At first, I was fairly undecided about what I wanted to do for my Professional Project, and what goals I wanted to achieve from it. As I stated near the beginning, at first I planned to create a VJ/DJ set using computer software. This area still interests me, and is something I’d like to explore further when I have the opportunity, but for now it seemed to make more sense tying it in with the Partizan as I was committed to doing that. Plus, by using it for the project it means I had more time and energy to focus fully on the one thing. Family circumstances at the time didn’t help, and so once that was all dealt with a fresh start was what was needed.
I think I made the right choice in changing idea, as I feel I’ve gained vast amounts more experience then I would have done making a VJ set, as well as created a more diverse, broader range of items for presentation. Like I say, VJ’ing is still something I want to do but in my own time for the moment. I also now have a base to sprout from, with many areas to expand into. The extra enthusiasm gained from doing something I’m passionate about shows throughout the project, and I feel that although there is still much to learn I have excelled for this attempt.
As for Ableton, it’s something I plan to use a whole lot more regularly. Music production is another area I’m hugely interested in, and Ableton is one of the top software’s out there to learn on. The interface and program itself are easy to use, and my experience of it so far has been greatly interesting. The speed and ease with which you can mix on it is astounding, and live remixing is possible on the fly there and then. £400 is certainly a reasonable amount for what you get with the full suite, although there are some aspects where Ableton falls behind other software, such as the final mixing down of your audio. Logic seems the best for this, although a combination of the two would set you back about £800 in total.
As soon as I got going with the new project, I knew it was the right idea to develop. From looking at existing nights, I knew there were certain rules to follow when making the material, such as consistency and creating a strong brand identity that’s easily recognisable. I knew I didn’t want to overcomplicate the designs, whilst making them catchy enough to catch people’s attention. There needed to be plenty of contrast and a contemporary feel that made them appeal to the right target audience.
I feel I hit most of these targets across the entire range, and although there is stuff I could still develop further I’m happy with what I have created for the moment. Obviously as time goes on and the event gets bigger and more well known, ideas will develop and expand, and we will think of new ways to promote. Video is an area we shall definitely do next time, as well as more motion graphics. The ‘Pogo Promo’s’ are definitely the strongest area of the project, but all the printed work look’s great and does exactly what it’s asked to do, and does it well. Whilst out and about I had many compliments on how good the flyer looked, and the amount of people who recognised the face after a few weeks means we must have gone about promoting it in the right way. So as far as the promotional material goes I think I created a strong body of work that was fit for purpose.
As far as getting out and promoting, the amount of hours I spent stood outside clubs became ridiculous towards the end, although it’s an essential part of the whole process and so needed to be done. It was ok when there was a night I actually wanted to go to on, but when you’ve had a long day and you want to relax, getting up and going out at 1 in the morning is not exactly ideal. But it’s all about showing your face at the right places and networking with your potential customers. We also did flyering out and about in the day in town, although only a week before the event. Flyering in the day can be better as people actually take in the information the read, where as at night you are targeting the specific people you know go to similar events and so may be interested in yours. So a mixture was healthy, and we got good feedback from both.
Poster space was another extra we decided to buy, costing £150 for 100 A3 posters for 4 weeks in various locations around Bournemouth. Although this is a good way of guaranteeing people see your poster, it does all depend on where they are placed. The price was a bit expensive too I thought, especially as I only saw about 20 walking around Bournemouth town centre. But they do get spread up around the whole of Bournemouth, so many I wouldn’t have seen. The A0 size posters were genius for a couple of days before the event, as they cannot be missed by anyone who walks past them. The high impact designs were perfect for this. The only annoying thing was the main one got stolen the day of the event form outside the club, and the day of the event is possibly the most important as it’s when most people decide whether or not they feel like going out.
Facebook and MySpace turned out to be useful tools, although possibly not to the extent we had hoped, although it’s never a good idea to rely on what it say’s in relation to amounts of people coming etc. But the pages can stay up and be developed for the next event, and hopefully the following will continue to grow. Its easy enough to spread the word using it, so why not?
The night itself went down great, apart from the occasional glitch. We got 222 people through the door including DJ’s, so made a loss but had a good little vibe, and with these things you always expect a loss first few times. A few main factors that worked against us was the fact it was summer solstice the same day, there were no students about at the time and there was a similar night on at the same club the night before ours, so had all these not been affecting anything I genuinely feel we would have had in excess of 300 people through the doors. I know a few of the existing event promoters around Bournemouth, and all of them said what a good, committed job we had done and that 222 people for a launch night was good, so I was happy! But next time we should think about putting it on a Friday so no one can go before us, and doing it when the students are around and have money. It’s a safe bet for getting people through the doors.
The few glitches we did have were minor and were sorted out easily, like I say, the most annoying thing was the main A0 poster getting robbed from right outside the club! Each and every DJ played a wicked set and was warmly appreciated by the crowd, and although it wasn’t overly busy all night there was an intimate vibe about the place, and everyone I spoke to was enjoying themselves. Décor is definitely something that worked for the night, everyone commented on how different and better the inside looked just with a little bit of cloth, so more covering a larger area with more banners and A0 posters is definitely something we shall do next time. It is actually amazing what a little attention to detail and effort can do.
There are many areas we can expand for the next event. Although some of the imagery and style shall be required to keep it consistent and recognisable, the overall design can definitely be developed further. I really like the idea of more animation and promo’s, as well as creating video advertising. It’s something I’ve not seen at all around Bournemouth so far, and could be our added edge in attracting new customers. It’s something different and not widely used. These could then be handed out on CD’s with sample mixes and flyers, almost as gifts for people giving them something to remember us by. It could make all the difference.
The social networking sites are another area to expand, as they really can be such valuable tools. As well as making them more attractive, we need to spread them further and get in contact with more people. At the end of the day, it’s all about networking, and the more people you know the better. Creating our own website is another option, although for the moment unnecessary as most people are familiar with social networking sites, use them a lot and are happy using them, so until we need it for a specific purpose there is not much point.
If all goes to plan, I see a business emerging from all this, a promotion company, possibly specifically for music events, but not necessarily. At the end of the day, promotion and advertising is an area that interests me, so I wouldn’t say no to anything. But it does make sense to promote something I enjoy so much. Larger events are something hopefully not too far out of our reach, and festivals are another thing to consider if we become big enough. Flyer packs and artist agency are other areas we could promote, but it all depends on how well we promote the building blocks now. The night is only the start.
So overall I feel we’ve done a great job for our first attempt, and certainly put the foundations in to build from. We’ve already booked a date for the next one (16th October), and the artists are booked and confirmed. All that’s left to do is crate the new range of promotional material! As for the design work I created, I’m hugely happy with the outcome of each item, and feel it’s a strong range of material. If anything there is possibly too much consistency, but at the end of the day you wouldn’t confuse any item for another night. So if I can develop these ideas further and better we are onto a winner, and I certainly feel we all have the commitment and desire needed to make the next event bigger and better.
Links to blog/social network pages/pogo promos:
http://partizandovey.wordpress.com/
Pogo’s Facebook profile – http://www.facebook.com/partizanproject
Facebook Group – http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=100093830459&ref=ts
Facebook Event – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=85257722115
Myspace page – http://www.myspace.com/partizanproject
Pogo Scratch 1 – http://mediaweb.aib.ac.uk/fdashow09/dovey/pogo_scratch_1.mov
Pogo Scratch 2 – http://mediaweb.aib.ac.uk/fdashow09/dovey/pogo_scratch_2.mov
Pogo Scratch 3 – http://mediaweb.aib.ac.uk/fdashow09/dovey/pogo_scratch_3.mov
Pogo Drum and Bass – http://mediaweb.aib.ac.uk/fdashow09/dovey/pogo_drum_and_bass.mov
Pogo Dubstep – http://mediaweb.aib.ac.uk/fdashow09/dovey/pogo_dubstep.mov
