Evaluation

What was your group’s aim regarding the production of music for the show?As a group, myself, Toby, Ella and Luca were assigned the roles of DJ's for our performance in the show. As we titled the show 'Mixology' our aim was to be able to mix our own songs that we had made with the live bands so that it flowed and there was a perfect mix with no silences. We also had to perform our best as DJ's. This included mixing perfectly, using effects, fast mixing, quick scratching and performing as individuals with our stage presence. Our overall aim, which we discussed, was to make the show as enjoyable for the audience as we could and ensure that we completed it with no 'hiccups'. 

Did your group’s plan change as time went on?As we progressed further into the show and time was running out we had to ensure that everything we did had a positive outcome. For example, we split our set up into two stages so that we could mix it up for the audience to keep them entertained. To do this we had to change our plans and overall aim as the pressure became more and more inflicting on our performance. When we split into two, it became myself and Toby for the first set and Toby and Ella for the second. This way we were able to vary the genres of music being played still contributing to our overall group aim of making the show enjoyable. 

Did you achieve your aims?By the end of the show we successfully completed all of our aims. We worked well not only as group but as class and individuals. There was some good communication and we managed to get organised and had the structure of the show planned and ready so we could rehearse continuously. We all had to use our independence as individuals to ensure that our performance set, as individuals, was to the best of our ability. 

In which areas did your group work well together?As a group we worked really well together. There was good communication, positive discussions and everyone was aloud to suggest ideas and they would all be listened to and taken into consideration. We had no problems with devising a track list and choosing the singers who would best fit the song. It made us closer as friends/a group and it allowed us to think and act as proper musicians. We had to make the decisions to keep or drop songs, what lighting and visuals we had, to plan what visuals would fit with the songs, had to sort our own meetings, what instruments would be used and so on. As

a group we were very organised and got our songs ready and prepared before we started proper rehearsals in the venue. We had everything structured so that when we met with the lighting and media team we were able to exchange notes and ideas and find out what effects and machines we could have and what we couldn't have. This also applied for the visuals, as some of the cue points were too hard to get with what we wanted for the songs so we had to think of easier options. Overall I think my group was very successful and we performed very well within the show.

What problems did you encounter working in a group?As a group we didn't encounter any issues apart from the lack of time we had to put everything together when we had final rehearsals. This was partly due to us not being able to have the singers at the right time to record the backing track and discuss initial ideas with them. This was also because we did not devise the final track list until a week before the show and we had to practice DJ'ing into a live band and we had to fit everything together and ensure that the singers knew their lyrics, cue points and how to present themselves on stage. There were several days when people within the group lacked enthusiasm and others then had to try harder to get the work completed. There were other times when ideas were suggested and due to people not being enthusiastic we all had to compromise a good idea for something that would just fit. We had a lot more potential than portrayed for the show but for certain situations we lacked the ability or time to show it. 

Describe ALL of the roles and responsibilities that you had in the process (Eg, musician, sound engineer, producer, promotor, budget, designer, A.V. Etc…) what exactly did each role entail? What did you do? What problems did you encounter?Within the show I had two main roles and some 'backstage' roles (helping out when others needed me). The First main role I had been performing as a DJ alongside Toby and Ella. This role entailed me successfully mixing 3 songs and then into a live band. As our set was split into two myself and Toby worked with Abbie and Rosie. Our role as the DJ's for them was to ensure that they felt confident to sing the songs we had suggested for them and to make sure that the lyrics weren't too hard for them to learn in a short amount of time. We also had to knuckle down and rehearse knowing the decks inside out. We had to make the performance more than just a 'mix'. It had to be interacting for the audience so therefore that influenced the genre of song, our stage presence and keeping a wide variety of ideas to really put 'mixology' into place. Problems we encountered with this was that we didn't have CDJ decks at the time and we got the option to use vinyl’s but myself and Ella had never used them therefore it was a lot of work for Toby to have to teach us as well as rehearse himself.

The other issue with vinyls is that it is very hard to get up to date songs in the charts for the singers to sing and the songs we did have we didn't have any instrumentals for the singers to even compromise with when creating their mash-ups. In the end Luca came to the rescue when he purchased a brand new set of decks, Pioneer CDJ nexus 2000's. This helped Ella and myself hugely as it was easy for us to understand and used, as I was familiar with the set up and the decks themselves, as I have used an older pair previously. This also allowed us to practice more so that we could improve individually as DJ's. The second role I had was to work with Ella to do the social media side of promoting. Our role was to create a Facebook event to invite our friends, family and fellow musicians along to watch the show. As I blogged in week three, we had to wait for all the information to be secured and accurate as we encountered a few issues with the poster and prices which was placed wrong on the posters not once but twice. We had several discussions with Robbie which didn't go our way but never the less we made an acceptable compromise. Once all the information was secured we then put the invite out and we got a very positive response with friends accepting and inviting their friends and family. This lead to a fairly successful turnout overall. We didn't really encounter any other issues with this apart from the above. Overall we performed our roles successfully and managed to make mixology a show that the audience would enjoy. 

Evaluate the positives and negatives of the shows themselvesIn what ways was the show successful/unsuccessfulThere was a varied response from the audience although it seemed more positive than negative. On the actual night of the first show we did encounter some sound issues and the screens weren't working to their full potential. Although this did not physically hinder our performance too bad it still influenced the audience's and even some of the musicians opinions of the show overall. Some other negatives we faced was that as people did not want to compromise and weren't showing enough enthusiasm they were, unfortunately  kicked off of the show making more work for those who then had to re-plan around them and then restart all the rehearsals. One of the major negatives is that we ran out of time to rehearse in depth towards the actual show due to people not being there for certain reasons (myself being one of those) and people just not willing to turn up. This was a huge hindrance as we would rehearse one part of the show one day and come in the next to re-rehearse and half of the band would be absent. Another negative was that not every group got on well with each other so there was always, with a doubt, an issue concerning the groups. The final negative is due to time management again. As we did not get into the actual venue to rehearse a week before the show (which is normal) we only managed to run through the whole show on

the day of the first show. This was a huge, huge risk as we literally finished the rehearsal three hours before the first live show aired. A risk I would not be willing to take again. On the other hand the positives were that we managed to run the show through on both nights fairly smoothly and we all worked well as a company. There were no silences and the cue points and visuals looked amazing when synced with the music. Another positive was that everyone knew exactly what they were doing and there were no 'hiccups' at all. There were more people in the audience than we initially expected so that was a huge bonus, which I think influenced us as musicians to enjoy the show more and not to be as nervous. I think that as a company we came together with the lights and media teams and produced an outstanding show considering we had never performed as a group together in this way or done a project like this before.

How did your performance contribute to the live event?My performance allowed the audience to understand the term 'Mixology' in the way that it was mixing from live band to DJ sets without and silences or out of time occurrences. I think that by myself and Toby splitting into groups and performing a two part set it made the show more interesting and interactive for the audience because there was a contrast of genres so that it would keep the audience entertained and drawn in so that they wanted to hear more.

What did you learn from the performances?From my performance I learnt to improve my Dj'ing skills and to work as a company alongside everybody. I learnt how hard it is to actually carry out a live show and how much respect I have for the people that are willing to not only take part but to help organise and perform it in the end.  I also learnt how to compromise when necessary to obtain a better end result, even if I don't agree with what it will turn out like I learnt to understand the importance of rehearsals and the pressure that is inflicted upon you when meeting deadlines.