Trick of the Dark - Update 30/04

Over the past week we have made slight progress with Trick of the Dark. I'm getting increasingly worried about the production as we approach the deadline on May 14th. At the beginning of this week we were approximately 10% shot. The remaining 90% of the film is to be shot over the next two weeks before deadline day. The previous shoots have involved using the studio space to create the pitch black appearance of a cave, where we were able to get closeups of the subjects. As co-producer I have a very hands off approach to the creative process of the film. I let the director and the cinematographer get on with their jobs and they seemed to use the space to great effect. The close ups did end up looking like they belonged in a dark cavernous space. However the issue with this shoot was that one of the actors didn't turn up, so our shots were limited in quantity. The quality didn't seem to suffer however, as the director seemed happy. Any progress at this point is positive. 

After that, we shot the hospital scene today. This was a strange journey from concept to creation. Last week we went on a recce/permission trip to a hospital in Hartlepool. We had no success with speaking to anyone about filming in there, so we decided it would be easier to make our own hospital set. This was based on the fact that a BBC programme dropped all of their production design department off at our sound stages, all of which belonged to a show based in a hospital. We decided we could use some of the props and furniture from the things that they dumped. That way we could use one of the lecture rooms in the uni to dress as a hospital. This was a perfect empty shell to do so, as the rooms are all extremely white and drawn out and have the sanitary appearance of a hospital ward. We used a table to put a mattress on, and then we put the headboard of an actual hospital bed behind it. We decorated the 'hospital bed' by placing things around it to up the idea of it being a real hospital. E.g. flowers, posters, get well soon cards etc. Below is an image of what we ended up with. 

We sorted this set out last Friday in time for todays shoot. The actors arrived and we went ahead with the shoot as planned which all went well. It was great to see Roger again, an actor who I worked with on my first ever film in first year, Nemesis. The actors seemed happy to get on with it, as it was a small scene which was well prepared and well organised throughout. I did the production logs for the scene as my role requires me to so we can pass the footage over to the editor. Despite it only being small progress on Trick of the dark, it is progress nonetheless. We will hopefully make greater progress within the next week leading to the films completion. 

Echoes of Silence - Pick-ups & Forest scene

This week we planned to shoot more of Echoes of Silence. On the Monday we scheduled 5-8 to get some pick up shots, which included shots that were missing and were of importance to our previously shot scenes. From watching the rough cuts of the edits over the past few weeks it was clear to see that we were missing a range of shots, all which make the edits more seamless and provide us with a better way to tell our story. For instance, the first scene of Julian in the work space which was shot numerous weeks go has reached a point where we can critique it in a strict way. The result of this was that we found spaces in between long mid shots and wide shots where we felt the need to cut closer in to the characters face. This way we can see the nuance of the performance, and a close up shot is an instant way to make the audience listen and to pay attention to what is happening. Below is an image of one of the pick up shots we got on Monday. 

Graham Saxon in Echoes. 

The second part of the shoot for the pick up shots took place in the lecture theatre, for the lecture hall scene at the very beginning of the film (currently, in time we'll shoot a scene which comes before that). In this sequence, much like the previously mentioned sound stage/workspace scene, we found that a specific type of shot was missing. Once again it was a close up that was missing in amongst a bunch of mid shots and wide shots that gave the scene no real sense of intimacy. The context of the closeup was the character delivering a quotation from the bible to his students in a cosmology lecture. We got this shot as well as recording the dialogue for it to bring into the current edit. I was very happy with how quickly we were able to get the shot. We were in and out within half an hour. 

Later on in the week we were timetabled in uni on Thursday. We had nothing planned for the day. We were in to update our lecturers on how the films were going, and to get on with our usual work. Paperwork, blogging, editing etc. It came over me about 11-12 o'clock that the weather forecast was clear and sunny. For one of the later scenes in the film Julian walks through the forest and has a conversation with Emily. Contextually this was a way to break away from the drama for a few minutes. For the first act of the film going into the second, there seemed to be a constant tension between Julian and Emily. As a writer I was posed with an important question; why are they friends in the first place if this is how they converse with one another? So I needed a way to display affection between the two characters. I did this in the form of a walk through nature. As director I then started imagining the tones and the hues that would contribute to the atmosphere. Undoubtedly it had to be warm and sunny, with the sun shining through the trees down on Julian. Anyway, when I realised the weather was going to be clear between 4-7 I decided to jump on the opportunity to organise a shoot. I made a few calls and brought together a crew and our main actor and agreed to head off to the location which would be in Sunderland, to meet at 5. We then ran into some huge issues. I realised the main prop (the black ear piece, which is essentially the entire character of Emily) was locked in the sound stage. I tried to get access to it but to no avail. No caretakers were anywhere to be found. 

Graham Saxon going over his lines on location. 

The second issue we ran into after turning up to the shoot about half an hour late was the fact that we didn't have a c-fast card. Following a lot of confusion we found that the card we thought had a c-fast card in didn't. We got around the issue quite creatively. We decided to use a 16gb SD card from one of our digital cameras. This only records 10 minutes of footage which we would inevitably go over. We learned this in an early tech dem with the black magic ursa cameras. We also learned where the use of an SD card differs to a c-fast card. An SD card can record the data from the black magic cameras, albeit a small amount, but also requires around a minute between each take to process that information. You take things like this for granted shooting on a c-fast card. Something which normally allows us to shoot consecutive takes now required us to pause and wait before shooting again. This sort of interrupted our flow, but it wasn't that big of an issue. I sensed it was more of an issue for the actor, having to dip in and out of character with elongated pauses which they weren't used to, but I had a chat with them and I made them feel more at ease about the issue. As the SD card filled up quite quickly, another creative solution we had was to do with the fact that another crew member had their laptop handy. This meant that when the SD card filled up, we could quickly transfer that footage which allowed us to format the SD card ready for another 10 minutes of footage. We did this twice, ending up with around 20-30 minutes of footage. Due to all the setbacks through the use of the SD card, we all learned a valuable lesson which was to never take the c-fast cards for granted. And I doubt we'll ever make the same mistake of forgetting to check if it is in the camera before a shoot again. 

In summary of this week, we have definitely crossed the half way mark in shooting the film. This is an extremely satiating and fulfilling feeling, and as director I feel a great weight off my shoulders as I now see the film not only being finished, but finished to the standard which I envisioned it from the start of this module. There seems to be a great energy and enthusiasm amongst the crew, and our unity only ever serves the film we're making. On a more personal note with this project I feel an amazing sense of balance coming into play from all of my previous points of focus and study throughout the degree. For example the past films I have made have all taught me valuable lessons about working with actors, utilising the skills of my crew and bringing a film together. I feel like I am consistently applying my knowledge and experience which I have gained from past ventures. Another way in which I feel that I am applying my learning is through my minor project. Prior to my Final Major Project, my minor project was me focusing on learning the ins and outs of lensmanship. As I am a visually orientated filmmaker, at the time I felt this was the way forward for me. Now that I am making a film, its hard to see how I would be crafting the shots which I am without that knowledge of lensmanship. My minor project and fmp are forming a synergy which really allows me to see my progression across the last year of my degree. I only hope to continue in this fashion in the coming weeks and months. 

Echoes of Silence - ADR Sessions

On the Tuesday and Wednesday of this week we held the ADR sessions for two of our main actors at CCAD. The first session on the Tuesday was with actress Eliza Hunton, who plays the character of Emily, the AI companion of the main character Julian. As both writer and director of the film I understood how hard this was going to be to get right from the very beginning. It's a difficult thing to pull off caring for and understanding a character who you never see physically. I also knew from the beginning that I wanted someone with a soft textured voice who could play a sophisticated program-minded being. When I was sent the voice recording from the actress I knew straight away that I was to utilise her, so I cast her back in February. It evidently took a while for us to get around to recording the ADR. This was because at the time we were in a heavy shooting schedule, which ended up benefitting us as during the ADR session we had a lot to work with. On Tuesday we attempted to record every line that the character of Emily has in the film. Not realising what I had done so early in the process of creating an AI character, I made the easiest possible scenario for recording ADR. The fundamental issue with ADR is timing. Getting the timing right in recording the actors line to match how their mouth moves in the footage. In the case of a character that never physically appears, that is never an issue. All we had to do is record the line and place it wherever we want it in relation to the other character who responds to those lines. Despite this it was still important that the lines felt authentic, which meant there was still a lot of directing to do during the ADR process. The actress Eliza was fantastic to work with as a director. It becomes increasingly easy as I age and mature as a director to differentiate between a theatre based actor and a screen based one. Eliza is quite clearly theatre based, as she constantly questions the inner motive of the character. We explored the morale issues of the film in depth, and I strongly believe those conversations lead us down an avenue in which she was successful in her readings. I really felt during this ADR session that I was applying my research into directing actors, by simply coaxing the actor into conversation and exploring the possibilities off the script pages. All in all the ADR session was a great success. Over the next week I will be reviewing the audio files and allowing them to fit into the edit. If I eventually do feel like I didn't get what I needed, I can easily reschedule a second ADR session to improve upon any weaknesses I find. Below is an image of our sound recordist and actress at work during ADR. 

The second day of ADR recording took place with our main actor. In contrast to our previous day recording with our actress who does not appear as a physical entity, this time we had to use the ADR to match the previously shot scenes. This was where the ADR got tricky. I already had an understanding of how hard ADR can be to pull off from my previous experience. For these reasons I was less intimidated by the prospect of how much ADR there was to do. I simply got straight into it with the hope of achieving results. Graham unfortunately had a bit of a cold the day of the ADR recording so some of his stuff is likely to sound quite sloppy through the mic. I wasn't too concerned with this as the first ADR was just a starting point which we could pick up on at a later date. The main issue I faced with the ADR session with Graham was the fact that I was doing it alone. Unfortunately the recording landed on a day when no one was in or were busy. Lack of preparation caught up with me when I realised this. I spent 20 minutes to half an hour before Graham was due to turn up running around the building looking for any unlikely soul who I could come across, with the aim of making them help me. I eventually gave up and accepted that I was going to have to both record the audio from Graham and also direct the ADR session. I can only say I regret that decision. I've had this debate many times before, and I stand by myself when I say that you can't direct and do any form of technical recording simultaneously. Nemesis suffered when I became a director/camera operator as you're seeing what it is you want objectively but you have no room for concentrating on performance and nuance. Unfortunately I think this happened in the second ADR session, whereas the first as shown in the pictures above, I had access to a recordist. I was able to talk through the script in great depth and I really felt like I was giving direction. Like all issues we come across we'll learn from them, and in the next ADR session I'll make sure I make the changes I need to get better results. 

Work Experience

This coming Friday myself and a couple of other students took the opportunity of being part of some work experience outside of uni. The offer came around through an email from one of our lecturers, outlining that we would be required to shoot some footage of a charity festival being held at preston farm on 20/04/18. I jumped at the opportunity to be part of this for a few reasons. The first being that admittedly in the past I have lost out to work experience due to the demands of having an actual job that requires my time when I'm not at University. The second reason being that at present my involvement with GMTL requires us to continuously work toward creating a portfolio in the form of a client based showreel. This way we can show potential clients our skills in advertising and in creating striking imagery. These are the kinds of things we need to be doing frequently to bolster our showreel and our position as emerging professionals. 

I will be camera operating on the shoot alongside another camera operator, and a sound operator. This way we can work as a team to get the shots we need whilst also working independently with our own equipment. This is a great opportunity for us to demonstrate professionalism amongst the public and amongst potential future clients. 

Applying for MA #3

With further help from Alyson Agar, I was making great progress into my Masters Degree application. The application is done through a website on the Newcastle University website. All of my information is stored there to do with my application. This week I have been focusing on making progress within that application, by adding things such as my prior education, personal details and things along those lines which are required. I was reaching my third draft of my personal statement, which I then sent over to Alyson to have one final check over before I sent it off. I was sent back my personal statement with some minor changes and I was then ready to go through with the application. 

At this rate I aim to have the application complete by May, giving me June, July and August to complete my financial applications for funding and to solidify my place at Newcastle University.

Prof Practice - Film Poster #3

I have ran into some trouble with the creation of my film poster for my Final Major Project, Echoes of Silence. As I discussed in my previous posts, one of the posters is complete. The poster that is complete is the minimalist design which I set as a task for one of the designers. The aim was to set a clear brief through description and visuals. That brief was fully met and due to that I plan on considering that poster as the final promotional poster for the film. However at the same time I am hesitant to do so as I am aware that minimalist poster designs are extremely subjective. Personally I am a huge fan of that form of graphic design, but I am also aware that many people hate that style and have actively said they dislike the poster. I do not intend to shy away from peoples opinions but a poster should work on the basis of people being a combination of both intrigued and pleased visually. 

The second issue was that the shoot I had planned the week before we broke up, we had to reschedule  as our actor became unavailable. This was all well and good in my mind as the photographer said we could do it after Easter. Then it dawned on me the deadline for professional practice is on the 18th. I could get the images for the poster I had planned on the 16th, but that only leaves me 2 days to create and fulfil what I had envisioned. In the past I would have gave tried to rush the process and inevitably came out with a lesser quality product. I have learned that quality ultimately takes time and to get the poster I want I'll need to be proactive for more than just those two days. 

So by weighing up all of that information I had a decision to make. Putting off the poster for another few weeks until we are back from easter break would mean I am idle on the poster front for all of that time. I decided that while I will have to wait that does not mean I cannot be proactive. In the meantime I decided that there had to be something I could do to create a poster without my subject and photographer available. I got in contact with the main actor and enquired about any potential professional images of him that may be usable. I put a plan together in my head that meant eliminating the need of a photographer and also utilising the use of fiverr which I have been keen on doing since I was introduced to it at the start of the module. I am very fond of the creative process that involves collaborating with other people to design or make something. That is what is so great about the arts in general - they're collaborative. 

I found that fiverr, as a platform, is incredibly representative of a collaborative industry in that sense. You give someone a brief, pay them, and with their talent you're given a product. My decision to be proactive with the creation of my poster involved using someone from fiverr to create a makeshift poster as a sort of 'proof of concept' to use for now while my main poster is still in the works. I had a clear vision of what I wanted in my head, as discussed at length in my previous posts in regard to double exposures within imagery. Now it was about communicating my ideas to another person to see what they could conjure. Below are the two images I was given by my main actor to work with. 

I have made the purchase stating my requirements, now I wait two to three days for the completed image to arrive back to me. 

On Saturday night, I received the poster with the requests that I made on behalf of the designer. This is what I received back; 

I am able to make revisions to this. In the next version the 'fiverr' watermark across the image will disappear once I accept the image. The other main change is to make the image a portrait instead of landscape - this is a lot more suitable for a film poster. I received the poster back in portrait format. This is what it looks like; 

Now this is what the completed poster design looks like; 

Prof Practice - Showreel

At present I am using a variation of my showreel which includes all of my work from 2017 and prior. This showreel was the one I displayed as part of my Final Major Project pitch. I put this together as a way to clearly demonstrate my visual language as a filmmaker, and I think my aesthetic is professional and consistent within this showreel. However I am aware that this showreel needs altering for a few reasons. The first being that it is too long. At the moment it is around a minute and a half, and I have to take that down to under a minute for definite. It's also outdated due to my Final Major Project being underway and being 1/3 of the way complete. I can now incorporate the work from that project into the showreel. I am looking forward to doing this as I believe that this project is now my best work from a visual standpoint. This is my current showreel; 

I extracted some files from the system at University so I could place some shots from my Final Major Project into a new and updated showreel. I also evaluated my showreel in depth and found there to be overuse of some films such as 'Alice'. By condensing the showreel down into a minute I feel I can confidently display my work allowing the visuals to catch the attention of an individual without it going on for too long. I think my work within this new and updated showreel showcases my skill as a director and most importantly my progression. To look at my initial work from Nemesis its clear to see that the variation of work on display is that of a vastly improved filmmaker. 

Prof Practice - GMTD Portfolio #6

This weekend we had two jobs on as part of our ongoing involvement in Get Me the Limelight. After our meeting with Gabriel the other day, we went away with our minds set on the upcoming music videos. However in the back of our minds was the task of filming some local businesses which we had no set date for. On Wednesday we received an email from our business partners enquiring about the availability of the crew on Saturday. Despite it being slightly short notice we all agreed and committed to attending on Saturday to complete the two jobs. 

The first job was to film an interview with a local business owner and fashion designer. The designer is owner of the label 'Omni-king'. We were to meet up in Middlesborough for 10AM to conduct the interview in the subjects shop whilst it was quiet on the morning. This was going to require use of the sound equipment and a camera to achieve what the client wanted. However on the day of the Saturday on the morning we were set to shoot, the client pushed the time back from 10:30AM to 11:30AM. We were quite annoyed about this initially due to the lack of notification. When 11:30 came around we waited at the location ready to set up for the shoot. 11:45 came around, still no sign of the client. By 12:00 we had left and moved on to our next client which was scheduled in at 4:30. We thought it a good idea to get a head start on looking to see what we were going to do. As far as the first client went, I'm hesitant to even reschedule the shoot at all. We were doing this as a favour on behalf of our business partners, and to be taken seriously in the future as a group of people with skills to offer, we need to set a price per head and a deposit in advance. We will review this in due time, and even though part of today went against what we had planned, we're able to use it as a valuable learning experience going forward in our careers. 

The second job was another local business, a coffee shop named 'Cupenos' in central Middlesborough. Located in the heart of the city centre, cupenos is an independent cafe serving hot food, drinks and snacks. This was a greater opportunity for us to take charge creatively as a crew. We were required to make the shop look appealing and to use moving image to prospectively 'invite' customers into the store through an advert. We were able to make use of fluid non-linear camera motion, including the use of slow-motion to achieve this. The owner of this business owns a few businesses throughout Middlesborough, and we were treating them as a high profile client. Even though we did not meet that individual today, we went in between the hours of half 4 and 6 o'clock and got the job done. We got various shots of subjects seated in the shop. The day before we rounded up extras to achieve this. 

Seating one of the extras for one of the shots. 

Overall as our first client based project independent from University, this went very well. We may have ran out of time but we're unsure at present. We'll only know once we edit together the footage and send it to the client. I think we demonstrated how competent we are with equipment and with our interpersonal skills in communicating with those involved. I look forward to our future endeavours as we look toward making some money and establishing our practice further. Below are some more images from the shoot at cupenos. 

Festival Entries #1

Today I entered 'ALICE' my film from 2017 into Cinefest film festival. The festival is free to enter and is held at Middlesborough college in May. Last year we attended the festival under the full impression that ALICE was successfully entered/nominated. We sat through the entire screening and award section of the festival only to find the film was not entered at all. There had been a lapse in communication and the organiser of the festival had failed to alert me that the link I provided to the film wasn't 'downloadable'. This is a very strange and lacklustre way to run a festival in the first place. The vast majority of festivals will only accept submissions via film freeway, a platform for filmmakers to store and enter their projects with ease. Long story short, we're going for it again this year for redemption. We were very disappointed last year, even after being told we were nominated for awards. Hopefully this year we will pick up an award at least for ALICE, to ensure that all of our hard work was not in vain. 

I also entered the script of Echoes of Silence into the festival. Last year by late April we were able to make a cut of ALICE just for cinefest. This year, unfortunately we are unable to do the same for Echoes of Silence. It's simply too much work for our editors on top of the fact that two thirds of the film are yet to be shot, and filming will be finalised in early May. Despite all of this I thought I might as well go ahead and enter the script into the screenplay category. Then next year we might be in the same position again in entering our film from the previous year once Echoes of Silence is complete. 

This is the earliest festival entry we have so far. A chunk of the GoFundMe budget will be spent on international film festival entries. As of this week I am embarking on an extensive research project around as many film festivals as we can possibly enter, both national and international. For now I'm focusing on the festivals that I'm aware of (e.g. cinefest). I will 100% be entering Sunderland Shorts and Newcastle Film Festival, as they provide networking opportunities for you by attending the festival in person. 

Prof Practice - GMTD Portfolio #5

Today we met with one of our main clients and business partners of GMTL. The guy is named Gabriel, who is a social media influencer and fashion blogger with over 20,000 followers across his social media platforms. This was my first time meeting Gabriel, and it was something I was looking forward too. I was keen to discuss creative ideas with him as a likeminded individual looking to grow our respective brands and gain experience within our areas. Gabriel is acting as a bridge between GMTL and a group of clients. Those clients are going to be music artists, some of whom are able to provide paid work. We are required to create music videos for Gabriel's clients. The prospect of this emerged when we began our involvement with GMTD, now GMTL. From the off myself and the crew were excited about the prospect due to our previous involvement with music videos and how much we enjoyed making them. Four of us in total travelled down to Darlington to meet Gabriel. We met up for an informal chat over a coffee where we learned Gabriel's plan for the future and how our involvement as a production company under GMTL was going to impact that. 

Gabriel has a few things in the works. As I previously stated he is a recognised social media influencer, fashion blogger and music producer. We discussed various topics in relation to what we could achieve in different areas creatively. The chat went really well and we bounced some great ideas off one another, but more importantly we outlined what we would be able to achieve. The first thing we discussed was a paid music video production for a high-profile client who is established within the north east music scene. This individual who I am yet to know the name of has an online reputation which is unprecedented amongst music artists anywhere in the North of England. They constantly get over 5,000 views per YouTube videos without professional marketing in the form of websites/social media/videos. I am yet to come across these kinds of numbers amongst amateur up and coming music artists in the north. This lends me to believe that this individual has a steady flow of support and fans who are providing the views and rates of likes. This is something which we are definitely going to look to benefit from and in turn hopefully provide them with a high quality music video. 

After light discussion we decided it best to set a deadline for our first project. This music video was going to be produced for one of Gabriel's artist friends and collaborators, but Gabriel is also going to be the subject of the music video itself. Gabriel uses an enigmatic marketing strategy in which he hides his face and identity on all social media. This is something which he wants to continue thematically throughout the production. We are to begin the project on the 1st of June. This gives Gabriel enough time to get into the shape he wants to be in for the video, and it is after all of our deadlines. Right now we are tasked with coming up with ideas around the concept and working toward that starting date of June 1st. I followed Gabriel on his social media platform, specifically Instagram. He is sponsored by popular brands such as Adidas, Zara and River Island, and he is very transparent about that on his social media. 

He was even featured on River Islands official website and instagram page, wearing their clothing as part of the I'mWearingRI trend. Gabriel is an important client for us due to his stature and I look forward to working with him creatively in the near future. 

Trick of the Dark - Shoot #1

Today was the first official shoot for Trick of the Dark. Schedule-wise, this is a lot later than we all had hoped for but the past is the past and we have to focus on the coming weeks. Myself and the Director had previous complications regarding casting, where cast members consistently became unavailable or dropped out of organised shoots. This is never new to student productions so I feel like although it has been disappointing, we're conditioned for it and we have to get on with it. 

D.O.P Liam Robson setting up for the shoot. 

This first scene we shot was shot in its entirety, however it was only five shots in total. As co-producer it was my role to supervise on set to make sure we were running efficiently and to operate objectively in everything I do. To me the role means having no creative input in the film, something which is quite alien to me as its the first time I have produced. It was a breath of fresh air to be able to sit and observe, and to bring up things like potential continuity errors and more importantly to keep on top of the production logs. Ironically the first scene we have shot is the very last scene in the film. This was another unusual situation for me in which I had to adapt mentally, as I had become accustomed to shooting my own film chronologically. 

The shoot involved two cast members and four members of the crew. Unfortunately because we were shooting in the sound stages again, we were unable to record sound which we'll have to do though ADR. This is a recurring issue which we have no control over (unless we wanted awful sound). It's a shame that the stages haven't been sufficiently soundproofed, but I imagine they will be if CCAD as an institution wants to attract filmmakers and production companies. 

Overall the shoot went very well and only took 3 hours or so before we were fully wrapped. The production logs and all of the necessary paperwork are complete on my behalf, and they are ready to go to the editors next week when we return from Easter break. 

Prof Practice - Applying for Jobs #3

The job hunt continues. Recently another job position opened up at Tyneside Cinema. This is my third application in 6 months. If they don't hire me this time I'll likely be given a restraining order. I'm determined to land a job at Tyneside as I have previously discussed at length. It proves for me financially and on top of that it is geographically perfect as I look to relocate to Newcastle to study my MA degree. Each time I apply I make sure I'm tweaking my application form slightly, just incase they do recognise my name coming up and accuse me of copying and pasting within my application. That would come across as unenthusiastic. That I am not. The key for me is to continue to check Tyneside Cinemas website for job opportunities. That is the only source I can get that information from as they don't advertise via third party apps or websites. 

So off went the third application via email - the application pack and equal opportunities monitoring pack included. Application after application for jobs online is a gruelling process. There are no faces to look at and certainly no way to convey your enthusiasm by typing words on a laptop. 

Prof Practice - LinkedIn Profile

I decided it would be beneficial for me to form and grow a LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is an app and social media platform which allows you to showcase information about your current work, your workplace, qualifications/education, and also allows you to keep in contact with colleagues and business partners. Essentially LinkedIn is a more professional Facebook. LinkedIn has become extremely popular over the past few years due to its effectiveness and its sleek easy to use layout. Having a strong LinkedIn becomes part of your CV and acts as a digital database/portfolio. Much like a CV, your LinkedIn profile is effective if it is concise and can be understood in a small amount of time. I learned all of this information by picking the brains of my duty manager at work. They said its encouraged within the catering and hospitality industry to have a LinkedIn profile, and that is not exclusive to any one industry due to its rise in popularity. Despite having a brief understanding from a brief talk with my manager I decided to begin conducting my own research into creating an effective LinkedIn profile. I was occasionally receiving emails from LinkedIn and it turns out that I already created an account some time ago, but I had failed to update it to ensure that it has search engine optimisation/profile photo/work info etc. 

This is what my very bare LinkedIn profile looks like currently; 

From my recent job searches and my general research I have found that one of the most effective ways to find out how to build a good site/CV/job application is to look at the specs from the company themselves. For instance in applying for jobs like Lidl and BALTIC which I have done over the past few weeks, those companies provide their own articles or pages of information regarding things like 'how to create an effective cover letter' or 'how to format your CV'. By looking into these things you can tailor whatever it is you're creating to suit the place or company its going to be handed to. This way you increase your chances of being seen or being successful. When I began looking into what makes a good LinkedIn profile, the first place I looked was the LinkedIn website. It turns out that they do infact have an option for this via the website, a page titled 'how to create a killer linkedin profile that will get you noticed'. 

The article is written by Bernard Marr, an internationally best selling author and public speaking. Bernard shares his wisdom via this article. Below are some of the important points I picked up on for my own future reference in crafting my profile.

• It's not about you. Write in first person but remember to sell yourself in whatever it is you're saying. Write as though someone else is reading to hire you or work with you. 
• Get a professional photo - meaning a clean and direct headshot. 
• Fill out the 'summary' field with some of your best achievements. 
• Add images, documents and videos to your profile where necessary. 
• Fill out as much of the profile as you possibly can. 
• Keep your work history relevant. 
• Use status updates to keep your contacts in the loop. 

After reading some of these helpful points from the LinkedIn website I decided I would also look elsewhere for confirmation. The next place I looked was HuffPost, who have an in-depth article on LinkedIn profiles. Huffington Post is a great reliable source of information and is seen as one of the pioneering websites in online modern journalism. 

The first thing that jumped out at me in this article was this quote; 

"Forbes reported that LinkedIn is the number one social tool for both job hunters and hiring managers."

Moving onto the specific points, there were eight in total on how to improve or great an effective LinkedIn profile. This is written from the perspective of Cat Knarr, a journalist who has first hand experience in her LinkedIn profile getting her a job. 

• Build a multimedia profile - make your profile aesthetically pleasing with visuals such as images and videos. 
• Go for meticulous detail - provide instances of work and experience of all kinds that can in some way relate.
• Don't be afraid to connect - utilise the platform to create connections with people. 
• Network inside of LinkedIn groups. 
• Give recommendations and endorsements - and ask for them too. 
• Keep your profile up to date and organised. 

Now I feel like I had the knowledge and understanding of what makes a solid LinkedIn profile, I went about updating my own. Most of it was straight forward entering information and ensuring your profile is up to date based on suggestions made in house. One of the stumbling points which required me to further my research was the summary section. Whilst I am used to writing short summaries about myself and this includes cover letters, I always feel more comfortable when I know exactly what it is I'm writing for, and more importantly why I'm writing it. I found an article also from LinkedIn, showcasing some of the best summaries. I tried to format my own in this way whilst bringing in my own terminology and way of expressing what I do. I learned that a summary must concisely put across what it is you do whilst also having an informal spin to it. The formal approach will leave you dead in the water on LinkedIn, as people want to read something interesting in the midst of the thousands of summaries out there. This is what I came up with; 

After I uploaded my summary I am now what LinkedIn refers to as an 'all star' - meaning that I have passed all of the recommended steps set by LinkedIn. What this does statistically speaking is make you 27 times more likely to show up as a potential employee or business partner. Doing some research and being inventive on how to sell myself has not only made my LinkedIn profile complete, it has made it functional. 

Now that my LinkedIn profile is up and running, I'm going to see where I can go with it. I can link up with colleagues past and present, and I can also look for job opportunities outside of my current sphere (e.g. applying for jobs through job advertisement websites). I believe LinkedIn can bring me some better opportunities alongside being an excellent platform promoting personal growth in a business orientated environment. 

GoFundMe - Update

Almost 2 weeks have went by since the GoFundMe went live. Since that time we have passed the half way mark. This means that we've already made great progress and we're on our way to reaching our target by the middle or end of April. Below is the current status of our campaign. 

On top of the current £255 worth of donations we have racked up, we have £60 worth of donations incoming from members of the crew which will take us to £315. I also have an offline donation coming in via £20 cash, taking us up to £335. Once those donations are finalised within the next week, we can go for one last social media push to get the final £165 we need. I think that people will be more influenced to donate seeing that we are closer to our goal, opposed to being one of the first to donate and having little to no faith in the project reaching its goal. As someone who became against the GoFundMe in the days before it went live, I have been proved wrong. The generosity of many people has taken us through which I also believe is combined with the skill we put on show through our video campaign. I will post updates in the coming weeks as we get closer to our goal.