Presentation

The Future

So where can this project go?

 

During my final major live project I want to build the laughter soundshop up to be a comprehensive workshop which can be adapted easily to work in many different areas. I am hoping I can then take this out into the world, holding laughter soundshops for schools, businesses, communities etc. I will create a strong tie to our website, by recording each of the workshops laughter pieces and then putting them up for free download on the website after the workshops, this ensure people keep going back to the website.

 

Once this has taken off I hope to go on to develop other sound shops, using different themes, perhaps, memories  e.g when I hear the sound of metal bars being banged I think of when I used to run a stick along bars when I was a child for example. I am hoping I can then build up around 5 different well put together soundshops which can be adapted to suit each customers needs, eg. schools businesses.

 

Well thats the plan anyway…

Pitch

Soundshop

 

A soundshop is a new and innovative take on a workshop.

When you take part in a soundshop you will be using and thinking of sound in a way which you have never done before. Soundshop’s can help build skills, self confidence, team work or just be used as a way to let off steam

 

Lets take a look at our Laughter Soundshop.

During our laughter soundshop you will take part in laughter exercises, learn how laughter can be used as a healing, relaxation and de-stressing tool and work together as a team, along side a sound specialist, to build a piece of music made completely from YOUR laughter which you will be able to access after the Soundshop through our website.

 

So perhaps you need a way to keep your staff interested and focused during a important staff meeting? Maybe you need to work on employee or student morale? Or perhaps your staff or students need to work on their team building and self confidence skills? Well Soundshop can help you with that.

We have a range of different soundshop’s to choose from which can be adapted to your business, company or schools needs.

 

Book your Soundshop today.

Live Schedule

21st Jan- 4th Feb –

• Work on Ableton Live set, I want to be able to take out all pre recorded samples so that I can have live samples go straight into certain channels which haves set effects on which will instantly make the sound become bassy, provide a beat etc.
• Study workshops, watch videos on how to run workshops, take notes.

 

4th – 11th Feb –

• Test out new Ableton Live set in rehearsals, does it effect live samples in the correct way? Get feedback what works what doesnt?
• Add in extra microphone, try it on a mic stand placed in the audience
• Study workshops, watch videos on how to run workshops, take notes.

 

11th – 18th Feb –

• Re- adjust Ableton Live set to ensure samples are effected to sound right.
• Study workshops, watch videos on how to run workshops, take notes.

 

18th – 25th Feb –

• Test out re-adjust Ableton set in rehearsals, is everything effected correctly, feedback from audience.
• Add extra microphone with another assistant taking it around, which works best placed or mobile?

• Study workshops, watch videos on how to run workshops, take notes.

 

25th – 4th March –

• Design workshop plan
• Contact via local schools and businesses via email with a small press pack of laughter workshop and ask for feedback, would they be interested? What do they like, what do they not?
• Contact Ffotogallery and Erw’r Delyn ask them for feedback, thought and opinions upon laughter workshop. Could I test it out with them for free?

 

4th – 11th March –

• Test out workshop plan in rehearsals, what works what doesn’t, get feedback.

 

11th – 13th March –

• Re-adjust workshop plan based on feedback and what did and didnt work.

 

14th March –

• Run workshop again in rehearsals, gather feedback what worked what didnt?

 

18th – 8th April –

• Run workshops at home with a new and different crowd. Gather feedback what works what doesn’t what could be improved?
• Work on website

8th – 15th April –

• Re adjust workshop based on feedback.

 

15th – 22nd April –

• Run re- adjusted workshop in rehearsals, gather feedback.

 

22nd  – 6th May –

• Plan workshops to run in University, open them to other students, put up posters, word of mouth, facebook. Run at least 1 at city and 1 at Caerleon.
• Gather information and feedback from these workshops

 

6th May – 10th –

• Re-adjust workshop based on feedback and rehearse for grad show.

 

11th May –

• Grad show

 

May 12th-20th –

• Prepare sample packages for businesses, business card, DVD containing sample workshop, photos, leaflets, pricing, pen?
• Finishing touches to website, must contain: video of workshops, photos, pricing, contact details, about.

 

Technical & AV Considerations

Technical

 

What I use:

Laptop

Ableton Live

M BOX

Dynamic mic (hoping to bring in more however the M box will limit me to only 2 microphones)

Speakers

Mini Jack input

 

Using my current set up makes my laughter sound workshop very easily portable which is what I will require to take it from place to place. Some places such as schools, business’s and community centres may have speakers already set up which I could use, however this may not be the case for all places so an investment in a good pair of speakers is something I will want to look into at a later date. When I do invest in speakers it will then be crucial for me to have my own transport.

 

AV

 

I would definitely like to look into incorporating AV into my workshop however I am currently unsure if it is necessary and feel it may take away from the ‘sound workshop’ aspect therefore I need to test out using AV to see if it is suitable.

 

 

There are several reasons I am thinking of adding a visual aspect to the workshop, reason one is during my Lolatron performance in 2011, in which I recorded peoples laughter both with microphones and video and then played back the track I made with a video I had also made using the footage, I also used a live video camera to record and play back live the audiences reactions to the video and audio. This audio visual aspect did seem to help with getting the audience to laugh more as they were laughing not only at other peoples laughter but also at the videos they were seeing on the screen, both of other people and themselves.

 

I will need to run tests as to what sort of visuals may work and which visuals work best. Visuals I would like to try out:

• Popular funny youtube videos compiled together.
• Videos of other people laughing
• Live feed of the audiences reaction

 

Considerations:

By adding an AV aspect to the workshops not only does this take away from it being solely a sound workshop, it also means there is added equipment to invest in and transport to each workshop this would include, a projector and screen.

 

 

Audience

Because of the universality of laughter, the laughter sound workshop is something which could appeal to both older and younger generations.

 

 

I see my 3 main areas of audience coming from:

 

Business workshops

 

A laughter sound workshop could be held during an interval of a business meeting to break up the day or as a team building exercise or even as a employee morale exercise.

My audience could range from professionals in their early 20’s to professional is their early 60’s.

 

 

Schools or Colleges

 

This workshop could again be held as a team building exercise or a self confidence exercise.

My audience would range from 11 through to around 20 on average however colleges do also cater for mature students as well.

 

 

Laughter workshops

 

Laughter therapy/yoga sessions already take place around the world, some are held as weekly/monthly sessions and others are held as one off workshops.

Already established laughter therapy/yoga groups may be interested in getting the laughter sound workshop in for a session as it is a different take on laughter.

Also if I were to hold one off sessions people who already attend or have attend laughter therapy before may be my prime audience.

From what I have seen from videos/ documentation of laughter therapy/yoga sessions my audience would again range widely from teenage years all the way up to 80+.

 

 

As we can see my audience has a wide range therefore it is important that I create a workshop which suits everyone. I feel the best way to tackle this is to have a main laughter workshop plan which can then be adapted accordingly depending upon my main audience for each workshop, I could also incorporate a theme which a business or school might have.

 

Community based projects

Projects which are trying to rebuild communities may also be interested in this type of workshop again as a different way to develop team building skills etc.

 

Group Therapy Sessions

Group therapy sessions may be interested in sound workshops also as a different way of expressing emotions etc.

Marketing & Promotion

Website

Launching a website will be a key part of marketing, it will give potential customers a place to go to browse what we offer. The website will include, an about section, a video of a workshop, photos of workshops in different environments, pricing and contact and booking information.

An example of a Laughter workshops website pricing page:

Soundshops

I am thinking of creating the website for under a company name for example soundshops. That way I will allow myself the opportunity to launch other ‘soundshops’ in the future which are different from the laughter workshop.

 

In the making

 

 

Clean, useable, aesthetically pleasing website which could appeal to a wide range of audiences which i may approach with my workshop.

 

Business cards

 

 

Packages

Send out packages to businesses, schools, therapy and community centres with business cards, DVD including video about what we do, leaflets of offers.

 

Open days

Offer an open day for businesses, schools therapy and community centres to come and experience the workshop first hand. Including a meet and greet with the team, laughter workshop, presentation about pricing and what is included. Great opportunity to take bookings

Venues

From my 3 performance I have seen that the best type of venues are controlled. I played twice in club venues which did not suit my interactive performance properly as many people were there for a drink or to meet people and so it meant lots of background noise/people who didn’t know what was going on.

 

As I hope to go on to design a workshop which could work in schools, colleges, businesses, therapy session, community work the best type of environments are big open spaces such as meeting rooms, halls, classrooms.

Business workshops:

 

Music Workshops:

                                   

Laughter Workshops:

Lolatron – Simular Projects

Through research I haven’t actually been able to find any projects which are very simular to my own. The combination of laughter and music seems to have not been explored yet which could work out well for my project as it would be unique meaning if it works well it could be in demand.

 

Something which Lolatron could relate to is laughter therapy/yoga.

Workshops and groups are held in which people laugh as a type of therapy.

I am quite interested in this particularly because of my interest in music therapy, laughter is a type of sound and could tie into music therapy very nicely.

 

There have been some songs made featuring laughter, although not quite in the same way as Lolatron as they do not only use laughter.

 

How to run a workshop?

The test performances have been very free so far but I feel now it is time to start trying out different ways of running this as a workshop. First I need to plan a rough workshop to begin with, I can then run this and develop it based upon what went well and what did not.

I have some experience in running workshops as I ran a 6 week Soundbeam workshop with a school for disabled children last year.

 

Workshop tips

Step 1: Define the Goals

Step 2: Decide Who Will Attend

Step 3: Choose the Right Location

Step 4: Create an Agenda

Step 5: Develop a Follow-up Plan

 

Getting People Involved

• Plan a group exercise
• Mix people up so they meet each other and work with new people

 

Facilitating a Workshop

• Design and plan
• Guide and control – effective participation, mutual understanding, all contributions are considered, participants take shared responsibility for the outcome.
• Focus on Outcomes
• What structured process should you choose?

 

With thanks to:

Planning A Workshop & 

Role of A Facilitator