#conor chipp

The idea behind our Tea Rex all-day event originally involved a large empty space, possibly a warehouse, in which we would create a central stage. This idea was largely inspired by this video of one of our favourite bands, Slowdive - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tWhPv2U6aQ&feature=youtu.be. 

The artists being in the centre of the room and being able to be seen from all angles appealed to me personally as it blurs the lines between audience and performer. While it is not a new concept, it is a little unusual as most established venues are not able to accommodate a central stage set up. After doing some research into what availability of warehouses around Cheltenham, we found that pricing and audience accessibility would make a warehouse a little difficult to pull off, so we went in search of a more feasible location.

Moving our event concept from an industrial estate and into to a more residential setting gave us more hope of attracting locals and families and this is when we found the inspiration for a more family friendly, living room style event. Videos from NPR Music were a great inspiration as, using the link here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB4oFu4BtQ8) you can see how our final setup, with plants, games, tea etc, was shaped by our research. While showcasing very different music than our wholesome and family friendly event, the vibe of this video was very influential when planning the living room style set up -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3MBv5-H9oE&feature=youtu.be. Holding an event in an unusual way was a running theme through our planning stages. As our goal with the event was legacy, we knew that a location and set up that would be stand out and be easily remembered would is what we wanted.

For our broadcast event we wanted to continue the homely vibe that had been so integral to our all-day event. Going further into that concept, we spent some time looking at venues and locations and researching what other events have done. Finding videos such as these, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl8WHk1JkHo, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPgGhPelBG4, we decided to go with an even more relaxing setting than the main event by holding it in a bed room. The videos above, while very in keeping with our relaxing theme, don’t have any dialogue, something that we wanted from our broadcast event. This was to make the stream more entertaining but also gave us the opportunity to hear about the artists, their music, their pasts and future plans. While this was to make the artists feel like we wanted more from them than to just turn up and play music, it also helped to make the stream have a more friendly feel, more like some nice people having a sing and a chat than a standard gig. To that end we had the artists play a couple of songs and punctuated each change over with a short talk show style question prompted convocation. The inspiration for this came from the thousands of talk shows we are all so familiar with although here is a link to one an an example - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvPdhbA_-1c  As I said in event report #22 (found here - http://christopherhuntwatts.tumblr.com/post/173682494885/event-report-22-md5212-the-broadcast-event-is), the only issues we faced in the live stream was in the artists transition which felt a little clunky. That is something that is however, largely unavoidable when doing a live stream in such a small location.

Looking back on both of our events, although they differ slightly from our inspirational material, I am very pleased with how they turned out and am very much looking forward to making events happen in the future.

With all our module events over there are still interesting things happening for Tea Rex. First of all is the Tea Rex highlight video that Conor made out of footage from our planning stages and the events themselves. There is a link to that at the end of this post.

The second interesting thing came form a Facebook message from a band based in London who requested being hosted by us in Cheltenham. I will keep the band anonymous for now but with over 22K likes on Facebook and over 350 monthly listeners on Spotify, we are very excited and planning has already begun!

Please note that the link to my events inspiration post is at the end of this report.

The broadcast event is over and fun was had by all. Other than a few minutes delay as the Facebook stream got itself together, there were no hiccups on the day. The transition between artists could have been smoother but issues like that are very difficult to avoid with a live stream as people need time to get on and off camera and set up. In the end our artists all played wonderfully and were engaging and responsive with the interview questions. The stream did have a home-made, DIY feel to it but that was very much our aim with Tea Rex from the beginning. Conor and I were delighted that all of our artists stayed for a little impromptu after party when the event was over.  

The decision was made to remove the stream from the Tea Rex pages as, wanting to make this more of a professional enterprise, we felt the stream was a bit rough and ready. The full and unabridged stream is available in the link at the end of this post and Conor has already begun to create an after video using the footage captured.

Taking a look at the broadcast event as a whole it did exactly what we wanted, both working as promotion for the Tea Rex brand and serving as a legacy boost for Tea Rex #1. In retrospect there were no avoidable issues in the planning stage with only the unfortunate incident of the theft of Cut the Cord’s equipment to as a set back.

With the module that brought Tea Rex about drawing to a close both Conor and myself are very keen to pursue Tea Rex and hold more events in the future.

Link to the full and unabridged Tea Rex live stream - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgEqyEq74Ss 

A video from the performance of Jay Mansfield at Tea Rex #1

A few pics of before and during Tea Rex #1 

Event Report #21 - MD5212

As you can see from the pictures above, today has been full of cameras, microphones and groceries. We have assigned the role of audio/visual technician to Conor and host/interviewer to myself. We gave all of the equipment a test run and everything is in working order. 

Lastly, Conor ensured the location was clean, tidy and ready for the shoot with  wholesome fairy lights as a backdrop. We also asked our artists what they would like in the way of refreshments and gathered the items you can see in picture above.  

With time running out before our broadcast event I have booked the equipment we need from the University of Gloucestershire kit stores. As well as two standard smart phones for Facebook and Instagram streaming, we have gone for the following equipment list:

iRig Pre & Rode NTG-2 Mic J5

iRig Pre & Rode NTG-2 Mic J6

Mojo Tripod 3

Mojo Tripod 8

Steadicam Volt 3

Event Report #19 - MD5212

With only five days to go until our broadcast event and no other media group available at such short notice, Conor and I have decided to get hold of the equipment and do the stream ourselves.