Content, content, content!

 These last few days have been hectic!

I did similar interview sessions with Annalisa, Magpie, Nii and Peter, which has generated literally hours of content I'll need to traipse through!

I had to apply a range of different skills for each person. Annalisa was less confident speaking organically, but still keen to get involved, so I drafted her some sample lines, and gave her time to think of what she wanted to say in response to different questions. This contrasted with Magpie, who if anything I had to slow down to make sure I could clip all the different anecdotes he had!

Nii, on the other hand, was more subdued but expanded at great length on his points, so it was about making sure that there was enough energy and enthusiasm in highlights of his very earnest points. With Peter too it was very easy to get distracted, so we had to take care to stay on track!

My main thinking, particularly with the artists, has been to craft much more individual responses that can be clipped down for promotional work in smaller segments. This also makes it really fascinating to talk to these guys too, and I got very different responses from everyone.

Magpie, for example, told a very personal story about his upbringings and how that inspires his light in the dark, and about the power of music, and how his work communicates in tandem with his humanist philosophy.

Nii, on the other hand, talked about his experience of arriving in Britain as a Ghanaian immigrant, and how different people offered themselves as 'lights' to him, and then recited a poem about his personal experiences and being seen not as another person but a black immigrant.

Peter too talked about the purposes that he finds in life, inspired from close work with local residents, as well as his relationships, and we talked about his research for some of his songs too.

A lot of this content wouldn't necessarily make it to the short one minute, or three minute trailers, but was great at providing insight into why these people make what they make, and its impacts.

I think the skills I developed and applied here relate most to active listening, and giving people the confidence to elaborate further in their stories, by being a receptive ear.