Module 1 - Task 1b: Professional Communication Technologies

Since starting the course, I have been engaging with social platforms that, beside Blogger, I deal with on a regular day to day basis. Whether it be viewing an embedded YouTube video, an image uploaded via Flickr created by a fellow student or even a link posted to a third party source, these are common practice for today’s users of information technologies. The aforementioned and various other examples are all products of a concept outlined by the first Reader of this module as ‘Web 2.0’

 

“The bursting of the dot-com bubble in the fall of 2001 marked a turning point for the web.” – O’Reilly, T. (2006) ‘What Is Web 2.0: Design Patterns And Business Models For The Next Generation Of Software’ Page 1.

Tim O’Reilly (often credited as the Father for establishing the notion behind Web 2.0) suggests in the quoted article that the concept of one way communication, or Web 1.0 as it was prior known, has diminished and is no longer the only option available for today’s modern society. An act such as sending a letter or receiving news from a television broadcaster was the only means for a creator and reader to share in information with each other. With Web 2.0 functionality, however, this is not the case. News that would formerly be shared via television, newspaper or radio allowed none or limited interactivity between the host and its audience. Meanwhile, news published via website can be viewed, shared and commented on by readers all within the same frame of each other, in this case a webpage. This relatively new functionality allows for the reader to take a much more active rather than passive role in how information is consumed. The barrier is reduced and suddenly the reader find themselves the creator. Participation within the idea of Web 2.0 not only moves past one way communication but allows for integration between an infinite number of bodies, many examples of which I am going to cover below.

Today, networking within the performing arts industry has never been easier. Whilst viewing other student entries on this particular task, I found Danielle Austen’s blog particularly valuable. She speaks on her experience of starting out in the industry and how her only way of finding out about auditions was by purchasing a copy of the weekly newspaper ‘The Stage’. She also mentions that in order for casting directors or agents to see her work, she would need to send in a video tape or DVD. This is a process that could take a week to reach the recipient as well as however long for them to view and respond to it. This was the only method available to performers prior to tools such as Spotlight, Casting Call Pro and various other online directories being implemented. I have linked her blog post below:

http://danniausten.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/task-1b-what-is-web-20.html

I have been lucky to graduate in a time where the industry has fully embraced Web 2.0 features. Before leaving college I, along with my other peers, had been published in the Spotlight performer directory. The page I would have been featured on in the book would contain my headshot as well as my CV. The physical Spotlight directory has been published annually for many years now but its online features have only been active in recent times. This isn’t to say that previous outlets have been disregarded. The Stage is also still available physically and the act of sending a cover letter, curriculum vitae and headshot to a casting director or agent by post is still often regarded as the best mode of initial contact. Web 2.0 has simply expanded the scope of a performer’s reach in the industry. My personal online Spotlight profile, for example, not only includes the former listed but also additional head shots and moving image content such as my acting and musical theatre showreels. I hadn’t considered prior to tackling task 1a that in fact everything a potential employer could need from me is included located in one place. Of course, when I have written in the past to agencies and casting directors I have known this but when emailing said bodies you are normally requested to attach a jpeg file of your headshot and CV when really all they would need was my spotlight view pin. Everything that could be offered from my attachments could be accessed and more so in one click of a button.

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr could arguably be given credit for its involuntary involvement in shaping how information in the performing arts industry is shared. When Facebook (or ‘Thefacebook’ as it was formerly known) launched in 2004, it was designed as an exclusive student directory for Mark Zuckerberg’s (co-founder of Facebook) peers at Harvard University to share photos and basic information with each other. Within the first month of its launch, it had attracted over half the undergraduates before the site expanded to other local universities, then to others across the United States and Canada. By September 2006, the site was available to everyone worldwide. Today, Facebook has over one billion users. This short history is important in our evaluation as to how professional practice within the performing arts sector has changed. Facebook is just an example but sites such as the aforementioned Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube and various others have enjoyed the same success since the mid-noughties. Because of the vast number of users, information can be exchanged at incredible speed. This is helpful for an industry such as the performing arts, one that operates quickly alone without the use of such technology! An audition, for example, can be brought to a performer’s attention just days before its taking place. It is, of course, expected of a performer to be prepared should they choose to attend. Having resources such as online posts for auditions, embedded tweets from agency and casting director’s websites available make for cheap and easy access in keeping informed. This ever increasing influx of social and professional platforms means improved versatility but, at the same time, much more competitiveness in an already over-saturated market.

I spoke previously about my Spotlight profile as a means for viewers to access my professional credentials. An online profile such as this or indeed any other page containing information produced by a user (including this blog) is subject to a term Reader One calls ‘remixable data and transformations’.

“A traditional (and for our present purposes, necessarily simplified) model of production would see the producer as an individual or organization which transforms raw materials into a finished product according to an existing blueprint, recipe, or other model. The assembled product is complete and finished and ideally represents the best outcome possible given the producer’s current knowledge and skills… However, it is immediately evident that this model no longer applies in produsage environments. Here, the outcomes of the produsage process are no longer discrete product versions, but rather rapidly evolving revisions of existing content, released for public view and further update immediately upon revision.” – Bruns, A. (2007) ‘Produsage: Towards a Broader Framework for User-Led Content Creation’ Page 3.

The sizeable quotes above demonstrate Bruns’ idea as to how the relationship between producer and consumer has evolved with the presence of Web 2.0 platforms. In the article between these two quotes, Bruns mentions that products such as music CD’s are produced and put before the consumer before the latter have had a chance to form an opinion. Whatever that opinion of the product, it cannot change the product itself. However, Web 2.0 technology gives birth to the notion that Bruns refers to as ‘produsage’, the idea that a producer and consumer work in tandem to create improvements and that a product is never finished. This is a concept that I can relate to heavily within my professional practice. As a performer working on stage, your work output constantly changes. That objective within an acting scene, the voice or movement quality utilised in singing and dance respectively. Until that first audience sits to watch your performance, the performer has complete reign to experiment and discover how best to inform their performance. The beauty of theatre as opposed to a filmed performance is that even after the first showing is over, the director and cast can gauge the audience’s opinion on the work and use this critique to help improve and inform future performances. In relation to using Web 2.0, I have on occasion sent a CV to a casting director to receive constructive criticism in return on how to improve said item e.g. the inclusion of my Spotlight pin. This would seem like a fairly obvious and vital piece of information to include for marketing myself. Even after graduating it would take time for my naivety about the industry’s use of Web 2.0 to pass and realise how heavily the industry invests and relies on it.

“Teachers are probably the most vulnerable group in danger from violations of boundary crossing between one’s personal and professional lives” – Kuehn, L. (2010) ‘Getting into Trouble on Facebook’ Page 86.

Naturally, with all its feats there are inevitably some disadvantages. In my first year of training at college, I worked weekends as an assisting drama tutor at a local stage school. Anyone who has worked in a pastoral role around children will know that it is required to have a Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as a Criminal Records Bureau) check. I remember my employer sitting me down to discuss the process of applying to then turn to my online presence. At the time, my only experience with social media platforms had been MySpace and Facebook, the latter of which I had only used for a little over a year. I was not a frequent user of the site, as is the same now. I was unsure as to how my online profiles would come into play when teaching children. These sites had yet to be developed for mobile use in the form of apps and smartphones were still a luxury, unlike today. This meant that children were unlikely to be in possession of such technology and that only their parents would be capable of accessing such data. It then dawned on me before my employer had to mention that this was exactly the reason for me to monitor my activities, because of the parents. It is natural curiosity for a parent to want to know and be concerned for who their child is spending time with in their absence. Features on Facebook such as the ‘tagging’ of photos mean that a friend can post a photo I feature in to my profile and the same photo will automatically be shared to everyone else I am connected to on the site. It can be imagined how this puts me in a position of risk should a parent choose to search my profiles. There is, of course, certain precautions I can take to ensure that the content on my profile is controlled but I think it crucially comes down to a more immediate thought; do I want my content to impact my reputation as a professional? ‘Netiquette’ is the term outlined in Reader One, how the professional perceives and composes themselves and what ethical considerations need to be taken on such an open and public forum.

To end, I believe Web 2.0 ultimately serves for a more positive purpose than negative. Resources are readily available to the user should they choose to search for it and, whilst not always reliable, will place them in a better stead than previously. The act of trying shows promise, a thirst for knowledge. This search could potentially teach more than what the user initially set out to look for. A casting director, for example, perusing a performer’s Spotlight profile to find a showreel that convinces them this performer is right for the starring role of their new play being produced, or the anxious parent, comforted by the fact that all relevant information regarding their child’s teacher can be found online. It is in some ways a frightening but all the while reassuring prospect. The concept will only continue to grow and I can only imagine that users will continue to welcome and be open to whatever new modes of interactivity as they are developed.

Module 1 - Task 1a: A reflection on the CV re-written as a professional blog profile

Before posting my previous and introductory blog (A Journey Begins…) I jumped straight in with tackling the first part of task 1a as part of my initial setup, turning my professional curriculum vitae into a blog profile. Before signing up for my blog, I had a very clear vision in mind as to how I was going to structure my profile after reading the overview of tasks for part 1 of this particular module as found in the Module One Handbook. In the handbook, the overview for task 1a states:

“You should take your current professional CV and rewrite as a profile improving on its quality and upload this as your profile.”

I took this direction very much on face value and began constructing my profile, including my credits and chronicling them in a regimented list form fashion. I had decided I wanted to use my last few sentences to discuss the course. I took a bit of time to really think about what to include in these closing sentences. Most of my profile up to this point was a very dry, straight up attempt to convert my CV to a profile, save for an informal ‘Hi’ to open with. I wanted the last few sentences to present a bit of personality and capture my excitement for starting. I was very pleased with the outcome. I felt I had highlighted the most important areas of my CV whilst detailing some personal ambitions for the future, all before signing off on an opinion about beginning work on the course. I dragged my browser cursor happily over to the ‘publish’ hyperlink and clicked to confirm to be brought back to the top of the same page... “What’s this? Has my browser timed out? Please don’t say my text passage has been deleted and I have to start again, I haven’t backed it up!”

It’s probably important to mention at this point that I am writing my blogs via ‘Microsoft Word’ and saving them as documents before transferring them to the ‘E Blogger’ space for editing. I feel safer knowing I have a back-up if need be. To continue, I manically scroll down my browser page to check whether my work had been wiped to find it intact but, of course, with a caption stating that the text entered can contain no more than 1,200 characters with spaces. This is perhaps one of the first technical hurdles as outlined by the module handbook, writing in a lucid and fluid manner whilst meeting the demands of social media technology. I was a little disheartened to have to begin the arduous process of cutting and editing out text in my profile, text I felt vital in giving readers a concrete sense of myself. It is hard to edit and condense efforts that you have spent time labouring over. However, like the performer’s practice, if a technique fails to work you try something else in an attempt to correct it. I began the process of cutting and re-phrasing sections of the text. But what would I choose to keep and, in turn, remove? I believed I had fully engaged and committed to delivering a profile that truly represented me to be told (look at me, personifying the internet) I needed to take away from that?

After much deliberating I decided that the task’s main outline, as quoted above, was the most important aspect to focus on. I cut a few sentences expressing my anticipation to begin the course as I knew I would be covering this in my first blog post. I also, painstakingly, removed all inverted commas around named characters I have played in various productions. I am a known grammar freak, so it tore me up to have to remove punctuation for the sake of a few word characters. My immediate thoughts after doing so were what other people viewing my blog would perceive of me, an inability to comprehend an understanding for punctuation. I can only presume, and hope, that viewers will forgive these apparent mishaps as limitations of the web-based tool. Admittedly, most computer users will be aware that certain characters cannot be processed as they are not recognised as HTML codes by certain programs. That is about as much technical jargon as I am going to divulge before I embarrass myself by stating something wrong!

In the time between posting this and my first, I have had a chance to peruse a few other students’ blogs. I was unsure as to how much writing would be required of me and which method would serve me best in presenting my work. I found a good example in Eleanor Claire Urwin’s blog. She has taken a lot of time to put real detail and thought into her blog entries and seems to be tackling the individual tasks in one go at a time. Others have opted to spread the one task across a few blog posts. I suppose it depends on how we as individuals prefer to record our work. I’m unsure as to whether Eleanor’s blogs are a conscious product of the aforementioned method, but it falls in line with how I best work. I plan to keep a journal to record notes or ideas for potential new blogs or critical reflections, but the bulk of my work will probably be done in one go. I tend to fall into more of a creative flow after sitting with a task for a while. As well as browsing various student blogs, I have also been looking at Paula and Adesola’s. Both raise and share similar ideas that I know will continue to support and inspire whilst progressing on the course. I came across an embedded URL for a YouTube video, ‘Kathryn Schulz: On being wrong’, linked by Adesola that I found a particularly worthwhile watch. It is advice that I heard quite often during my time training as a performer. I have linked her blog post ‘Being Confused’ below:

http://adesolaa.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/being%20confused

As a performer I am often being told to take risks in my creative choices and to not be scared of failing, throwing what doesn’t work away and trying something else. Once failure can be accepted, it allows for a much bigger release of creative energy and opens the mind to all sorts of possibilities. Upon watching the video, I began to see how this could apply to the progression of my blog. The presentation of each task is open to my interpretation and I can choose to follow them how I will. This is extremely comforting for someone like myself, unsure as to whether I am actually following the course criteria in the correct manner!

I am still in the middle of setting up my blog. I realise the layout needs to be customised to better reflect myself but to also increase my connectivity with others on the course. I will be looking at and learning the advantages of Google Blogger along with the tools it offers to create a deeper sense of interactivity between myself and other users before moving onto the next task. I will also be taking a closer look at Reader One for this module as I will need to begin including theories from practitioners mentioned and exploring social media and their relation to my own professional practice. I mentioned earlier about tackling tasks in wholesome bites. This is not, however, to say I will not be returning to them for editing if I feel they can be improved upon later. If anyone has any advice or constructive criticism they feel could benefit my posts, please feel free to let me know by commenting below.

Module 1 - Task 1a: Professional Profile

Below you can find my completed curriculum vitae written and presented for my blog profile:

‘Hi, my name is Tom Hullyer. I graduated from The Urdang Academy in 2012 after gaining a diploma in Professional Musical Theatre. At college, I played several in house musical roles including Benoit in Martin Guerre, Amos Hart in Chicago, The Wiz in The Wiz and Charley Kringas in Merrily We Roll Along. Since graduating, I have worked across several performance mediums. These include a local fringe production of the musical Half a Sixpence playing the lead, Arthur Kipps. I have also experienced film, working on a couple of shorts called I'd Do Anything and Angel Blue. Feature film and television work include supporting roles for The Theory of Everything, Mr. Selfridge and most notably a small featured role for Suffragette. I am eager to convert my diploma into a full degree so that I may later pursue teaching, acting in particular. I am looking forward to starting Middlesex's BAPP programme, one that offers the opportunity to extend my knowledge and capabilities within my field of work. I expect my current methods of practice to be tested against ones found on this course and, as a result, be provoked by new avenues of thought to develop fresh approaches and build upon existing ones.’

For my everyday professional life, I have two CV’s within my keeping. The first I use on a regular basis which directly relates to my profession as a performer. Whether it be writing for an agent’s attention or sending it off to a casting director requesting and responding to an audition, this is the one I most often find spending my time over:

I am very pleased with the general result of my personal professional performer CV although I am aware of its limitations to present all of my available credits. Some of these limitations enforced by myself to keep all information to one page. Others are by constraints of the programme interface, in this case Microsoft Word. This is a major advantage of being a member of the performer directory known as ‘Spotlight’. As well as being published physically per annual year, the directory offers an online service for performers and casting directors alike for viewing performer CV’s in one place. The website’s CV editing tools don’t allow for customisation with regards to the layout of a CV. All sections are displayed in a fixed position and the layout will remain the same for each user e.g. headshot, followed by production credits, to be followed by skills and personal information, etc. While the website allows me to upload all credits due to the limitless space of a webpage, I feel personality and individuality are lost in the process. My CV will display the same template as everyone else signed to the directory. It is hard enough to be shortlisted for auditions and castings when my height, hair and eye colour, voice type can be put alongside dozens of other candidates with exactly the same features as described on my CV. I don’t want to make it any harder for myself with a bland layout for viewers to simply skim over. While I value my membership with Spotlight and continue to update it as and when it needs to be, I try to direct my former CV mentioned towards people’s attention when I can. This is not out of a sense of pride after spending hours laboriously crafting it (I did but that’s beside the point), but because I feel this version better represents me as a performer and individual. Please follow the link below for a look at my Spotlight profile.

http://www.spotlight.com/2613-5616-5534

The third and final CV is my most general yet underused. In comparison to my performer CV, this one does not see a lot of use. However, like the others, I respect its importance and continue to make improvements when appropriate. This particular CV comes into its own for everything outside of my professional performance activities, such as applying for a job in retail or an educational establishment. Despite being my oldest and first attempt at creating one, I am happy with its outcome. I have not needed to edit too much over the years, save for a couple of new qualifications.

 

Both CV’s have their own attributes and work for separate purposes. Various performer CV’s may vary in terms of their template but the information contained highlight similar feats i.e. establishment of training, production credits, personal skills, etc. I perceive my professional performer CV to have a simplistic yet bold design, created to accentuate particular areas of interest as aforementioned. A casting director will often have precious, little time to glance at this information so it is crucial that the correct information be displayed but also give a sense of self. The Spotlight CV will, for the most part, follow a similar vain. My general CV needs to give more a sense of my overall activities and achievements, not specifically from my time as a performer. Sections such as ‘Hobbies & Interests’ allow to show a flare of personality, something that the former CV does not cater for. The same cannot be said for the style of presentation, however. Due to the necessity to include all awarded qualifications, places of work, references for contacts, this leaves little room for experimentation with layout. Thankfully, in most cases, this is not a problem when being viewed by potential employers. They will probably be studying your CV in detail before offering you an interview/job position as there is a lot more information to account for than that of the performer’s CV. Ultimately, the CV’s play their parts in helping further prospects within their given fields. It is knowing which would be best utilised for a given situation.

 

 

A Journey Begins...

And so a new venture begins with Middlesex’s BAPP Programme, one that I approach with a measure of nerves and, even more so, excitement. I like to consider myself a fairly competent user of information technologies, an area of which I have always embraced. It is no secret that social media plays a big role in modern society, increasingly now more than ever. It is difficult in this day and age to find someone who is not a user of platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, a combination of the aforementioned and/or various others. I, like many others, choose to use these tools on an everyday basis to fulfil a purpose whether it be professional or for leisure. I have not, however, gone as far as to create and maintain my own personal blog. This probably stems from a personal opinion of mine. The opinion that a tool that is essentially an online journal and often used to document one’s everyday experiences could really be worth anyone else’s attention outside of my own. I am not a public figure of authority nor a major influence to the online community. Much like a diary, a blog entry often contains personal experiences that to me sometimes feel like the user is seeking validation or counsel from an online audience. Please don’t be mistaken, I have nothing against people who like to release and share their experiences in this manner. I understand that it can be liberating for some and I can certainly respect their decision and right to express themselves in this form. I am just of the belief that events of the individual are singular and unique to that person. Readers can draw comparisons and groups may even reach a general consensus on themes discussed by the writer, but the experience can never be replicated by another person in the way it originated for the writer. It is their experience and theirs alone. Maybe these are shallow observations on my part, maybe it shows a lack of confidence and a fear of expressing myself so openly through the medium of the World Wide Web, who knows? For all of you who have stuck with me in reading this far and are thinking “Oh dear, this guy is a bit doom and gloom”, fear not. I am now going to shine some contrast on the matter.

A rather special factor about this course is that the students participating come from a shared and varied background of performance practice. Whether it be as an actor, singer, dancer or a more behind the scenes but equally as important role of a lighting designer, casting director, etc. Each student brings their own experience and aims to communicate their practice for others to follow and draw their own thoughts and inspiration. Now, I know what you’re thinking. “But you said you don’t think experiences can be replicated by others in the same way it originated for the writer?” Yes you’re right, I don’t. However, it is different catering information to a smaller group of like-minded individuals who share a common interest (in our case, the arts) than posting a link to your thousand plus friend list on Facebook. How many truly share and exhibit the same passion for your chosen field of subject in the way you do? This is perhaps, for me, the most exhilarating aspect of the course, one that inspires me to believe that blogging can be worthy of something much more than I previously gave credit for; the opportunity to share and discuss the arts in such an intimate and valued manner as it deserves and the Middlesex BAPP Programme allows. I am excited to share this journey with fellow students on the course. I expect to learn a great deal from their blogs and look forward to following their activities, whatever walk of the arts they may previously/currently be from.

I am surprised by the length of this first blog post, I did not expect it to be as drawn out as it has become. If this outpouring, however, is any indication as to how my blog is to continue I very much look forward to implementing this new tool as part of my weekly routine for the duration of the course. Happy blogging, everyone!