SHR6E032F~001 LAN23085879 Project Viability Study

by

Langholm, Theo (STUDENT)

1. Introduction and Proposed Project

Introduction

For my collaborative project, I am exploring what it’s like to work on events, poetry and film/game music. One of my projects is a poetry event where I create accompanying music to poets’ performances. The other is to create music for film or games.

Proposed Project

The first project is a poetry night with ambient electronic music. I will play live using a DAW and a MIDI-keyboard. The night will start with an open mic, and then there will be four poets with a planned set each. I will compose and play for two poems/texts from each set.

Goals

The goals are to create and perform music for around twenty minutes total, at a poetry event that I am putting on in collaboration with a promoter. I want to gain experience in creating music for poetry and event management, to showcase my music, and to network with other potential collaborators at the event.

Personnel – Direct/Indirect

The personnel:

  • Theo Omland Dyrøy. He is the headlining poet.
  • Rowan Scourfield. He is the promoter. His promoting company is called Symmetrical Feelings.

Beneath is a picture of Theo, followed by one of Rowan:

Proposed Project

My second proposed project is to make music for short films, done in a composer duo with a film music student. I am in contact with multiple directors of short films and video games. The most promising film is The Pink Elephant, from a group of film students at Leeds Beckett. It is a dark comedy about a young woman with anxiety navigating a difficult relationship with her flatmate.

Goals

My goal is to create 12 minutes of music for two short films. I want to gain experience and network in a field I can see myself working in after graduating.

Personnel – Direct/Indirect

The personnel are:

  • Ruby Cox. She is composing with me.
  • Niamh. She is the director of The Pink Elephant.

There is a larger team behind the film project.

Below is a picture of Ruby:

2. Methodology and Rationale

Poetry Event

I have explored some venues, through their websites and gigs. Most of the websites do not have much information about cost, so I asked the promoter for information. He told me Northern Guitars is free to use for events on Sundays. We agree it is a suitable venue. I have attended gigs put on by the promoter, which were successful and well-planned. I find Rowan to be reliable, which is also what I have heard from people who have been involved with his gigs.

I have attended poetry events organised by Theo Dyrøy. I wanted to work with him because he has experience putting on poetry events, and because he is a talented poet. He also knows many poets as he studies creative writing and is president of the Spoken Word Society at Leeds Beckett University. I am hoping he will bring an audience and suggestions of poets we could collaborate with.

With this project, I want to connect poets and musicians, and to celebrate diversity by bringing together poets of different identities and cultures. 

Collaborating with four poets will be a challenge. Effective communication will be very important. I need to make it clear that critique of my work is completely fine. I will also ask them to send me references of ideas they have for what kind of music they want.

Getting everything ready in time will also be important. Making a GANTT-chart helped me plan how long I should spend on each part of the project, and gave me an overview of the project timeline. I have planned adequate time to rehearse with the poets to ensure a good, smooth performance.

This GANTT-chart assumes the 1st of March will be the day of the event, as that is the most likely date.

GANTT chart poetry eventDownload

I made some music to one of Theo Dyrøy’s texts to get an idea of how poetry and music works together. He liked it, and has given me some notes that I will use to improve the music. Here is the first version, which is just a sketch:

Theo’s text first ideasDownload

Film Project

To find a movie to work on, we have contacted friends who are involved with film, and people on fundraising websites. The most useful action was going to the film mixer put on by the conservatoire and Leeds Beckett university. From this, we are now in contact with four films and one video game.

I feel motivated to work on The Pink Elephant both because I think what I have been shown this far has been very promising, but also because beyond the comedy of it, it is a movie about mental health.

After going to the film mixer event, I got the impression that this was one of the most developed ideas. With thinking about my own deadline, and also quality of the product, I felt this was a safe choice of movies.

Me and Ruby work well together. We made the mini-portfolio to see what it would be like to work together on a project like this. I think a film composer and a music producer working together is a great idea, as we have different areas we feel confident in that are both important for this project.

I think the resources we need are adjustable based on the budget of the film. The theme that Ruby sent uses good plugins of strings, so if the film team are satisfied with them and do not want to pay us extra for recording, we will use these. 

The biggest challenge right now is getting confirmation from the film. We sent them five ideas based on the information and script they sent us, in hopes that our clear eagerness will give us a better chance. They responded saying that they liked what we had sent, and that they would have a meeting and come back to us with more ideas very soon. We are hopeful that we will be composing for the movie. Here is the Music Proposal from the film group:

_THE PINK ELEPHANT_ – Music Proposal (1)Download

Ruby made a theme inspired by the theme in the movie Jaws that plays every time a shark approaches, as requested by the film group. I made an idea using water sounds, also by request.

Ruby’s theme:

fishy business (jaws theme inspired)Download

My idea:

general anxiousness, without TV:background noisesDownload

3. Market Analysis

Market Analysis Poetry Event

Promoting the event well will be essential. This will be through posters and social media posts. We are hoping that Theo Dyrøy’s posts will interest people. Hopefully this will also be the case for our other performers.

We also stand out by it being an event combining poetry and music. Starting the event with an open mic will hopefully also bring people.

Here is a SWOT analysis I did of the poetry event:

SWOT analysis Poetry event projectDownload

Your Market/Target Audience Poetry Event project

The target audience is people interested in poetry and/or music. We especially want to reach poets who will be eager to perform at the open mic.

Market Analysis Film project

Here is a SWOT analysis of the film project:

SWOT analysis Film projectDownload

Your Market/Target Audience Film project

The Pink Elephant’s target audience seems to be students and young people, as this group can relate to having issues with a flatmate in this kind of setting.

4. Costs and Budgeting

Costs and budgeting viability studyDownload

Neither of the projects have too big expenses, though it is important to note for the future that the film project could potentially cost a great deal more to execute if we were not studying at the conservatoire.

5. Inspiration and Influences

Inspiration and Influences Poetry Event

In the feedback, Cat mentioned that musicians working with poets to accompany their texts, is an area of art that is currently growing. I looked into it. I was a bit concerned that having music accompanying poetry could easily sound like the poetry was part of the music. Seeing these videos made me feel more certain that that will not be a problem. (I Am Loud Productions, 2022) (Tedtalentsearch, 2012)

Inspiration and Influences Film project

For The Pink Elephant, I have taken some inspiration from the Netflix show Wayward, which is also a dark comedy. For example, I felt inspired by how a sneak peak posted by Netflix uses natural sounds and a simple rhythm to create suspension (2025).

6. Contingency/Risk Assessment

Beneath is a list of possible problems and how I would solve them should they arise:

Risk assessment viability studyDownload

The poetry project is quite low risk. There are achievable solutions for nearly all problems that could arise. The film project is more uncertain, but having the poetry night to fall back on makes me okay with these risks. I still think the film project in itself is viable, as multiple directors have shown interest to work with us.

7. Potential for Development

Potential for Development

viability potential developmentDownload

Both of the projects show potential for future development.

8. Evaluation Viability

This is my presentation that I held to get feedback:

Viability Study PresentationDownload

This is the feedback form I had a link to at the end of my presentation:

This is a table about the feedback I received:

feedback viability studyDownload

I think my project is viable. The poetry event has a low chance of cancellation. Several films have shown interest in working with us. The projects are each other’s backup plan. I feel completely certain that if everything else somehow did not work out, I would still have Theo Dyrøy’s poetry to make music to, so I always have something to fall back on.

9. Bibliography