Day 6

Last full day at the studio with the company today... This week has gone really quick!
I spent the morning in a meeting with Catherine and Victoria, who were discussing more organisational development and finances. They are currently contacting more people for creative development and are hoping to take another project to Lancaster, and their 'Bring the Happy project to a festival in London.
After lunch I helped Catherine with making some bookings for their move to Coventry next month and have agreed to help finalise the bookings with all their accommodation next week.
Late afternoon the company had 2 women come to the studio for an informal audition for the part of a Nymph in their project 'The Book of Beasts'. I sat with them as they talked through the show and outlined the character before reading through the script. They chose the second woman as they had met before and she knew the show, though they are keen to keep in contact with the first as they may want to work with her for future projects.
I spent the last part of the day talking to Victoria about how they started their company - which was really interesting. She has given me lots of tips and advise (with regards to business plans and arts councils) and has very kindly said that I can contact her in the future should I need further help/advise with starting off any projects.
I will be keeping in contact with Catherine via email and during this next week I have agreed to continue with the tasks I've been helping out on  - as the rest of the company are in Paris and she is very busy!

Day 5

When I arrived this morning I was told that I would be shadowing Rich as he prepared a trial run for one of their new game ideas based in the city centre. The game itself runs off an app you can have on your phone, and it sends you messages with storyline, choices and directions which lead you around the city. The idea is still not fully-formed, but the aim is to give each person an individual experience by giving them their own choice in the narrative, and to incorporate as much live cinematic qualities into the game as possible.
I walked with Rich as he planted 'clues' around the city for Ben and Victoria to find in the trial run. This included taking pictures of each 'turning point' (where the app would give the participant a choice of where to go/what to do next) and these pictures, along with different messages, were text to Ben and Victoria as we waited in a cafe hoping that they would find their way to us!
It was a fun morning, and it has definitely got me more interested in creating my own interactive experiences in the future. We looked at various other public locations that could be Incorporated into the game, including the public library, town hall and art museum. While in the art museum I noticed a painting by Jacob Kramer named 'Hear Our Voice, O Lord Our God', which I found really powerful.

 

 

This painting shows so much strong emotion, it seems like the woman is in painful desperation. I would like to consider using this image as character building research for my solo piece. I also like her hands, they look whithered and unusually large...

 

Tomorrow I will be in the studio again and I am going to be helping plan a map of possible set locations in Paris for when the company travel there on Monday for some filming. I feel like I have been getting a lot more out of work placement this week now that we have all had time to work and talk together properly. Feels like it has gone quite quickly - I only have 2 days left!

 

 



Day 4

Back in Leeds today and I was feeling a little apprehensive this morning after not seeing the company for nearly 2 weeks. Was fine when I got there, as it was just Ben and Victoria in, sorting out their websites and some advertisement, and the atmosphere was really relaxed.
The first task I was set on today was to find some mailing list software so that people can subscribe to the Invisible Flock mailing list on their website. I had found a couple of sites which looked promising, though some were charging monthly fees, in the end I found http://www.phplist.com/ which Ben decided looked best (and free!) and downloaded to add to the website.
I was then given both Ben and Victoria's email log ins so that I could export all their contacts onto spreadsheets. I then compared contacts and created one list of contact details (names and emails) so that they could be contacted for project information and advertising and then added to the mailing list once it has been made.
My third task was to create an email invitation for their 'Bring the Happy' project, which had to include the project logo and details. The email will be sent to all contacts on their mailing list once complete.

 

I spent the last part of the day talking to Victoria about some of the contributions they have had to their project. She read me some of the happy memories people have entered and I can now see why their project has been so rewarding for them, it was really heartwarming to hear some of the happy times people have had and wanted to share.

 

I have been promised a more 'fun' day tomorrow (after a day of spreadsheets) and I'm looking forward to going back.



Day 3

Today I met Catherine at her house in Sheffield so that she could talk me through some of her tasks as company manager, and so that I could continue helping the company with moving their project to Coventry. We discussed the practicalities of moving and accommodating all cast and band members, and I was also able to view the company budget to find who would be getting paid for each job and when. I found this extremely helpful as it highlighted just how organised I would need to be should I chose this line of work after  my degree, and it brought to light how most decisions have to be made quickly so that the most important work can be completed on time.
Since last week I have been trying to find the company some accommodation in the centre of Coventry and have managed to find a few self-catering apartments which might be suitable for them.I have also needed to find B&Bs near Warwick University for when the company are performing at their arts centre for which I have needed to ring and email on behalf of Invisible Flock.
Catherine has talked me through how to apply for arts council funding and has kindly sent me a copy of one of the companies working request forms to read in my own time. She has also shown me how the company budgets for each project and she has talked me through which payments the company are responsible for and also in which areas they should not need to spend. I definitely feel more confident with these subjects now and feel that I would be able to organize my own company should this become a reality in the future.
I am not in placement again until next Monday where I will be joining they company in their Leeds studio again. In the meantime I will be emailing Catherine as I have agreed to help with some spreadsheets for their Coventry accommodation - I am happy to say that excel is becoming a lot less scary!

Day 2

This morning was pretty exhausting! I was set the challenge of finding some props for the company's arts council performance on Thursday. Bearing in mind I have no knowledge of Leeds city centre, I had to find: 40 white balloons, 2 large white sheets and 40 black eye masks - it was an interesting morning! I managed to find all they needed and was happy that it was all fairly cheap, as I was trusted with the company credit card I didn't want to spend too much! After lunch I sat with them in the studio as they discussed some new interactive game ideas, which they want to incorporate the city centre into. The afternoon consisted of downloading some new music and listening to bi neural sounds through headphones to find which would work best with their new show. Their second task of the afternoon consisted of walking around the city centre, listening to the music through headphones to get a feel for the performance idea. They felt it wasn't going to be an awfully interesting afternoon for me as they would have headphones on the entire time and not be able to really share anything/speak to me! I suggested that it may be more helpful for them, and for myself, if I was to come back and work a different afternoon, which they agreed would probably be best. I am happy that we all felt comfortable enough to be honest each other, and I am emailing Catherine to see if there is a better time for me to put in some extra hours. It was still an interesting afternoon, I learnt how they are inspired by different game concepts and the different process's needed to bring a game to life, and it has inspired me to think of different ways to get audiences involved and interacting with future performances.

Day 1

Although I had already met the company, and had planned buses/trains/walking routes, I was extremely nervous about starting this morning! I arrived at the studios just before 10.30 and met Rich and Ben, who were discussing ideas for a small project they are working on this week for the Arts Council at the Crucible in Sheffield. I sat in on their discussion until Catherine and Vic arrived and prepared to sit in on their meeting at 11 with new Production Manager, Dave, who will be working with them for their "Bring the Happy" project which is being taken down to Coventry in April.
The meeting itself was mainly discussing practicalities of touring the project; moving the set, viewing the venues, finding accommodation, possible partnerships, risk assessments, storage and sourcing new props. I enjoyed being present at this meeting as it gave me a great insight into the organisation needed for touring projects. I have been asked to source some props tomorrow and have been given the (ongoing) task of helping to find some possible temporary accommodation for the company in Coventry.
After lunch I sat with Catherine and Vic as they talked through the weekly agenda, which was also interesting as I was able to see the types of everyday tasks an independent company may have. I then met Alex, their artistic assistant, who will be helping with their project while it's on Coventry. I spent a lot of time today absorbing information, this was an extremely busy day for them in terms of meetings and organisation, so I did feel thrown in the deep end at times! I ended the day with a chat with Catherine about some of the tasks she has planned, and some of the things she can talk me through net week (budgeting, business planning, their arts council funding and how to start a project). Tomorrow I will be with Rich, Ben and Vic working on some creative development and sourcing props.

Meeting Invisible Flock

I first contacted Invisible Flock via their email address which I found on their website and discussed the possibility of a placement via email before meeting them on the 23rd January. It was good to meet them all in person after a few weeks of emailing and I felt welcome in their studio and comfortable discussing what I would like to gain from work placement, and what help I could possibly offer them in return. I continued emailing Catherine Baxendale after the meeting and agreed upon a schedule for my placement.


Monday 18th February – from 10.30am in the studio

• Bring The Happy Production Meeting
• Arts Council event preparation

Tuesday 19th February – from 10.30am in the studio

• Observing Creative Development day

Tuesday 26th February – from 10am with Catherine in Sheffield

• Organisational

Monday 4th, 5th and 6th March – from 10.30am in the studio

• Observing Crucible R and D

Wednesday 13th March – from 10.30am in the studio

• Final evaluation

I will be working with Invisible Flock 7hours each day, which brings my placement to a total of 42 hours.