I also use the ATEM Television Studio HD for my stage setup. I always am thinking about how to enhance it to also being able to record the whole show. I guess I have to speak to Aaron Parecki and see how he setups up his stuff. Not sure, if I’d manage to use my gear on stage and simultaneously record an event, but let’s find out.
Anyways, Aaron recorded a lovely little video of how he is setting up at an event with many useful insights. A bit of information overload for me, to be honest, but lovely to watch (I guess I have to re-watch, as soon as I am done with beyond tellerrand in Düsseldorf). Nice addition to this is the explanation of his workflow, cutting the videos onsite to more or less directly publish them on YouTube (or Vimeo).
In addition to this video, I’d love to see the following information:
A list of the gear that is used (maybe with a price overview as well)
A schematic setup plan
Maybe Aaron already has prepared something like this and I only have to search on his website ;)
When I arrived back home from San Francisco, I read that my friend John decided to end his event. I chatted to him followed social media and wanted to write something here, on my blog.
Well, it is like always, finding excuses not to do something, but honestly, only a bit more than two weeks and my own show – where John owns a big part of – takes place. I just feel, I can’t lose more time to write it and I always say how important friendship is and people are. Therefore I just hope I hold all the deadlines and manage to get everything done in time. John, this is for you.
I have been out tonight and on my way back I thought about many ways of starting to write about my friend ending what his passion always was. How to find the right way to express what it means to me. What it might mean to him. Like me, John ran the whole show on his own support by many wonderful people like Andy, Chris, and, of course, his wife Jo.
Those of you, who know me and my event and have attended one, know that I always also thank John at the end of the show. Reason to do so is, that he is my trash can like I am his. We have ideas, we have opinions and we ask each other, what the other one thinks about it. We agree, we disagree and we have saved each other many times from doing the wrong thing.
Over the last two or three years those moments haven’t been as regular as they used to. I have seen my good friend struggling. Trying to read, trying to understand what was happening. Actually ever since he simply renamed his event from Flash On The Beach to Reasons To. I understand why Brendan Dawes writes:
[…] and whilst it was successful I never felt it had the same vibe for me personally […]
For me the key here is personally. So many people I met at Flash On The Beach had a real personal connection to this event. Therefore this event became something were they met, where they knew, that everybody else would be there.
For a certain reason exactly his got lost when John changed the name of the event. Identification. People loved the event, but John gave his very best to reming people that, if they won’t tell anybody about the event if they liked it, no one would. This is what we live of: people doing the marketing we don’t have the money for. Plus many other factors in addition … (John, we had so many nights chatting about exactly this – I enjoyed any minute of it)
Now, I would easily fill your day with great, wonderful, personal stories about John’s event, but I guess you understand how much I loved it anyways. I have been there every damn year. I loved meeting the people I know and meeting people I had never seen before. Broken leg or not. But I also have seen my friend worrying.
As much as I am sad about the end of Reasons To I am looking forward to what John maybe enjoys doing next. I don’t think he is done with events, but he is taking a well deserved break to maybe come back with what he loves: gathering a wonderful and inspiring group of people to inspire and motivate us.
Thanks so much, John, for 12 exceptional years in Brighton, New York and London.
A couple of months ago I was watching a documentary in which the conductor Hossein Pishkar appeared. At one point he said …
Ich zweifle ständig und andauernd an mir. Selbstzweifel. Immer wieder. Nur beim Machen, da darf man keine haben!
… which translates into something like …
I keep doubting myself constantly. Self-doubt. Again and again. Only when acting, you must not have any!
I think if you decide to act and to do/make something you have to forget this constant self-doubt. It would block you and you can question yourself afterwards again (which you will). In the moment, just go with it. Give 100% and be confident.
It started with me killing dead all notifications, not just on my phone but on my desktop too. I now live in a state of ignorant bliss, free from knowing if somebody from just liked a tweet or my latest stupid Instagram post. If I decide to fire up either of these that's my decision. With notifications it's the other way round — your phone is controlling you — telling you what to do with your time.
… and I totally agree to the statement that phones – or mobile devices in general – are controlling us more and more. I see this day by day, watching my kids during their days.
I for myself, though, try to simply don’t let this happen. Maybe it would be easier to switch off my notifications as well, but then I see it as part of my job as doing support for beyond tellerrand and being reachable for customers. I am in a totally different role here though, surely. What I learned though, over the years, is to not react to any damn notification anymore. I learned to ignore or overlook them and reply to questions quick, but when I find the time.
How are you thinking about this? What is your way of dealing with more and more distractive noise around you? Would be interesting to hear this (replies recently only work via Twitter and webmention or email of course).
Part of Kai Brach’s introduction text to his latest edition of the newsletter Dense Discovery states this:
I still believe that, if done well, sponsorships offer benefits that go beyond easy-to-measure performance metrics. While anyone can buy more visits, sponsorships are forged with a mutual understanding that both parties can benefit from each other’s reputation. Conferences, community events, open-source software, and a plethora of creative endeavours (many of which inspire critical thought) only exist because of the generous support by organisations that believe in the value of affiliation. Let’s hope that spirit outlives our obsession with the measurable.
I was lying down with fever and a cold, which I have already felt coming in Nottingham. Friday evening I crashed and crawled out of bed yesterday. Email, to do’s and work is piling up, but if I wont write this personal review of the event now – which I’d like to as I like Geri Coady and Simon Collison (aka Colly) – I will never do it.
Ethan closing the event with his talk
When I attend an event, I always wear two hats: the hat of an attendee and the other hat of someone who organises and runs events myself. Some of the details I sometimes see are not what usually attendees see on a first view. And also often I have to remind myself, that I might have seen speakers multiple times already, where some of the delegates just attend their very first event. A very important factor – if not most important for me personally – is, if I leave the event with an overall good impression. Not just the talks where good. Not just the organisation was well done. Not just the atmosphere was friendly and welcoming. But: all this together has been a great package.
For those who don’t like to read longer texts: New Adventures had all this above and more!
The Fear of Not Selling Out – and How This Does Not Matter for New Adventures
I have been at all four New Adventures conferences. From 2011 to 2013 and now in 2019. It took Geri and Simon a long time and really a lot of thoughts (and guts!) before they decided to bring New Adventures back to life. Not only are a lot of events suffering from not selling tickets as quick as they used to, but bringing an event back after six years, an event with a very hight reputation … chances are high you can only loose. People who were at the old edition might compare the event with the good old time, where new attendees who heard “how great the old edition of this event were” are coming with such a high expectation already. So the pressure surely is high.
I have had a couple of conversations with Colly and early after announcing the event and and starting to sell tickets, he had the feeling as if tickets would not sell as they used to in former years. Colly is a person, I think like me, who has a good gut feeling about things like this and therefore he made sure to be prepared to go an extra mile to draw attention to this new event. Yes, a new event, as six years in internet time mean that there might be a lot of people who might have still played with Lego or Playmobil back when the first year happened. People who used to come might have gotten children, moved away for job reasons and to on.
In short: how do you advertise and sell tickets to a group of people that mixes of past delegates and (hopefully) new people who like to come?
I certainly know the fear of not selling out. Even if I am fortuned enough to sell out for the past 8 years, I never, as I often say, take it for granted that the next show is going to sell out again. I always fear Will I sell enough tickets to pay the bills at least? I can only imagine, all the things that Simon and Geri planned to do for the attendees and how they have to re-think their ideas and plans every now and then, when they hit the next level to being able to pay something they wanted to do for the people at the event.
Because of the headline you might wonder: was it sold out or not?
No, it was not. And where I wish it would have been, to get both organisers the money they deserve, for the event itself it was of no interest. I have been at events, where empty seats create a strange atmosphere. Where it feels as if the room is empty and the certain spark of enthusiasm and love does not jump over from the stage to the audience, but in Nottingham? No. It did not matter at all, that a few seats were empty. But it felt wonderfully warm and the atmosphere was positive and great!
The Opportunity to Curate a Full Day of Topics
I won’t write about every single presentation and other people have done a great job here already (here, here and here for example), but I wanted to quickly say, that Simon had a good mix of well respected and known speakers and new faces on stage. When I have seen the first round of announced speakers in the beginning I was a bit sceptical, but I was wrong. Topics and presentation quality were excellent and did not disappoint at all. Most of the talks had a great message, pushing everybody into a positive future, but making us aware, that we have a job, where we are responsible for what we design and create, but also that we are builders and creators of things, which means, that we have the option, the tools and – hell yes – the obligation to change things!
So well done with choosing some very important and motivational topics for this day!
The Fun of Being the Host
Cupcakes!
One part that I hugely enjoy also is, to be the host of an event. As much stress and work as it is, it pays so much back, to have the opportunity to welcome people from all around the world and create a welcoming and friendly space and atmosphere for them.
Also here, I can only say that Geri and Simon made a fantastic job. All the fringe events around the main event, the care and – of course – their friendly personality have shined through.
Not in a Million Years Aka Maybe
So, was that a one-off show or will New Adventures return? If you ask the attendees, I bet there is an overwhelming majority of those who directly say yes, bring it back.
When I asked Simon on an evening before the event he said …
Not in a million years!
… which over the time of the event and until after the event turned into a subtle Maybe. Let’s see how we feel afterwards and if people would come back.
All delegates gave feedback to the question, if they would return next year. But those things have to be taken carefully of course. Everybody at the event is on an emotional high and surely tends to say yes. An event’s organiser now has to evaluate the answers and come up with an interpretation on which she/he can base a decision to run or not run another edition next year. One year is a lot of time and many things can change, which might lead to a different answer than the one given on the piece of paper, when Simon asked.
But if you ask me, New Adventures should be back. We need more events like this, who inspire and motivate. Where the people behind the event care. And New Adventures just hit a time to come back, where running events is not the easiest thing you can do and times are a bit difficult (for too many reasons to write about this right here).
Next to this, I have had a fantastic time and I met so many people I know since years, plus I had the chance – and used it – to meet many new people and chat about a lot of different topics. Wonderful.
So yes, Geri and Simon, bring back the show next year. I love kicking off the year in Nottingham. At New Adventures!
