After all of our hard work and effort ‘Username’ hit the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre stage Tuesday 19th May 2015. As a company we always had a purpose behind every decision we made, however as with all performances it is impossible to know the reaction that an audience will give. The audience members that came to see the show were responsive and eager to engage with the action on stage. Post-performance discussions helped us to discover the specific scenes which provoked a comical reaction. The feedback that we received also revealed that the build-up of high energy towards the climatic end was both exhilarating and entertaining.
As a reflection on the entire process I have found that the position of marketing manager has proven to be highly rewarding and the role within the company has been complimentary to my creative personality.
If JumpCut decides to further develop the piece I would definitely consider incorporating more audience interaction through the use of technology as this concept also fits in with the feedback that we have received. Overall the experience of starting up a theatre company has been challenging but thoroughly rewarding and has strengthened the JumpCut team dynamic.
Harriet Haynes- JumpCut Marketing Manager.
The Performance- Username, (Haynes, 2015)
Work Cited:
Haynes, H (2015) The Performance- Username. Taken 19/05/15.
Although online marketing is vitally important and effective within the digital age, promoting our company through print such as: brochures, posters and leaflets are still a necessity. This format ensures that the piece reaches members of the public of all age ranges and also ensures that JumpCut stands out against the vast amount of theatre companies online by focusing on the local market audience.
Brochure/ Show copy-
The starting image that I created for the company was comprised of four selfies of us applying make-up. I then edited the images and added filters as this fitted with our beginning ideas surrounding the creation of highlighting the reflective differences between on/offline identities. The image below (bottom right) appeared in the brochure for the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre the venue where all seven of the theatre company performances were taking place.
Brochure Image, (Haynes, 2015)
The image above also shows the original pictures before editing to highlight the use of filters during the making of the promotional image. The final image was accompanied by our write-up for the performance which provided information and hopefully enticed people to come and see the show:
Choose a username, apply make-up, contort your body, find the perfect lighting and pout in order to take the perfect selfie for your online profile. Which of the 47 selfies are you going to choose? It’s an important and meticulous selection process since users worldwide will be able to access your profile. Through the exploration of online and offline identities, we take you on a journey into creating the perfect online profile.
Press Release:
Press Release, (Haynes, 2015)
Poster-
Throughout the rehearsal process we began to focus on snapshots of scenes and jump cutting between the action rather than having a linear narrative. This style influenced the promotional image I originally created (bottom right) of jumbled head shots and the use of filters to reflect how people rely heavily on using filters through social media.
I then developed the final poster design (central) which was A3 in size. After filming the promotional video I decided to present a more defined eye-catching image of an individual applying make-up rather than intersections as this image is more direct in its approach. The final poster image still portrays the entire ensemble of JumpCut as it is a merge of all four faces of JumpCut Theatre Company. The poster image is bordered in striking monochrome to stand out from other poster designs that local theatre companies have created. It also fitted well with the JumpCut logo’s colour scheme (pictured on the left) and this editing process helped JumpCut to establish an artistic style which I wanted to resonate throughout the marketing resources that I created.
JumpCut Poster, (Haynes, 2015)
Leaflet-
The leaflet also ties in with the artistic style incorporating a monochrome colour scheme with splashes of vibrant colour and the use of a head shot image. The leaflet is A5 in size and provided a synopsis on the reverse making it accessible for people to take away and discover more about JumpCut’s performance ‘Username.’
The posters and leaflets were distributed around the university campus with a major focus on the Lincoln Performance Arts Centre as this was the venue for the performance. They were also distributed within the local town centre and business buildings to widen the publicity of the performance and draw in a range of audience members as the performance caters for the majority of social media users.
JumpCut Leaflet Design, (Haynes, 2015)
Work Cited:
Haynes, H (2015) Brochure Image. Taken 20/03/15
Haynes, H (2015) JumpCut Leaflet Design. Taken 20/05/15.
After much deliberation and an abundance of suggestions we gave the piece a title!
‘Username‘
Username follows the growing online fascination with body image and identity using multimedia to project the obsession that people have with their online appearance. Movement, text and technology are the elements we are using to explore the lengths that people go to in order to create an online profile which stands out from everybody else’s.
Throughout the creative process our journey has been documented on our social media sites in order to provoke interest in the piece and also keep prospective audience members involved in the making of the performance. I created a Facebook event which members of the public could join and show their support, it was also a way of providing necessary performance information such as the time, date and location of the performance.
Social Media Posts (Haynes, 2015)Social Media Posts (Haynes, 2015)
We created an online survey titled ‘Imperfections and Insecurities’ in order to gain information regarding the reasoning for the obsession with body image that online culture possesses. The findings revealed that people thought that the media was a major influence and our results from the survey gave us further insight into how people are affected and influenced by the media. These findings helped us to create the footage for the vocal sound scape that we are incorporating into the performance.
JumpCut’s promotional video was also posted onto our social media platforms and provided our followers with a preview of what Username is about and the stylistic elements that we are using within the piece. The concept for the promotional video was to magnify the facial expressions and the arduous task that is applying make-up. As marketing director for the company I organised and filmed the video ensuring that it projected JumpCut’s theatrical style.
Promotional video shoot, (Haynes, 2015)
The video incorporates filters and close-ups of us applying make-up and it is accompanied by edgy music and text which focuses on the desire for perfection regarding body image. The video closes with a merged image of our faces which fits with our jump cutting style and the way in which a large majority of society carry out the rigorous routine to achieve online profile perfection.
As the marketing manager of JumpCut I have been researching into other theatre companies to get a feel for the market within the Arts industry. Throughout the devising process many performances and theatre companies have been influential.
I have listed below four performances that have especially influenced my creative input within the company:
Action Hero ‘Slap Talk’ – Slap Talk uses cameras to zoom in on the performer’s faces whilst they are having a conversation. Action Hero’s piece communicates “to the audience via a live feed from a camera to a monitor.” (Action Hero, 2013) We are considering using hand held cameras to magnify sections of our faces and our expressions as we apply make-up.
Action Hero, 2013
Louise Orwin ‘Pretty Ugly’ – Explores how online culture is influencing peoples body image and the perceptions of so called perfection. Orwin focuses on the online trend ‘Am I pretty or ugly?’ whereby young females post videos asking others to respond and tell them whether they think that they are pretty or ugly. “It is also about a recent worldwide trend of teenage girls posting videos on YouTube asking viewers to rate their looks.” (Louise Orwin, 2014)
Louise Orwin ‘Pretty Ugly’
Wies Fest ‘A Whole Lot of Nothing’ – This piece focuses on presenting a bare face and revealing the visage of beauty. The performance synopsis explains that “a girl applies her make-up to look pretty, every day, and then she goes and tries to get as much attention as she can.” (Flare Festival, 2014) This piece influenced our performance style and we began to develop a section that incorporates an online tutorial that explains the benefits of cosmetics.
Flare Festival, 2014
Forced Entertainment ’12am: Awake & Looking Down’ – Forced Entertainment explore the creation of identity in alternative ways and how props can be incorporated into this sequence. Their company website summarises that “five silent performers endlessly reinvent their identities using stacks of cardboard signs with which they name themselves, and a store of jumble-sale clothing (coats, dresses, suits, anoraks, trousers, pyjamas) from which they dress and re-dress.” (Forced Entertainment, 2015) This piece helped to bring our ideas to life and highlighted the possibilities of using props rather than relying solely on multimedia.
Forced Entertainment, 2015
Work Cited-
Action Hero, (2013), Action Hero- Live Art and Performance, Online: http://www.forcedentertainment.com/project/12am-awake-looking-down/ (accessed 5 May 2015).
Flare Festival, (2014), A Whole Lot of Nothing- Wies Fest, Online: http://www.flarefestival.com/project/a-whole-lot-of-nothing-wies-fest/ (accessed 10 May 2015).
As the Marketing Manager of both technological elements and print I ensure that our ideas transform from discussions into a visual representation. These ideas are then broadcast onto the JumpCut social media sites so that our audience can begin to see our performance take shape.
Social media is useful marketing tool which ensures that the distribution of information regarding the performance reaches a widespread audience and subsequently generates interest in our work. Within the text ‘Creative Arts Marketing’ the internet’s integral role in marketing is similarly recognised: “the rapid diffusion of the internet has presented arts organizations with a powerful tool, the website – as shop window, selling tool and delivery platform.” (Liz Hill, et al, p.13) Throughout the process I will be updating the company’s social media pages to keep prospective audience members involved with the making of the show and also provide necessary performance information.
Theorists Paul Allain and Jane Harvie explore the ways in which multimedia is a key aspect of our performance. The stylistic elements that they present correspond to our ideas as our performance will hopefully be a compilation of “live performance with machines and/or mediated forms, such as computer technology, television, video, film and slide projection.” (Paul Allain and Jane Harvie, p.210) Allain and Harvie also describe how the use of multimedia “raises issues of liveness and presence and interrogates the aesthetic and social potentials of contemporary technology and media culture as well as live performance.” (Allain and Harvie, p.211) As a company we are currently exploring the use of technology within live performance and the ways in which multimedia can be presented to reflect online culture and identities.
