evedanielslma31

[evedanielslma31]

References

Color-wheel-pro.com. (n.d.). Color Wheel Pro: Color Meaning. [online] Available at: http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html [Accessed 16 Apr. 2019].  

Career Contessa.(2019). 5 reasons why you need a professional headshot. [online] Available at: https://www.careercontessa.com/advice/5-reasons-need-professional-headshot/ [Accessed 18th Feb]. 

Ellis, K. (2019). Kerry Ellis| Official Website.[online] Kerry Ellis. Available at: http://kerryellis.com [Accessed 12th Feb 2019].

Jezebel.2019. The History of Pink for Girls and Blue for Boys. [online] Available at:https://jezebel.com/the-history-of-pink-for-girls-blue-for-boys-5790638 [Accessed 13th Feb].

Johari Window Model and free Diagrams (2019). Johari Window. [online] Available at:https://www.businessballs.com/self-awareness/johari-window-model-and-free-diagrams/ [Accessed 15th Feb 2019]. 

Layout. 2019. The basics of colour theory in web design. [online] Available at:https://getflywheel.com/layout/color-theory-web-design/ [Accessed 4th Feb 2019].

Musicalstages.co.uk. (2019). Skills needed in the Performing Arts Industry – Musical Stages. [online] Available at: http://www.musicalstages.co.uk/skills-needed-performing-arts-industry/ [Accessed 12th April 2019].

The Stage. (2019). 8 ways to make a better showreel | Opinion | The Stage. [online] Available at: https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/2014/8-ways-to-make-a-better-showreel/ [Accessed 28 Apr. 2019]. 

The Guardian. (2019). Top tips for your acting CV. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/2015/sep/15/top-tips-acting-cv [Accessed 28 Apr. 2019].

Victorias Secret.(2019). Victorias Secret NewYork London Shanghai. [online] Available from:https://ww.victoriassecret.com/?cm_mmc=SEM-_-Google-UK-_-vsint_brand_Brand_Victoria%27sSecret-_-Misspellings_VictoriaSecret&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvdnXpr_34QIVzLvtCh11lwuKEAAYASAAEgLeE_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds [Accessed 10th Jan 2019].

Youtube. (2016) Ashley Everett Dance reel [online] Available from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSLbXrJssxQ [Accessed 12th Feb].

Youtube.(2019)  Everything you need to know about Showreels [online] Available from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSLbXrJssxQ [Accessed 18th March].

Youtube.(2013) Natalie Lisl’s showreel 2013 [online] Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wezfPyhEac0 [ accessed 7th March].

Youtube. (2019). Wix tutorial for beginners 2019- Create A Six Website in minutes [online] Available at:https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+use+wix+ [Accessed 14th Feb 2019].

[evedanielslma31]

My Showreel

I enjoyed putting together my showreel. I decided to use various clips from specific shows in order to showcase myself as the best performer possible. I played Vivian in Legally Blonde so I decided to incorporate that into my showreel using singing, dancing, and acting clips as that character. I open my showreel with myself singing ‘Legally Blonde remix’ this is important as we want an agent or director to see the best part first to keep them interested in what we are presenting. I I also used a clip from West Side Story to show my versatility. Towards the end of my showreel I decided to present some of my dance skills, I used clips of myself performing leaps, jumps and tumbles which may work in my favour. The music I have used for the dancing sections of my showreel works well I used ‘maniac’ from Flash Dance’ as the song is a good representation of what I am trying to portray. Over all I am really happy with my final outcome and look forward to showcasing my finished product. 

[evedanielslma31]

My Website

The three head shots shown below are what was originally the back ground of my opening page to my website with ‘Eve Daniels, Singer, Dancer, Actress,Musical theatre practitioner’ written over the top. I did not really like this idea myself after I took a second look after uploading it. I decided to show my tutor and ask for feed back, she suggested that I change this photo to one of me in a performing environment. I decided to chose one from Legally Blonde which is shown above. I think that this photo is pleasing to the eye and the White writing sits well on top of the black background of the picture. I decided to change the font of my menu to and the font of my title writing. I also changed my cover title to ‘Eve Daniels Musical theatre performer’ as this covers all areas rather than extending it longer than it needs to be. My second page leads on to my Bio. I Decided to write a very an interesting bio I did not want to go into too much detail as I wanted to keep the reader interested in what I have wrote, my bio discusses a small amount of information about my previous training and more. The head shot used in my bio is useful however, I may consider changing this to a new one. I decided to present a reasonable amount of pictures in my gallery as I feel that it is important to showcase ourselves in a professional light. I had quite a few pictures from university shows and a couple from past shows that I decided on using. I wanted to keep my contact information very plane and simple showing my full name number, email  address and a small box to ‘get in touch’. One of the pictures above shows that I have decided to use a ‘download’ button under my resume page. I felt that doing this was extremely important as an agent or casting director may find this to be useful, they could download my CV onto their phone or computer for a closer look. Over all I am really happy with how my website has turned out and I have worked really hard to achieve this, I may make some changes in the future if needed. 

(Changes made)

I decided on using on using the second photo as my new opening picture for my website I feel it is much more pleasing to the eye and has a professional feel to it.

The first photo is my new headshot. I am much more pleased with it as my hair colour stands out with the white background and the lighting is much better, in result an agent or director will be able to see a clearer picture of me. I am really happy with my end result.

[evedanielslma31]

Putting together a Performers CV

While putting together my website I began to understand that one of the most important parts of being a performer is representing our selves in as many ways as possible. One of the many ways is to present a performers CV. Having a performers CV is vital within the industry. There is competition within the business and when pursuing this type of a career your performance CV may give you a small advantage. When doing research into how to create a performance CV I came across a really good article which I found helped me out a lot as I did not really understand what was best to include. 

The article included some very important pointers that I kept in mind when creating my own. A few of these pointers are:

1-Always remember to put your contact details at the top of the page. This included your full name, phone number and in some cases your address. 

2-Attach a small version of your head shot in, this is incase the attached head shot gets lost. 

3-Your training should always be included. However we do not need to include our academic qualifications such as GCSE’s or A levels as these are not relevant at this point. 

4-Do not outline all of your statistics but ensure you include your height, eye colour, hair colour. You need to ensure you receive advice about the age range you may be able to portray, getting some advice on this may be useful. 

5-A list of accents or any skills that you are able to present is extremely important. 

6- It is vital that we list our credits under various headings, including the production title, or role you played, or the company/director. 

I have found that this information was extremely useful to me as I have been able to successfully build a performers CV to a good standard due to my comprehension of this article. Shown above is my finalised performers CV which I will include on my professional website. 

[evedanielslma31]

HEADSHOT

It is important to have Headshots within the performance industry. This is so an agent or casting director can get a glimpse of what you look like whether this is if you have them with you on the day of an auction or prior online your website. It is crucial that we present our best head shots. If a company is advertising online for an open audition a casting director may ask you to come along because of the way your headshot looks. A headshot could be the first chance leading up to a possible opportunity. This is my final headshot that was taken. I preferred this side angled photo as oppose to the photo that was shot face on as I feel it shows me off in a better light. On the day our headshots were being taken I made sure I paid close attention to my makeup, keeping it very suttle and as natural as possible. If I would of wore heavy makeup, a casting director or agent would view the headshot and turn it down straight away. An agent/casting director needs to see the ‘real you’ in order for them to see if you fit the criteria and to enable you to be cast correctly. Although I like these headshots as the background is very dark and my hair is so dark I would like to get new ones taken. The second time around I would wear a brighter tshirt and maybe get the photos taken outside or behind a white screen which would make my brown eyes and dark hair stand out with the contrasting colours.

5 REASONS WHY YOU NEED A PROFESSIONAL HEADSHOT

1. You’ll Look the Part If you want to be treated like a professional, you must look like a professional. Period. 

2. It Will Help You Take Yourself Seriously Making a (small) financial investment in a professional photo shows that you take yourself and your career seriously. And there are few things more appealing to a professional contact than that. 

3. You’ll Stand Out From the CrowdAs important as a professional headshot is to landing a job, many adults still rely on the poor quality cell phone photos they ask their friends to take. You’ll make recruiters, potential employers, and important contacts take a closer look if you’re sharing a photo that’s high-res and visually pleasing.

 4. You’ll Stay Top of Mind By including a memorable professional photo on your social media accounts, you allow people to put a face to a name, meaning you are more likely to stay top-of-mind to the important people who look you up, whether before or after you meet. 

5. This Is Your Only ShotPun intended. In this fast-paced, digital world, contacts are often too busy to read more than a few lines of your resume. A good headshot is your best chance to make an instant (and positive) first impression. Don’t waste it.

https://www.careercontessa.com/advice/5-reasons-need-professional-headshot/ 

[evedanielslma31]

Good example of a showreel

Ashley Everett is a professional American dancer and actress. She is best known as lead backup dancer and dance captain for Beyoncé. She has worked with numerous artists as Usher, Jennifer Lopez, Ne-Yo, Tina Turner and Ciara. She most frequently features in high-profile music videos, television commercials and concert tours. Ashley’s dance reel is very professional the footage varies from clip to clip showing various dances and dance styles. The show reel is 2 minutes and 26 seconds long, however in my opinion keeps the viewer wanting to see more.

[evedanielslma31]

I found that this YouTube video was extremely helpful when researching into how to make the best showreel possible. This video discusses things such as the length the showreel needs to be, making sure your best clip is first and always keeping your audience wanting more.

[evedanielslma31]

Bad example of a showreel

This is a showreel we were shown is class which would be seen as a bad example. When watching this showreel again I found that the dance music in the background is very off putting and does not play in time with any of the dance routines involved. Also the dance styles are very similar which does not show any sort of versatility for the performer. In my opinion the clips are also too long and some may say the show reel is not to a professional standard.

[evedanielslma31]

JOHARI WINDOW

Johari window is a technique that was created by psychologists Joseph Luft and Harington Ingham in 1955. The purpose of the technique is to help people better their understanding of the relationship they have with themselves and others.

The Johari Window represents information, feelings, experience, views, attitudes, skills, intentions, motivation and so on, within or about a person - in relation to their group, from four perspectives, which are described below. The Johari Window model may also be used to represent the same information for a group in relation to other groups. Johari Window terminology refers to 'self' and 'others': 'self' means oneself, ie, the person subject to the Johari Window analysis. 'Others' means other people in the person's group or team.

- What is known by the person about him/herself and is also known by others - open area, open self, free area, free self, or 'the arena'

- What is unknown by the person about him/herself but which others know - blind area, blind self, or 'blindspot'

- What the person knows about him/herself that others do not know - hidden area, hidden self, avoided area, avoided self or 'facade'

-What is unknown by the person about him/herself and is also unknown by others - unknown area or unknown self

[evedanielslma31]

EDITING PROCESS FOR MY WEBSITE

It is crucial that we make the right choices when creating a website. This means making solid decisions on how we want them to be presented. For me I want my headshot and name/title to be the main focus as this will capture the viewer straight away. I may use simplistic colours such as Grey, White and Black as these colours work well together. I would like to use a very simple template as this is key to keeping the viewers attention. It is also important that we do not ramble and keep our descriptions short and sweet. On my ‘About Eve’ page I would like to write a small introduction about myself, my experiences and my hopes for the future. I aim to have pages titled ‘About Eve’, ‘Gallery’, ‘Resume’ ‘showreel’ and ‘contact’. I want each of these pages to be very accessible as this is important.

[evedanielslma31]

8 WAYS TO MAKE A BETTER SHOWREEL

Article by Stuart Piper The Stage, 2014.

STUDENT & SHORT FILM APPEARENCES - Consider who you are working with. Are they reliable, are you guaranteed a copy of the performance(s)? Consider the potential of a contract to ensure that both parties are satisfied.

GET TO A SCENE - Don’t spend too long on the opening of your showreel and making it look pretty. 

LESS IS MORE - Agents and casting directors are busy people; consider this and make their life easier by condensing your showreel whilst still showcasing yourself in the best possible light.

DON’T CLUTTER YOUR SHOWREEL - Quality over quantity. 

CUSTOM OR SELF SHOT FOOTAGE - This can be spotted a mile off if done incorrectly. Be cautious of the filming equipment, other actors you might bring in to support you and the decisions you make alongside this such as script and locations. 

HOW TO DO YOUR OWN FOOTAGE EFFECTIVELY - Consider using a professional to film and edit, despite the fact you might be creating the scenes and scripts independently, it is possible to up the standard of the finished product by using a more experienced camera man and editor. 

LEARN TO EDIT YOUR SHOWREEL JUDICIOUSLY - A showreel should sit between 5 and 7 minutes at its longest. 

KNOW WHERE TO HOST YOUR SHOWREEL - Be wary of YouTube; due to copyright, YouTube has been known to remove, mute or block certain videos. For this reason, consider Vimeo as an alternative - they are much less strict in terms of copyright etc. 

[evedanielslma31]

EXAMPLES OF GOOD AND BAD WEBSITES

To help with my research and understanding I began looking into well known performers websites who have been successful within the performance industry, I also came across some websites which I thought would not be seen as good examples of a professional website to present. Through doing this I gained a lot of knowledge and understanding about what to do and what not to do when creating my website.

Something which I came across when researching into websites was The Visual Hierarchy. A visual hierarchy is a method that is used by designers to subconsciously guide the viewer to the important elements first. It refers to the size, colour, arrangement and contrast. To help us understand it further, we can refer to this diagram.

The visual hierarchy I something I kept in mind when viewing good and bad examples of websites. I discovered a few that in my opinion are poorly designed and could of been improved by utilising specific things to a better standard.

Example of a bad website

This website appears to represent the client as an amateur in the industry for a various amount of reasons. The first thing that caught my eye when viewing this site was the bright Pink section on the left hand side. Pink writing does not sit well on top of a Pink background and in my opinion it does not look presentable. I feel that these colours clash together and a viewer of the site may find it hard to read. As this page is the opening of the website it is the first thing an agent or casting director is going to set eyes on and in my opinion the headshot is not striking enough and the circular framing is also poor as it cuts off the full picture of the performer, in result this makes the head shot appear restricted. In addition to this the header image seems to be a picture of the New York skyline. For me this is a mistake and not something I would necessarily do as I think by doing this the client may be giving off a specific message or theme which may sway the navigator to view the client in a certain way and have specific opinion on that person. The font used for the selection of pages is really hard to understand also. Personally for me this site has more of a ‘girly’ feel to it and may work in the clients favour or may not. However rather than taking that chance I would stick to using more neutral colours. Through viewing this website I have furthered my knowledge as I now understand what may not be pleasing to the eye and I will not make the same mistake when creating my professional website.

Example of a good website

This website belongs to professional musical theatre performer Kerry Ellis. I believe this website presents her perfectly and is a reflection of the way she is viewed by industry professionals and theatre goers. Her credits include roles such as Elpheba in Wicked, Meat in We Will Rock You, Fantine in Les Miserables and Ellen in Miss Saigon. She is known for her success as a West End performer. In my opinion the opening page of her professional website reflects just that. The opening page is bold and confident and the headshot used is very effective giving viewers a feeling of importance and humbleness because of the way she is smiling on the picture. The colour White which is used in the background represents freshness, cleanliness, and professionalism, and the Red represents power and love. The touch of red lipstick and the running line of Red at the top of the page is a clever touch that works well with the contrasting colours. Kerry’s website is very simple yet effective I will keep this in mind when planning my own professional website and these ideas are definetly things I will take into consideration when creating.

Lukas Mcfarlane is a professional Dancer/Choreogrpaher. When taking a look at his website I really liked the colour scheme used, the use of White on top of Grey and Black looks very professional. I may consider using these colours for my website as they give it a timeless look.

[evedanielslma31]

CREATING A WEBSITE

When creating our websites we are going to be using free online website builder Wix.com. This gives us the option to use a Wix domain for free in order to create a flexible and and easy website with a choice of multiple templates and options to choose from. At first I found Wix hard to understand but once I figured it out it was extremely adaptable, allowing me to easily things and even start again if necassary. In order to help me build my website I used this clip from Youtube, it guided me step by step on how to use this platform I found it to be extremely useful. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+use+wix+ 

A website is a platform in the industry in which we can offer a showreel, CV, and contact details to a wider audience enabling us to showcase ourselves in our best way. It is said to be favoured amongst agents and clients to own a website as it is an easier way to be and asseced as oppose to having to gather the information separately whether that be through email or another form of documentation.

I will plan to create a website that is clean, neat and easy to navigate. After researching into colour representation I will make sure I use the correct colours for their meaning. I want my website to be timeless so colour will play a huge part in that. My priority for my website I would say is definetly the agent or director. For this reason I will stick to making sure my website is minimalistic as this can be affective. To help with my final decision on a theme I will firstly establish examples of good and bad websites as this information will be useful.

[evedanielslma31]

THE MEANING OF COLOUR

Colour plays a vital role in our everyday lives, in the way in which we live and perceive things. Colour effects the way we think and react to certain things and situations in life. For example the colour Red is  ‘A hot, stimulating color, symbolizing love, passion, and power. Also associated with anger and danger. Outside the Western world, it stands for prosperity and happiness in China, is the color for brides in eastern cultures, and is used to signify communism’.

When creating my website I feel it is very important to take into consideration the colour scheme. For example the colours on a business card or a logo have an affect on the way we think about them without us even realising it. For a business card for children’s bouncy castles we would use colours such as Yellow and Orange as they represent happiness and joy, where as a logo for a tire company may take use of the colours Blue and White which represent perfection and trust.

Some may say it is important to take gender into account when deciding on a colour scheme to use for a website as ‘in the 1940’s manufactures settled on Pink for girls and Blue for boys, so Baby Boomers were raised with wearing these two colours’ (Hartmann,2011). This means that today specific colours are viewed as being either masculine or feminine, for example the colour Pink is viewed as being a feminine colour and represents a solely female brand that goes by the name of Victoria Secret where as Blue is seen as a masculine colour. 

Although I am a woman and Pink is seen as a feminine colour if I was to use this colour scheme for my website it would not be thought of as professional and a casting director or an agent may me in a certain way before even looking deeper into my website. This may also cause casting directors or agents to create labels for clients because of the use of colour and we do not want that to happen as we want to be considered for as many roles as possible. I feel it is extremely important that we do not base our chosen colour scheme on personal references. For example if your favourite colour is Red it is very tempting to want to use this as your main basis. However there may be Casting directors/agents who find this off putting so to fix this we have to stick to a professional colour scheme. ‘The colours you choose for a website give it meaning, without the need for any descriptive words. They provide an initial, instant impact for users. So choosing the right colours is crucial to capturing the right emotions and mood, otherwise it could navigate users away believing the site to be untrustworthy or unprofessional’ (Amos, 2015). When thinking about the colour scheme for my website I may take into consideration using colours such as black white and grey as these colours represent cleanliness, light, prestige and formality and will send the correct message across to an agent who may view my information.

[evedanielslma31]

WHAT DOES YOUR WEBSITE SAY ABOUT YOU?

An agent or a director is going to be able to tell a lot about you from the website you present. While looking at a website I feel we should be able to gather a further understanding of the Ideolgies and different information behind what it is we are looking at whether this be for a business website, a clothes website or any other sort of product advertisement. We need to make sure we showcase this in our websites. 

Elements which may lead someone to lose interest in what they are looking at are things such as

- Colours clashing. For example yellow writing on top of a white background, this would be extremely hard to read and understand.

- An unfinished website/ links that do not lead to anything this can be off putting to the viewer.

- Being hard to navigate or out of date contact details.

In order to showcase ourselves in the best possible way as performers, we must understand that it is important that our websites are clean, finished off and ready to represent to an agent.

‘Anyone who is hoping to progress in the performing arts industry must be skilled in their chosen discipline. Without the required skills, they will not even be given the opportunity to audition. The industry is very competitive, so those who fail to make the grade will not get far. Performing in front of other people requires a lot of confidence. Although it is natural for performers to be nervous before they go out in front of a crowd, a performer should be able to use their nerves to better their performance’.

We need to ensure our websites represent us at confident and skilled in order for it to work.

[evedanielslma31]

PLANNING/UNDERSTANDING MYSELF AS A PERFOMER

Before attempting to create my website and showreel I feel that it is extremely important that I evaluate myself as a performer. This means taking into consideration my strengths and weaknesses, also figuring out how I am going to portray myself in my website and showreel.

I would say I am a very versatile performer and will attempt to showcase this in my website and showreel. With this in my mind I will plan to include various clips of myself Dancing, Singing and Acting. This could possibly include presenting a monologue. One of my strong skills is performing accents my American being the strongest of them all, with this is mind I will aim to show this. I may include audios of myself singing musical theatre songs and one pop song as I feel singing is an area I could excel in. I have a lot of experience in dance and hope to audition for musical theatre shows and cruise lines in the future. Furthermore I may include some individual clips of myself performing specific movements such as leaps, turns, kicks, and jumps these being very basic yet important skills that choreographers like to see performed correctly. My showreel will include various clips from past productions such as Legally Blonde, We Will Rock You, West Side Story, Sister Act, and 9 to 5. This will consist of presenting myself working as an individual in a character role and working together as an ensemble performer. In the industry we need to be able to do both just as well as the other.

I will create a website that is interesting yet easy to navigate as that is very important. I will research further into various performer websites and showreels in order to create the best one that represents me.

[evedanielslma31]

FINAL MODULE: PROMOTIONAL PORTFOLIO

Our final module will consist of building a professional website and creating a showreel. This is designed to help present, prepare and represent ourselves in the performance industry. In order to further my knowledge I am going to undertake a broader exploration in to this which will help me gain an understanding of the qualities of good and bad websites and showreels. This tumblr account will present a documentation of my process throughout this module leading up to my final outcome.