Chris Sykes, now Broadcast Assistant with BBC Newcastle, found his way into the radio station via work experience. Here’s why he impressed the BBC, and why they wanted to keep him around:
Continue reading “Chris Sykes, BBC Newcastle – How Will Buckley Started My Radio Career”
Because sometimes, when life gives you lemons, creative people start companies.
Click here to listen to Courtney Pine on 99% Perspiration
“I just wanted to play the saxophone, I just wanted to make music. And then that’s opened doors to other things, like going to see the queen…
“The reason why I’m still insane is because I realise that jazz music is supposed to be about new challenges. Jazz music is creativity.”
Internationally renowned jazz musician, and founder of Creative People Music. Possibly the most impassioned person we’ve ever met. This episode is full of his gorgeous music.
Click here to listen to Anne Curtis on 99% Perspiration
“People have a perception of you as an artist being fluffy-headed, a bit weird and a bit off the wall. It’s as if you can’t be an artist and be a very good project manager, or a very good business person.
“I think I can do all of those things, and I apply my creative ability to every one of those things.”
Artist, illustrator, and Founder and Creative Director of Shoo Fly Publishing. And not afraid to tell it like it is. Trust us.
And, as always,
Stay productive, stay awesome!
Jay Sykes
Executive Producer, 99% Perspiration
Hello, Creatives! If you’re like me, you’re the kind of person who wants to learn everything. I may specialise in audio, but it’s so handy to get your head around visual software too! But, unless you’ve been using Photoshop a while, you won’t know your way around the branding software. R.Branding are here to make your life easier, with their series of Adobe Photoshop tutorials.
Ryan Booth from R. Branding (who’ll be featured in an upcoming episode of the 99% Perspiration podcast) demonstrates exactly how Spotify brands their images, artwork, and adverts, using a similar duotone technique.
Learn how to stylise your images using the “Blend If” tool in Photoshop; enhance shadows and highlights, giving more depth to your subject / scene.
And, as always,
Stay productive, stay awesome!
Jay Sykes
Executive Producer, 99% Perspiration
Hello, Creatives! One of my side projects alongside running 99% Perspiration is a weekly radio programme called ArtyParti. We invite guests to chat about artistic & cultural events in the North East of the UK.
Here’s the latest, episode 39;
by Pete Lutz
So you say you’re a creative type who has always wanted to put together some kind of artistic endeavour that will enthral the masses and make you big bucks at the same time? Well, that’s really quite wonderful, but I’m sorry, you’re reading the wrong article. No, this is for somebody who is desperate to provide a bit of entertainment to anyone who may listen, and to create that entertainment on an absolutely near-invisible shoestring budget.
Actually, this is more of a story about how I did it, and there are some steps here that I don’t recommend for everybody, but you should still know everything. Well, almost everything. I won’t bore you with all the sleepless nights I spent weeping over it like it was my own child. Oh. Looks like I just did. So, why not read on?
1. COME UP WITH A WONDERFUL IDEA.
Audio dramas are stories that are told so well that the listener can see it like a movie in his mind. It’s your job to come up with that story. You can do what I did, which is create an anthology series called Pulp-Pourri Theatre (each episode a standalone story with a beginning, middle and end), or you can go the way of a serial and have several episodes with a longer, drawn-out story. The choice is yours, and you should go ahead and write the outline for your series. No, go ahead. I’ll wait right here until you’re done. Got any magazines?
Continue reading “How to Create an Audio Drama Series on Little-to-No-Budget”
Hello, Creatives! Jay here. Earlier this month, I held my first ever free social media class in the City of Sunderland; “Social Media 101”.
If you live near Sunderland, UK, feel free to join – “Social Media 101” is every 2nd Wednesday of the month, held in Holmeside Coffee. It’s informal, and a change to learn from each other over good coffee & good food.
I’ve been teaching “Introduction to Social Media” at the University of Sunderland since January this year (given the opportunity to branch out from radio production), and it’s been a really rewarding experience. I’ve both learned [and taught] a great deal about the theories behind how to increase engagement across your social media platforms.
A very quick Google will help you pick up dozens of skills for getting the most out of services; Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. Here’s my first contribution to that online conversation.
1) “Reply All”
If you haven’t heard of internet heavyweight Gary Vaynerchuck, now’s the time.
This talk by Gary Vaynerchuck may be from 2011, but it’s probably one of the most important speeches you can ever watch about social media engagement:
If people are talking about you, your creative projects, or your products, social media exists for you to take advantage of that. We’re at a unique point in history where you can interact with people like never before. Take advantage of that. And if they’re not, join in those online conversations.
Alan Parkinson, self-published author
“Meeting people for the first time, the usual ice breaker is “What do you do?” Since I gave up my full time job I can now proudly proclaim “Writer.” But then the inevitable follow up comes; “Are you published?” Instead of answering in the affirmative, I usually mumble “Self published” as if it’s something to be ashamed of.
“We’ve come a long way since the days of vanity publishing and being self published is something to be proud of, yet there is still that nagging doubt that you aren’t a writer until a ‘proper publisher’ has noticed you.”
Regular listeners to the 99% Perspiration Podcast might remember Alan Parkinson from episode 16 of season 1. Back then, Sunderland-based novelist Alan was juggling writing around his full-time office job, filling his early morning and evenings to unleash his creativity in ways he couldn’t during the day. Fast-forward to now, and with a third novel nearing completion, self-published author Alan has traded in his full-time managerial office job to write novels full time. He’s taken the plunge a lot of people dream of doing.
If you’re an emerging writer or author, read on. Alan’s sharing his advice on self-publishing. The pitfalls, the triumphs, and everything in between.
Meet Robert Cudmore, one half of YAP Audio Production, along with Matthew McLean. They’re the audio drama production company behind “Aftermath & Other Audio Drama Stories” which tells tales of the post-apocalyptic, horror, sci-fi and comedy; now blending their two-series post-apocalyptic drama Aftermath with a series of short, one-off pieces.
Ryan Watson, who runs the Juice Festival Blog, wanted to find out more.
Hello, Creatives! Our latest series of blogs comes from the lovely folk at Northern Bear Films, an award-winning creative film & media company, focused on creating and sharing entertaining stories.
Since launching in 2012, Aman, Jerome & the team have delivered projects for local to national brands, including names such as The National Trust, Creative England, and the British Film Institute.
Today, John Reed walks you through ways to keep your videos’ viewers on YouTube; when there’s so much content on thousands of other channels they can check out instead, why should they stay on your YouTube channel?
“For YouTube, eye catching thumbnails and intriguing titles hook viewers. Those are two crucial factors for a successful YouTube video, but what happens when people finish watching that first video – do they leave? Don’t let them leave. Just how your thumbnails and titles have combined to form the ultimate click bait, so should the rest of your channel and videos.
Continue reading “Northern Bear Films: How to Retain Viewers on YouTube”
Hello, Creatives! It’s not often I post about me on here, but today I feel compelled to. I’m honestly thankful for pretty much everything in life right now.
I’ll keep it brief.
So my name’s Jay, for those who don’t know me. I’m the guy who runs 99% Perspiration – the podcasts (both editing and hosting), the Facebook network, the Twitter, and this very blog. It’s a lot of work, and I love it. But it’s a third “job”, and it seldom gets the attention it deserves.
99% PERSPIRATION 