Dan Thomas

The latest edition of The Cut is now live - for hints and tips to elevate your video game why not have a read? https://lnkd.in/ejfmvhiU

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What does doing work for free actually accomplish? I received another one of many mass mail BD approaches yesterday, no different from any other day. However, one caught my eye for a slightly different reason. The email was from an individual who was selling development services, with the main offer being "40 hours of free web or software development services for Unorthodox." Obviously, I wouldn’t ever accept an offer of free work from someone; it’s not something I believe in with regard to maintaining proper, sustainable working relationships. But there are likely companies out there that will take this person up on their offer! And the question remains: After that 40 hours of work, where do you go from there with regard to charging and maintaining respect for your services? Is a relationship built purely off money, as opposed to value, a sustainable one? In my opinion, the answer is no. This is a good lesson, I feel, for a lot of freelancers and companies alike about the kind of ways you are doing business development. Successful business development is not just about purely price-based wins; it’s about offering solutions and how you can make someone’s life easier. We spent months on this when starting Unorthodox. That same person could have written me another email offering a solution to something I needed and charging a lot of money, and I would have taken them up on it just as fast, if not faster, than if it was free. Understanding your audience and solution is the only thing that matters. If the problem you are solving is large enough, people will snap your hand off. If I have a leak, a plumber can name their price; I need my leak fixed! For freelancers: - Offer more than just being a bum on a seat. That market is disappearing; now you need to offer more than that. Think about the work YOU want to do and how you can provide value to companies in those sectors. For brands and agencies: - Be innovative with your offerings for clients. Are you really any different? More specifically, can you leverage skill sets you don’t have in-house more effectively? How do you brief artists/partners and onboard people? How do you work with clients to siphon all the information you need for briefs effectively? Etc. The way things are, just offering money off solves nothing in the long term. Educate people about the skill set and problems you solve to garner more respect. You might convert less, but the conversions will be much more meaningful. Just my 2 cents Unorthodox #Thoughtpftheday #Industryinsight #contentproduction

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This format would make a great Saturday TV show.... We've had Britain's got Talent....The XFactor ....The Voice.....Strictly Come Dancing.... Big Brother....and if memory serves me right there was even a show called Traitor .... The show could be called The Reverse Turing Test .....and the viewing audience would have to work out who is a real human (or humans).....with the chance of winning a prize, gift token or some kind trinket...all area pass ....NFT .....(you tell me) https://lnkd.in/ef92ZAUb You could even stage events (scenarios) in any environment or location.....(have you seen what the latest iteration of Unreal Engine can do ?......That ray tracing is badass and is only going to get better ....the same can be said for the AI Meta-human NPC'S).... * * * 'The Traitors' is a tense psychological adventure competition where 22 strangers are moved into a castle in the Scottish Highlands to complete a series of challenges and missions together as a team. The catch, however, is that amongst the loyal contestants hoping to win a cash prize of up to £120,000, three traitors are secretly lurking, sabotaging their efforts and picking off contestants one by one. In the ultimate game of detection, backstabbing and trust, the loyalists must root out the traitors amongst their ranks in order to win or risk losing everything. https://lnkd.in/ednwJUzb

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We're looking for feedback on a new concept we're exploring. It's a bit out there, so hang onto your hats. Would you book a digital version of a band? Here's what I mean... So let's pick one of our bands to demonstrate the point. The Big Papas are arguably the busiest band in the country. Because of this, they're unavailable for most of the enquiries that come in for them. So here's what we're exploring... ✅ We professionally video the band performing a full wedding set ✅ The songs would be recorded individually, so the client would have the option of choosing the order in which they were played. ✅ Generic welcome messages, inviting wedding couples onto the floor for the first dance, end-of-night sign-offs, etc, would all be recorded and baked into the performance. ✅ All the banter/crowd participation and callback dialogue for each song would be captured as well. ✅ A technician would arrive at the venue with a PA system, 4 K projector, and scrim/screens. ✅ He /she would essentially be a video DJ, seamlessly blending the video/tunes together and augmenting the digital Big Papas performance to your specific requirements. ✅ You'd then dance the night away and interact with a digital version of the band. ✅ The digital product would be way cheaper than the band. Somewhere in the £650-£750 price range. ✅ Essentially an option for someone who was stuck between a DJ or band, or had space / sound restrictions at the venue. ✅ The benefits would be your favourite band at a much lower price point that never gets sick, sounds AWESOME every night, never pulls out of a gig and accommodates every song request (from the setlist) Oh, and never raids the buffet! We're still fleshing out the edge cases, but at this point, we're looking for candid feedback on the general concept. Really appreciate EVERYONE chipping in here.

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☢️ TECH’S COLD WAR ☢️ I’ve been quietly spiriling into a panic regarding the development of AI, and watching the convergence of rapid development has led me to thinking my years of video editing, photoshoping, after effecting, and music business work was all redundant. Well; my years of being a human really. Drawing a comparison to the development of the Atomic Bomb, the Manhatten project’s costs was equivalent to $27b in today’s age ($2b at the time). A project that went from 1942-1945, following funding in 1941. Here’s some AI info to read if you’d like to join me in existential dread: - China’s R&D government investment for AI to reach $38.1 billion in 2027 - $95b in Chinese private investment between 2022 and 2023 - $47.4b in US private investment in 2022, $31b in 2023, estimated $249 billion in US private funding raised to date. - $3.3b in government investment from the US in 2023 - Meta’s estimates $30b a year spend on AI R&D - Google plans on spending $100b or more over time - Microsoft $10b investment into OpenAi alone - Microsoft investment to training 3 million full-time and part-time workers across Japan over the next three years, through US$2.9 billion investment in Japan’s AI and cloud infrastructure. $1.5b invested in Abu Dhabi’s G42 - both only announced this week. - Big 5 estimated Ai-focused employees: 33,000 in March 2023. Amazon, 10,113. Microsoft Corp; 7,133. Google, 4,970. Manhatten project had 40,500 operating employees at its peak. We’re living at a time where multiple Manhatten projects are occuring, in both private and public investment, across multiple countries and the commitment is only growing while funded by the biggest organisations and governments in the world. Everyone’s racing to build the AI atomic bomb. Where will we be when it goes off?

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One of the themes that came across for me at LeadDev London this year was the power of storytelling. It's not one of our strong points in the tech community as we tend to fall back on facts and figures over thoughts and feelings - it's probably why we liked tech in the first place a bit more predictable. But the thing about stories is that we connect with them so much more than facts. A good story can engage people in ways facts don't. Working as a Principal Tester (Staff+ role) means I often have to influence groups without any authority, so finding better ways to communicate my ideas is essential. Storytelling is one of the many skills that could help in this regard. Another aspect of Staff+ roles is that taking ownership of your personal development is crucial. This means actively seeking opportunities to improve your skills and knowledge rather than relying solely on your managers or organisation. In this vein, I'll share more posts as I hone my storytelling skills. 📚To start, I've been using YouTube's algorithms to get it to offer me a TED-Talk-A-Day (which I usually watch every few days) on talks around storytelling. 📕 This one from Donald Davis helped me see how his dad was able to reframe what had happened to him when he was younger and use it to make him who he was rather than what he could have been. All through how his mother (Donald's grandmother) got his father to tell the story of what happened when he was young. Now, Donald could have just told us what you think about what happened to you can make a big difference in how you approach life. Instead, he tells the story about his father, which helps you remember and understand the details in a way that simply telling you never would. 🥡 What a great example of show, don't tell, but also of how you must own your narrative, or they will own you. Enjoy ☺️ Link 👉 https://lnkd.in/eUQRXZYV

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Are you going to The Children's Media Conference in Sheffield this week? Don't miss the session I have exec produced, Collaboration for Change, on Wednesday 10th July in Cinema 1, 12.40-1.40pm. Please do bring your lunch! The latest on inclusive casting and production, with practical tips on how to bring about change. Produced by Jo G. and featuring all these brilliant contributors: Hanah Draper, Fern Lulham, Karen Newell, Laura Winson (nee Johnson) as well as young actor Sonny Shaw, moderated by model Devon J, one of the stars of Channel 4's New Model Agency. https://lnkd.in/e8NGgEdV This deep dive into the current landscape of inclusive casting and production will consider who has been doing it well and how they achieve that. It will explore how technology is being used to promote inclusion, both in front of and behind the camera. In the spirit of “Inclusivity Now”, practical hints and tips will help you to tell authentic stories that resonate – and if disability is not on your radar, then neither is diversity, and you risk being left behind.

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SHOW UP OR BLOW UP USEFUL INFO & INSPO IS HERE 📌https://bit.ly/4cimsgj 📌 PS Check out Steph Walsh 🐠 The Feel Good Animator 🐙 pixel chart below 👇 #story #listenup #sharpenyourpencils #wisdom #speaking #businsswomen #somaticoach #publicspeaker #live #video

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Here's Part 4 of my thoughts on the new M4 iPad Pro? Can it really replace your laptop? Well, it depends... To see the full video go to: https://lnkd.in/etBz2pMz

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‘We don’t get enough candidates’ 🤝 ‘The candidates we get are good enough’ Two of the most common things we hear as #talentacquisition or #recruitment people. I did when I joined Cineworld Cinemas Ltd & Picturehouse. So, how did I address these issues? Overhauled the job adverts and job descriptions. If you’re in this situation is more than likely your JDs and Ads aren’t pulling their weight... But what should you look out for? 📍 They probably start with waffle about your business.  📍 They don’t use bottom-up language. You need to get on the reader's level by addressing them. Humanise it and help them relate.  📍 Culture. Environment. Be explicit and paint a picture of what to expect.  📍 Use engaging language that reflects your company culture & employer brand.  📍 Give them all the details they need (eg. Salary, flexibility, benefits). Use them to attract and engage. Don’t use it to blow smoke up your own arse and shove a barrage of useless information down the readers throat about the crappy awards your company paid for.    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   What have the results been in my first 8 weeks at Cineworld & Picturehouse? 👉 6x number of applications  👉 2x hireable candidates at final interviews for each vacancy  👉 Reduced ‘Time to Hire’ to below 26 days  👉 100% first time offer acceptation rate  👉 Reduced ‘Cost Per Hire’ by 85% A simple change has been a drastic improvement for the business. It doesn’t solve everything and they're a constant work in progress but, it’s been a really effective way to have an impact quickly. My example is attached for some inspo, so use, abuse and critique. Have you found it useful? Or would you do something differently? Lemme know 👇

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Here's Part 1 of my thoughts on the new M4 iPad Pro? Can it really replace your laptop? Well, it depends... To see the full video go to: https://lnkd.in/etBz2pMz

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Wowzers! We're at Day 5 - and around 20% of the way towards full funding (which is about right if plotting linearly). Usually with the level of funding and backers on the project we'd have reached our minimum target, but this game is a little different, as we need sufficient backing to get the main outer box designed and printed - we know this costs more, and needs a bigger upfront print run - so we need around 500-1000 players to make this cost effective to do - hence the the much bigger crowdfunding ask. We wanted to be realistic. I love Kickstarter - it means if we don't reach funding levels, there's no commitment to create the game and backers keep their money. So it provides a great win:win for creators. No money = no project. (Also saves you creating something there's no audience for!) And for backers: No minimum funding reached - no money taken. The difference with this project, is that we know there's a big audience out there who LOVE stuff like this - so our challenge is to get the project shared enough to find our target market, as this market is slightly different to our regular game players. So you'll see me regularly posting about this one over the next 3 weeks, and if you can have it in your heart to tag those you know who play and enjoy case file experiences, I'd be most obliged! it's not our regular cohort of customers! Link to project below: https://lnkd.in/ehPmChiS Mark Webb Laura Sparkes Alex McCranor Gary Swan Sarah Bishop

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Here's my plan. ⬇️ If you're reading this, please hold me accountable and check-in for progress reports. ✅ I ask because I ALWAYS put my own projects to the bottom of the pile... ...so for the future of Wilde Studios Ltd and all those we'll be able to help - this one is SUPER important. Drum roll please 🥁 Wilde Studios are producing our first in-house YouTube channel. 😮 I'll tell you what it's about in a second, but first - lesson time. When you build a YouTube channel you have to remember it's not primarily about you or your business - it's about the value you provide to the viewer. 💷 Once you know who your ideal viewer is and what value you're adding, the whole process becomes a lot easier. So, on that note, the aim of our channel is to provide a safe space of guidance, support and light entertainment to help creative graduates navigate the chasmous mist that is life after university. We'll be leaning on my own experiences, my failures, wins and not so sures. We'll also be bringing on persons of interest to share a little of their expertise. On other episodes I'll be talking directly to those in that in-between space and seeing if I can help guide them in a positive direction. Even if it's just switching off Netflix for the first time in 3 days. If it sounds like something you'd like to be part of, where you feel like you can provide some valuable insights or maybe you'd like some free one to one advice from a 30 year old intrapreneur turned entrepreneur - please get in touch. There is more of a plan than that but I'm sure you get the jist. If I haven't uploaded anything by 23:59 June 30th 2024, you can pick one of my precious tie collection to bin, burn or donate to a good cause. And I friggin love my tie collection. 👔 😍

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When you're self employed you can take a Friday off if it's nice weather, and it was, so I did (as did Parsnip) Why not consider your #videomarketing with the use of an #fpvdrone. If you watched this video to the end then it has hooked you in, and on your website that would increase #seo. Maybe you don't have premises on Chrome Hill but the right video can show you and your company in a great light, and it's maybe not as expensive as you think. #digitalmarketing #marketing

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Here's Part 3 of my thoughts on the new M4 iPad Pro? Can it really replace your laptop? Well, it depends... To see the full video go to: https://lnkd.in/etBz2pMz

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