Last Thursday’s Creative Networks meeting (organised by Dave Taylor) saw us pitching our Screen Forum event in front of a room full of British television veterans, most notably the legendary producer David Rose. David came down from London to give a talk about his 50 years in the business followed with a Q and A. A mixture of short video interviews with writers, clips of his work (including Z Cars) and a number of anecdotes, proved to be an amazing insight into the working life of one of Britain’s greatest talents.

We were all in shock at being in the presence of such a legend (especially Matt Carter). Following the meeting we all popped down to the local for a drink and a chat. Moving only 3 feet from the entrance we were immediately approached by people who congratulated us on our pitch and were keen to know more about Black Country Cinemas work. But nothing could prepare us for what happened next. Sitting in the corner with a number of people was David Rose, sharing his experience and sipping on a glass of red. Slowly getting up he made his way towards the door. Stopping just before where we were standing He said in a very intrigued tone “Video Poetry Ay?” Honoured that he even remembered our pitch we continued for the next hour or so to natter away with David as if we had known him for years. To hear personal accounts of his experiences with such legends as Ingmar Bergman were fascinating. We talked ‘till closing time for no other reason than the fact that He loves meeting and talking to new people. David is truly inspiring, full of laughs and a great example for everyone in the world of moving images.

Black Country Cinema and David Rose

PS. David we are still waiting for our postcard…..

Photo courtesy SXC.

In the most recent installment of this series, we examined how artists and innovators were using the mainstream social networking tools of MySpace, Facebook and Twitter to build a creative community for themselves online. Today, we sample a few creative community-building projects that have been set up specifically for artists, by artists.

Behance Network
I discovered Behance through the recent Lateral Action post, The Top 10 Social Networks for Creative People, that I mentioned in part I of this series. The network is the brainchild of Scott Belsky of Behance, a company that “organizes the creative world to make ideas happen,” according to its “About Us” Web page.

Members, who must apply to Behance for an “invitation” to join the network, build multi-media portfolios displaying their work. Visitors – including recruiters, top creative firms and editors – come to Behance to see the content and find talent to hire. Collections of project portfolios are curated by the Behance staff and a rotating list of guest curators, including Alessandra Lariu of SheSays and Ann-Christine Diaz, managing editor of Creativity Magazine.

Some may balk at the fact that users must request admission to the network and the curated collections, but according to the Lateral Action post, the site gets 90 percent of its traffic from non-members—meaning that the visits are coming from potential buyers. Parris Whittingham, a power user of the network, said the content-centric focus of the network had great value to him:

“Behance allows me to connect with a vast network of creatives from all over the world. … For me, the value of Behance is that it holds users to a set of unspoken professional standards. I will not post anything on the network unless I am truly confident in the work.

“The Behance platform was clearly designed to focus on the artwork. This “less is more approach” makes Behance feel more like a boutique than a catalog or meat market. For a person that just likes to be inspired by great design, amazing talent and professional presentation, Behance compliments my needs.”

America Creates
I first came into contact with America Creates through a Facebook friendship with its co-founder Sharon Sinclair. Designed to be as broad as its name implies, the America Creates site takes a broad view of creative community.
Part e-business portal, part artisan showcase, part social network and part information clearinghouse, the site offers ample free resources and free membership to community members and creative professionals who are not promoting their own work for pay on the site. Artists seeking to use the site as an e-commerce portal must submit their work to a jury; they and various arts organizations may pay a modest fee ($99/year for many categories) for membership.

What I like about AC is that it blends information exchange and business so easily. Whatever level you are at in your arts career—from a beginner seeking a technique class to a master seeking to find a new audience for his or her work—chances are you’ll find something of interest here.

likemind
Likemind has the same theme as many sites such as MeetUp.com—plan a meeting in cyberspace, then meet in person. Two things differentiate likemind from its cyber-to-real meeting site brethren—all its groups (dozens located in cities around the world) meet once a month on the same day and approximately the same local time, and its single-minded purpose is to create “an opportunity to enjoy coffee and conversation” with “people like you.”

The group’s site is fairly bare-bones, with a map of meeting locations, listings for each city, information on how to apply to host a city’s likemind meeting, and a place to submit a “global question,” which, I would guess, is thrown out to the monthly conversation groups for fodder. There is no agenda, however, and no conversational moderation.

A quick check city host bio links reveals that many of them are involved in marketing, design, strategic communication and social media creation, so for some of you, the site would truly link you to “people like you.” One or two artists or innovators could whip up a likemind group in their city and enjoy the support and structure (minimal as it is) of the worldwide fellowship, and create a real-world point of contact for creative folk in their area.

Raw Art Yahoo Group
Another recent entry into the creative community-building fray is Quinn McDonald’s Raw Art Yahoo Group, which she describes as a “creativity incubator.” In a recent post on her blog, she explains what sort of people might enjoy it:

“A Creativity Incubator is a safe place for every artist who is fanning the flame of creativity. Who refuses to make creative decisions through their checkbook so it will sell. Who wants to make creative decisions from that deep place where life takes meaning and then takes wings …

“Making meaning in your life is creative work that takes time, courage and encouragement. That is what the group will provide. This (group) is a forum … where you are encouraged to post your successes, your projects, your creative thoughts.”

I’ve joined the incubator and so far there have been a variety of interesting discussions, from reaction to Quinn’s post on the down sides to art/craft kits to feedback on posted artwork and the sharing of helpful links on journaling and art.

Quinn’s group is a powerful reminder that online creativity networks don’t have to be cutting-edge or high-tech to be useful. Yahoo Groups have been with us for a very long time (in Internet terms), but when the right mix of creative people are gathered, it matters little the tools they use to respond to each other.

DIY?

Have these groups made you hungry to start your own creative community? You’re in luck–in our next installment, I provide some tips for ways to do just that!

The Creative Networks event at tic last night saw Tom Lawes in great form talking about his life and career as musician, composer, sound designer, film producer and more recently cinema owner. His experiences over the last four years of refurbishing, relaunching and developing the Electric Cinema provide a great example of what you can do through sheer determination, hard work and creative enterprise. Tom is up for Outstanding Business Development at the Birmingham Creative City Awards tomorrow. If he doesn’t win I’ll be very surprised. Hats off to you Tom.

Also at the event were Chris Pinches and Huw Bowen from Coventry-based Entanglement Productions, promoting their low-budget sci-fi thriller Schrodinger’s Girl. They demonstrated some great SFX using ‘before’ and ‘after’ footage of the same scene. If they could work some of their techniques into a simple workshop package I’m sure it would go down a storm in local schools and colleges. Anyway, here’s the trailer from the film. Good luck lads.

Founder/Member:

Irene Rukerebuka

Worked for 8 years in the arts in Manchester and now the South-East. Started own non for profits arts organization at the age of 23 and creative national magazine at the age of 24. Appeared on Channel 4 business program about creative entrepreneurs under the age of 25.

Freelanced in design and photography for TopShop, EMI Records, Corinne Bailey Rae and Noise Festival. Thrill seeker and volunteer enthusiast-climbed Mt Kilimanjaro in 2006 and currently volunteer as Events Coordinator with the acclaimed Helen Bamber Foundation for Human Rights.

In the process of starting an MBA in Creative Industries Management-the first of it’s kind, at Rochester, UCCA.

Ann Cross

Would you believe it? I’m moving out of my lovely spacious house in Birmingham back in with my Mum because I’ve run out of money to stay here. Sad times. After three years studying Sound Engineering in the land of Brum, it’s finally finished.

Packing up the last few things as I’m writing this and trying to come to terms with what’s happening right now. I’ve had to say goodbye to a wonderful life with lots of truly wonderful friends to a life with slightly less friends and live in a field in Cheshire, well a town but compared to Birmingham it’s a field.

Today I have cried twice so far and I’ve only been up for an hour and a half. Over the last two weeks I must have cried every day for one thing or another, mainly saying goodbye to close friends.

The hardest part is when people are saying “don’t worry we still have facebook” what kind of bullshit way of cheering me up is that eh? Another is you’ll have to come back soon and visit, why can’t they get on the train to see me? Day out from the smog of Brum – because yes nothing compares to Birmingham and people don’t want to leave because it’s addictive and yes this is the reason I’ve been so upset about leaving.

I would like to say thank you and that your a true inspiration to my lecturers. I love you all so much to all the friends I’ve made. To all the people I’ve met through networking like Music/Creative Networks, please all keep in touch. To everyone thanks for making my three years in Birmingham so amazing.

Tonight I am having a “Homecoming Queen Party” with my small amount of friends back home and to see Alice as it was her 18th this week and I wasn’t able to get back to celebrate it with her. It will involve a few drinks in Knutsford while I try to forget/hide how upset I am about leaving Birmingham. So here’s to a new start, a new life and hopefully a new job.

Listening to: Hunter by Portishead.

Over the past two decades, usage of the Internet has developed from simply ‘surfing’ inter-linked pages of information, through the boom in on-line retailing and e-commerce, to the present day array of so-called ‘Web 2.0’ on-line services and applications.

This month’s Creative Networks event aims to de-mystify the terminology of Web 2.0 and demonstrate how the region’s creative community can empower their work and businesses with new ways to communicate, collaborate, create and distribute content via the Internet.

Organised by Birmingham City University’s Technology Innovation Centre (TIC), the event opens from 6pm on Thursday 29th May, at Millennium Point. It is free and open to all creative companies and freelancers in the West Midlands.

Helping Creative Networks’ delegates through the bewildering range of Web 2.0 terms, tools and possibilities, will be leading Web 2.0 exponents, Pete Ashton and Stef Lewandowski, from Birmingham’s own thriving digital community.

Dave Taylor of TIC’s Centre for Interactive Media says: “Whilst the term ‘Web 2.0’ is used widely, its precise definition is as debated, as it is misunderstood. The term ‘2.0’ may appear to imply that there is a new Internet system, but Web 2.0 actually just refers to new ways of using the Internet.”

With such a diverse and evolving range of Web 2.0 services and tools, the event will focus on two fundamental Web 2.0 concepts. The first is a change in mindset, where people stop seeing the Internet as a static information silo, but instead use it as an extended suite of tools and services to reach, engage and interact with clients, partners and wider society. The second is the power of distributing content, in text, audio or other visual form, through links and syndication to other Web 2.0 sites and services.

Dave Taylor explains: “Whilst the term Web 2.0 may be unfamiliar to some people, popular Web 2.0 services such as the photo sharing website, Flickr, video sharing website YouTube, as well as social networking tools such as Myspace, Bebo and Facebook, are well known and established.”

Pete Ashton comments: “Services like Flickr and YouTube are classic Web 2.0, not simply because they enable anyone to publish their content on-line, but because that content can then be taken outside of those services independently of their creators. In essence, it means that content on the Internet can take on a life of its own, as it is used by people as part of their on-line lives.”

Another popular Web 2.0 tool is the blog, a term derived from ‘web-log’. Blogs can take the form of an on-line diary or journal, or even a platform for news and general comment. The power of blogging is realised through the linkages between blogs and the syndication of blogs around the internet. Blog posts can quickly spread across the Internet, which has led to the rise of so-called ‘social media’, where users create and distribute their own news content.

By the end of the event, Pete Ashton suggests that attendees should be able to: “Put your material on-line in a manner that can take advantage of these phenomena and understand how the conversation that powers Web 2.0 operates.”

Pete has been blogging since 2000. He was a driving force behind the establishment of Birmingham’s ‘Flickr’ photo-sharing community and set up the ‘Created in Birmingham’ blog, which recently won a Media Guardian award for ‘innovation in an independent blog’. Co-presenter, Stef Lewandowski, is both the founder and Managing Director of the creative agency 3form and a co-founder of the Birmingham-based creative industries organisation, Creative Republic. Stef has recently received one of the internationally-recognised ‘Webby Awards’ for excellence on the Internet.

Dave Taylor says: “Both Pete and Stef attended the world-famous ‘South by South West Interactive’ new media conference in Austin, USA, this Spring, so the event promises to inspire attendees with some of the very latest ideas.”

Anyone interested in attending should contact Creative Networks Co-ordinator, Scarlet Scardanelli, on 0121 331 5400 or e-mail creative.networks@tic.ac.uk.

Further reading:

What Is Web 2.0?
Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software
http://www.oreilly.de/artikel/web20.html

The who, what, and why of Where 2.0
http://news.cnet.com/The-who%2C-what%2C-and-why-of-Where-2.0/2009-1032_3-6239471.html?tag=item

Transparency and Making Choices
http://blogs.sun.com/jonathan/

Web 2.0 debates internet’s future
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7368387.stm

Luminaries look to the future web
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7373717.stm

The World Wide Web turns 15 (again)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7375703.stm

A ‘more revolutionary’ Web
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/05/23/business/web.php

Webby Awards
http://www.webbyawards.com/

Media Guardian Awards
http://megas.guardianprofessional.co.uk/winners-independent-blog.aspx

I unfortunately missed this months Create Networks and Birmingham Music Network meeting due to having to complete my dissertation for my degree.

They keynote this month was from Soweto Kinch, I wish I hadn’t missed it, sounded very good.

My good friend Andy Derrick and Bobbie have covered the story in their blogs.

Thursday 27^th March 2008 12.00pm – 10.00pm
Birmingham City University Technology Innovation Centre

Creative Networks is the leading monthly networking forum for creative companies in the West Midlands. Sponsored by the Learning and Skills Council and Advantage West Midlands, the second annual Creative Industries Convention will expand their usual programme of networking and guest speakers, with an opportunity to meet the wider support organisations for creatives in the region.

The evening will include guest speaker: Tony Garnett – Living the Dream or Making it Happen from 7.20pm – 8.20pm who will provide a mix of practical advice, based upon his own experiences, in addition to exploring topical issues such as ‘Cinema versus TV’ and the effectiveness of today’s new media applications.

Visit creativenetworksonline.com for more information or to reserve a place.

Acclaimed English documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield will provide the keynote presentation at this month’s Creative Networks. Nick will explore his wide-ranging experiences, share key learning principles and deliver some valuable tips on succeeding in the film industry.

Famous subjects include Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, rappers Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur, Margaret Thatcher and Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss. Nick recently completed a drama called ‘Ghosts’ for Channel Four, inspired by the 2004 Morecambe Bay cockling disaster.

The event takes place on Thursday 28 February from 6-10pm, Millennium Point, Birmingham. To take part, please email: creative.networks@tic.ac.uk or call on 07969 226 693.

For more information or to register online visit creativenetworksonline.com

A special pre-event screening from 5.00pm – 6.00pm, will also show some of the best work from recent graduates of the Light House City & Guilds Film Production course.