onionbagblog

To @15QueenStreet on Thursday evening for another Creatives in Colchester social meet ‘n greet. Six months in to my membership at the @creativecoop hub and I’m still finding new, interesting and creative folk to work and socialise with around Colchester.

It was particularly pleasing to finally meet up offline with the good @PaperShed37, a Brightlingsea based designer and artist. We have had involvement online, but somehow managed to miss each other offline @15QueenStreet.

No worries - all sorted, and even a diary date set for some work together on the growing #mentorme project that is now in place.

Being the start to another four day Bank Holiday bender, this was something of a reserved Creative in Colchester meet up. Seeing as though the majority of folk meeting up in the main room are freelancers, and seeing as though the status of self-employed doesn’t budget for Bank Holidays, the booze flow was as measured as the balance books.

Which all meant that when it was time for local film maker Will Wright to deliver an informal Q & A session in the boardroom, there was a captive audience with a clear head.

It was worth the abstinence, with Will packing into a twenty minute slot a potted history of where he has come from and where he is heading.

Put simply, Will comes from Colchester, he is heading in the rough direction of Colchester and the surrounds, and preferably with a strong #hyperlocal perspective of working online and offline in harmony.

I rather liked what Will had to say.

Skipping over the fact that Will helped to set up @Slack_Space and revitalise a run down area of the town with an arts agenda; plus overlooking Will’s involvement in passing on his film making skills to local students, and even forgetting that Will has directed a Cradle of Filth video (cripes) - the main purpose of his presentation was to talk about his current web series based around Britain’s Oldest Recorded.

With a passion for Colchester that matches his passion for film, Will is bypassing the beast that is traditional old media and basically just getting on with it and working with other local creatives. It is a mantra that motivates me to get out of bed most mornings.

The digital meets #hyperlocal model is surfacing in Credo - “An original occult thriller web series being independently produced in Colchester Essex.”

The concept is to cast and crew the production entirely local, and then make the content available for distribution online. The project is of course all being captured digitally via the Credo blog. Crowd sourcing is being used to generate new ideas, and to collect content that can be used in the production.

Will’s spoke of his aim of:

“Taking Colchester and putting it in a different context. There is a mythical status of the town that we can help to change by working together in a creative and co-operative environment.”

Local businesses are being approached to help with the funding, with the idea of sponsoring the production as part of a digital strategy.

Twenty minutes later, and I was left scratching my head, taking in a deep draw of breath and trying to unscramble my thoughts.

Blimey - where exactly does all of that energy come from?

I needed something a little stiff to bring me back down to earth. More conversations followed downstairs in the main @15QueenStreet studio, more ideas were fed my way.

A man who runs out of ideas in Colchester is a man who should probably bugger off to Brightlingsea, or something. I looked over my shoulder, and saw the good @PaperShed37 surveying the scene and soaking up all of the creative energy.

That should see us both through until next month.