Holly Lewis, co-founding partner of We Made That, reviews UKREiiF, the value of targeted conversations, and why little practices must go in ready but leave space for serendipity.
How many times have you been to UKREiiF?This was my fourth! The number of individuals from We Made That were in Leeds this year?Just me this year. We’ve had more than that in the past,
but this time it was just me. Did you stay in Leeds?I remained in Bradford this year, which was the very first time I haven’t stayed in Leeds.
Partly due to the fact that when I looked for lodging, almost directly after the previous UKREiiF, there was generally nothing available. Or, if there was, you were being totally fleeced. It was countless pounds for accommodation. But Bradford is doing some truly interesting things, so it looked like a good excuse to go and check out, have a look around and find out a bit more about the city. We have actually been following what they’ve been doing through numerous channels, and it was fantastic to have the opportunity to explore it properly. It wasn’t too inconvenient either, although at nights I did need to be a bit of a party pooper and go and capture the train. But it was a great experience, and I wasn’t duped, which is always a nice sensation. In regards to taking part in talks or discussions, did you take part in any beyond our session?No, I was also on a roundtable about the performance of screen industries, which was actually fascinating. It’s great that you can enter those niches. Something really quite specific. That was rather revealing, in fact. What was that roundtable about?That was a roundtable in the Bradford zone, and it was especially about screen markets and their current trajectory. For a while, it felt like everybody wanted to construct a huge studio. Now that’s not rather the case. In some locations they’re being successful, while other places want movie and screen market arrangement however do not know how to get it. There was quite an intriguing mix around the table: individuals operating facilities, regional authorities trying to draw in
financial investment into the sector, and specialists supporting tasks throughout the nation, it was intriguing. If individuals aren’t building big studios anymore, what are they doing instead?It’s a mixture. The nature of what screen industries are
has actually changed. Any person can create material from their phone. Individuals are doing podcasts
, TikToks and smaller sized, more ad hoc productions. So it’s not simply Warner Brothers investing heavily and taking an enormous long lease. The market is a lot more flexible now, and I think the sector as a whole is
needing to adapt to that. The constructed spaces required to support it are quite different too. That was certainly a big subject of discussion. Did you go to any fringe events?Yes! I went to a fringe night event with Donald Insall Associates, which was a Pecha Kucha bingo session, which was actually good fun. All the speakers needed to offer
twenty words they were going to state during their discussions. Guests got a bingo card and had to cross off words as they were pointed out. It became an odd kind of built environment drinking video game. It was fun and drew in a slightly different crowd. I think there’s a propensity, particularly at nights, to gravitate towards individuals you already understand and relax a bit. However that event was something different and was great enjoyable. What were the standout events that you saw at UKREiiF?I need to state that I have actually been improving my UKREiiF strategy for many years, and I didn’t do loads and loads of the bigger events. I did a lot more direct conferences. One of the discussions that I found actually intriguing was at the Landscape Institute Structure, which had to do with
landscape-led techniques. The quality of speakers was actually excellent and, due to the fact that the room was comparatively little and quite well-informed, you could actually get into the obstacles around putting landscape initially. Why don’t we do it all the time? It was truly informative. No one existed to offer anything, which was the other thing. It wasn’t a”this is why you need to purchase my place”discussion. It was well-informed people having a really intelligent discussion around a tricky subject. I truly delighted in that a person. Based on your previous experiences of UKREiiF, what was your method for this year?It was fewer panels, fewer sessions being in the audience, and more direct conversations. Actually, next time I believe I ‘d do a bit more listening to selected panels, however that was the method this year. What was your approach
to guaranteeing those conversations happened?Getting them reserved in ahead of time, mainly. Then, if there were individuals I wished to talk to more directly, I ‘d search for them on Tuesday and then book a more extensive slot on among the subsequent days. How much time were you taking into research on who you wished to meet at UKREiiF?A reasonable amount, I would say. A good few days. And not simply me, in fact. Others in the group were tapping
me on the shoulder and handing over names, stating:” It would be terrific if you spoke with this person, “or,”Maybe you can discover time to fulfill this individual.”So it was a shared effort. Even if I was the only one participating in
, everyone was putting individuals on the table for me. If you were advising a little practice participating in for the first time, what recommendations would you provide them?I would state do a bit of preparation beforehand. Think of who you might wish to meet, or at least the locations you want to discover more about. Absolutely do not show up and then start checking out the programme since you’ll seem like you’re drowning. Perhaps likewise go easy on yourself. A number of excellent discussions can be enough
. It can feel as though streams of people are streaming past you and every one of them might be somebody who might commission you or have an excellent discussion with you. It can feel a bit like your future is slipping through your hands as these people flood past. So I ‘d say be a bit unwinded about it and attempt to have possibly three truly great discussions in a day. That’s excellent. When you say” do your research study ahead of time”, what does that involve?The specifics are probably done a number of weeks ahead of time. I’m absolutely not simply trawling through the delegate list. From our viewpoint, there are specific places we have an interest in. We have actually been doing a great deal of work in seaside areas, and we understand which authorities have
gotten things like Pride in Location funding. Rather rapidly we can identify authorities we want to speak to, people we already know and
need to reconnect with, and new contacts we ‘d like to fulfill. It’s good to have a mixture of outreach to new individuals and combining existing relationships. I ‘d state begin planning a couple of weeks ahead due to the fact that individuals’s journals fill up rapidly. Is there anything you ‘d do in a different way next time? Or anything you wish to see at future UKREiiFs?I believe all of us understand the nature of the beast by now. There’s rather a blended calibre of panel discussions. Some can be dazzling,
with individuals who truly understand their subject talking really frankly in such a way that’s truly helpful. Others are less high quality, it’s fair to state. I do not really understand how that can be secured against, however there is something about that inconsistency. In some cases you can find yourself being in a room thinking:”I don’t understand if this is the best usage of my time.
Do I need to slip out?”Now you’ve had time to relax and recover from UKREiiF, what has shown to be the most fruitful discussion or endeavour you undertook there?I had a number of quite particular discussions around projects that we may like to be included with, so those are constantly great. Will you be going to UKREiiF next year?Yes!