Industry Week 2016

Monday
 

Studio Session with Harleighblu, Rodney P, and Joe Buhdha
Industry Week kicked off good and proper. Rodney P, yes the Rodney P, in the studio, alongside the amazing Harleighblu and Nottingham’s production wizard Joe Buhdha. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a clue about music production, but it was a grand educational experience all the same.

There were around fifteen to twenty Confetti students in the session, and the idea was to create a tune in the workshop between them all, which lasted for most of the day. I could only stay for a couple of hours in the morning, but to see the initial stages of a track being made was really eye opening. Joe Buhdha started the beat off by warping a part of a tune, and got some of the young lads to help out, swapping and changing different aspects of it, like the drums and keys, as the session went on.

While all this was happening, Harleighblu sat writing the initial lyrics and snapping her fingers to catch a melody, and Rodney P tapped away on his phone with a bassy beat of a mumble echoing from his throat. They chatted about crafting words for a tune, and the fact that there are loads of different ways to approach it. As the looped beat morphed away, the poetic pair bounced off each other to create the initial vibe. What everyone created in such a short timeframe was proper, and was eventually molded into a professionally polished piece. Bridie Squires

Tuesday
 

Nusic Academy Workshop
Along with loads of other Nottingham institutions, LeftLion set up a stall in Antenna with our big banners and piles of mags to offer the young musicians of Nottingham a bit of advice when it comes to getting your name out there. That was the first part of the session. Afterwards, there were special guests Kate Holder from BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra, Mike Walsh from Radio X / XFM, and Nicola Beswick from Notts TV.

With questions put to the floor, the panel were asked about their journey and how they’ve ended up doing what they’re doing. Presenter Nicola Beswick from Notts TV said “don’t be defined by your degree. I studied languages and ended up here,” and it was the same case for Kate Holder. Mike Walsh also mentioned that he was a failed bass player, which was a bit of a blessing in disguise for him. When asked about what makes them pick a tune for radio plays, Kate Holder said it’s all about unusual tracks with great musicianship, something combining genres, something that’s never been done before. Most importantly, it has to have a good beat. “The music speaks for itself,” she said.

There was lots of chat about the best ways to approach different organisations, and one of the strongest messages coming through is that you should make it as easy as possible for the person you’re emailing or tweeting to listen to it, and that it should be one track without a huge flowery press release. The image isn’t as important as the music, and you don’t need a plugger if your work is amazing. After listening to everyone chat, I’m definitely gonna keep an eye out for Notts TV’s Unplugged sessions with Nicola and up-and-coming artists from our city. Bridie Squires

Cyriak
“Animation is the most boringest thing in the universe, ever!” - Cyriak

Since the dawn of the internet, the audio-visual industry has changed forever. Some for the better, some definitely worse. Cyriak is one man who, since 2004, has become a pioneer of the internet animation world, creating some of the earliest viral pieces of pixel gold that were passed around millions of people when social media and YouTube were just tiny screeching babies.  After having generated enough interest in his work, it wasn't long before other artists and advertising agencies wanted to get him involved. In 2009 he created a sting for E4, a number of successful YouTube sensations followed like Cows & cows & cows and Kitty City. In 2011 he created a music video for Bloc Party that included visuals from all their other videos uniquely animated to create a terrific mess of shapes and creatures.

What makes Cyriak so unique is not only the bizarre transforming monsters he is capable of bringing to life but the meticulous, painstaking method in which he approaches his work. Drawing clearly from childhood influences like Button Moon and late Monty Python's Terry Gilliam, the process is pretty much a digitalised version of the classic cut and paste style with each movement carefully considered, each object is masked with extreme precision with little or no use of automation or pre-programmed effects.

One of his latest pieces Moo! really shows off Cyriak’s animation mastery, not to mention the self-confessed control freakishness in him who produces all the music for his videos too. Raphael Achache

Wednesday
 

Producing Your Movie with Ned Dowd
Ned opened his talk by telling us how he originally was a professional ice hockey player, but when his sister wrote a screenplay, Slapshot, in 1977, based on his experience in the minor league, he ended up starring in it, being an official stunt coordinator, and a technical advisor. Helping on this film gave Ned the bug for being involved with film and he soon became an assistant director, then a line producer, and has now been in the film business for the last forty years.

He showed us clips from two of his films, The Last of the Mohicans and Apocalypto, explaining the method behind the different shots and mechanical techniques used. He spoke about the logistics behind such big scale films, such as how for Apocalypto they needed over 150 hair and makeup people to work on all the extras each day, and that each actor or extra when they arrived on set would go through tattooing, scarification, hair and makeup before filming started. The main characters would each be in makeup for at least four hours.

Ned explained how the pre-production period is often the most important stage. He implied to the young film makers in the audience that the production designer is often the creative catalyst for the look of the film, and can therefore sometimes make or break the film. He suggested that when starting out, getting a good set decorator to design your production can also work. Another key important factor when creating a film is the core equity that you have, in terms of hard cash, and to never forget how much you can or can’t afford. Ned said that opportunities are always around the corner, so to “keep your eyes and ears open at all times” but that the most essential part of film making is “coming up with a plan and sticking to it”. Lara Agland

Moog Werkstatt – Instrument Build with Finlay Shakespeare
The Werkstatt workshop started off with a brief history of the device. The company started off when Robert Moog first established the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled analog synthesizer systems in the late fifties. It went on to be used by many musicians including; Herbie Hancock, Hans Zimmer, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.

The Werkstatt is a monophonic instrument which was created to be an educational tool to help people understand synthesizers as well as being an instrument. These days it is still being used by the likes of Daft Punk, Alicia Keys and Pharrell Williams. The Minimoog was created in 1970 and was the first product to solidify the synthesizer's popular image as a "keyboard" instrument. It is an instrument that is also extensively used within music for horror and thriller films, examples being in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange and The Shinning.

The workshop was an opportunity to assemble your own Werkstatt in an environment where help is at hand. Once the device has been made, you’re given the chance to have a play around with your instrument. The device is modular in terms of you being able to attach a keyboard or use it to emulate guitar sounds. Their factory is in North Carolina where each device is lovingly handcrafted. Upon a tour around the factory you will be given the unique opportunity of playing every Moog instrument in production. Lara Agland

Mi.mu Gloves
“The future is here… kind of.” Is how Kellie Snook, a technological intellect and creator of MiMu gloves, opens her talk at Confetti. It is hard to disagree when you’re faced with a woman pulling sounds out of thin air with a pair of electronic gloves.

She explains that they were created alongside musician Imogen Heap, who was the main drive behind them. Imogen wanted a way to create electronic music effects on stage without being bound to a stationary machine, so the gloves were designed to reduce limits in creation and performance by making the hardware wireless, compact and portable. The gloves work by detecting different hand gestures and arm movements that enable you to create vocal harmonies, add reverb, record and loop sounds, change keys, play drums and synths and so forth. The whole thing is linked to a computer that receives and sends signals wirelessly using vibrations and lights to signal when a specific setting is enabled, or disabled. It’s pretty impressive to say the least.

The gloves were showcased at Confetti last year, when Dutch artist Chagall came in to perform with them. “For the technology to be at a level where art is made possible, it’s really exciting for us,” says Kellie. The gloves are not just bound to stage performance though, artists like Daniel Mulhern use the gloves to make music in studio by augmenting existing instruments to create new sounds and textures that’d otherwise be impossible.

As she talked us through the extensive software capabilities she told us “We wanted it to feel like an extension of yourself, or of your creativity”. Could this technology change the way we make music in the future? Since they’re in the process of creating a cheaper and more accessible version of the existing gloves, it doesn’t seem that farfetched to me. Ruby Butcher

Friday
 

Sheep Soup Acting Workshop with Ben Welch and Nic Harvey
Graduates of the Television Workshop, homegrown theatre company Sheep Soup have had success with their self-written musical productions of both Mrs Green and The Leftovers, performing at the Nottingham Playhouse, Leicester Curve, and the Park Theatre in London. Led by Television Workshop director and creative director of Sheep Soup, Nic Harvey and general manager Ben Welch, the acting workshop was filled with the Level 3 Acting and Film Production students through a proper mental session, complete with the most bonkers games to get the group used to making a fool of ‘emselves. “The whole point of acting is to make yourself look like a twat”, says Ben, and the group takes note, with their freeze frames in a game called Buzzy Bees becoming increasingly wackier.

Next up, arguing by numbers. Entering the centre of the circle in twos, the kids were only allowed to use the numbers 1-20 to construct a believable argument. “It ain’t what you say, it’s the way that you say it,” says Nic, and it’s apparent that the point of this game is to prevent actors becoming obsessed with focusing solely on themselves and their own lines. “Everything is working against you, and you have to create something natural and realistic – remind yourself why a line is being said. What are you trying to do? Stop thinking ‘I’m gonna say this line this way’. Look, listen and respond.”

When asked why Industry Week is beneficial to students who want to get on in the creative industry, and more specifically, the world of acting, Nic was keen to let everyone know that collaboration is the way forward. “There’s not one clear path in this industry – everyone is making stuff in different ways, so it’s good to see how very different creative people are doing things. It allows you to start conversations with people who are a step up.” Lucy Manning

Make Your Own Shaun The Sheep with Jim Parkyn
Stop motion animation is by far one of the most ancient and widely used platforms of storytelling to exist in the last three centuries. From the victorian Thaumatrope to Jason and the Argonauts, to Wallace and Gromit and everything in between, this art form oozes nostalgia for every generation.

I went down to Confetti to hear some words of advice from a true master from Aardman studios, the makers of Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run, Curse of the Ware Rabbit, Pirates in an Adventure with Scientists, Creature Comforts, and a million other things. Jim Parkyn has been working at Aardman studios since Chicken Run, he really knows his shit. As a senior Model maker or “Señor Model Maker” depending on where you're from, Mr Parkyn is a dab hand at putting together designs for new characters, set design and might be best known for his work on Shaun the Sheep.

Jim’s insight goes beyond his technical understanding. As Aardman’s ambassador, he travels the world running workshops and classes. He really puts across the need for Aardman’s characters to be relatable and lovable. After having broken down for us the ins and outs of the creation process for an episode of Shaun the Sheep; to everyone's delight, the Plasticine came out. And we all had a craic at making our own little sheepses.

If there’s anything I’d like to pass on from the man, it’s that stop motion is accessible to literally anyone. Even if you're crap at model making, get some toys from Pahndland and download an app. Get on it, I know I am! Raphael Achache

Industry Week took place Monday 7 - Friday 11 March

Confetti website