Camvention 2016 (UK) - Review
Saturday the 1st October 2016 saw the welcome return of Camvention, the Cambridge Juggling Convention, here follows my account of the day.
We enjoyed a hassle free drive from Leicestershire to the Cambridge University Sports Centre. I counted green cars (3) and Jenni counted blue cars (a gazillion) on the way there, after much hilarity and clarification of the rules. We actually arrived early and wandered into the hall at about 9.30AM. The Reg desk was set up and eager to take our monies and there were plenty of other people already juggling in the hall.
The hall at Cambridge is very spacious and pretty well-lit as well as being impossibly high, my perfect venue for a juggling convention. I like it very much.
The passes were wooden clothes pegs which were engraved with the Camvention logo, very collectable. We dropped off some Chocfest and Leeds Juggling Convention (19th November 2016, be there!) flyers and checked out the raffle prizes.
Now then… raffle prizes.
I was distraught to find that the Camvention organising team thought it would be acceptable to raffle a pineapple! The very nerve! As everyone knows a pineapple is traditionally always a part of the Leeds Juggling Convention (19th November 2016!) raffle! It is a slippery slope, pretty soon I think Camvention will also be providing free tea, coffee and doughnuts!!! I made clear to various members of the organisation how disappointed I was and received a number of rather weak excuses for the inclusion of the offending fruit. I was assured it was a genuine mistake so I left it at that. ;-)
We got ourselves nicely set up near Oddballs and spotted Lazy Juggler setting up the gaming area on the other side of the hall. Both seemed to be pretty busy during the day. I started a rapid club juggling warm up with the intention of hitting some 5 club tricks and numbers stuff. Broke off at various intervals to chat to folks as they arrived. I ended up having some great unplanned 10 club passing sessions with Becky, Cameron and Brook. Me and Brook also spent some time on 11 club ultimates and managed some clean flashes and ~18 throws to a collect. This felt better than when we tried at Coastcon, Jason even appeared out of nowhere and complimented us on the pattern. Didn’t get chance to pass with Jason in the end which I would have liked to have done.
I grabbed a spot of lunch and then hurried off to Mark and Dave’s bounce juggling and passing workshop. The workshop was split for those just learning to bounce and those after the tricks and wanting to try passing. I was taught the really nice zig-zag (don’t know how else to describe it…) bounce pattern with 4 and 5 balls, I will devote some time to that one as it looks lovely! The workshop was cut short about 10mins from the end due to health and safety concerns from the sports centre staff (the workshop was held in the corridor). Bit of a shame as I didn’t get a chance to do much passing.
Pre-published workshop timetable and print outs available on the day, great idea!
Coming back into the hall I found Jenni doing her best kidnap little baby Kiera. It was lovely to finally meet her and have a bit of a natter with Sam and Martin.
The games happened around this time. All the usual convention games were held and lots of people watched and participated. The sound system was rubbish and stopped working so that games master had to resort to shouting. It makes it so much more difficult to run the games without a working microphone although a substitute was eventually found. I managed to win 5 ring endurance and me and Greeny jointly won the 3 ball limbo. I dropped early on in the 5 ball endurance. I was told afterwards that I won 5 club endurance although I didn’t realise it at the time, I thought I saw someone else drop after me but apparently they had dropped and restarted..? I don’t know, I didn’t follow what happened there. I laughed very hard at Jenni and Twinkle doing the piggyback 3 ball gladiators.
Afterwards the club gladiators tournament was held. I lost two matches during qualification (Greeny and Brook). I played Greeny again during the semi-finals and managed to beat him to secure my place in the final against Brook.
Me and Jenni went out to the thai food van which had appeared outside the venue and sat and ate with Karen, Greg, Rob and Kat. I got to indulge and be a total greedy pig by finishing mine, Jenni’s and Kat’s various curries. Delicious! We were joined by Joanne, Cookie and Marek and one of the Ians. I put my foot in it by incorrectly congratulating Ian on an amusing joke he had previously made when in fact it must have been a different Ian.
I had a bit of a day of getting people mixed up / not recognising people... I nearly complimented Charlie on his book ‘Strange Feats and Clever Turns’ during the combat qualifications but the moment never seemed right. Turns out that was a good thing as I had got Charlie Holland and Charlie Hull mixed up completely… The other one was during the afternoon I spotted someone sitting at the side of the hall on the other side of the room who looked uncannily like Manuel Mitasch. Obviously my mistake so I was confused when I looked up during the games and there he was knee hooping whilst juggling 8 rings wearing a shirt which had ‘Manuel’ printed on the back… ah. I was too scared to ask him if he wanted to pass, I will probably regret that for some time.
The Camvention Show
A quarter of the hall is curtained off and racked seating emerges to form the Camvention show venue. Stage lighting and a sound desk appear and it works really well. I think everyone has a full view of the entire stage except perhaps some of the people on benches at the front. The benches were a late addition when it became obvious that there were not enough seats for everyone on the tiered seating.
The final match of the combat tournament was played as the opener of the Camvention show. I thought it worked well and the audience seemed to enjoy it. I wonder what other people thought of this format. I played really well and managed to beat Brook who I don’t think played his best, I was relieved that it worked out for me on the day. First prize was a huge wooden clothes peg with Camvention printed on it! Awesome! I will get a nice prize lined up for the Leeds (19th November 2016!) combat tournament.
Maarten Wils compered the show. He was entertaining and confident on stage although I do prefer a compere who doesn’t swear quite so much, it is a family show after all. Also, points were lost for forgetting the names of the acts although there was a last minute schedule change.
Elina opening the show with a stunning hoop routine. Opening the routine by walking on stage on your hands whilst spinning the hoop on one foot set the standard pretty high, but it was maintained throughout! Brilliant mix of gymnastic and hooping which was tightly choreographed to the music. Lots of smiles and audience interaction and a really good bow at the end. Definitely one of the best routines I have seen for a long long time!
Ieuan performed his ring juggling routine from the Open stage at this year’s BJC. It’s lovely to see ring juggling performed and Ieuan seemed really composed, lots of good movement and use of the stage.
The next act was the super top secret and eagerly awaited (at least by me) Cambridge Passing Collective. What a fantastic passing act! Super energetic and incredibly ambitious! It was a little droppy but it was nice to see that it was so well rehearsed. Everyone knew exactly what to do and it looked like every possible dropping scenario had been accounted for and planned for. I especially enjoyed the midway through the act ‘stage setting’ which was very funny and well thought out. I would suggest (for future performances) waiting for the laughter or applause to fully stop before shouting the next command/stage direction as some of them were lost in the noise. Difficult one to judge from a performance point of view. Seriously good work, I especially appreciated all of the bows at the end, very well done! Please can we see it on a BJC stage?
Interval time followed by the raffle. Quick note, you can seriously speed up a raffle by selling two set of tickets with the same numbers! ;-) I didn’t see who won the pineapple but it wasn’t me because Katie dropped (good run though!). I also did some recruiting for the Leicester juggling club.
The second half opened with David Stone who performed with contact balls. Unfortunately he had a few technical problems with his music (!) but he definitely strutted his stuff. Nice act.
Fred showed us some beautiful club juggling whilst Ben played live acoustic guitar accompaniment. It was lovely to watch and listen to although we found ourselves wanting Fred to drop so we could see what Ben did next! Nice audience interaction and more lovely bows. Bens chair was also really squeaky which I found very amusing!
Next there was an acrobalance routine with a very gymnastic edge to it performed by Lili and Kenny. It was a wonderful routine but there was a heart stopping moment with a catch gone wrong which resulted in a nasty looking belly flop/face plant. She was obviously shaken but they completed the routine in full and didn’t lose their stride, whilst remaining composed. I was really impressed and felt bad for them, but it was a great routine!
The finale act was performed by Guillaume Karpowicz. It was superb! I have tried writing a description of his act a few times and none of them do it justice. Very funny, very skilful, entirely entertaining and then he did 4 diablos at the end. What more do you want!
The final bow started off looking really rehearsed and professional but quickly turned into a bit of a shambles. I view the final bow as a very important part of the show which should be rehearsed, it just finishes the whole thing off nicely as well as looking really professional (when done well).
With the show over we gave bags of Peat HQ fruit to Sam and Martin before gathering Ben and Fred and giving them a lift to the station. We then bombed back to Leicestershire whist singing along to 90s pop songs. A great finish to a great day.
Thank you for such a great convention, we had an absolute blast! I would like to stay down next year and come to the extra bonus juggling day on the Sunday to make a full weekend of it. Really looking forward to coming back again next year, same venue and thai food wagon please!
Cheers, Jon
(Sorry, yet another long review, I hope you enjoyed it. If you did or didn’t then join the discussion. If you attended the event add your own review of the day too!)
#Camvention2016
Thanks for the review. I wanted to come, but was not keen on the three-hour each way drive. As it turned out, I sprained my back on Saturrday morning anyway. Maybe next year...
York Jugglers - - Наверх #
To clarify, whilst Leeds Juggling Convention is on 19th November 2016, Chocfest is a separate convention and not till 28th January 2017 #Chocfest22.
Thank you for dropping off the Chocfest flyers Jon.
(I wonder which convention Leeds Juggling Convention copied the idea of free tea and coffee from?)
mike.armstrong - - Наверх #
Hmm
Leeds started offering free tea and coffee (with our first doughnuts) in 1999 (I know, cos it was my idea!)
In those days Chocfest was still at the university and, while dishing out plenty of chocolate, they weren't so generous with the beverages...
#justsaying
York Jugglers - - Наверх #
You are correct, Chocfest didn't start doing free tea and coffee till ~2004, so perhaps Chocfest was copying Leeds Juggling Convention (though there does appear to be a short hiatus in Leeds Conventions in the early 2000s).
#mike.armstrongknowshishistory
Little Paul - - Наверх #
BASIL!!!
Little Paul - - Наверх #
I've still got the tshirt somewhere
If you do still have one, I'd love to see a photo. I have a vague idea of what the design was that year.
York Jugglers - - Наверх #
Photo of a slightly faded Basil t-shirt:
https://sites.google.com/site/yjimages/jpgs/Leeds_Juggling_Convention_Tshirt_1999_Basil.JPG
Little Paul - - Наверх #
That's in better nick than mine, I guess I wore mine more!
Brook Roberts - - Наверх #
Thanks for the lovely review! From my point of view the day went very well - all the organising in advance meant I could enjoy the convention, go to an acro workshop, do some good passing (see above!) and play in the combat tournament. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and it was good to see reasonably sized hooping and acro communities there - it's a bit harder to organise for groups that I'm not a part of, but I felt we had critical mass for them to have their own areas and communities.
Really pleased with how the show went down, and with all the performers - especially those who made routines especially for Camvention. I really quite nervous about organising a show next year that isn't a let down after that (especially since I used up a tonne of Cambridge jugglers for this!).
Our passing routine seemed to get a good reception, which was nice, especially nice to talk to some of the professional performers about it and performing in general. I learnt a lot of things trying to put this together - lots of things to think about in choreographed passing routines that don't exist in other routines (like, as Jon mentioned, having to rehearse what to do in all sorts of drop scenarios). It was a bit droppier than we would have liked, but I think I was the only person in the group with experience performing in such an event - there was definitely some nerves, and a few of them said it was the first "real" show they've performed in. That's not really true, but it was a big, paying audience, and I think having stage lights and a tech run made an impact. Just means it'll go better next time, right? ;)
And I was really glad we booked Guillaume. When I initially talked to him, I had been hoping for a tech-y routine, and he offered a 1 diabolo routine, and whilst I thought it would probably be good and go down well, these things don't always come across the same on video, and I was worried it would be small (that's why we finished the first half with the passing, rather than going before him). It wasn't - it was so engaging and creative and amazing and yeah, you should see it :)
I'm already kind of looking forward to the next one!
Brook Roberts - - Наверх #
That shouldn't come across as saying I didn't make any mistakes :P I didn't feel so nervous, but that just meant I didn't have an excuse for some of my bad passes :S
Brook Roberts - - Наверх #
Oh, to actually reply:
You should have asked him, he's friendly, and you're good enough to do good stuff with him.
Yes, I would have prefered less swearing.
Don't rest on your laurels - you've had a pineapple monopoly for too long and I think some competition will really get you to up your pineapple game.
Yes, the talking was a bit quiet, but it's hard to rehearse that. I also thought Katie did a really good job, by saying something to get it started and to get the crowd to quieten down, and then repeat it so people good here. Until I watched a video, and realised the audience was still too loud. It's hard to judge on stage! We'll get better.
We did rehearse the bow :( My side did what we were supposed to :P
KStruthers - - Наверх #
Thank you for the excellent and detailed review Jon. :)
Great review, Jon. You're not the first to mix up two Charlies, back in the day I'd get the odd email telling me a sofa was going to be delivered as someone had confused our email addresses...anyway, to save confusion, I'm the shorter one who wasn't involved in starting Circus Space and doesn't have an amazing collection of old juggling props!
Yes, quite. By the way, have you got any more copies of 4000 Years left for sale?
Fantastic review Jon, thank you. Really sorry I missed this year's Camvention, I have really enjoyed the past few years.
Could we also please have your treatise on what makes a good bow, why it is important, what are the pitfalls to avoid (bowing after the audience has finished clapping, awkward!) & perhaps some examples of some really good bows.
lukeburrage - - Наверх #
I could do a long rant on this topic! Just a few things for now:
During the last act of the show, the rest of the acts should be lined up in the correct order on one side of stage.
The host should thank all the organizers/technicians before the acts come out on stage. This reduces the time the artists are standing around, not knowing how to respond.
The acts should be waiting the closest they can possibly to the stage, but not on the stage, waiting for their name to be called. Not at the bottom of the steps, but the top step. Not backstage somewhere, but right next to the edge of the curtain.
A stage manager should push the acts onto the stage.
The acts should get to the very front middle of the stage AS FUCKING QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE and take a big bow, then get out the way.
The host of the show has to be in charge. When they bow, everyone should follow them, and not do their own thing. They should be in the middle of the row of artists, not at the end, to more easily guide everyone in bowing or not bowing.
All of the acts should leave the stage on the same side. Why?
If there is going to be another curtain call, the host makes that call, and leads everyone back on stage again.
The stage manager should make sure all the acts stay close to the stage in case of another curtain call. Don't let the acts get distracted or head off to dressing rooms.
Everyone should be off the stage before the last person in the audience has stopped clapping.
How many of these didn't happen at Cambridge?
lukeburrage - - Наверх #
Well yeah, all of this would be covered in a rehearsal.
Brook Roberts - - Наверх #
It was rehearsed.
"The host should thank all the organizers/technicians before the acts come out on stage. This reduces the time the artists are standing around, not knowing how to respond." - probably the key relevant point here, if you've been on stage a while, and the acts know they at some point in the proceedings are supposed to leave the stage, there is always a risk they think it's time to leave. Most of everything else you said occurred - I think in general reducing the time in which things can go wrong is always a plus.
I will not cover the ‘final bow’ as I think Luke has covered it very well. Definitely reduce the amount of time where all the acts are stood in a line looking awkward and good point about the show host being in the centre of the line to guide the performers.
These are my subjective opinions on which I rate the performers ‘end of routine’ bow. Disclaimer, I am not a professional performer and have received no formal training, this is just what I think works through years of watching shows.
Important points which should always be considered when creating a routine:
*Does the bow match my performance style?
*Does the bow match my stage character?
I have seen too many sultry burlesque-esque style routines where as soon as the music stops the femme fatale character becomes very coy and scurries off stage. I much prefer acts where the performer remains in character during their end of routine bow and exit from the stage.
I have also seen too many acts where the performer has obviously been told that they should bow at the end of the routine and so they give it a half-hearted go before running off stage, without a backward glance, as fast as they can. It is scary on stage, bowing feels awkward and silly. Nevertheless, unless you have a character who does not need to bow or exits the stage before a bow is necessary then it has got to be done.
It is the moment when the performer thanks and acknowledges the audience.
The final bows of the show I am not too fussed about whether the performer remains in character although I will relate an example where I feel the performer missed a great opportunity.
The convention show at Crawley about 5 (maybe more) years ago had a fantastic whip cracking act. I am not that into whip cracking but this routine was superb and the audience went nuts for it, myself included. The character was a ‘librarian’ type character who performed to Bjork ‘Oh, it’s so quiet’. He entered the stage reading a book and proceeded to ‘hush’ the audience by holding a finger to the lips at the correct moments. (Hear the song: https://youtu.be/2UjvaOusjNg) When the music reached a crescendo the whips would come out and the performer would go crazy and let rip with the whips. When the time came for the final bow and the performer was called again onto the stage he ran forward took a very nice bow and entered the line with everyone else.
It worked.
BUT, I would have given a standing ovation if he had come out on stage again with his head buried in the book, been disturbed by the noise the audience had made and then shushed the audience.
That would have been PERFECT.
I think the point I want to make is this:
The first time you bow should never be in front of an audience.
Little Paul - - Наверх #
I'll take a bow-out-of-character over what a lot of acts did in BYJOTY 2 years ago - all the circomedia/circus space students finished their routine, turned and ran off the back of the stage not pausing to take their applause or bow at all, the non circus school acts took a bow, even if it was a little awkward.
I think someone near me remarked at the time "taking your applause must be on the summer term syllabus"
The whip cracker you are thinking of is Simon Ratzker (I thought it was Björk too, but turns out it was Betty Hutton!).
Yep, I think a performer should remain in character for the entirety of their stage time. I loved Eugenius Nil's awkward interaction with Loz Becoz when she offered him a hug after his act & he shyly ran away at BJC 2013.
Keep up with your reviews Jon. I rarely comment on them, but always [thus far at least] enjoy reading them.
As ever, Jon remains one of the best convention reviewers.
However we may need someone else to step forward for Leeds, Jon is show organiser. I am uncertain of the correct etiquette for reviewing your own show (Luke probably knows) but feel that others ought to comment on how brilliant it was(will be) to save any possible accusations of conflict of interests, something we take very seriously in Leeds.
See you all there.
Alice
Mike Moore - - Наверх #
I always enjoy these reviews. Thank you for writing them.
Thank you all for reading and reviewing my review!
I also like to read convention reviews and HLGCS so please do write something about a convention if you have been to one.
I will soon be reporting from Durham Juggling Convention (14th - 16th October, https://www.jugglingedge.com/event.php?EventID=4330) and I look forward to seeing you there! :-)
Cheers, Jon
Mike Moore - - Наверх #
Haha, I'm afraid I'm on the wrong side of the Atlantic for that one.
I like reading HLGCBSs so much that attendees at the fest I run get up to $10 off admissions based on their HLGCBSs. Here's how it works:
Starting price: $10
Are you new this year? If so, subtract $5
Did you post an HLGCBS last year? If so, subtract $5.
Will you post an HLGCBS this year? If so, subtract $5.
That resulted in these three threads from this year:
https://jugglingedge.com/forum.php?ThreadID=2701&SmallID=20246#Small20246
https://jugglingedge.com/forum.php?ThreadID=2703&SmallID=20265#Small20265
https://jugglingedge.com/forum.php?ThreadID=2702&SmallID=20248#Small20248
Somewhat predictably, encouraging people who normally don't write HLGCBSs to do so leads to a few broken threads, as they're not used to the posting system. Still very happy they did it!
Mike Moore - - Наверх #
Yep! Enough people don't write them that they cover my shoestring budget. We get the space for free, and least year someone even donated free pizza to everyone at the fest (~40 people).
For the last two years, attendees have been very enthusiastic about going for sushi on the Saturday night. This year I am thinking about trying to get a group discount, and apply the money saved through that discount to fest budget. I like that better than charging at the door because I don't like the idea of financial barriers to going to (especially small) fests.
Mike Moore - - Наверх #
We have also always been able to house all every person who asked for it with local jugglers. Woohoo for a healthy juggling club and a small fest!
I'm looking for two Beard Beach juggling clubs for the Museum of Juggling History. If anyone has one or two they could donate, please let me know. I'm also looking for a Henry's Sparkler club and a Freaks Unlimited Jester Club (club / beanbag hybrid). Thanks.
David Cain
Cedric Lackpot - - Наверх #
Still looking for Freak's Jesters? Blimey, you've been after those for years haven't you? I really ought to get the old flight case out of the garage, that contains all the University's old juggling stuff, I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a musty Beach or two lurking in there.
Yes, I'm still looking for the Jester club. Only 100 were ever made. I need a beach or two because that was the first retail multi-piece club with a one piece flex handle. I would appreciate it if you took a look. Thanks.
David
The Beach clubs were definitely multi-piece....I once passed one to someone and it arrived in multiple pieces. For some reason quite a few people bought them as their first clubs, and they'd quickly discover the benefits of a soft handle were not enough to make up for their general rubbishness, so moved onto hard handled clubs such as Spotlight Europeans. These were a lot heavier than modern clubs and I still have mine somewhere as they're useful for windy days!
Are you sure you want some Beard beach clubs? Would be a shame to devalue your collection.
I'm pretty certain all the ones we had at TWJC left us when we sold off most of our kit a few years ago but will double check.
KStruthers - - Наверх #
I think I still have three of those from when I first bought clubs and thought they were a good idea a few years ago. I'll have a look and if I do you are welcome to them.
KStruthers - #
Compressing a video...
Hello, I'm trying to compress a video so I can put it on juggling TV. The program from the article on juggling TV about compressing files didn't work on my computer. Can anyone recommend another free way of doing it?
My computer is windows 7 and the article on juggling TV is this one: http://juggling.tv/compress.php
Thank you :)
Hi,
Just to check: Did you read the Requirements on https://www.squared5.com/svideo/mpeg-streamclip-win.html , and have you installed QT or QTAlternative as suggested? The site says it should work on Win7.
I don't use Windows, so I don't have any alternative software suggestions, I'm afraid, but I'm sure there must be something equivalent out there.
I've used Handbrake on a Mac. I see it's available for Win too: https://handbrake.fr/
KStruthers - - Наверх #
I hadn't read the requirements so not having quick time was the problem. I've now got quick time and Streamclip can run, but it turns out that my video is saved as a WMV file which is not supported by streamclip.
Handbrake seems to be working now though, thank you for the help.
Katie
noslowerdna - - Наверх #
One option I've used is uploading it to youtube first, then using youtube-dl to download the slightly lower quality youtube-processed version to upload to JTV.
KStruthers - #
Camvention is this weekend.
Hello all,
Just a reminder that Camvention is this weekend. It's at the university sports center in Cambridge on Saturday 26th September.
We've got 3 lines of workshops, traders, board games, combat tournament, games, and a whole show to watch so please do come along if you are within travelling distance.
Tickets are £10 on the door.
More information is on our website: www.camvention.org
See you there,
Katie
Yay! Looking forward to it! I've really enjoyed the last 2 events.
#Camvention2015
Brook Roberts - - Наверх #
Yay, Camvention :)
We do indeed have 'a whole show' featuring everything from acro staff to acro balance, club passing to cyr wheeling, including international performers :)
And hoop games for hoopers.
And acro mats/acro area of acro peoples.
And rather more show seats that we can fill, so everyone should come :)
See everyone on Saturday!
KStruthers - #
Workshops at BJC
Hi there,
I'm coordinating workshops at this year's BJC (27th March - 2nd April), and was wondering if any of you guys on the edge are coming and would like to volunteer a workshop on anything? If so, or if you have any questions, please email me at workshops.bjc2015@gmail.com or fill in this form: https://goo.gl/forms/NEGfcsTcqr
I don't check the edge that often, but I'll try to keep an eye on this post in case anyone has any ideas or suggestions for things :)
Katie
KStruthers - #
#camvention2014 is tommorrow.
Doors open at 9:30am, and there will be tickets available on the door.
www.camvention.org
See you there,
Katie
I just bought my ticket for #camvention2014.
That is all.
KStruthers - - Наверх #
yay! See you there :)
KStruthers - #
Camvention 2014 tickets on sale.
Hey Jugglers,
Camvention, Cambridge's juggling convention is back on the 25th October this year. With a massive thanks to Oddballs, tickets are now available to buy in advance. The whole day including the show for £10, and children under 8 go free.
Tickets are available from Oddballs here: https://www.oddballs.co.uk/camvention-2014-ticket-p-4103.html
Also, for general information about Camvention we have a website: www.camvention.org
If you use facebook we have a page to like and an event to join: https://www.facebook.com/camvention, https://www.facebook.com/events/349230848549425/?fref=ts
Or if you use twitter we have a twitter account: https://twitter.com/Camvention
KStruthers - #
New modifiers for the records...
Would it be possible to have flat fronts as a modifier for ring and club records?
I'm also wondering about lying on your back and juggling as a modifier?
I don't know if these sort of questions have come up much before as I don't follow the small talk that closely so maybe it's already been discussed, but could there be an option for us to create new modifiers as/when we need them or is it easier for us to just ask here?
Thanks :)
Katie
Hi Katie,
You might not see questions in Small Talk as most feature requests are posted in Meta Talk.
I don't know if flats or lying down juggling has been discussed before though.
KStruthers - - Наверх #
Aha, I did have a feeling there was somewhere else for this sort of thing but I couldn't find it. Thanks :)
Rob van Heijst - - Наверх #
Allright.
Rob van Heijst - - Наверх #
Not *alright :(
Hi Katie. Of course, new modifiers are:
ff - flat fronts
laidup - lying down. I had always thought that the over head modifier would cover this but I think there is a greater limit to mobility while lying down so I guess it is a different trick & worth its own modifier.
There is no place to create your own modifiers at the moment, but it could be done. I'm trying to keep a tight control over this mostly because I want the number of ways of describing a trick to be as limited as possible. One of the main points of the records section is to allow you to compare your records with other people. This breaks down if people are able to describe the same trick in different ways. The precise wording of modifiers also needs to be controlled so that the full description of the trick when combined with all the other modifiers makes sense. The text for tricks is stored across 9 different arrays & without an understanding of the code that manipulates them it is very easy to get it wrong!
For the time being if there is anything that you would like to be added it would be easiest just to let me know, either here (especially if there may be alternative names for a pattern so other people can stick their oar in), on Meta talk or by email.
Congratulations on qualifying 5 rings & flashing 6!
You do know festival organisers aren't supposed to practice right?
KStruthers - - Наверх #
Thanks Orinco :)
The lying down thing is because I've been working on that but can't really do overheads stood up yet. Keeping control over the modifiers seems pretty sensible, I see that it wouldn't be a good idea to have duplicate names.
A different review of BJC2014
Although I was on the crew and spent quite some time doing that I am not going to focus on the workshops because apart from the two I ran I didn't see any. Everyone else who ran a workshop is a complete star and I apologise to Marcen and Bekka in that whilst their workshops were on the internet version of the timetable they didn't get transferred to the hard copy. I would be interested to know how many people used the online timetable as it took a huge amount of time but possibly wasn't recognised as a good thing.
So anyway, we arrived on Thursday and the family sorted out the caravan whilst I went shopping. I came back to find the awning had been erected which was great for me but less so for Tracey as she has been suffering with muscle strains in her shoulder and injured herself more. I spent about 40 minutes getting the caretakers to give us access to the water point and later we were given a guided tour of the site by Kat Bown. This was the only time I went in to the main hall. Went to bed early after having made some mental notes of where things would be going and what signs were needed.
Friday was expectedly busy with Topper and the God Emperor himself being extremely helpful in getting signs put up in appropriate places. I also managed to get the caretakers to clear the whole workshop area which was fantastic as I was expecting to have to do that myself with whomever we could rope in. It was a bit weird with all the teaching staff still in the building but we managed. About 3pm I was asked to manage the hard standing area and spent most of the next 5 hours playing tetris with caravans. About 3 hours in I realised that I had put a van right at the back that needed to leave on Sunday and so we broke the school rules by driving him on the grass and dodging tents. We were rapidly running out of space to put vans and were lucky no more came than did. Tracey did a grand job of feeding me in stages as I directed traffic. I was also lucky to sample some of Little Pauls' Lemon Drizzle Cake, which was delicious.
Saturday started with a fire alarm. The fire assembly point was the MUGA (multi-use games area) which was of course locked. Later in the convention one of the crew would acquire the key but would not appear when the next fire alarm went off until after we were allowed back in. Much of the day was a blur. I do remember the 5 ring circus show which was performed by a group of 19 young people and lasted about an hour. A few bits of this I had seen performed before but it was still most impressive and professional. In many ways it was the most cohesive show of the whole event probably because there was no compere and therefore the segues had been thought about in more detail. The range of skills displayed was also good and the bravery of the kids who went to the top of the three high standing pyramid was immense. I wouldn't have wanted to do it, even if there were a strong enough crew to hold me.
Sunday Tracey and I managed to get in 20 minutes passing practice before the BJG meeting. Bryn managed to get a photo of this. It was the only time I juggled clubs all week. The BJG meeting was started by Jack and hijacked by Ewan and Ron (most discourteously I thought, I am sure they had their reasons but it would have been politer to let Jack go through his talk before presenting their thoughts), I left after 20 minutes. I ran my complete beginners Devil Stick workshop, hopefully it was appreciated. Eventually 4pm occured and we all headed into Sheffield. Most of the Milton Keynes crew were on the same bus and were in high spirits. Mark decided that he would do a selfie with everyone on the bus (apart from the driver) and these are now somewhere in facebook land. We managed to find a pizza hut to eat at (along with at least 30 other jugglers) and this seemed to be more than the restaurant could cope with as service was slow and they made a couple of mistakes (resulting in price reductions and extra pizza). From there we made our way to the show venue and after a brief discussion with the usherette lady who seemed to think that just because half of the group had stall tickets and half had gallery that meant we couldn't sit together, we went in. At this point I am going to turn in to a grumpy old juggler. The balloon chains are now so old hat that they are passe. I may have been one of the people who instigated the idea back in the 90s but I am now very bored of them. It is time for those jugglers with imaginations to come up with a completely different way of amusing the audience before the show starts. It used to be paper aeroplanes, now it is balloon chains, maybe next year it can be something original and amusing. The show was the usual mish mash of good and not so good acts. I felt the Voodoo act was not really suited to the cabaret stage and the music conflicted with Pete's commentary. Emil Dahl's act was to downbeat (especially after the diabolo team) to close the show. Why we needed another Wes Peden clone I don't know. I've seen this style of act many times and whilst I can appreciate the difficulty of the technical moves this act has very little appeal to me now and I'd like to see something that is truly different. The diabolo act was a case in point. Unfortunately the girl was a bit droppy (especially after she had pulled off a hard trick and then relaxed) but the two guys were solid, the extra long string I imagine spurred many to try that trick and the breaking of the fourth wall with an extremely long throw was magical. The technicality was superb throughout and the show was upbeat, it should have closed. Other acts that stood out for me (and I apologise for not knowing the names) were the vest guy, the guy with the saw and surprisingly the chinese pole guy. I had assumed all the way through his act that he was cheating and so was surprised to find that he wasn't. After getting back to the site I had to work but around 01:30 managed to get in with a game of poker. Fortunately there were a couple of players who weren't very experienced and the cards were falling in my favour and I walked away with a £10 profit.
Monday dawned. I was very busy during the day. I managed to fit in a 90 minute practice of the Concrete Circus act just before BYJOTY. In general I would say that the level of acts were similar to last year and though I didn't vote for him I could understand why Arthur won. His was the most polished routine and his performing experience (I had seen him in the show at Ball Ring) showed. My vote went to Cal Courtney because of the character he brought to the stage. His act was much more droppy but still a very high technical level. After the routines and the voting had finished the best trick competition began. Just before that I had encouraged my younger son to take part because there is no-one else his age doing the tricks he can do. He managed to pull off the first of his two hardest tricks first time, the second took more attempts but he still landed it after a few goes. After that I could tell he didn't know what to try as a third trick but he tried a couple of things that didn't work. As a ten year old going up against people twice his age he may have won because he was half the size of the other competitors but he still did two extremely difficult and awesome tricks, neither of which I can do. About 00:30 I managed to get some practice time for my show the next day. I was interrupted about half way through by the security guards clearing the area of people who might want to sleep upstairs (something I had mentioned to Bryn on the Saturday). Practice went ok but I kept forgetting the last few moves.
Tuesday. The day was mainly taking up with shows. At 10am Concrete Circus were practicing their show for about 90 minutes. After that I was involved in the tech rehearsal for the open stage. Then came the tech rehearsal for the Youth Circus show and then came the two shows themselves. At some point I realised that I wasn't going to have time to get the workshop boards done and fortunately Miark stepped in to the job and got it all done admirably. The kids pretty much nailed their act in a Youth show that had a much bigger audience than the 20 or so who turned up last year. I think the audience enjoyed a high level of skill and comedy from people aged 6 to 20. I didn't get to see the Torwood Wheeler show as I was backstage at the time. My act was on second which meant that I didn't have to worry about waiting for too long. It started well enough but about 30 seconds in I realised that my trousers were slipping down and that the bottoms of the legs were now under my feet. This made my act somewhat static. I survived with about 3 drops and with my trousers not around my ankles but the show could have been better. After the show the acts were treated to a buffet meal. This was a nice treat from Kat and her crew.
Wednesday. Another blur of a day. I went to the business meeting which was well managed by Lorri. I didn't agree to be on the crew next year as this year had been so frantic that I had had no time for myself. I will probably still offer a workshop or two and may be involved in one or more of the shows. I got to see my daughter perform in the kids renegade which was my only involvement in that this year. After which we all turned into the bat family and headed to the atrium. Various people took our photo but I have yet to see a copy of Bat-Roders' Assembled. The wait before the award ceremony and then the show was way too long and shortly after the show we all went to bed.
Thursday was spent clearing up, saying goodbye and making sure our awning wasn't destroyed like last year. We left about 15:30 and pretty much collapsed when we got home. I go away from BJC tired, hoping that I did a good job and proud of what my family did.
Nigel
RE: The online timetable.
It certainly piqued my interest before the convention started, and gave me an idea of what sort of workshops to look out for. I didn't use it at all during the convention however, and I don't remember anyone else using it either (although I could be totally wrong about that).
It was a shame that the boards were only displaying the workshops for that day. I missed a few early workshops because the board hadn't been updated when I had gone to check. I was impressed by the range on offer though. I particularly enjoyed learning to throw knives (I think the guys name was John).
The workshop boards for the next day appeared the day before on each occasion but sometimes they appeared relatively late. There was a number of reasons for this. Firstly the smaller white boards were only painted on the Friday and as they were supposed to take three days to cure couldn't be used immediately. The CircusWorks workshops in the Atrium on the Monday and Tuesday were only decided in the afternoon of the Sunday and so whilst the signup sheets were on the reg desk before everyone left at 4pm the boards weren't completely finished until later. There was also the problem that I had over committed myself to doing a number of things (two shows, the workshop co-ordination and supplying various kit including one of the aerial rigs and one of the tightropes) and as the week progressed I ended up with less and less time. Interestingly the online timetable was much more up to date than the whiteboards until we got to Tuesday. the aerial sessions never made it on to the online version because they were all signed up by the time I had a free moment to do it.
Nigel
Also John Taylor was the knife throwing person. His workshops were regularly oversubscribed. He has a facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/353757507970202/?fref=ts or https://knifethrowing.co.uk/ is a starting link but less useful.
Nigel
mike.armstrong - - Наверх #
How feasible is it to run the workshop board from a projector? Then it doesn't need writing up each day, the online version and the "workshop board" stay in sync and it can be made mahoosively wall-sized very easily
Cheers
-Mike
At Carton, very feasible. They had on the stage a very large white board with built in projector that could be used.
Nigel
Little Paul - - Наверх #
have you ever tried to use a smartboard?
In my experience, they're fine for drawing arrows or circling things on powerpoint presentations - but they right royally suck for writing anything as the pens/sensors drift out of alignment at the slightest provocation - and writing when your pen is 2" away from where the text is appearing is erm...
Or did you mean a real whiteboard you happen to be projecting onto?
I mean, does whatever thing Nigel is describing facilitate jugglers adding workshops without requiring IT assistance :-)
Not sure, I didn't play with it but I'd assume that IT would be needed at some point.
What we didn't have the chance to use was the schools information screens, which could have shown the workshops for the next hour or other useful info.
Nigel
Richard Loxley - - Наверх #
I used the online timetable before I arrived, and then again on the first day to plan my week.
After that I just referred to the boards each day because (a) it was more convenient (b) I suspected they had more chance of being up-to-date.
But seeing the provisional timetable for the whole week in advance was very useful to me.
Workshop planning/online timetable
I've been thinking about making a number of tools to help BJC organisation in general, and one I'm thinking about at the moment in particular is workshops.
The idea would be a tool where you can input/import workshops offered, spaces available (with times), arrange the workshops within those slots, and view/display the resulting schedule.
I'm a believer in the idea of if it's good, people will use it, and if people don't use it, it needs to be better... so a) it will take some time and with before it will be ready for use, b) if anyone else (*cough* Orin *cough*) is working on anything similar, please get in touch as I have some ideas, and c) whoever next year's workshop coordinator is going to be, it'd be nice to hear from them/maybe someone can let me know when one is appointed.
We've had a timetable system on the Edge for ages, but no one has used it yet. Here's an example timetable created on the dev site.
Sadly very few event organisers are bothering to list their own event on the Edge yet, let alone create a timetable :(
Even if they did there are still some issues with my system. Most notably (as pointed out to me by Nigel last week) it is a good idea to wait until you are on site & can assess the workshop locations before assigning a workshop to a place in case it isn't suitable. My system currently requires you to assign workshops to spaces in advance.
I'm thinking of doing away with the locations completely & just stacking the workshops happening at the same time together. It will quickly become apparent if there has been too much scheduled for the same time because there will be a big bulge. However, you've got to put the locations in at some point, otherwise no one will know where to go. I can't see that adding in the locations during last minute site set up will be something anyone is going to have time to do.
I'm also thinking about adding some new fields to the workshops for prop type & difficulty level. I thought the colour coding of all the beginner workshops that Nigel used was a very good idea, but I think colour coding by prop type would have worked better. For example all the passing workshops being in one colour, ball juggling another etc. would allow people looking to improve in a particular area to find what they want more easily.
When I did it in 2012 I did "tracks" and gave each track a space and a separate calendar, and then did my best to give away the track and its space and its calendar to someone better at organising it than me.
That way the subjects got different colours automatically when I stuck them online.
There were enough space constraints ("need mirrors/chairs/height/quiet", etc etc) that I was pretty glad of having all the space allocation done well in advance. There is always SO much to do when you hit site that it's nice to be able to just copy it all out there and get on.
So if I was making such a thing I have some use cases in mind.
1. Generating a big word document with full descriptions of workshops and bios of workshop-givers. I did this by hand in 2012 and keeping it in sync was annoying. I printed it and stuck it up above the workshop board.
2. Phone usability. If someone can identify the stuff they are interested in and maybe subscribe to its calendar and get reminders?
3. Giving away permission to edit bits of the timetable (e.g. the youth circus bit, or the Pass-Out bit).
1. The Edge system allows you to write as much as you like about each workshop.
2. I still haven't got into this smartphone thing, so I'm really not up to speed on best practices. I could create a link that would export a workshop via vcalendar, would that be any good? What about a Twitter client that tweets the next round of workshops 10 minutes to the hour?
3. Anyone with High Command access to an event can edit its timetables.
1. Writing as much as I like is not really the problem, it's keeping the calendar view of the data in sync with the big long document view. I might have a play with open document format if the data is wranglable.
2. vCalendar doesn't cope well with things that change after the import (which workshops are always doing). This is where the embedded google calendars win... In fact, exporting from more structured data to to google calendars could be the ultimate solution (this is what Dee did for Nigel this year).
3. If third parties are scheduling a track, it's good to be able to limit their access to their own track so they can't accidentally move the public show! - and the timetable is better with all the shows on, both for people scheduling workshops they are giving and for people planning their day.
But as soon as you start competing with calendars you get into all the nitpicky detail that calendars have. Could be a huge rabbit hole!
1. I could easily[1] produce a page that lists:
Workshop Title
Date, time, location
Blurb
...
Taking data from the timetable so you'd only need to update one. The document could be filtered by tag (track), difficulty level etc.
Bios would work best if separate from the workshop blurb because there are many stars who run multiple workshops. I can't think of many reasons why this couldn't work as just a static document, a database solution seems a bit overkill.
The good thing about having to assign a location at the start is that it highlights the workshops that don't have a location ;)
2 & 3 yep, good points.
More pie in the sky thinking: what about a workshop board listing the workshop title & a QR code that points to a page with more info (The QR code page on the Edge will already create a code for any timetables that are set up). For those that really go to town on their workshops with handouts & such like it would be a good place to link to the handout in pdf, videos of the skills to be taught etc.
A festival email list which sends out a daily digest of the workshops, shows, weather warnings etc with links to more info? Do people want info pushed onto them?
[1] In fact that will only take a few minutes. Here's the first day's worth of workshops from BJC 2014:
Timetable view
Document view
My big document had the bios directly under each workshop but eliding duplicates. A standalone bio document would be simpler, but I'd still have to track which bios I had received and which not. I didn't put date/time/location on my workshop blurb document because I wanted it to not go out of date.
The thing about assigning a location/time up front is that the data often starts coming in before the team have really even locked down the workshop locations, and before the workshop givers can commit to dates and times. Several wanted a gander at the "other stuff" schedule first.
Got no idea about QR codes, do most people know what to do with those? I liked the idea of people just being able to read down the document looking for things that sounded interesting. I didn't get any handouts.
Putting the location across the top of the calendar view is a thing that only happens because it makes it easy to draw on a whiteboard I think. In your example because the workshops are sparse it just serves to make everything wide and harder to read... and who really looks at the board thinking "what workshops can I go to that are held in the atrium"?
The MOST AWESOME thing would be if I (as an attendee) could mark up the workshops before, like "MUST SEE, maybe interesting, not interested" and then see my custom view where the boring stuff is gone completely and the must see stuff hits me with a brick ten minutes before it starts. I also want a pony but I guess it would not be allowed on site.
Personally when I see a QR code I have an irresistible compulsion to sticker over it with this https://i.imgur.com/n1Vzikc.png?1?8479
Just doing some quick & dirty prototyping. Try the Document view again, each workshop now has an I don't care link which hides that workshop (requires javascript). Hidden workshops are stored to the device so will work for non-Edgenaughts.
& you can always have a pony.
https://www.jugglingedge.com/userfiles/Orinoco/whitepony.jpg
Do you still have a copy of said document from 2012? I don't remember it from the event itself. Would be very useful to take a look at it.
Coo that document view is getting interesting, although the repetition of the "I don't care" text might have strange subliminal effects!
https://thebritishjugglingconvention.co.uk/wiki/images/a/a8/BJC_2012_-_Workshops_Overview.pdf
Indeed, I just threw my shit into a bag & pushed it down the stairs.
Thanks for the file which is very helpful.
For the workshop coordinator I think the time/location grid is the most useful for allocating new workshops to a free time/space slot. For attendees though I think you are right in that this is not the most efficient way of presenting the details on a workshop board.
Time is important because you can't attend two workshops simultaneously (this also covers being in two places simultaneously so location information is not important), plus you might not get up before 11am & may not be there on Thursday. So workshops definitely need to be presented along a timeline.
Instead of locations which could potentially be empty how about always using the next available cell in the timeslot's row/column & then drawing a symbol representing what the workshop is for. I think people would prefer to scan the board looking for a prop.
In our example there were up to 6 workshops in an hour, meaning the 14 horizontal spaces representing all the available workshop locations could be condensed into something much more readable.
Any talented artists up for creating an icon set for:
Balls - a generic 4 panel juggling ball with a number for however many required
Clubs - as above with a club
Rings - as above with a ring
Diabolo - as above with a diabolo
contact juggling - a hand at 45 degrees with a ball on the back as if halfway through a butterfly
Cigar boxes, Devil stick, Kendama, Unicycle, whip, lasso, knife throwing - picture of prop
Hula hoop - a person with a hula hoop around the waist
Staff - Person twirling a staff
Acro - 2 people in a flag
Games - 2 die
Passing - over head view of two people facing each other with arrows pointing from right to left hands combined with prop: club, ball, ring
Dance - foot prints with arrows
Magic - rabbit in a hat
Other - question mark
Any more?
I'd suggest the icons be simple line drawings that scale well & can easily be copied onto a workshop board by hand if necessary. It'd be nice to have a standard set of glyphs that can be used by other websites & festivals so that they become more effective with familiarity. I'd like something ~100px square to use on the document view. RegularJugular do you still have the original svg files you used for the Edge banners? There is a lot of good stuff in there that could be used.
I think it might also be useful to have big events on the timetable too. At this year they had a paper timetable of big events and you could write the workshops you were going to on it. But without such a system I might think twice (or make preparations beforehand) before going to a workshop that lasted for 3-4 if I knew I had to get the bus to the gala show at 4.
If you wanted to be really computery and funky you could have the location description link to a map/plan of venue showing where the workshop was located within the venue.
"For the workshop coordinator I think the time/location grid is the most useful for allocating new workshops to a free time/space slot. For attendees though I think you are right in that this is not the most efficient way of presenting the details on a workshop board."
For the workshop coordinator I think you're right I also think that any tool with stuff wot i don't really understand to enable the coordinator to drag workshops around would be incredibly useful. when I edited mine in a spreadsheet, cut and paste worked... but not perfectly, and only from a real computer.
Even for punters, I think that a location/time grid is the most ideal way of doing it. a) they're the only 2 keys which, when combined, provide uniqueness*. b) they're the information that people need to get to the workshop. c) it allows you to mark times and locations of shows/inaccessibility (rehearsals etc)*. d) I actually think some people look at the board and think about themselves needing to move from *points* over there to *points* over here at such and such a time.
the problems are:
i) fitting the whole table on board/screen
ii) the third and fourth keys of prop type and difficulty.
ii) can be fixed on a computer by giving someone a button to change from time vs location to whatever vs whatever, but the hard copy is never going to be easy.
* the key point for a and c is that you can't offer a workshop at the same time and place as another one**, and if this isn't clear, then people will try to offer clashing workshops.
The lesser point is that the workshop board is (or can be) used as a a general timetable as well as just workshops (ie games, buses, shows etc).
** well, if you consider outside, or hall, or (for example an off-site workshop) just a meeting point, then this is no longer true, but a good system could cope with this (while also making it clear that you're trying to be the 10th workshop at the same time I the hall - depends on the exact space - probably would have worked last year, probably not this year).
Little Paul - - Наверх #
"fitting the whole table on board/screen"
Can I just say that when I eventually found it, I found the "list view" version of the google calendar really handy this year. Especially once I worked out how to make it add the workshops I was interested in to the calendar on my phone.
I still managed to miss John/Tiffs balancing workshop though, which was one of only two workshops I was interested in going to :)
USE CASES!
1. co-ordinator needs to shuffle workshops around space and time in order that everything has a space and time, and various constraints are fulfilled.
2. workshop giver wishes to offer a workshop (six months before event)
3. workshop giver wishes to offer a workshop (during event)
4. individual track co-ordinator needs to shuffle workshops in time but perhaps not space, within their limited purview.
5. two weeks before event, workshop/track co-ordinator needs to negotiate time slots with givers of offered workshops
6. before or during event, user wishes to skim read what is available over the week
7. during event, user wishes to plan their day
8. user wishes (having planned their day) to be reminded of what is where and when so they can actually go there.
9. workshop co-ordinator needs to track use of limited resources such as portable amp
10. workshop giver wishes to quickly see their commitments and double check for clashes (with their own workshops or with other events they are interested in).
discuss! :-)
Right then, got quite a bit further today. We now have 4 different views to play with. There are links to switch between them & also links to filter by category at the bottom. Conflicts are highlighted in red.
What do people think?
Traditional table
I don't like this view, I think we have stuck with it through inertia. This often gets large & unwieldy with so many time slots/locations. I did get drag & drop placement of workshops working using the same code that I use for reordering sections on the customise index page. However, because the table is so large dragging it to a position off the screen really didn't work smoothly at all. I got really fed up with it & found that just editing the time/location was considerably faster.
I've improved adding/editing workshops in that if there is a conflict the editworkshop form displays suggestions for alternative locations that are free at the same time & alternative times when the location is free.
Document
I initially really liked this but have since gone off it a bit because of the timeline issue. Time runs down the page, so as you scroll down, time should move forward, but because the number of workshops in a given timeslot can alter the time/distance scrolled connection is broken & I have no idea what time I am looking at. This makes this view very difficult to use to plan your day because it is not immediately obvious which workshops clash with which.
Detailed list
My second favourite view. I like this because I am a data freak. I know I'm not the only one.
Small panels
Could possibly be more useful if level & workshop leader information is included as well?
This is my favourite view because it is so simple. It fits & scales horizontally on screen well. Even when the number of workshops wraps to 2 or three panels deep I still keep the sense of time.
I think there is a lot more tweaking that could be done & there are more optimal solutions to be had by combining features from different views.
oh cool! that's super!
For me the primary use cases for the document view are pre-convention browsing, and long-description-looking-up during the convention (from the printed version). In 2012 there was a list of workshops on the website substantially before the times and locations were sorted - you can't really do times much in advance because flaky people. So ideally some view or other could accommodate that.
They could be in alphabetical order and then you would for sure know where in the alphabet you were.
I love #3 and think it could have the description under each row? expandable perhaps?
The traditional view is still important as long as it's necessary to copy it to a physical workshop board. As Tom said, on a board people need to be able to add workshops without generating a time/space clash. And the faster you can write those boards up the more time you have to drink beer.
oOooo innovation!
Clicking the title of the workshop in the list view brings up all the details including the description.
Is it necessary to use the traditional view for the physical board? I think the number of people browsing to attend a workshop far outweighs the number of people browsing to offer one so the format should be optimised for the greater audience.
For people looking to offer a workshop I would hope most people would go through the workshop coordinator (did this happen Nigel?) but for those that are unable to find that person I think a poster saying, "looking to offer a workshop? Please pick a slot below" with tear off strips at the bottom that are popular in America would work well.
To do:
Print css to get rid of all the Edge stuff.
Enable filtering by multiple categories.
Enable sorting by category.
Check boxes to toggle all fields of information - I think hiding time+location & sorting by category should improve the document view more towards your ideal.
I'm out tonight but will see how much I can get through on Tuesday night.
I'd say that about 60% of the workshops offered by individuals at BJC came to me, rather than used the board. Any changes made to the board were also obvious by the simple solution of writing everything in green and getting additional workshops added in black.
Nigel
That's perhaps a side effect of the boards being in a big atrium hang-out kind of area which you were in a lot?
In 2012 the boards were in a corridor just past reg desk, I was generally nowhere near them (both because I was working the event and because it was not a conducive spot for hanging out) and I don't remember any of the workshop additions going through me, although there were plenty.
Your green pen solution was genius.
I would have thought it was more to do with the specific Workshop desk which was the first desk you came to as you entered the college.
At Pickering it was maybe something like 5 or 10% who spoke to me about doing a workshop. I was also multitasking on site, though normally at the ticket office... which was a nightmare of an office. I think people will tend to do what seems easiest.
The green pen was very clever, and could be extended (eg only let people use a blue pen in the morning, then change then to red in the afternoon, or change the available pens whenever you update from the board).
I think having a temporary marker near a white board is definitely a good idea as it stops some idiot finding a permanent marker and using that.
There were also people changing a detail on their workhops (eg location) so having another colour to highlight changes might be useful if some people are relying on details they read on the board before the changes.
There might not be many editors, but if Nigel comes over to the board and finds that a mystery person has accidentally created a workshop clash, what's he supposed to do about it? He doesn't have a way to contact the person to discuss a better time/place or to tell them about it if he just decides unilaterally. They'll probably just show up in the wrong place and get confused and disturb the workshop they are clashing with.
Fortunately this didn't happen, partly because I tried to never use all the main workshop rooms at one time so that people could just move to a nearby space. The one problem I know about I caught early enough to get the workshop to move room.
Nigel
PS Don't know who came up with the pen idea but it was as likely to be Tracey or the lady on reg desk as me.
Would you also need some way of marking rooms as temporarily unavailable to be used for workshops (for DIY workshop planners) eg if a room was being used for a show set up.
You would need to book the room for other use. In general that only happened occasionally as some shows were teched whilst the room was in use (5 Ring/open stage/cabaret) whilst the ones in theatre were preventing workshops.
Nigel
Only got round to adding check boxes which toggle various fields of info. This helps us see a whole lot of different possible views.
I have done my to dos. Because that's what bank holiday weekends are for.
You can only access the document view ordered by category via links on the webpage at the moment because I think that is the only place where it really makes sense, but if you want to play sticking '&Order=Category' on the end of the list & panel views will work as well.
I like the traditional, maybe because I can scan it fast for the workshops I want and spot any clashes. There does initially look like there is wasted blank space, but often gaps get filled in with more workshops so it is good people see there is space to add more worksops.
It is also easy to spot any spare good locations if you want to add a new workshop that has special requirements eg needs lot of space
Moon on a stick requests;
The Document is very long involves scrolling which tires my little hands, once I see a Backgammon workshop, I know I have no interest in it from the title, I don't need to see the time (for a 2nd time) the location/teacher/description, since it's on a computer could you have it collapse to just the title and expand on mouse over or click on it.
Genocide might be diabolo rather than other
Ingenious the game is spelt with an "o"
It might be nice to be able to filter by more than one prop, eg I might like both dance and poi workshops, so it would be good to see both so clashes/choices would be easier to spot.
For the detailed list I would appreciate some separator between different hours it makes it easier to spot which workshops occur at the same time - even if it was just a small gap or a line between the last workshop at 9 and the first at 10.
The small panels should work but I keep expecting it to be the traditional table and then realise the same location is only in the same column by chance so have to read the location rather than recognising its location from its position.
It is good though to see trying to find if there are other better ways of displaying workshop information. Even if traditionalists like me are used to seeing them on a physical board
The Document is very long involves scrolling which tires my little hands, once I see a Backgammon workshop, I know I have no interest in it from the title, I don't need to see the time (for a 2nd time) the location/teacher/description, since it's on a computer could you have it collapse to just the title and expand on mouse over or click on it.
This is pretty much the panel view!
mike.armstrong - - Наверх #
For an online, pre-event, view I like small panels best too but I think Traditional tabloe might still be the best once we're on site as it shows spaces where workshops could be added as well as were they already exist.
For small panels some colour coding might help scanability (daltonists be damned!) - how about colour coding the panel by prop (maybe using shade for beginner/intermediate/advanced) and adding a header bar to each box which could colour code locations?
Cheers
-Mike
Colour coding by prop and shade for difficulty appeals to me if a big enough colour range exists. It might be worth someone (not me) checking the numbers of workshops of each skill offered. Remembering that there were 8 aerial workshops not listed on Tuesday.
Nigel
+1 for the workshop co-ordinator being able to have a sense at a glance of how well balanced their pile of workshops is, perhaps a month before the convention or so (and again, well before times and places are likely to be sorted out).
KStruthers - - Наверх #
I like the big table view because you can see which spaces are free, but also the panel view. I think time is more important than location when deciding which workshops to go to, so it's good to be able to see all the details of available workshops together like that. Are these workshop tables available to use for one day conventions/can it be made available? Maybe we could test it at Camvention?
I've also been thinking about how to physically display information at the convention, and how much information should be on the physical workshop board. Do you think that general events happening at the convention like the shows and games should be displayed on the workshop boards? Should the timetable be limited to daytime hours, or should it allow for some evening workshops and activities to be added? Is the title of a workshop enough, or should extra details like the name of the person running the workshop, skill level, and a description be included?
I've just updated the live version with the new timetable code.
Timetables can be created for any event. If you go to the Camvention event listing there is an "Add new timetable" link which does what it says. Please have a play & let me know how you get on.
I think how much information to display depends on the convention. For one dayers I'm pretty good at keeping track of time so need less information. For longer events like the BJC & EJC where I only know what day it is by the number of clean pairs of pants I have in my bag I prefer more info.
I think the list would benefit from having some separator between different times
eg
11:00 Workshop
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11:00 Workshop
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11:00 Workshop
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11:00 Workshop
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12:00 Workshop
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You might also want to add a field for workshops with attendee limits with instructions to sign up at reg desk as necessary
There were also more workshops on the workshop boards at BJC than made it onto the on-line version.
At EJC in Finland they had a computerised workshop board on a big display screen, you filled in a paper slip and the info desk people inputted it for you. I can't remember if it was available on-line as I didn't have a computer or sophisticated phone with me.
There were also more workshops on the workshop board than made it on to the online version.
Not until Tuesday there weren't. I kept updating the online system from the board. I didn't bother keeping it up to date when I realised that all the aerial slots were already signed up when I went to add them to the online system. Although knife throwing and Torwood wheelers may not have been listed as knife throwing was happening every day and Torwood wheelers were changing what they were doing without informing me or changing the board. Instead both were listed properly on the sign up sheets.
The system should be able to cope with this.
Nigel
My mistake, people were (possibly unofficially) adding more workshops to the workshop-boards in the gaps I didn't think these were getting uploaded to the on-line version, but don't mind admitting I am wrong
It was available online - people were able to check for updates from the campsite as the campsite was fully covered by wifi.
As they didn't have workshop boards it was easier to encourage people to hand in the pieces of paper. Munich had both a big board and pieces of paper to be handed in - this was a bit of a mess at times tbh with clashes appearing caused by the lag between the slip being submitted, logged and then posted to the board.
I kinda like the festival digest email idea - however I think that it wouldn't be practical when lots of people are (trying) to rely on wifi [esp to avoid roaming charges] at an event such as an EJC. I think at an event such as the BJC, where the majority of attendees are from the country, it's a little more practical. Then you get into the dilemma as to what time works best for the information to be sent out [but not too early as the information needs to be up to date if it's to serve any real purpose].
Hmm. I've been playing around with this a bit, thinking how to set up a google form so that we collect the detail in a more manageable format for creating the online calendars.
My first try this time around is here
Thoughts / suggestions? Even if it is just a suggested reordering of questions.
Could the e-mail and workshop input boxes be longer so one could see an entire e-mail address (it rejected my e-mail address for no obvious reason). Is there a character limit to workshop title.
It might be useful for level to have minimum requirement for participants eg Popcorn Variations - must be able to already do basic popcorn.
I would have club passing and ball passing as separate skills rather than rely on people to mention it in the description.
Could the skills be in alphabetical order?
add Hats as a skill?
I have fixed the email input box - I had incorrect validation settings on it, so it should work now. The workshop title has a short text box rather than long to encourage people to keep it short so that it can be easily read on an online calendar.
Skills now in alphabetical order, including hats. Have not separated out ball and club juggling as these options are merely to trigger colour coding - too many options means a ridiculous number of colours (that won't be easily distinguishable). In all likelihood, some of the options would be combined into a single colour. I have also edited devilsticks to include flowersticks.
In practice the minimum requirement would be merged into the description (I'm thinking from the point of view of what fields there are in creating calendar events)
I have also included a minimum / maximum number of participants option.
I deleted the flowerstick suggestion before posting - are you psychic? (or can you see the preview mode of my post?)
Hooray for building stuff! Well done.
Couple of suggestions:
I can't see any benefit in the extra workshop level categories. What's the difference between intermediate & improver (isn't everyone an improver?)? What other level could be useful? As much as it annoys me I think the irritatingly popular 'All levels' category should be included.
For the number of participants doesn't minimum logically come before maximum?
Have added "all levels" and merged intermediate / improver. The idea behind including levels is to aid the workshop coordinator in building a timetable before the convention - so that there is a good mix of levels each day (or as good as possible). Also, the level information is automatically included within the description [i.e. the submitted description of the workshop is supplemented with other information from the rest of the form.
I'm working on the principal that I can automatically extract the relevant information in appropriate formats for my scripts to create all the events. This means that I could create the calendars multiple times - creating "quick and dirty" versions of the calendars to allow for easy manipulation of time slots. Version 1.0 would be to have everything on the same calendar [i.e. no colour coding] to check for overloading and allow for easier visualisation of the available slots. Version 1.1 would be coloured by prop/activity so that it would reflect the spread by prop. Version 1.2 would be by location - ensuring no clashes. Version 1.2.1 would be by level (merely so that the coordinator could check that you didn't have all the absolute beginners workshops at the same time!). Versions 2.0 and 2.1 would be made available to the attendees and would be two options - colour by prop/activity and colour by level.
I know that minimum logically comes before maximum, but more workshops will have a maximum number than a minimum number [especially as the minimum number is something that can only determined at the start of the workshop, so really, the scheduler doesn't care about this!]. Having worked on (and taught) survey design, I know to order things by how much you need the information - most needed information is asked first, as you will always get the lovely folks who can't be bothered to fill in the form fully.
Awesome!
Suggestions:
Leave off "minimum number". It's so unusual it doesn't need a separate box. Everybody can guess that the five person passing pattern workshop needs five people.
Replace "maximum number" with a checkbox for "Workshop has limited spaces and needs sign up sheet". If the workshop has a maximum number that's likely to be reached, people will ask for a sign up sheet. Most don't. The workshop leader can bring their own sign up sheets.
I think I'd split that constraints thing out into separate sections. Makes it easier for people to tell that they filled in all the things they need to. I'd also split description / assumed knowledge. Assumed knowledge could also have an example ("must be able to juggle three clubs").
I would provide a tiny sample bio. This is a good way of nudging people towards some commonality of style e.g. all third person, all in a similar tone of voice. "Fred Bloggs is an accountant and street performer who has been balancing things on his nose ever since he saw a sea lion video on youtube when he was five."
I don't think there's any need for the "as previous" stuff for bios. It will all come out in the wash, I think you can just tell them no need to write it twice.
If you avoid telling people where/how the different bits of info will show up, then that gives more flexibility for Orin or someone to change that around without making your form all wrong.
I'd drastically cut down on the words, people hate reading words. It's all friction preventing them getting to the bottom of the damn form and hitting go. Like after "workshop level" I don't think any of the description is really necessary.
It might be (slightly) easier to follow if it was chunked logically into stuff the public want to know, and then stuff only the organiser needs to know. (Maybe?). So time would come after description and level.
Thanks for the really helpful feedback Emily. I've implemented your suggestions. I think that I would automate sending an email to those who select a maximum number of participants checkbox to see what that number is (i.e. get the additional information by email for the few cases that it actually would apply to).
I've left the "About you" section to the end, as it's the most optional bit of information needed [if they omit that, I really couldn't care that much!]. At this point only five questions are required [i.e. name, email, name of workshop, prop used and the timeslot] - do people think that other questions should be required? I'm thinking that if logging these during a convention I would change the status of email and to not being required (and move it down the page).
coo this is looking well useful.
Only small further suggestions:
Is it possible to shrink some of the text boxes? Having such large boxes under e.g. the constraints seems like inviting essays when ideally people would write "high ceiling please" and move on.
The word "any" could be used to disincentivise rambling in boxes where no rambling is needed. E.g. "Any times you are unavailable", "any requirements", etc.
Slashes should be surrounded with spaces for easier reading.
After all this I really hope some conventions make good use of it!
If they are hosted on the google drive, you can't change the size of the boxes, but if the form is somewhere else you have a little more control over the style sheets and some basic settings (including the size of the "paragraph text" boxes) - at present I've just put in a character limit of 250 characters - so a red box appears if you go over the limit with an associated message gently reminding the person filling in the form that we don't need an essay.
At the risk of making the form longer...
Name might need to be Name(s) if it is a workshop for passing or other partner skill, so you can ensure that one workshop doesn't clash with another workshop that their secondary (or even tertiary) person is helping with. eg if Adam and Bill are running a workshop there doesn't want to be another workshop run by Bill at the same time.
Poi waving/twirling/spinning might be another skill - but I guess you can add more skills if they repeatedly occur in "other"
speaking from having done most of the workshops last year, here's my experience:
I arranged the workshop timetable online, so all of the pre-planned workshops could easily have been converted into an online timetable (*). then I would have printed them off had the printer worked [so copied them into paper with pen! :-( ] before handing the result to kind volunteers to put into board [thanks guys].
the rest of the workshop boards grew organically, people added workshops into any non taken, non blanked slot on the board, so:
a) if a space is going to be in use for something other than a workshop - you will need to blank it out.
b) never leave a half written/blank workshop board out, someone will write a workshop on it when you're not looking, and it will probably clash with your gala show performers' workshop (whom you've given prime place and prime time) - I'm sorry if it was any one here's workshop that I had to take off the otherwise clear board last year when I wrote up the next day's workshops.
thanks and congratulations for having done a good job with the workshops this year, I didn't check online, but then I don't plan on doing many workshops at BJCs.
* see below.
So what I actually did with the online calendar was the following. I separated most of the workshops into basic, beginners, intermediate, advanced, unspecified or adult only. With the exception of board games and balloon workshops. This pretty much used up the colour range. Splitting it into props would have been another option but there was a very wide range of those given we had crafts, knife throwing, unicycling, dance, lasso, meta lectures as well as all the standard props such as hula hoop, aerial, acro staff, spinning plates etc.
I asked most people who submitted a workshop to me rather than via the board what the minimum level of skill they required was and that was added to the online description as well as the sign up sheets (particularly important for aerial with small numbers of sign up spaces).
I assigned workshop spaces just before the workshop boards were written. In doing this I didn't have to worry so much about the effect of weather which if it had been bad would have caused a disaster as particularly on the Monday and Tuesday I would have had to find room for whip convention, unicycles, tightrope, knife throwing and meteors/rope dart.
For each workshop I added who was running it and therefore who to find/blame if it didn't happen. To my knowledge only 4 workshops of the sixty plus that were offered pre-bjc didn't happen, two because the person couldn't make it and two because Natalie was too tired. Over 90 workshops were added during the BJC. This means that a non-updated online timetable is basically useless. Many of these were added the day before and two workshops got put on the online timetable but didn't get transferred to the boards. One because I was walking over to the board to write it and got distracted and one was me messing up.
Any system implemented, and the Google calendar system would work fine if done properly, needs the proper equipment to run it. A tablet isn't the best device, a laptop with mouse would be much better and I should have brought one. Cutting and pasting would have been much, much quicker. Some background software or wetware asking questions such as can you do diabolo in that room? Or is this a sit down workshop? Would help as people assigned workshops to unsuitable spaces and I then had to run round altering them and redirecting people e.g. Tom Derrick from w1 to w7.
Nigel
jamesfrancis - - Наверх #
I think some additional thinking on suitability of workshop spaces may have been more beneficial. I was rather unimpressed when 30 people turned up to my 3 person passing workshop with run-arounds to find I had been scheduled in the drama studio which comfortably fits about 15 jugglers max (and only if you manage to avoid hitting the low hanging ceiling objects). It was no problem as we just moved the workshop to the main hall, but it did kill 10 minutes of the workshop.
I never personally used the online timetable as I imagined it would be cumbersome to view from a smartphone. I did think the workshop boards needed more information e.g. at a minimum who is running them. People attend many workshops often because of the person running them so to leave this off I think was a mistake. I do remember one workshop just listed as 'club juggling' with no description of whether it was 'learning how to' or 'amazingly awesome and hard tricks' and thinking a lot of people would be put off attending or find themselves at completely the wrong workshop. One problem with only publishing full information online is not only the constant updating problem you mentioned but also the requirement for internet connectivity. You have to remember that each year at least 50 people come from abroad and won't have free internet access to get all the details - boards will always work much better for me.
Didn't mean to sound overly critical in this post. I generally think things this year were much better than they have been in many years gone past and the range and timing of workshops was really good. Of the 3 workshops I ran, two had really good spaces and I think generally feedback has been positive with regards to workshops. I just wanted to raise some quick wins that I think could benefit future conventions. Thanks for all your effort in organising.
James
Large workshop spaces were at a premium especially on Monday and Tuesday. I wasn't supposed to be using the main hall as a workshop space although I did on a few occasions mainly for club passing. I am glad you were able to relocate yourself.
The workshop boards being done in a grid format meant that there were not enough space on the grid square to write all pertinent information. There are other ways to display information on the boards but we went for the usual format. Even then this was apparently difficult for people if the two boards had different times!
I had got someone to check the usability of the timetable on a smart phone before it went live. It was quite useable. I can do nothing about assumptions people make without trying alternatives. Such as assuming we wouldn't update the timetable at the convention. We can publicise it more but with less than a week to go to the convention there were less than 30 workshops which changed to over 50 by the time the timetable went live. It is difficult to let people know about a wonderful timetable option if it is not populated.
Nigel
Great review Nigel, thank you for posting.
I too am one that never really plans to attend any workshops. But I still felt that the online timetable gave a good overview of what to look out for, which would've helped me plan my day if I was that way inclined.
#bjc2014 #conventionreview