Birmingham Screen Image Network and Networking

This is actually a big answer I gave to some questions regarding the Birmingham Screen Image Network that I attend once a month at Millennium Point. It took me a while to write it but hopefully it will be useful and interesting.

Here are the questions-

What makes a good network?

Why do you go?

And what do you want from a network?

And here is my Answer-

I've attended all sorts of different networking sessions for both creatives and business people, in lots of different venues. I enjoy the BSIN sessions as they are regular, the venue is good and it is easy to find out who is there, what they do and then I can decide who I want to talk to. Rather than the scatter gun approach which occasionally happens at larger sessions.

I think the venue is very important, the worst venues for myself have been bars and pubs. I find the main problem with these is they are to noisy due to loud music and are often being shared with members of the public making them unnecessarily crowded. I found that people end up getting hammered and it just seems pointless talking to some of them as they're totally incoherent.

A venue should have features that provide opportunities for conversation. A drinks station is always good. If I run out of people to talk to and cant see any open groups then I normally get a glass of water and engage the next person to come over to the drinks table. When food is provided finger food works best especially with tall tables that you have to stand at. As you can remain mobile and easily start up a conversation with a new group/table. I think it would be good to put spikes on the walls as it can be to easy for attendees to hide at the side and this would force them into the middle of the room.

Recently I've been attending sessions that have art, interactives, prototypes, puzzles and other assorted conversation props that are great for facilitating networking.

Another style of networking I've enjoyed is speed networking. You all sit in two rows facing one another and have about 60 seconds each to talk, swap cards and move on when the whistle blows. When the speed networking has finished everyone carries on with regular networking but now you know who everyone is and can carry on promising conversations.

Finally the most important thing for me is the people. I preferably want a good mix of creatives, animators, film makers, artists, sound people, writers, photographers, actors etc and preferably some business people, different entrepreneurs who are interested in the skills on offer by the creatives. Most importantly the attendees have to have a good attitude ie polite, friendly and be prepared to try to make conversation.

I go to BSIN each month for a variety of reasons. I enjoy the structure, each person introduces themselves, who they are, then news is shared and interesting debates normally arise. Although the attendances are low there is normally a couple of new faces each month. I have made some useful contacts, I get to hear of news, events and different opportunities coming up.

I think it would be good bring the Screen and Music networks into the same room for the last 20mins to further share news, info, leads etc

When paired with the free dinner and creative networks events after its a really enjoyable and useful way to spend an afternoon.

I also go to support the network and hopefully support the creative scene in Birmingham by attending. Attendances are low which is disappointing, although I wouldn't want the groups to have massive, if it could get up to 15/20 each week that would be great. The only way the group will grow is by people continuing to attend, talking and promoting the meet ups.

Hi

Yesterday I finally finished and uploaded the an animated logo for Blades Animation to stick in front of our films. I intended to finish it much sooner but its been so hot in the studio over the summer that the shoot repeatedly got delayed. Check it out below!

I have already began working on our next project a short explainer video to show off the benefits of using animation and the services we offer.

Richard :)

Update

Hi

This is quick update on what I've been up to.

Most recently I've been updating the Blades Animation showreel, the ancient Cwmbran animation has been added and there is a new piece of animation at both the start and end of the showreel using the Blades Animation Mascot (who is still nameless so if you have any suggestions please leave it in the comments). Please check it out below.

This afternoon I began work on a new armature that I aim to be animating with during July. The puppet is the main character for the multi platform series we have been developing for the last few years. The actual series is still a long way off from being ready but I am keen to experiment with some ideas for the character. I figure it will be a good way to try out some new armature ideas and begin establishing the character and world he inhabits.

Here is something I have been consistently going to since the start of the year its really good. The Birmingham Screen image network is on the last thursday of each month and is normally followed by creative networks all at Millennium point. The first half is a networking event for film makers and sound people. Then there is a free diner and it finishes with some kind of talk of visiting speaker. During the summer months it is just going to be the networking but it is still a must attend for any one out there interested in a career in film or animation.

Here are some things to check out. Number one is this cool scifi/philosophy blog cleverly titled Sci-Phi I've been reading by the talented writer Sarah Brown who you can follow on twitter

Number two is the new project by John-Lynton Bryan the creator of The Collector, a short I animated on a couple of years ago. It is a comic/film called Dream Staite heres the link http://www.dreamstaite-movie.com/.

Thats it for now!

Rich

Lots happening!

Its been a hectic start to the year with lots of news and things going on. First of all the biggest news to report is Blades Animation is relocating. We are currently based in the George Street Chambers in Birmingham. Today I picked up the keys to the new studio located in The Big Peg, I have started moving and hope to be fully moved in by the end of next week. 

The decision to move was made early in January due to a number of issues but the largest being the floor. The current studio has a wooden floor and some of the panels aren't as sturdy as needed. This was causing problems with camera movement while animating, obviously not good. This meant the majority of January was taken up with searching Birmingham for a new studio location. I have looked at numerous places around Birmingham. Here is a list of the places I looked at.

The Custard Factory

The Bond

Venture Way

Faraday Wharf

The Argent Centre

Gun Quarter workshops

It was really difficult to find studios that were appropriate. A lot of time was spent walking around Birmingham looking for different letting agencies or online searching. There's a mountain of office space to let in Birmingham but not so much geared towards creatives. All of the above would be ideal for creatives to varying degrees. In a future blog I will write about each of these locations in greater detail for others who may be looking for their own studio space. 

In between searching for a new home we have focused a lot on networking and making connections with other businesses and film makers around the Midlands. One big problem for Birmingham is theres a huge amount of talented animators and film makers but the scene is very disconnected. There are different  groups but none of them have links to one another and getting to know other film makers has proved to be a slow experience. By different groups I mean things like the Meet up events, animation forum WM, Creative England, Shooters Club etc. The amount of people at the events varies greatly and people aren't always aware of the existence of other groups or film makers etc. Its only through my recent use of Event Bright that I've found lots of new events to attend and have been chatting to others who have told me about some of these groups. They are not all in one easy to find location. ANNOYING!! I would highly recommend the event bright phone app, its really good!

In an effort to keep myself being creative I have hooked up with a number of different writers to initiate some new projects. These are specifically short ideas for the internet. There's no specific deadline but we hope to have something to show later on in the year.

Finally I've been out and about photoing things in an effort to improve my camera and composition skills. So please check out some photos I took from a ceramics workshop located in Sutton College and let me know what you think.