Hello Culture Remix: influencing the influencer
As the first keynote speaker of Hello Culture Remix: Telling Tales, Alison Norrington, CEO and Founder of Storycentral touched on how audiences are now in control of when, where and how they use media.
For someone who only uses a small amount of media platforms I initially thought this sounded quite daunting, as an audience has the power to quite easily make something obsolete. However, it also made me think of how many people I follow who use stories and polls to ask their followers what to do next — whether it’s what colour to paint a newly renovated kitchen or the next cake tutorial to post.
Using the term ‘Influencer’ loosely and with the idea that an audience is now in control, influencers are becoming influenced by their audience, meaning they equally rely on each other and it is now even more important to listen to them. This got me thinking about using my own audience more for decisions and inspiration when considering live events and festivals. Alison also referred to ‘Exclusive Inclusivity’ and talked about how people like to feel part of something and interact. She said the first thing she asks someone who is pitching an idea to her is how they want people to feel, which is exactly what I need to be thinking about for events.
Whilst the theme was ‘Telling Tales’, I compared this more to real life stories from an events perspective, although the use of media and information sharing is fundamentally the same. I have definitely been in a comfort zone with using media and Hello Culture gave me insight into other ways I should be using it for my practice. With the idea that you can interact with an audience and use them to shape your narrative, this gives less reason to fail, with the harder part being to find new ways to tell your story.
The second half of the morning focused on the use of VR. My own experience of using VR is limited so it was interesting to hear the different ways in which the panel use it in their work, which I had not considered before. Luke Ritchie from Philharmonia Orchestra talked about how they are breaking the stereotype of classical music and how it is presented to the audience. By using VR, they are able to tour and approach new and bigger audiences.
Similar to what Alison touched on about interacting with the audience, VR could be really useful when creating my own events to test out new themes and ideas before going live. The panel also talked about there still being audiences out there who have not experienced VR as it is a less explored platform. This gives more scope for introducing it to people who have never used it before and playing on the intrigue they will have for new technology.
Alex Rühl, VR Director and Producer uses VR to produce her own films and collaborates with people to produce art pieces and events. She made an interesting point about an erotic film that was being showcased at a VR cinema she was involved in; that the use of VR meant the audience had the option to look directly at the X-rated content or look away and take in the surroundings. Alex found this really insightful from a producing aspect, by taking in how people react to what can often be quite awkward viewing.
This got me thinking about how you can use VR to get an unbiased opinion and reaction to something as everyone is seeing it individually. Where most media platforms incorporate a group of people at the same time, using VR means no one is influenced by anyone or anything around them, other than what is happening within the VR.
If I was to use VR with an audience for an event, it could work really well to get individual feedback that would be quite unique compared to the usual group experience. From a practical perspective it is also quite a new medium to introduce to clients who want to make their event stand out. It could be used to pitch a new idea to a team at a conference or sell something to a potential buyer.
It was refreshing to hear some critical comments from the panel about VR too. Artist Adham Faramawy said his first experience of VR felt quite invasive as there was no boundary to how close things can get to you. I also picked up on this when I first used VR and whilst it is a new and exciting technology, for new audiences using it there is a concern some people won’t like the idea of putting on a headset and being immersed into a virtual world. To help manage that I would analyse the audience it is being used for to ensure they have been targeted correctly, and on a practical level have a projection of what the VR is within the room, so people can get an idea of what they are in for.
The key points I took from both discussions were to make sure I consider a lot more media platforms when planning events — whether it’s during my pitch to a new client, advertisement for the event or during the event itself. From what Alison advised about engaging with the audience and people wanting to feel included in something, ultimately that is the end goal and I need to make sure people have that experience during my events and make them memorable for the right reasons.
