First day of the Future Producers weekend session was a great way to get to know each other and immerse ourselves in the experience. The day started off with a team challenge to build highest possible construction out of raw spaghetti and marshmallows. It was a great way to get used to working together. Next up was a talk from Sarah Ellis – Digital Producer from Royal Shakespeare Company who talked about the role of a producer & her project Midsummer Night’s Dreaming. Her talk was a perfect way to start the programme- seeing someone being so incredibly passionate about her work makes you go ‘Let’s get some stuff done’ ! Passion really is contagious, it would be interesting to see what generations of creators could we raise if every kid during their education had a chance to talk to someone so passionate about their work.
One of my favourite quotes from the talk was – Don’t be afraid of failure, it’s about how you come back from it. In my opinion it is so important to approach your projects with courage, knowing that no matter what happens it will be an enriching experience.
Second part of the day was led by Tom Metcalfe- designer, resident of the Persuasive Media Studio. Tom took us through the basis of creative process of idea generation. We then put the theory to the test, going through the process in groups and creating a vine, as a prototype of our creative idea. At this point in the day I remembered Jess & Hannah telling us at the beginning of the day to get comfortable with uncertainty and … discomfort, as working on a project often includes moments where you have no idea where it is going. I sure experienced this during the group challenge. In the end it turned out that once you simply go with the slight chaos, things fall into place as each team member brings their own individual skill to the table.
After the session we grabbed a drink at the Watershed bar, talking about films, music, travelling, role of media in constructing ethnic identity , legalisation of prostitution, sharks and loads of other random topics. At that moment I thought to myself ‘what a brilliant way to finish this wonderfully inspiring day’. In Sarah’s words ‘ be generous and surround yourself with good, exciting people’ !
