As we inch closer and closer to the anniversary of the first National Lockdown in the UK due to COVID-19, we all have the chance to reflect upon how quickly and drastically our lives have changed. This blog will follow a collaboration between myself, Nell Wayman, a final year Music student at Newcastle University, and Joshua Bennett, an Interaction Design student at Northumbria University, in creating a short film during this time. As we both study hands-on, creative and collaborative degree programmes, Josh and I have already found that we’ve both had to adapt to new rules and regulations that often contradict the inherent collaborative nature our respective creative processes. We have decided to work together to create this project with the intention to document and research methods of creative collaboration whilst abiding by social distancing measures, in order to observe how these measures will impact our creative process and finished product.
When Josh and I started planning this project in October, we were both influenced by Jez riley French’s article ‘Migration Between Nature and Listening’, particularly his idea of ‘space’ as a social construct.[1] We were keen to create a short film soundtracked in 5.1 surround sound, themed around three different constructs of ‘spaces’ in which we exist: nature; industry; and online social media platforms. We wanted to juxtapose how these spaces have changed due to lockdowns and social distancing measures through filming actors in different locations, in order to represent how the pandemic has transformed the way we inhabit these spaces. Since coming up with our original plan, however, we have had to adapt our plans to coincide within Lockdown 3.0. As Newcastle University has shut down access to their music facilities, I am no longer able to produce a soundtrack in 5.1 surround sound, whilst Josh is now unable to film actors indoors, and his options to film outside have also been severely limited due to the tighter restrictions. When deciding to take on this project, we were aware that the unpredictable nature of our current climate could pose new challenges and limitations to our project, but we saw this as an opportunity to push ourselves to create something special and positive from these circumstances. It is through this blog that we hope to describe the learning curves we have faced – we have already learnt not to be too set on one idea and to keep our plans fluid, so they can change with the unpredictable nature of what could be around the corner.
There will be four more blog posts, each documenting a different aspect of our process of collaboration. The next blog post will follow our technical challenges, and how we have found useful ways of sharing and creating ideas online. This post will also reference Murdoch-Kitt and Emans’ Intercultural Collaboration by Design,which offers new perspectives on working together remotely.[2] The blog post to follow this will be a comparative analysis, based upon research I will undertake to gain a deeper understanding of how other people are responding to collaborating during this time, as Josh and I are aware that our processes of collaboration could vary from that of others. The penultimate blog post will be centred around Rothouse and Spingerlink’s A Mindful Approach to Team Creativity and Collaboration, as we want to explore how mindfulness can increase levels of trust within our creative partnership, and how it can benefit our mental health, as working in these circumstances can be quite stressful.[3] The final blog post will be an evaluation of our finished film and what we have learnt during this process, including what we can take from this project to apply to future situations. I have decided to include a comments section with each post, so that anybody can contribute to the collaborative process of this project. So, if you want to contribute any ideas or experiences of how your own creative process has altered over the past year, please comment and join in with this virtual community that I hope to create.
[1] Jez riley French, ‘Migration Between Nature and Listening’, Land Lines Project, 2020, https://landlinesproject.wordpress.com/migration-between-nature-and-listening-jez-riley-french/, (accessed 13th February 2021).
[2] Kelly M. Murdoch-Kitt, & Denielle J. Emans, Intercultural Collaboration by Design: Drawing from Differences, Distances and Disciplines through Visual Thinking, (New York: Routledge, 2020).
[3] Melinda J. Rothouse, A Mindful Approach to Team Creativity and Collaboration in Organizations: Creating a Culture of Innovation, (London: Palgrave Pivot, 2020).
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