As Jen has said our project has done a slight U-turn but for a much more exciting path, taking on Media Talent Bank will give us more scope to be creative. The background work has already been done and established so we can really use our research to make sure, that we make the site usable and appealing to our market. It also means our time can be spent on making it work rather than building the project, so overall its has been a great find.
One of the main things our research has brought to our attention, is that other similar projects and even Media Talent Bank, have lacked in PR and advertising amongst the target market. Through our research we have also found that networking seems to be a key way, to access the creative industries and get to know the different sectors. We have been trying to get into this scene by attending some networking evenings, with the opportunity to get some feedback on our idea.
I attended the RTS 'Breaking Into Broadcasting' talk at the University of Birmingham, where professionals from radio and television spoke about the best ways to get into the industry, and how they themselves got into the jobs they are in now. Many of the professionals spoke about student and graduate opportunities and how they like to see up to date CV's and portfolios of work. They said that one of the biggest turn-offs of a CV would be someone who had left uni and not carried on producing their own work. This I felt was an important point, as we originally proposed that our project would directly benefit students and graduates by aiding them in producing their own work, and finding relevant creatives to work with. This is an aspect of the site that could work really well, as it is something that Media Talent Bank don't currently do and a way we can evolve the site into something new.
I spoke to the panel and approached them on what they thought of the site, they gave some good constructive criticism in terms of, that they wouldn't necessarily use it for looking for students CV's as they get sent so many but they would be interested in the events and networking evenings and putting up work placement and job opportunities. This was an invaluable experience for me, as I learnt a great deal by speaking to the professionals in a professional context but also learning about their part of the industry, that I know nothing about.
We then went to the 'Producers Forum' re-launch event at Fazeley Studios in Digbeth, we wanted to go along for two reasons, networking and seeing how they constructed the re-launch. We didn't meet too many people as it was more of a formal event for producers in Birmingham, and not really for students. However, Dave from Media Talent Bank was there also and came to be a good opportunity to have a shared interest when we met for our meeting.
When we met with Dave and Sara from Media Talent Bank, they used the Producers Forum and the Animation Forum as examples of similar concepts that had really worked and got off the ground, which was also interesting as we now know more about them as models for analysis.
The event itself was good and it was good chance to have a look at the venue in the context we would use it. They had cupcakes which we loved! food, drinks and other than that there was some professional music provided and guest speakers. Overall, a great opportunity to have a drink and discuss ideas together!
Soooo this is our scouting the scene so far, will update with further progress. If anyone has any networking opportunities they think would be interesting please let us know.. and of course a final plug for our questionnaire..
Thanks,
Jaime
