Zoom as a creative tool to build connection
Zoom is not what you think
It’s very easy to assume that Zoom is just a telephone with moving pictures. In other words we take what we know about the world and we apply it to a new medium. This is happening in many spheres.
- Museums and Galleries are taking us on virtual tours of their collections.
- Musicians and performers are doing concerts in their lounge rooms.
- Yoga, pilates, Zumba teachers are running classes on youtube.
It makes sense in this time, when no-one is going out. People are at home, with time on their hands, so why not catch up on a show, do a work-out or go to a virtual museum.
Now I don’t want to be a wet rag and I want to support artists and teachers, but I don’t need to see them singing on my laptop or working out on youtube. I know that sounds a little cynical. People are doing the best in this crazy time within the limits of this new medium.
So what’s my problem?
Well I think you know……
Virtual art galleries and many online shows, events and workshops are static and pre-recorded. They are old fashioned broadcast medium. There is no live connection. Live connection is what made all of these things so special in the past. It is the feeling of immediacy and fluidity. We are sharing a collective experience and something new can emerge which is more than the sum of our individual identities.
I have been conducting a survey about online events through my Medium readership (if you haven’t done the survey, go to this link). The emerging data is that over 70% of people identify the lack of interaction and connection as a significant disadvantage of online events.
Of course none of this is news to arts workers and teachers. We are desperately missing a live connection. This is our life blood. A show is not a show without an audience. A community event, a class or an art gallery exist within a living web of relationships with their patrons, followers, students, fans, audiences and community.
So how do we make this new medium more alive?
In every era, artists lead the way by challenging and stretching the way we see the world. The era of Covid is no different.
Artists are subverting online platforms such as Zoom in Australia and overseas. However this is not just artists, it is also event designers, meeting makers, people managers, community workers, families and kids (especially kids). We are all artists and we are all experimenting with this new medium.
So what do I mean? I have been researching online events for the last six weeks. I’m going to tell you about four groups of people who are re-inventing this new medium. Of course this is just a small slice of what is happening every minute of the day, at the moment in the world. People are reaching out to each other in the most creative, crazy and out of the box ways.
The V Party
The V Party was an online community event developed by a Chinese community in the inner west of Sydney, Australia. The community were members of a choir that met weekly at the City of Sydney Ultimo Community Centre to rehearse and connect. When Covid happened they appreciated the importance of staying at home, but also mourned the usual ways that they came together at the Community Centre.
One thing they still had was their Wechat connection. Wechat is similar to Whatsapp and is a free and simple platform used by Chinese people everywhere. Choir members love the arts and often play musical instruments in combination with dance and song. They formed a committee to plan an online concert in collaboration with members still in China.
They sent out an invitation to their Wechat community, resulting in 26 separate acts, mostly filmed in people’s living rooms and kitchens. Participants took great care with their outfits and make-up. Many arranged their rooms to display beautiful artwork and sculpture. Some of the acts from China were filmed outdoors to show people the gardens and city backdrops where they were staying.
I interviewed Winnie Koit, who is the community worker at Ultimo Community centre. She told me that the show went for two hours, over 60 people participated and after the show there was four hours of wechat discussion and swapping of photos and gossip. She said that the community is still talking about the event, weeks later and it has really helped raise their spirits and strengthen their connections with each other.
Black Ties
This was a joint theatre production between Ilbijerri Theatre Company, Australia’s longest established First Nations theatre company and Te Re-hia Theatre, a Ma-ori theatre company.
The show was in the form of a wedding reception for Hera (a Maori woman) and Kane (an Aboriginal man). They were both deeply in love and had the perfect day planned out. But there’s one thing they couldn’t control — their families. The show is a hilarious tale of cultures clashing along with a deeper exploration of contemporary indigenous life told through the eyes of two first nations people’s.
Black Ties was directed by Rachael Maza and Tainui Tukiwaho from a script by John Harvey and Tukiwaho. The show was developed in the same way as most creative work in the arts is developed — it is done by a mob. The cast, the writers, the directors, the designers and the tech crew all collaborate together. Everyone is aiming for the same end product, even though they are all coming from slightly different angles. The process is not always painless, but is surprisingly constructive and creative.
The amazing thing about Black Ties — it was mostly developed online. Did you hear that? This complex, messy collaboration between people in two countries, was managed through Zoom. Somehow this group of diverse artists managed to find common ground and create an amazing show.
I interviewed one of the creative artists involved in the production, Sean Bacon. He explained that they chose Zoom because it was the easiest technically for everyone to access and operate. It can be used on mobiles and laptops and with access from most places through wifi. He said the whole process went amazingly smoothly with little technical hitches and lots of jokes going back and forth. The group had worked on previous productions, so were familiar with each other and had working relationships. The online had some limitations in developing the physical language and blocking, but these were sorted when everyone came together.
The online process had unexpected advantages. It reduced the distractions and allowed the mob to focus on the emerging narrative. The set and costume designers were able to bring their work up on the screen and people had time to consider and comment on them. On the whole, he said it felt like they were “working together in real time”.
Varietyville Acts of Absurdity
Mike Finch is a friend who was the artistic director of Circus Oz for many years. He is now a freelance producer and artist. He invited me to an online event called Varietyville Acts of Absurdity last weekend and I had the time of my life. I asked Mike about the origins of the show and he emailed back his answer:
“In the early weeks of the lockdown/isolation, when all seemed very dark, after every gig on earth cancelled, after old people and people who loved them everywhere got terrified, but before any leadership or JobSeeker relief or grants had been announced, Daniel Oldaker (clown and big-hearted producer) rang my amazing partner Amy Cater and I for advice. Dan was going to take a variety show (Varietyville Acts Of Absurdity) online within 24 hours, to provide some hope (and maybe even a little employment) for literally every variety/circus artist we knew. Amy is awesome at finding solutions to problems, and quickly researched Zoom upgrades and ticketing systems and helped Dan settle on Zoom Meetings and Eventbrite.
Amy and I watched Varietyville Show#1 as punters. It was sheer chaos, essentially an unmediated large Zoom meeting with two clowns herding Guest Acts and 250 cats,.. Everyone accidentally unmuting themselves, and the automatic spotlighting function throwing focus all over the audience. Even someone stirring their cup of tea would set off the audio trigger to give them the spotlight during an act. HILARIOUS! UNREPEATABLE!
Frank Woodley (a Guest Act) summed it up by saying during the show in his act something along the lines of: ‘This show might get some complaints,.. but they certainly won’t be complaints for being too slick’. However,.. the show also had a deep and warm connection uniting much of our Australian ‘carny’ community for the very first time in weeks. Newborn babies were seen and admired, catchup chats were had, music and dancing, my sister and her family in Bavaria got to say hi and wave, live in real time, to my mum and her partner in Armidale NSW. Community members saw faces and heard voices. People across the world got to see each other for the first time in weeks during a very scary time of the lockdown.”
Mike and Amy have gone onto organise more online events ranging from simple Zoom-Tech facilitation to live online gallery tours and bespoke design of major events and shows.
Family Get-togethers
I have spoken to over 20 people in the last 6 weeks who have opened up to me about how Zoom is helping them to reconnect with their families. Often the families are spread out all over Australia and sometimes overseas and they normally only get together once or twice a year. Since Covid they are meeting together much more frequently in little boxes on laptops and computers.
They don’t pretend that these family get-togethers on Zoom have been all roses. They describe awkward moments, especially at the beginning. Zoom is a new medium and there are no clear rules about who talks, who listens or how to navigate pauses. There have been instances where people have behaved inappropriately or talked too much, as well as protracted silences and moments of boredom. But there has also been an appreciation of the opportunity to catch up with kids, parents in nursing homes, far flung relatives, babies and in-laws. Kids have used the medium most creatively by playing silly games, story telling, and taking the phone around the house to introduce pets and show off bedrooms and backyards.
So what have we learnt from these four case studies:
Zoom and other online meeting apps are a relatively new phenomenon in the world. They are a live medium in a virtual space. A live medium is different to the one way, static, broadcast mediums of the past. A live medium is dynamic, two way and unfolding.
During times of crisis we step outside our old ways of doing things and embrace new possibilities. This new medium has both constraints but also unexpected possibilities. It can shape social spaces which bridge geography, disrupt old habits and generate new unexpected outcomes.
Live online events can be a little seat-of-the-pants scary. We need to plan and prepare to ensure they run smoothly and purposefully, but also we need to trust the unfolding process. Be bold and explore this new live medium. Try asking questions without knowing the answers, listening, experimenting, sharing stories, creating art and dancing in the moment.
The artists interviewed are not just treating this new medium as “a telephone with moving pictures” but are embracing its possibilities and re-inventing it in new ways. They break down isolation by bringing families, communities and organisations together. They create events that are accessible to people with mobility issues, housebound people, internationals, shy people, agoraphobic people, indigenous people and people from diverse cultural backgrounds. They are constructing new collective narratives inclusive of those who normally aren’t seen or heard.
So what about you? I’m not just talking about the official “artists”, but everyone who is using this online medium. Have you been using Zoom and if so, what’s it been like? Has it been useful? I’m currently researching the growth of the online world and would love your thoughts. Send them to thor@leapfish.com.au
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thanks Thor
Thor Blomfield BSW is a community worker, social researcher and writer on Medium. He helps community workers, facilitators and event organisers build healthy and happy communities. In his spare time, he teaches at Sydney University and performs community magic.
If you want help to create amazing online events contact Mike or Amy on TinCanConnections@gmail.com or +61417646889
