have a couple of different projects that I am working on. The first one will be taking place 2 weeks today (Friday 17th December) and it is a business pitch to a panel of experts. It will be a 15 minute presentation based on my Grants For The Arts Application which is being assessed. Currently I am working on the budget, marketing strategy and funding partners. I will report back next week on progress, I am aiming to do a first try out early next week to see where I am. Secondly I am doing a 5,000 word essay on the need for Theatrical institutions in my opinion to be digitally innovative in the way they communicate with their audiences, there has been a lot of research undertaken very recently by Arts Council England, Arts & Business and NESTA on this subject and in my opinion it is the most important area of discussion in the arts sector. In the age of huge cuts, Arts organisations need to be innovative in their ways of communicating with their audiences and not rely on old models of communication. I am currently trying to set up 3 interviews with 3 different organisations to try and get a much clearer image of the sector at the moment and how Theatrical institutions are preparing and adapting to the changes posed by social media in particular. I am planning interviews with Jamie at LIVE@LICA, Taylor at Folly in Lancaster and at the Corn Exchange in Newbury where I did 3 weeks of work experience last year.
Whilst doing research a couple of weeks ago I found an exceptional website called IDEAS TAP which is a really exciting development and a really interesting network of people are emerging. Its a website for creatives between 14 and 26 of any and every discipline, I'm trying to tell everyone about this website because it is a really exciting website to be part of.
The website link is: http://www.ideastap.com/
My profile is: http://www.ideastap.com/people/marcuslilley
Next Tuesday I have a meeting with Charlotte Stuart to discuss a business idea I have been developing in conjunction with the 'Go Creative' Workshops I have been attending since October. I'm really excited to be working on something which is my own and I am currently working a very rough business plan for my venture and this is my on going project for the next few months.
The one show I've seen recently was 'Zero Point' the 3rd year Modern Experimental module performance at Lancaster University, which I did last year. Overall aesthetically the show was certainly very impressive with its mixture of film, live performance, graphic novel and animations. Only having a 2 week creative period was certainly a triumph, however narratively it was a bit of a mixture with no real clear direction of where it was going or how the different worlds were linked. Its not a personal critique, just from an audience point of view, it was easy to be drawn in by the technical aesthetics but in reality it is the story which hooks us. The main reason why I enjoyed it hugely was the first 5 minutes or so because the technical aesthetics and the narrative were working really well in setting up the fact it was set on a train, yet you didn't know where it was going, but you knew something was going wrong on the train.
Like every where else in the Country, Lancaster has been hit by snow!! its lovely to see some snow in Lancaster and the canal which runs by house has been completely frozen over (of course the fact it is near my house makes it the most important thing in the entire universe!)
The nice thing that the last 2 weeks or so have taught me is that being flexible as an individual is very important. Prior to this year I would have taken far to much on and thought I was Superman and that I could do everything. The last few months have made me realise that I can't do everything and that being able to be flexible and respond to things, one situation at a time and not think everything is one big box of stress but a collection of smaller things that be managed one step at a time!. Even though its hard sometimes being able to see what could be a future risk is something else I have been able to see much more clearly. In previous years I would of really let things get to me and really stress me out badly, in tern not eating properly or sleeping properly. However I feel easier nowadays because I have been able to plan and be organised enough to try and limit the risks, not entirely rule out that things aren't going to crop up and surprise me, because that happens every single day, but I have begun to try and limit the risk of serious stress. This is really really important to me because I have been there and its not very nice at all, not just for me but people who are close to me!.
Another element I feel I am learning at the moment is the art of taking criticism. I have no problem in admitting I am a perfectionist, I like to have everything perfect that I do. However in recent years It has struck me that this idea of making things perfect, however honourable is sometimes very nasty in upholding. Mainly because sometimes I forget what is important, say If I am doing several things at once I would forget what is important or what thing should require the most attention due to its importance. Over the last few months I have begun to change my outlook and focus my energies on focusing on a single project at a time and trying to make it the best I can possibly make it. A nice example of the change in my approach was last Friday during a seminar for PROCAP we were all invited to begin the initial stages of writing our Arts Council Grants For The Arts application and read them out to everyone. The first was trying to write in under 50 words what it was we were trying to get funding for. The main criticism of mine was that it was not clear enough what I was doing. In the second section we were asked to elaborate further on our practice and what we were planning to do with our funding. Again the main criticism was that people still didn't know what I was planning to do. Now a few months ago I would of taken this criticism very personally and wasted my energy on thinking that I was bad at what I was doing. Instead I re wrote my pitch during my lunch break before a one to one meeting with Matt Fenton to discuss my pitch. It was very explicit in what I was planning and what I wanted to do. It just showed to me that I am able to respond to criticism more productively than I have done before. No one likes taking criticism, especially working solo however I see it as a very productive exercise because it allows for a discussion of my practice to take place and gives me feedback, sometimes things that I had not anticipated would come out.
Up until the Christmas break I have a couple of different projects that I am working on. The first one will be taking place 2 weeks today (Friday 17th December) and it is a business pitch to a panel of experts. It will be a 15 minute presentation based on my Grants For The Arts Application which is being assessed. Currently I am working on the budget, marketing strategy and funding partners. I will report back next week on progress, I am aiming to do a first try out early next week to see where I am. Secondly I am doing a 5,000 word essay on the need for Theatrical institutions in my opinion to be digitally innovative in the way they communicate with their audiences, there has been a lot of research undertaken very recently by Arts Council England, Arts & Business and NESTA on this subject and in my opinion it is the most important area of discussion in the arts sector. In the age of huge cuts, Arts organisations need to be innovative in their ways of communicating with their audiences and not rely on old models of communication. I am currently trying to set up 3 interviews with 3 different organisations to try and get a much clearer image of the sector at the moment and how Theatrical institutions are preparing and adapting to the changes posed by social media in particular. I am planning interviews with Jamie at LIVE@LICA, Taylor at Folly in Lancaster and at the Corn Exchange in Newbury where I did 3 weeks of work experience last year.
Whilst doing research a couple of weeks ago I found an exceptional website called IDEAS TAP which is a really exciting development and a really interesting network of people are emerging. Its a website for creatives between 14 and 26 of any and every discipline, I'm trying to tell everyone about this website because it is a really exciting website to be part of.
The website link is: http://www.ideastap.com/
My profile is: http://www.ideastap.com/people/marcuslilley
Next Tuesday I have a meeting with Charlotte Stuart to discuss a business idea I have been developing in conjunction with the 'Go Creative' Workshops I have been attending since October. I'm really excited to be working on something which is my own and I am currently working a very rough business plan for my venture and this is my on going project for the next few months.
The one show I've seen recently was 'Zero Point' the 3rd year Modern Experimental module performance at Lancaster University, which I did last year. Overall aesthetically the show was certainly very impressive with its mixture of film, live performance, graphic novel and animations. Only having a 2 week creative period was certainly a triumph, however narratively it was a bit of a mixture with no real clear direction of where it was going or how the different worlds were linked. Its not a personal critique, just from an audience point of view, it was easy to be drawn in by the technical aesthetics but in reality it is the story which hooks us. The main reason why I enjoyed it hugely was the first 5 minutes or so because the technical aesthetics and the narrative were working really well in setting up the fact it was set on a train, yet you didn't know where it was going, but you knew something was going wrong on the train.
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