Category 99% Extra
Adventurous Artsy Anecdotes
Chris Sykes, BBC Newcastle – How Will Buckley Started My Radio Career
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:
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How to Create an Audio Drama Series on Little-to-No-Budget
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?
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Supercharge Your Social Media
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.
An Author’s Guide to Self-Publishing
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.
Northern Bear Films: How to Retain Viewers on YouTube
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.
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Adventureous Artsy Anecdotes – Week 3
99% Perspiration vs. Juice Festival – part 2
Ryan’s the one looking goofy on the left, I’m the one with less than cool fashion sense on the right. Who even wears knitted ties?
Juice Festival blog’s Ryan Watson caught up with me over lunch to chat all things creative, and why I make 99% Perspiration. (You can read part 1 of the interview here, where we talked about questions, interview skills and preparation.)
We chatted about networking skills, building up confidence, creative opportunities, and about the inspiration behind making 99% Perspiration.
Could you tell me about some of the challenges in building up the audience for 99% Perspiration?
Click here to listen to Sean Rameswaram, producer of Sideshow on WNYC & Studio 360, on 99% Perspiration
Podcasts do take a lot of work, a lot of time to build up – you’ve just got to keep going at it really. I haven’t increased numbers as much as I’d originally hoped for, but I’ve increased numbers a fair bit since I began. We’re into the thousands now, it’s taken a long time.
It’s interesting that you say numbers have not gone up as much as you’d hoped by now…
Yeah, I was hoping to have conquered the world by now. (Jay laughs.)
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99% Perspiration vs. Juice Festival
Hello, Creatives! Usually on 99% Perspiration, we’re interviewing other creative professionals to find out what advice they have in store for emerging creatives, and what skills/knowledge they can offer us. And I must say, it’s nice, and really rather surreal, to have the tables turned.
Ryan’s the one looking goofy on the left, I’m the one with less than cool fashion sense on the right. Who even wears knitted ties?
Juice Festival blog’s Ryan Kennedy decided to catch up with me over lunch and find out what advice I had in store for other creatives; particularly those interested in starting their own podcasts. Here’s the post (originally posted to the Juice Festival blog website).
You know the drill; click on “Continue reading” to, well, you know, continue reading.
99% PERSPIRATION 