Skype on Module one 21/2/17 and developing idea on Task 1B

Following our first Skype session with Paula I had so much to think about. We discussed a variety of topics regarding social media. It made me think about why I use social media for myself. Did I just set up accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter because everyone else was doing it? As I don't spend a lot of time online I began to think that as a community in some instances we feel obliged to be on these sites because that is the way the world is developing and we don't want to get left behind. I think nowadays young people have a major fear of missing out and not being a part of something. As a generation we can be fueled by how many 'likes' our pictures get on Instagram and how many followers we have on Twitter.
This led me to think more about the Architecture of Participation and how if we don't have the instruments in order to participate then we are unable or unwilling to participate in something. I immediately thought of the older generation in the community today and yes. some have really engaged an interest in new forms on communication online and using social media but I know that the thought of social media among some elderly people is baffling. Not only social media but other businesses now carry out a lot of their services online. For example, boarding passes for a flight, online shopping, online banking. Is this fair and are we leaving behind the older generation who just want to speak to somebody on the phone or go into the bank rather than having to ask someone for help to carry out the task online. We also forget at times that factors such as income and education affect peoples ability to access the web. I for one take going on social media as a given and forget about the cost. However, developing countries are so far behind countries like America and the UK because of these two factors.
The Skype conversation then went onto the topic of how Web 2.0 is continually improving and can almost predict our searches. The thought of this amazed me and I feel like the web is now almost a step ahead of us.
After reading the article by Tim O' Reilly on "What is Web 2.0" I thought about how powerful Web 2.0 is and how people all around the world can now voice their thoughts to anyone and be heard. Blogging was not something I ever thought about doing but I now realise it is a place where people can think out loud and have another person comment on their thoughts. O' Reilly refers to the web as a 'Global Brain' and how the blogosphere is a place where we can voice our conscious thoughts.
For me this linked to Remixable data and transformations and the idea of Valtysson who mentions the term "prosumer" meaning the consumer is also a producer. From reading the article Access Culture: Web 2.0 and cultural participation, I realised that although the development of Web 2.0 has allowed people to not only read articles online but voice our own opinions and create our own articles in response to ones we have read, it does lead to the issue that seems most evident with Remixable Data, copyright. I think the majority of people can admit to at one time or another illegally downloading a movie or an album online not knowing what source it has come from. This is the issue with the development of the Web 2.0 as a lot of the time we no longer know exactly where are sources are really coming from on the web. Coming from an Arts background I am now only realising how detrimental this can be to an aspiring singer or performer who uploads some footage of them performing on social media but that footage may be taken and remixed by another source who then uploads it as their own material. However, when I continued reading I saw the advances being made on copyright by the professor Lawrence Lessig who has designed the copyright system known as "Creative Commons" This idea allows users to download and share a creators work on the grounds that they mention and link to the original creator. There is also another license which enables users to

"distribute, remix, tweak and build upon the work, commercially or not, as long as

they credit the original creator." I'm sure this idea will have mixed reaction with creators and users as it is difficult for a creator to see their own work being taken by a user and remixed. However, it is almost impossible to stop  copyright when social media sites makes it extremely easy for a user to illegally download and rework material. Personally I think copyright cannot be stopped but it would definitely improve the situation if we all were more conscious of where our sources were coming from and if we are aware that we are using a creators work to always mention and credit their name.

Articles mentioned:


O' Reilly, T. (2005) 'What is Web 2.0: Design patterns and business models for the next generation of software' Available online at:
http://www.oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html

Valtysson, B. (2010) 'Access Cullture: Web 2.0 and cultural participation', International journal of cultural policy, 16:(2), pp. 200-214.

Task 1A: Professional Profile (Final)

My Professional Profile

Hi! My name is Jessica Stokes and I am twenty-two years old. I graduated from Bird College in 2016 with a Diploma in Professional Musical Theatre. While at College I performed in many in-house productions and summer shows. Since entering the industry as a professional I have auditioned for various shows and cruise contracts. I have a passion for teaching and after graduating I taught jazz, ballet and musical theatre workshops around Ireland. I chose to continue my studies on the BAPP Course because there are areas of my industry that I would like to develop my knowledge in such as anatomy, body conditioning, fitness and well-being. I’m hoping this degree will expand my horizons, help me improve my own professional practice and develop my future career.

Task 1A: CV and Personal Profile Continuation

 


This morning I applied for a dance teaching job and realised that I now I have three different types of C.Vs, a Performacnec CV, one for my Events and Hostessing work and finally a teaching CV. I began to think about what different employers look for in a CV. While updating my teaching CV I thought what a dance teacher really wants to know about my Personal Profile. After reading an article on the Huffington Post about how long do recruiters spend looking at your career summary I was shocked to read that according to a recent summary job recruiters spend just six seconds looking over your CV. This made me realise how clear and to the point my CV needs to be. The article answered my next question which was: What do they actually look for on your CV? The study found:
"They spend 80 percent of their brief review on six key elements of your resume: your name, the current company you work for, your previous employment, the start and end dates of your previous position, the start and end dates of your current position and your educational background." 
I then had a look back at my Teaching C.V. and Events CV and I realised my dates weren't clear enough. The article spoke about using action words to describe yourself and your job roles so I decided to take that into consideration also. I have sent off my new teaching C.V. and uploaded it on my blog also.

Article mentioned:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/23/resume-tips-for-post-50s_n_1372705.html

Task 1C: Audio-Visual My initial thoughts on the BAPP Course

I really didn't expect this task to phase me but it did. Being a performer and having to self-tape before for auditions I really thought this task wouldn't take long. However, I was wrong.. I decided to write out a short paragraph including all of the points that I wanted to include in my video. This helped me as I could visualize what I had written. I found it difficult to make a video which was clear, concise and to the point. For me when I feel nervous about doing something I tend to waffle and then my points become unclear. I also found that it's really not easy to talk about yourself!! First, I asked a family member to record me but I felt quite under pressure and conscious of someone listening to my thoughts. I decided to then self record in my own space on my own. This was definitely easier and I felt comfortable making mistakes and just starting again. It is a tool I will need to work on as I know audio visuals are often used in my professional practice as I discussed in task 1D.
 I hope you enjoy the video and feel free to leave any comments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq3hPVlW7dI

Task 1D:2D Images

Today I created a Flickr account. I have had an Instagram account for a few years so I wanted to try using a new form of social media. As I use Instagram for personal use I decided to set up Flickr solely for Professional reasons and to provide small insights into my performing career. I am still getting my head around Flickr but it seems to have some similarities to Instagram. However, Flickr seems to have options to share photos in groups that you can join, making photo albums, creating wall art and photo books and the options to upload photos privately and publicly.
Below is a link of my own flickr account:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/148330486@N03/
 
In my Professional Practice the use of audio visual and visual images in social media are becoming very popular. Performers are using sites such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to self advertise. Many performers will make a Showreel and/or Voicereel which showcase their strengths. As social media is now used by the majority of people many Casting Directors and Choreographers will have accounts on these sites and by posting clips of your showreel, voicereel or even a video of you in a dance class it can lead to people in the industry viewing your profile. Nowadays, taking into consideration the volume of performers in the industry Cruise companies have began allowing performers to submit their Showreels and Voicereels to their Casting teams. I know of performers who have obtained jobs on Cruises via a Showreel which highlights how useful they are to a performer. In an article on "The Stage" it is said that before obtaining an audition for TV many Casting Directors will have a quick look at your Showreel to make sure a performer doesn't have "dead eyes". Casting Directors for TV shows now audition performers via Self-Tape which is a self recorded clip of you performing a scene sent by the Casting Team as it is time and cost effective. In an article written by the Casting Director Ros Hubbard he explains that there are benefits for performers in self-taping:
"Self-tapes allow me to see your acting even if you are working in a different country or elsewhere in the UK, on a theatre job, another film shoot, or even on holiday" 
Hubbard also explains in his article that self-taping allows more actors to be seen for roles when a Casting Director wants to take a first glance at an actor.
 Using your performance head shot as your profile picture on social media is a great way to get your face recognised especially if you are quite active on your pages. YouTube is a great platform for performers of all genres to post videos of their own work. In an article in the New York Times about the choreographer Tricia Miranda she explains:
 “I’ve been a dance instructor for 15 years,” she said. “But it wasn’t until I got big on YouTube that I started getting this much attention.”
The Choreographer has been viewed over 27 million times. The Times also explains how the use of sites like YouTube, Vine and Snapchat have made Choreographers stars in their own right. 

Articles mentioned: https://actorsandperformers.com/actors/advice/154/securing-work/casting

 https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/11/fashion/tricia-miranda-choreographer-youtube-rihanna.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FYouTube&action=click&contentCollection=business&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=28&pgtype=collection&_r=0

 https://www.thestage.co.uk/advice/2017/dear-west-end-producer-casting-directors-watch-showreels/

Task 1B: Initial thoughts on Professional communication technologies

After reading through Reader 1 it really made me think about how often and usefully I use Web 2.0 professionally. I have had Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts for quite a few years but all for my own personal use. I have always been careful as to what I posted on these sites and throughout my training and listening to other professionals I realised how beneficial but also harmful sites like Facebook and Instagram can be to a performer. Once Casting Directors and Choreographers know your name it is at their discretion to search you on any social media sites. Professionally I came across Dropbox a few months ago and realised what a great tool it is for sending across self-tapes privately. This allowed my agent to view my self-tape and give her opinion on how I could develop my performance without anybody else having to see it.
The reader highlights the three competencies that are relevant to the standing of Web 2.0 within professional practice. The first being, architectures of participation. The phrase which stayed with me is "participation is a function of our ability to actually participate" I am not someone who is very technologically savvy and thought about the times I would avoid using the internet as I found it too stressful and this is why this course is also a massive challenge for me as I am now realising how Web 2.0 is vital as a performer and also other areas of teaching. Since graduating I have had to record a self-tape for an audition for TV, a Skype interview for a Theme Park in Malaysia and realised that people are employed on Cruise Ships via submitting Showreels. Facebook is also a major platform for advertising Dance Schools. At home in Ireland my mum runs her own Ballet School, a few years ago we set up a business page for the school and it has generated a lot of interest that have resulted in a lot of new pupils. However with this comes the important area of ethics. When children are involved we must have their consent before posting any pictures on our business page. Personally, I wouldn't like pictures of myself to be online without my consent. The web is used by millions of people daily and this is why it is important to carefully advertise.  I have a lot more reading to do on Web 2.0 but these are just some thoughts to start me off.

References:

Institute for Work Based Learning 2016 Reader 1 2016-2017. London: Middlesex University

Task 1A: MY CV

Looking at my performance CV it seems very minimal. As a recent graduate currently auditioning I give my CV to casting directors worrying that I don't stand a chance due to my lack of experience. However I remind myself daily that everyone has to start somewhere. I believe my CV is a constant work in progress. I also remind myself that in the industry I am in you are your own advertisement, therefore although a CV can be beneficial if you are what a casting director is looking for they may be willing to still take a chance on you even if you don't have bundles of credits.

My Professional Profile

This is a first attempt at composing my professional profile!! Definitely not the finished product!!

I am a twenty-two year old performer who is currently auditioning in the Musical Theatre industry. I graduated from Bird College in July 2016, where I studied on the Diploma in Professional Musical Theatre course. Since entering the industry I have been auditioning for various jobs such as cruise ships, west-end shows, actor-musician productions and holiday entertainment. Whilst at college, I performed in many in house productions and also professional end of year productions. I have always been passionate about teaching and made an effort to return to my old dance school to give workshops and hold summer camps whilst training. After finishing college I began teaching around Ireland and spent two months at the end of 2016 teaching ballet and jazz workshops. Teaching is definitely an area I would like to gain more experience in. I want to gain my degree in Professional Practice because there are many areas of performace that I am interested in such as anatomy, injury ,body conditioning and voice. This degree will hopefully open windows of opportunity. expand my  and help me to gain more knowledge for my own current professional career and future.

Beginning to blog!!

The thought of having my own blog is something that would never have entered  my mind. It is something I find quite daunting as sometimes I feel like what I might be saying is wrong or my ideas won't be great! But if anything this is a challenge!!

Before out first Skype interview last week I was unsure what to expect. However after speaking to Paula, Adesola and the other girls I felt at ease and quite excited for the journey ahead. The way of learning that we are about to enter into is one I have never experienced. Coming from a background where a step is either wrong or right or you are singing the wrong or right harmony I became quite used to there always being a right or wrong and not trying to discover my own answer. I know now that I need to adjust to a new way of learning and making my own decisions. I feel that reading others blogs will really help me to realise that nobody is right or wrong, that this is a place where we can share our thoughts and help each other along the way. I'm looking forward to learning more about myself during this process as well and developing both professionally and personally!