man, I've had so many moments like those! It's taken me quite some time to have the courage to lead with "documentary photographer/writer", when someone asks what I do. I don't make a full time living from it, so it feels disingenuous, but it shouldn't? Sometimes I'll refer to my day job in tech as my "side hustle" which gets some laughs. Anyway, I like the formula there and def something I'll be using. Thanks for sharing!
Establishing statement: We are collaborative artists by day (insta @Jason&BeckyArtists) and modular synthesizers by night (insta @Movement.81).
Specific details: We transform spaces into immersive interactive environments using bodies, projection-mapping/AV or a mix of both.
What’s novel: One of our earliest works had a budget of £10, so we created a disco in a Welsh Phonebox. Our latest work involved a video game projection with live adult avatars choreographed by kids with XBox controllers!
Nice idea Yancey, it was good for us to reflect on how to succinctly communicate our practice while avoiding being very boring. We recently introduced ourselves as PhD researchers at an arts consultancy meeting and realised immediately we’d lost the room - people need something to connect with or relate to and the words PhD research aren’t usually a good conversation starter 😂
This was brilliant - thank you Yancey - I've been playing with language like this for musicto for years but this really helped. Will be sharing this with the community today :-)
Establishing Statement: I'm working on a project called musicto - it's a global community where people connect through music
Specific Details: We have people from different cultures, nations and generations all collaborating together to create playlists. So far we've had people in 37 different countries and have published over 500 playlists - many have crazy titles and often come with write ups that share the curators reasoning behind their track selection. This has turned out to be a really great way for members to get to know each other.
What’s Novel: I just made a collaborative playlist with members from Zimbabwe and the Philippines - we only contributed tracks from our home countries and it was an amazing experience - I got to listen to music I would never have heard but more so - I got to connect with and get to know people from a different country and culture - it was awesome!
It might be a little long but it's waaaay better than saying - "Errr I make playlists with people" ;-p
I often struggle between too much and too little info when describing my own projects.
Here's my take on a shorter description on Musicto, following Yancey's formula:
Establishing: Musicto is a social network built around playlists.
Specific: People make new friends and share who they are by creating playlists together.
Novel: Since music is a global language, we often see surprising collaborations like a recent playlist I created with people from Zimbabwe and the Philippines.
Heh! Thank you Taylor - I love the remix :-) will be taking it out for a spin over the coming days / weeks.
We've gone back and forth on using "social network" as language as it comes with lots of associations that we don't necessarily jibe with but I really appreciate your perspective.
I'll share it with the community and see what they think.
Not a big party goer, but I think these methods are helpful when new people in any other setting as well. I used to be quite vague when talking about my interests, but now I'm trying to open up and give much more details. For example, I often talk about how I'm inspired by cinema and how I aim to create atmospheric pieces with a distinct mood instead of just saying I like writing short stories. That said, the conversation's dynamic depends on the listener as well. I've noticed that it's challenging for me to engage when someone has a lot of preconceived notions and beliefs about my chosen type of art. For example, if someone assumes that, as a writer, I only write about relationships or have specific interests. While sometimes it's possible to turn this around and create an intriguing conversation, other times it remains awkward, and that's okay too.
I’m a experiential creative and technologist. I create physical and digital experiences for brands that create memories using multisensory techniques and technologies. My favourite project was ideating and pitching a concept for a water show in the DFW area, with a close second being creating an immersive theater retail space for a smart home brand.
I'm a fashion designer and a teacher. I'm working on new ways to reuse existing clothing and textiles. We started hosting open studios so kids and adults in town can learn these methods for their wardrobes too.
Thank you for this story and prompt! Super useful. I usually just rush and tell people I'm a teacher and it quickly becomes a conversation about money and not enough pay/stability.. ☠️ leaving out all the positive strides we've been making to reduce fashion waste / natural resource depletion and promote creative expression 🧑🔬
man, I've had so many moments like those! It's taken me quite some time to have the courage to lead with "documentary photographer/writer", when someone asks what I do. I don't make a full time living from it, so it feels disingenuous, but it shouldn't? Sometimes I'll refer to my day job in tech as my "side hustle" which gets some laughs. Anyway, I like the formula there and def something I'll be using. Thanks for sharing!
There’s also the matter of connecting on a level that the person can relate to and understand in *their* context.
I present myself in the way the person I’m meeting might better understand me and won’t alienate them, but hopefully deepen the conversation.
I love the idea that there’s a formula for it, I’m just not sure there is - it’s an intuition thing.
Finding the right level to connect is definitely another dimension to it
Establishing statement: We are collaborative artists by day (insta @Jason&BeckyArtists) and modular synthesizers by night (insta @Movement.81).
Specific details: We transform spaces into immersive interactive environments using bodies, projection-mapping/AV or a mix of both.
What’s novel: One of our earliest works had a budget of £10, so we created a disco in a Welsh Phonebox. Our latest work involved a video game projection with live adult avatars choreographed by kids with XBox controllers!
Nice idea Yancey, it was good for us to reflect on how to succinctly communicate our practice while avoiding being very boring. We recently introduced ourselves as PhD researchers at an arts consultancy meeting and realised immediately we’d lost the room - people need something to connect with or relate to and the words PhD research aren’t usually a good conversation starter 😂
Love this!
This was brilliant - thank you Yancey - I've been playing with language like this for musicto for years but this really helped. Will be sharing this with the community today :-)
Establishing Statement: I'm working on a project called musicto - it's a global community where people connect through music
Specific Details: We have people from different cultures, nations and generations all collaborating together to create playlists. So far we've had people in 37 different countries and have published over 500 playlists - many have crazy titles and often come with write ups that share the curators reasoning behind their track selection. This has turned out to be a really great way for members to get to know each other.
What’s Novel: I just made a collaborative playlist with members from Zimbabwe and the Philippines - we only contributed tracks from our home countries and it was an amazing experience - I got to listen to music I would never have heard but more so - I got to connect with and get to know people from a different country and culture - it was awesome!
It might be a little long but it's waaaay better than saying - "Errr I make playlists with people" ;-p
Thank you!
I often struggle between too much and too little info when describing my own projects.
Here's my take on a shorter description on Musicto, following Yancey's formula:
Establishing: Musicto is a social network built around playlists.
Specific: People make new friends and share who they are by creating playlists together.
Novel: Since music is a global language, we often see surprising collaborations like a recent playlist I created with people from Zimbabwe and the Philippines.
Fantastic!
Heh! Thank you Taylor - I love the remix :-) will be taking it out for a spin over the coming days / weeks.
We've gone back and forth on using "social network" as language as it comes with lots of associations that we don't necessarily jibe with but I really appreciate your perspective.
I'll share it with the community and see what they think.
DOT / musicto collab? :-)
This distribution guide from seed & spark / Kinema is a gem!
this is brilliant!
I hadn't realised I just did some of this tonight in a conversation and failed to do it in others.
Thanks for sharing this Yancey!
Not a big party goer, but I think these methods are helpful when new people in any other setting as well. I used to be quite vague when talking about my interests, but now I'm trying to open up and give much more details. For example, I often talk about how I'm inspired by cinema and how I aim to create atmospheric pieces with a distinct mood instead of just saying I like writing short stories. That said, the conversation's dynamic depends on the listener as well. I've noticed that it's challenging for me to engage when someone has a lot of preconceived notions and beliefs about my chosen type of art. For example, if someone assumes that, as a writer, I only write about relationships or have specific interests. While sometimes it's possible to turn this around and create an intriguing conversation, other times it remains awkward, and that's okay too.
Love this, so helpful! I have a unique title that isn’t as ubiquitous as other job titles, so I’m looking forward to putting this into practice 🙌🏼
Glad to hear it. We love unique titles. Want to try it here with us?
Sure, I can give it a try!
I’m a experiential creative and technologist. I create physical and digital experiences for brands that create memories using multisensory techniques and technologies. My favourite project was ideating and pitching a concept for a water show in the DFW area, with a close second being creating an immersive theater retail space for a smart home brand.
Wow Angelica. Your work sounds so cool
I'm a fashion designer and a teacher. I'm working on new ways to reuse existing clothing and textiles. We started hosting open studios so kids and adults in town can learn these methods for their wardrobes too.
Thank you for this story and prompt! Super useful. I usually just rush and tell people I'm a teacher and it quickly becomes a conversation about money and not enough pay/stability.. ☠️ leaving out all the positive strides we've been making to reduce fashion waste / natural resource depletion and promote creative expression 🧑🔬