The thoughts of Colm O’Rourke
A 9am breakfast call heralded delegates for the second and final day of Shift Happens at York Theatre Royal. Croissants, mini Danishes and fruit helped perk up collective spirits before the first of the day’s sessions.
Moderator Dave Moutray introduced proceedings, as yesterday, by referring to an appropriate article in the morning’s edition of The Guardian; this morning’s food for thought courtesy of a Joseph Rowntree Foundation survey revealing people now regarded a home computer, internet access and a mobile phone as “an integral part of modern life”.
This lead into the first speaker of the day; DK, Founding Director of Mediasnackers, making his second appearance on stage at Shift Happens. He observed that conversations on social media had already shifted from the point he discussed them last year, before revealing the Mediasnackers philosophy: “Social media makes things cheaper, quicker and sexier”. Echoing the talk given by Herb Kim yesterday, DK addressed the changing attitudes in corporate culture to traditional advertising forms. He also stressed the significance of play as a learning strategy; for example, suggesting organisations spending one day a week to concentrate on developing or addressing their social media presence.
DK was followed by Lyn Gardner, who writes theatre pieces for The Guardian. She identified a move by theatre companies towards incorporating interactivity into their productions through shifts in technology, citing the work of Hide and Seek as a typical example. Lyn also stated technology’s status as a tool, similar to how audiences viewed use of “the trap” in the 18th century; “It won’t make a show bad or good… it is a part of the show”. She also suggested the rise of theatre blog culture was “good for journalism”, which she believed broadened, not threatened, the live experience and created interesting debate. Returning to this point in her conclusion, Lyn called for theatre to be lively and reciprocal – to create a relationship with the audience which was transparent to criticism.
Following a break, the second session addressed the topic “Whose Art Is It Anyway?”, with four speakers representing the spectrum of staging the creative arts. First up was Rohan Gunatillake, who spoke about how social media explored new means of identity, as well as comparing the Edinburgh Festivals to the Internet in terms of opening access to once exclusive events (as the original Fringe Festival did in the 1940s) and expanding the challenges of user experiences (through a “deluge of content” which is now made available).
Joscelyn Upendran followed with an explanatory discussion of Creative Commons, how it differs from copyright and why it promotes the ease of sharing (and adapting) innovative content. Tim Wheeler and Alison Smart, from Bradford-based Mind The Gap, showcased the work of their company, who create opportunities for disabled artists to collaborate with able-bodied peers. Their original use of 360 degree panorama landscapes (or, as I would later learn to call them, “two-dimensional augmented realities”) which feature links to group performances was shown to delegates.
Finally, Kaye Elling, a tutor in video game design at the University of Bradford with work experience in video games publishing, addressed the shift in the gaming industry and its implications for women whom it employs. She identified the changes in company focus and revenue models had changed the previous monopoly by publishing houses to a broader power base which offered higher levels of creativity, accessibility and opportunities for entrepreneurship – all aspects Kaye believed ought to be capitalised on.
An alfresco lunch of chicken (or veggie burgers), coleslaw and salad, with lemon tart or trifle as pudding, provided an ample opportunity to network, during which time I got talking to Barrie Stephenson, who works with York-based Digistories, an organisation with eight years’ expertise in creating digital stories with their clients; an avenue we at KhaoZ hope to further explore in the months to come. At this point, I must also give a mention to Helen, who works on youth projects in Glasgow and who I met at breakfast and identified me as the only other delegate with a Norn Iron accent.
With lunch taken care of, the third bunch of today’s speakers were cued to take the Shift Happens stage, and “This Time It’s Personal”. Well, in terms of the orators sharing their personal experiences on how social media impacts on their creative careers. Taking their turn first were Leanne Hamacott and Ghislane Boddington from Body>Data>Space, a London-based “interdisciplinary design collective”. Their presentation consisted of a slide show of images embracing the concept of “telepresence”, representing the meeting of virtual and physical spaces, and a preview of a current project, “Robots and Avatars”, designed to measure the development of soft skills among its young participants.
Next to take the stand was local multimedia designer, Social Media Surgeon (and former chemist) Abhay Adhikari, who used his slot to outline the ethos of his creative work: to get people to talk to each other across barriers. He related projects he has worked on in India, Japan and the UK (the Breath Awareness installation demonstrated during breaks in the foyer) to shape digital identities, landscapes and communication.
Adam Stanning, a concept designer with Punk Pie and Bright White Ltd, talked delegates through the development process of Aurifi, an aural-driven game distributed in iPhone application format. As well as providing a break-down on how Aurifi came to life, he demonstrated how the design team utilised social media to promote their product; by viral, website, Facebook and Twitter.
Last in this sequence was freelance broadcaster and journalist Ian Aspin, who began by ascertaining which members of the audience DIDN’T use either Facebook or Twitter and who had met someone they knew from each site face-to-face for the first time at Shift Happens. Ian’s presentation, How to Be a Superhuman, noted the most essential question in life (“Why?”), discussed his three C’s – Consciousness (identifying your purpose), Caring (helping others make a difference) and Connectedness (realising we all influence each other) and pointed out “the crowd [as] the change agent”.
Another comfort break was followed by presentations on the theme of “The Digital Planet”, and commenced with a highly-anticipated (and highly-appreciated) talk from Alice Greenwald, the Executive Vice-President of the National 9/11 Memorial, speaking via a live Skype link from New York. Alice guided delegates through the rationale behind the Memorial’s foundation, describing the terrorist attacks as an “unprecedent event of global witness”, as well as offering a fascinating insight into the design of the underground complex which will house the exhibits via design diagrams. She stated the public’s encounter with the void makes the Memorial a “site of consciousness”, which creates a vivid connection between the events of 2001 and now.
The speakers following Alice Greenwald also dealt with the relationship with digital media, art and issues of social significance, namely the urgency in promoting environmentally-safer practices. Hannah Rudman, an advisor who works with Envirodigital, set out the company’s slogan: “Get digital, be greener”, but cautiously suggested benefits to the environment in adopting digital technologies were only capable in certain business contexts, as well as the importance not to compromise between aesthetic and experience. She also discussed the use of live web broadcasting software and the development of “augmented reality” to incorporate geographic, social and interactive contexts.
Sian Alexander, Associate Director of “carbon literacy” agency Julie’s Bicycle, told delegates about the four principles of the company: its roots in the arts industry, its endeavours to be rigorously well-informed, its efforts in collaboration with external agencies and its support base to its target companies. Sian stated it was important for anyone keen to adopt Julie’s Bicycle’s principles to have an understanding and developed instinct in environmental issues.
Concluding the series of talks on “The Digital Planet”, the Head of Digital Media at the National Theatre, David Sabel, assessed the first year of NT Live, a major digital project developed by the organisation with an aim to “transform cinema into theatre” by broadcasting productions in screens across the world. Using material from a broadcast production of Phèdre starring Helen Mirren, David illustrated NT Live’s ability to mean something to people out of its reach; not just on a London-wide, but global, level. He also stressed the National Theatre’s desire to pursue the project on two criteria: if the team could do it well, and if the project could sustain itself in time.
The final break of the day led into the final speaker of the conference, and the day’s keynote talk. Exploring Inner Landscapes was delivered by artist Jonathan Harris, who runs the website number27.org. As well as displaying images and video from his portfolio pieces Word Count, We Feel Fine, I Want You To Want Me, The Whale Hunt and Archive of Age 30, Jonathan shared the roles that layers of secrets and the symbolism of owls in his life. He also told the audience, in almost an antithesis to all that came before him in Shift Happens, that he does not use his Twitter account to interact with his followers, suggesting technology created “…a world divorced from seeing the long view… what you are doing with your life”.
After a rapturous reception for Jonathan Harris, Shift Happens ceased to happen. Organiser Marcus Romer thanked everyone who got involved in the conference in the physical and virtual spheres, adding the event was “an extraordinary experience that provided an opportunity to debate and start discussions”. With the words of Joe Strummer (“The future is unwritten”) – and Sony (“Go create”), Dave Moutray brought the conference to its conclusion.
You can follow the events at Shift Happens online at www.shift-happens.co.uk, twitter.com/shift_happens and the #shifthappens Twitter hashtag. Further blogs and audio content from Shift Happens by KhaoZ Media will follow shortly.
