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Digital Discovery Webinars: Top Takeaway’s

Written by Young Producers
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6th May 2020

China Plate and Warwick Arts Centre’s Young Producers share their thoughts on our Digital Discovery Webinars:

A presentation slide listing the Digital Discovery Webinars

A shift towards the digital has been occurring in the arts world for some time now. The internet has allowed us to broadcast traditional performances to a wider audience and engage with these viewers via social media. We can widen our creative reach in a way that has never before been possible.

Digital media also provides us with a whole host of new artistic possibilities. This is what China Plate’s Digital Discovery sessions seek to explore. Originally intended for a pre-Covid world, these talks were instead delivered via Zoom. They question four forms of digital creation, picking apart what they are, how to create them and why they can be helpful. Watching these webinars amidst the chaos that is suddenly our reality provides a moment of welcome reflection.

Right now, if we wish to create (and share those creations) we must adapt. These webinars are the perfect place to begin.

Here are mine (Catherine), Emily, Lilly and Paige’s top takeaways:


An introduction to online distribution and Livestreaming, a beginner’s guide

Emily’s takeaways from the webinar are…

  • I discovered that it is possible with any budget, that work can be accessed by a large audience, and can be viewed through multiple different social media platforms where the most popular one is Facebook.
  • However, neurodiverse individuals or the elderly may perhaps struggle to navigate themselves around the technologies, so access must be made as simple and clear as possible and solutions to complex systems need to be found, e.g. making slow ‘GIFS’ which are more comprehensible.
  • Overall, making a successful live stream is simple and easy for the majority, if the rules on how to capture an aesthetically pleasing image are followed, e.g. lighting, background and sound quality, and then distributing this out on the preferred platform.


An introduction to VR, 360 & immersive experiences

Lilly’s takeaways from the webinar are… 

  • 360 degree and VR experiences are extremely effective at placing you in a particular character/objects point of view and are exciting in their immersive nature.
  • Both are effective when applied to small audience sizes, with well-planned performance slots due to the amount of kit required.
  • A disadvantage of them is that they’re not accessible to all and they’re expensive to produce in comparison to other art forms.

Watch if you’re interested in immersive theatre or new and dynamic works.


Editing and capturing short form film content

Paige says watch this if… 

  • You’re interested in how to make the most out of sharing a short video on a social media platform, by learning about the challenges of sharing social video and how to overcome them.
  • You want to know which social platform best suits your style of video, how to make your video more accessible, or how to make your video ‘thumbstopping’.
  • You want to discover how to give your video the best chance of success by considering the nature of social media algorithms.


An introduction to podcasting

Catherine’s takeaways from the webinar are…

  • Just as an author is often a reader, a podcast creator should also be a podcast consumer.
  • Passion for your project is far more important than having lots of expensive kit.

Watch if you’re interested in… well, just about anything! If you enjoy sharing opinions and starting discussions, then this is the digital medium for you.

The Digital Discovery series was presented by China Plate and The Space as part of China Plate’s Digital Darkroom project. Supported by New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth and Warwick Arts Centre. Supported using public funding through Arts Council England.

Our webinars were BSL interpreted by Laura Goulden and Donna Ruane from THEATRESIGN. For more information about our Digital Darkroom project visit: http://bit.ly/DigitalDarkroomInfo

Image courtesy of The Space.

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Young Producers is a hands-on free training programme for Coventry based 16-21 years, in partnership with Warwick Arts Centre. For more information visit our Young Producers page.