Katherine Jewkes gets techincal about live streaming.

It was another busy day at the Digital Producers Wales, Lab here in the Pervasive Media Studio. With a full schedule of eminent speakers and a creative task to be getting on with, the participants had their work cut out.

Professor Ian Hargreaves started by saying that we need to change the way we think about the creative economy. This means getting serious about data and evidencing. Ian proposed a way of looking at the British economy, taking jobs that are directed connected to creative industries and then digging deeper to find creatives embedded in other industries. This research revealed that 2.5 million people are employed by the creative industries or in a creative capacity. This makes the UK’s creative economy a larger employer than either finance or construction.

Given that the UK is the biggest user of mobile data, 3^rd in the world market for film and games and 4^th for TV content, the clout of the UK’s creative economy is not surprising and understanding this fosters empowerment for producers.  Amongst the recommendations that Ian made were tax relief for creative research and development, copyright that is easier to understand and more affordable, DCMS models that draw on the AHRC’s Cultural Value Project. These area offer further learning for those that want to engage with them.

Next up was the meaty issue of intellectual property.  Juliet Bradshaw and Kiera Dales, from TLT Solicitors, gave us a run through of the trepidatious world of copyright, patents, trademarks, design rights and the various types of infringements you could find yourself accused of.  Did you know you could trademark a smell? I didn’t.

Tom Rack from No Fit State made some good points about the quality of user generated video content – bad amateur video can detract from the image of a brand. TLT were very candid about the need to weigh up legal action against the possible bad publicity. The fact remains that if your aim is to make fantastic live experiences than looking out into an audience awash with people watching through their phone can be frustrating. However it is difficult and problematic to police this. Producers need to be aware of the dangers of being prescriptive about the way to experience a production but they also protect it at the same time. It is a challenging line to walk and one that calls on the skills that Kate Tyndall discussed yesterday.

Jo Reid, from Calvium, discussed experience design and user testing drawing on case studies, which included her work with Historic Royal Palaces. This covered the process of testing an app’s interface and ease of navigation but also picking up on where it might drag and listening to more general feedback in order to iterate and refine. Jo also shared her knowledge on using GPS. She said it was best to think in twenty metre areas but that success would also depend on the time of day and the environment. Some very useful tips considering that the group’s creative task involves GPS.

Stephen Wilson led the group through ways to feedback on projects. This focused on developing emotional intelligence and the importance of offering feedback that is generative. Stephen used his own experience as a coach to high-level management to point out some key issues to be aware of when developing talent. These included: managing boundaries, listening and showing respect, and asking good questions. Through combining these traits our producers learnt approaches to moving projects past obstacles.

Katherine Jewkes began by talking about her role as Digital Associate for National Theatre Wales. She introduced the three main ways she  thinks about involving digital elements in productions. First, was using digital to augment a show. This would wrap around the core product and enhance the live experience. Second was dissemination, so the way in which the show is delivered. Live streaming is a particular example of this. Lastly was embedded digital technology, which might include projection or interactive design elements within the show itself.  The group were then given some fantasy projects and asked to design digital strategies that engaged with these three principles.

Katherine then reflected on her experience of delivering the livestream for National Theatre Wales’ The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning. The learning around this included designing camera scripts, testing and looking outside the sector to industries where live streaming is used regularly for inspiration and help. Katherine also stressed the need for archival processes. When working with new technologies, recording for posterity allows productions to be repeated with greater ease.

Tomorrow sees us getting to grips with messy projects and asking ‘what we can learn when things go wrong?’ Keep up to date on the day’s developments using our twitter hashtag #digiproducers or take a look at our Storify