3guk Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 Hi Guys, I am looking for some reviwers who at first could review their own sound and lighting kit or kit they have used and at a later stage review kit that we send to them. I am also looking for article writers who can write on a variety of technical topics. From simple articles ie. how to go about designing a lighting rig to ideas more complex ie scaled down versions of manuals that are easy to understand. Any of you guys think you are up to the task then just reply to this topic and I will get in touch with you within the hour. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 Hi 3guk. What is the intended audience for the pieces that you're looking to commision? Are they for publication to a general audience via a magazine or whatever? Or are they for something more specific? Are you offering any form of remuneration to your writers, or is it something that people are expected to do for the love of their art and the thrill of seeing their name at the top of an article? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3guk Posted July 13, 2004 Author Share Posted July 13, 2004 The intended audience is the general sound/lighting/theatre people and anyone who would like to get involved in this business. Its designed to educate people about the various aspects of theatre various rules and regs while also serving as a small online community for people interested in theatre tech. They will be published first onto a website and then hopefully in a few months time will form the basis for a monthly e-zine emailed to all of our users. I know many people will not work for free but yet I hope some people will do it for their love on their art and like you said the thrill of seeing your name on top of an article that many people will read and learn from. As we have a small online shop planned to open within the next few weeks we are also considering offering slight discounts to Reviewers and more significantly article writers. I hope this is of help to people that would like to contribute. If you have any more questions please dont hesitate to ask B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 Ah, thought this sounded kind of familiar - my guess is that it's very closely related (if not identical!) to the project that you were talking about in this thread. Unless you're now aiming to head in a different direction, I think all the comments in the older thread concerning duplication of existing resources, a large amount of effort to create something which already exists elsewhere, the difficulty of obtaining wothwhile submissions without any kind of financial reward on offer, etc. probably still stand. Sorry, I don't want to come across as being really down and negative about it - if it's something you really want to do then go right ahead and I'm sure we all wish you the best of luck. But somehow I don't think the passage of three months since the last thread is really going to have changed many people's opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3guk Posted July 13, 2004 Author Share Posted July 13, 2004 Yup its the same project as the one in that post but we have progressed a bit and have got a few more members more articles and more reviews. The thing is I cant see a site that does the same thing or even comes close to doing the same thing. There will be some sort of finacial reward but you cant just suddenly start giving out money ect when you have nothing to give. All sites have to start somewhere. Dont they ??!?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 ...gonig to contain reviews of theatre/dj equip and guides on how to do simple things like wiring a plug to complex things like eq'ing a room or setting up a concert. The thing is I cant see a site that does the same thing or even comes close to doing the same thing how about the study hall at psw, www.prosoundweb.com/studyhall/ Oh and psw have more product reviews than you could shake a turnip at. echoing Gareth I don't want to sound excessivly negative but this stuff already exists out there. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robloxley Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 The thing is I cant see a site that does the same thing or even comes close to doing the same thingIs the web the be-all-and-end-all? Looking at lighting design, there is a huge pile of books publised on the subject so why duplicate it etc.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 If it's any help, writing wise, the fees paid to writers where the copyright of the material passes to the commisioner and the writer has no control over what is done with it normally hover around £120 for 5 A4 pages in my experience. The snag is that once done, that's it! I did quite a lot of different stuff a couple of years ago for one company who were intending a limited run, with about 13 authors contributing. I did 10 'chunks'. Then, they published it on the internet too. Then last year, they re-issued it with a new title, and simply used find and replace to alter wording to make it suitable for different reader. Lantern became luminaire, student became 'learner' - dreadful word. And I got nothing at all. In general, for reviews to be really useful, they need proper standards, management, reliability and honesty. I know which reviewers I trust to be impartial. The other thing is that in our area, we all have favourite pieces of kit. very often there are better and cheaper things available, but I've not use them so I recommend something else. Someone reads my review and buys it. someone else then says but XYZ doesn't do auto-timed, semi-dipless, compressed level dipthong inversions and ABC does? (I made that up, but you get the idea). If you are going to do reviews there needs to be real quality if people are to take it seriously, and for that you need manufacturer support, not a bunch of opinionated USERS like we all are on this board. Nothing wrong with that at all. but I'd feel pretty miffed if the superb piece of kit reviewed was actually a bucket of poo and it turned out the reviewer hadn't enough experience with alternatives. I suspect if you asked a question on this forum like "what's the best lighting desk" or "what is the least reliable moving light" you'd end up with dozens of opinions, not necessarily factual data. Web sites offering general info never seem to make money unless you do deals with manufactures for subsidised or free products that you 'review'. You know the old motto "if you pay peanuts, you get........." sorry for the rant everyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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