ACCESS Magazine | Spring 2022

Issue 20 | Spring 2022

Capturing Creativity: The Journey of Helen Anderson Making Festival Season a Slam Dunk

Art & Image: Billelis

Vicky Clarke: Sound & Machines

Editor’s letter

ISSUE 20 SPRING 2022

Editor Matt Thompson

Hi everyone!

Design Katie Dawe

Welcome to the Spring edition of Access Magazine!

Cover Photography Helen Anderson

Our cover comes to you from Helen Anderson, a well-renowned and industrious influencer, YouTuber, artist and musician. We’ve also got Sound Artist Vicky Clarke discussing how she uses machine learning to create sound sculptures, and Karim from Lucid Publicity shares his best tips for how to market yourself as a creative.

Alongside all that, we’ve filled this issue with exclusive, ACC behind the scenes features just for you. Dig in to our unique work experience service, provided by our incredible Creative Industry Placement Officers, an exploration of our Artist Development course and why it matters so much for upcoming musicians and we discuss options for people aged 19 and over.

And that’s just the beginning! We hope you enjoy this issue as much as we enjoyed making it. See you in the Summer!

The access team

Website Instagram Facebook Twitter YouTube 2

accesscreative.ac.uk accesscreativecollege accesscreativecollege access_creative /accesscreativecollege access issue 20 | Spring 2022

Featuring

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Capturing Creativity: The Journey of Helen Anderson

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Making Festival Season a Slam Dunk

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Richard Buckley: Our In-House Expert, Excelling at Esports

18.

Art & Image: Billelis

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Vicky Clarke: Sound & Machines

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Khadija Shahzad: Diversity Despite Adversity

Also in this issue p.16 Lucid PR: Marketing Yourself as a Creative // p.20 Craft Your Brand: Artist Development Programme // p.26 Creating Worlds of Pure Imagination to Wow Audiences: Animation & VFX // p.27 Work Experience: Setting You Up For Industry Success // p.30 Meet the Student: Joe Todd // p.32 19+ at ACC & dBs: Ready When You Are // p.34 Elden Ring and the Evolution of Open World Games // p.36 ACC Recommends: Vlogging kit // p.38 Industry News //

Do you want to win a year’s free subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud?!

Whether you love capturing nature, fashion, gigs and festivals or your pet, we want to see your photographs.

Send us your pictures to marketing@accesscreative.ac.uk and be in with a chance to win.

One winner will be chosen from entries on Monday 27th July.

Good luck!

Contents

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access issue 20 | Spring 2021/22

CAPTURING CREATIVITY:

THE JOURNEY OF HELEN ANDERSON Words by Matt Thompson, all images supplied by Helen Anderson

Building a brand and standing out from the crowd takes time and energy.

Especially in the modern era in which everybody has access to the same tools and competition is growing ferociously, it takes a person that is passionate and resilient, able to think outside the box and ready for anything. And that’s just for building one brand.

Meet Helen Anderson. A successful YouTube vlogger with almost 600,000 subscribers and an incredible 77.6 million views across all her videos, owner of Sweet Sweet Honeydew, a lifestyle and clothing brand, singer for band Sunny Bones and an Instagram influencer with several accounts that are seen by hundreds of thousands of people daily. Clearly then, she knows how to build a brand and all of this came from a foundation of uploading hair tutorials on YouTube.

‘My first video was a hair tutorial on dying your hair pastel purple which was a popular style at the time. I was constantly asked questions on how to do it, so I figured I’d make a one-off video. I didn’t set out to be a ‘YouTuber’, but that video got a lot of views and with those views came requests for more videos. I decided to give it a go, even though I didn’t know what I was doing.’

Capturing Creativity: The Journey of Helen Anderson

Obviously, there’s a big difference between uploading a single video and building a sizable, recognised brand.

The early days are arguably the most important as you lay the foundations for success. We asked Helen how she felt about those early experiences and what her aim was at that point.

‘At first, it was super casual. Creating daily content around styling, hair and random chats. All unplanned and spontaneous, and definitely just for fun.

I tried to cater to an audience that was growing, but it wasn’t until I was able to monetise my videos that I realised my content had earning potential and started to fantasise about quitting my job and paying my rent with the money I was earning on YouTube. For a long time, I didn’t believe I would reach that stage but carried on making content anyway.’ >>

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“It’s important to break that barrier and be like ‘hey, I go through stuff too and this is how I dealt with it.’ I don’t want to pretend to be perfect when I’m 100% not.”

But when was that turning point? Where it feels like your work changes from casual to feeling like it’s picking up traction and something is different?

“It got to a point in 2014 where I could finally become a full-time content creator. Shortly after, I was signed to an agency and paid partnerships started appearing. That was when it all became VERY real.”

Now, clearly, you can’t just churn out any content without thought and expect to build and keep an audience. If you spend any time on social media, you don’t need us to tell you the difference between stale, forced content and content that is natural, organic and engaging that keeps you coming back for more. But developing content like that surely isn’t as simple as just taking a photo, writing a caption on the spot, hitting send and hoping for the best. ‘(My content) has always been authentic.

I think my appeal is my personality and care-free attitude, and I’ve tried to keep ‘me’ in my content as much as possible, avoiding falling into the

‘classic ‘YouTuber’ persona’ as much as I can. In those early days, I played with different filming styles and formats, using my inspirations and getting a feel for it. But I didn’t have a set strategy.

As branded work came through and I started attending events, I formed an understanding of what audiences want and at that point, I began to plan out content. Authenticity, though, was still a focal point of what I created.’

‘I upload videos on Mondays and Thursdays, with a month’s worth of content planned in advance and usually shot the week before release, but it’s sometimes the same day when I’m really busy! If I get a sudden idea, I may just record it then and there and upload it on the next scheduled upload day.’

As your brand starts to embed and your audience grows, content refining is vital. What you start out making needs to evolve as you find what interests people and keeps them coming back for more. Helen’s content has changed a lot since the early days, taking in fashion and makeup, brand content, and even raising awareness of and advocating for key issues like mental health. The key thing that has stuck with us when watching her videos is how open and honest she is. We asked her how it feels to be so truthful about the personal areas of her life in public.

‘I don’t think I could be any other way.

Content creators are often put on a pedestal and given a celebrity-like status, but I’m an ordinary woman going through trials and tribulations

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just like anyone else. It’s important to me to break that barrier and be like ‘hey, I go through stuff too and this is how I dealt with it.’ I want people to be able to relate and not feel alienated in their own issues. I don’t want to pretend to be perfect when I’m 100% not (laughs).’

Amongst the many challenges that Helen faces in her career, including what we’ve discussed above, there’s also the inevitable and continuous evolution of the fields she works in. Technology increases in quality, gets ever-more accessible, and competition gets more fierce. It’s not just about maintaining great content, but also being adaptable to the changing direction of the market.

‘I think a USP (Unique Selling Point) is essential to keep people coming back.

You can’t just show people how to do something anymore, because someone out there will be doing it so much better.

You’ll just merge into everyone else and won’t hold people’s attention. These days, I focus on what I’m good at and feel confident doing. My audience isn’t as large as others, but they’re loyal and have stuck with me for years.’

At this point in the conversation, we moved on from vlogging as it was time to get an understanding of all the other branches that Helen has been building.

A perfect starting point is Sweet Sweet Honeydew, Helen’s lifestyle and clothing brand launched during lockdown.

‘I’d always wanted to open a shop, but I wasn’t sure how to approach it. I started by selling merch for my band Sunny Bones and it was so easy that I decided to make my shop dreams come true! I began drawing and designing products and ideas for the shop and the brand soon developed. It’s still relatively small, but I have big hopes for it. It’s been a lot of trial and error with some hiccups along the way.’ >>

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Capturing Creativity: The Journey of Helen Anderson

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“Everything flows into one another.

I’m self-sufficient and do most things myself which is handy.”

The brand sells art, clothing, accessories, candles and even cards, nearly all designed by Helen herself. ‘It’s generally Rock ‘n’ Roll meets Western, meets pop culture with a sprinkle of selfdeprecation.’ she says. ‘We all need a t-shirt that says ‘hot mess’ (laughs). It’s about self-love and owning your life.’

About being creative across so many different areas of her life, she says, “Everything flows into one another. I’m self-sufficient and do most things myself which is handy.”

Another example amongst many of Helen tapping into her creative core and finding innovative ways to share the output with people is her band Sunny Bones, the second musical project she’s been involved in in her career (the first being Box of Light). On the cusp of releasing a brand-new EP this summer called ‘This Hell Called Home’, written about the highs and lows of adult life and relationships with an injection of Helen’s own life experiences, this year looks like it’s shaping up to be a huge one for them.

‘Some of the favourite years of my life were in my last band, but priorities changed for the band members and we parted ways. I got bored of not creating music so joined up with my friend Ben to write. We took our time with it, recording Country and Americana, really making it our own. More recently, we’ve been recording and filming videos and now the pandemic is coming to a close,

we’re warming up and hoping to play more shows.’

Clearly, having worked in two bands has built up a first-hand understanding of navigating the music industry. ‘(Being involved in the music industry) is my favourite thing, but it’s definitely a labour of love and making an income can be difficult. Initially, what you put in in terms of investment takes a long time to recoup. But I do it because I love the experiences, writing, studio time, meeting new creative people and being on tour. Time doesn’t exist on tour and you get to see all sorts of places and eat all sorts of food. You even get to explore the service stations of different countries which is a real treat (laughs).’

There’s so much to take in here, from a career slowly built over years from humble foundations to a creative force to be reckoned with. But with all that work going on, we wondered how she finds time to balance everything and still have a life outside of it. ‘(That balance) was hard to find for a very long time. I’ve come to terms with the fact that only I know how to be me and do what I do in the way I do it. I make sure I dedicate enough time for each aspect of my work, ensure that others respect my boundaries and only work when I’m happy to work. I also take time off to recharge because I believe that you are much more productive when well-rested.’

What highlights would she say have made all the hard work worth it?

‘Probably hiking the Himalayas with Jameson Whiskey to visit the world’s highest Irish bar, visiting Coachella or touring with Wavves.’

As we end our conversation, Helen shared a few words of wisdom for anyone who may want to market their own creativity and build a brand.

“Comparison is the killer of souls.”

Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing, how many followers they have or what shows they are playing. I wasted a lot of time thinking I wasn’t good enough because others had more or were doing better. Over time, I realised that I work hard, have talent and have a great time doing it, and I stopped doubting myself.

Everyone’s experiences are relative.’

And what about the future?

‘I try not to think about the future. I want the shop to grow, the band to be busier performing and recording and eventually I want to get into property development.

I believe that if you have an idea, just go for it. The world is your oyster’.

Follow Helen and her projects here: @helenanderz @sunny.bones @sweetsweethoneydew And on Youtube @helenmelonlady

Are you interested in all things media like Helen?

Scan the QR code to check out the media courses we have on offer at ACC and start your career!

Capturing Creativity: The Journey of Helen Anderson

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MAKING FESTIVAL SEASON A

SLAM DUNK Words by Jaz Hussain & Matt Thompson

Slam Dunk, one of the first big festivals of the year, is just around the corner and this year’s edition is looking as packed and exciting as always. We spoke to Assistant Project Coordinator Jaz Hussain to bring you a behind the scenes look at what it’s like to work for one of the UK’s most popular festivals.

Hi Jaz! Tell us about yourself!

Oh hey! I first started working at The Institute in Birmingham whilst I was at university and then from there worked in ticketing, eventually moving into freelance work for Reading Festival, Download and Latitude. From those production roles, I was offered an artist liaison position for Slam Dunk in 2018 and a couple of months later, bagged myself a full time role with them! My official role is ‘Assistant Project Coordinator and Personal Assistant to the director’, which essentially means I wear lots of hats simultaneously. It’s a challenge but it keeps things very interesting!

Why did you want to be a part of Slam Dunk?

Slam Dunk was the first festival I attended as a teenager back in 2009.

I remember my dad driving me and a friend to Leeds Student Union and dropping us off. He literally waited in the car all day and then drove us home. From that day, I fell in love with the festival and made sure I went to as many years as I could! Skipping forward to being offered a full time role with them in 2019, it felt like everything had come full circle.

Slam Dunk Festival has been running since 2006, starting as a one day festival in the centre of Leeds and developing into a two day event across two locations.

Alongside the festival, Slam Dunk is also an independent record label and concert promoter. What impact would you say the overall company has had on pop-punk, emo, ska, metal and other genres?

I think that Slam Dunk and the pop-punk scene are absolutely synonymous with 10

each other. I don’t think you could find a pop-punk fan in the UK that hasn’t heard of Slam Dunk Festival! If you take it down to a much more local level though, everyone in Leeds knows that we are the ones putting on the poppunk, emo and alt shows in the city.

We also run The Key Club, which has established itself as the place to go for an alternative night out in Leeds in the 6 years we have been open.

honest, I am very far removed from the booking process for Slam Dunk Festival.

I leave that one to Ben and JD (festival directors). They have been booking acts since the festival’s inception and they’ve been doing a pretty good job so I’ll continue to stay away! My only input is occasionally whispering in Ben’s ear on who I would personally like to see on the line-up (mainly Blackbear and Trophy Eyes) year on year!

The festival has undergone significant development over the years. Why have these changes happened, how were those decisions made and what do you think it’s brought to the festival?

We have certainly made our way through a fair few venues throughout the years! The first ever Slam Dunk was at Millenium Square in Leeds. From there, we moved to Leeds Students Union where we stayed and made a home for quite a while! Hatfield was at the uni for eight years but it eventually got to the point where we needed to grow the festival. Our headliners were getting bigger so we needed bigger venues!

We moved to Temple Newsam and Hatfield Park and haven’t looked back since. Having the space and capacity to do what we want with as many stages as we want is great and means we can have fun with shifting the layout and stages year on year, seeing what works and what doesn’t.

How do you feel Slam Dunk Festival stands apart from other UK festivals?

Ben is really good at curating stages for specific genres and niches. Take the ‘Heavy’ tent for example, this is normally the Jägermeister tent where we have two stages across from each other and its just back-to-back hardcore and metal bands. 2021 was headlined

by While She Sleeps and Funeral For A Friend performed as special guests.

Throughout the day, the tent was full because the line-up catered perfectly for everyone that was into those bands.

People just stayed there all day!

“I think that’s what makes us stand out from the rest of the UK festivals.”

Chances are, if you’re into a subgenre of pop-punk, metal or emo, you’re going to find a stage you absolutely love and won’t want to leave! >>

What’s the process for choosing acts for each festival, and how do you balance big names and up and coming artists?

I think that due to the formatting of our stages, we have the opportunity to have artists of all sizes across multiple genres play which is really exciting. To be access issue 20 | Spring 2022

Photography by @katiemcmillanphoto

Photography by Barnaby

Making Festival Season a Slam Dunk

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Photography by @stateofloveandtrustalex

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Photography by @katiemcmillanphoto

Have you seen any artists that have particularly blown you away, and what do you think makes a great festival set?

Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes at Slam Dunk Festival 2018 will forever be one of my highlights. A great festival set needs lots of crowd participation, singalong, pits, maybe a human pyramid or two, some confetti, something dramatic and fun! But then, saying that - some of the best sets I’ve seen have had no production, just a band on a stage with a crowd. Busted’s secret set in 2019 was exactly that, them on stage in a tent packed with pop-punk kids screaming to Year 3000 and it was incredible.

The festival sector was hit pretty hard by the pandemic. Have you learnt anything from that period?

The main thing was that it was very difficult to attempt to organise a festival whilst working from home, amidst

changing guidelines during a global pandemic. But after three reschedules and countless line-up changes, we did it and we did it safely! The ease in which we fell back into things after nearly 2 years away surprised us all too.

What do you think the future of Slam Dunk and the wider UK festival industry looks like?

Personally, I’m really psyched for the future of Slam Dunk and other UK festivals. We’re starting to see festivals really expand their horizons in terms of who they are booking; taking chances and ‘wildcard’ bookings. At Slam Dunk, we are now booking artists that are broader than just your pop-punk and emo circles and that is opening us to a new audience that may have never considered coming to Slam Dunk before. That, to me, is really exciting and hopefully the start of a new era and a crossover genre generation.

Lastly, what advice would you give to the next generation of artists, event staff and festival runners?

I say the same thing every time I’m asked this question and I stick by it always! For anyone wishing to get into music, touring, events etc start in a venue. It can be your small local venue behind the bar, just get a foot in the door. Shadow people, ask questions, help out and most of all just be nice. If you’re attentive, nice and keen you’ll be remembered and called upon for more work. If you need help, ask for it, you’ll meet some great people along the way.

You just have to remember that at the end of the day everyone is there for the same reason, to make the show happen and to give music fans a great show.

Check out this years Slam Dunk line up and much more at slamdunkfestival.com and check them out on Instagram @slamdunkmusic

Ready for the next stage of your music career?

Scan the QR code to find out more about Music Performance Level 3 at ACC.

Making Festival Season a Slam Dunk

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RICHARD BUCKLEY:

OUR IN-HOUSE EXPERT, EXCELLING AT ESPORTS Words by Richard Buckley & Matt Thompson

Richard Buckley. A long-time esports commentator, one of the most passionate people in the sector, our in-house esports expert and the man tasked with leading our expansion in this exciting new area. Find out more about him right here!

Hi Richard! Tell us about yourself I’m a FIFA esports commentator & presenter. I have been playing games all my life, ranging all the way from Call of Duty to Mario Party.

How did you get into the esports sector and why did you want to be involved?

I got into the esports sector mainly through chance, to be completely honest. I was in the right place at the right time. It was a sector I didn’t know too much about before I became involved in it. I was involved in the EA Sports Commentators Cup in 2017 alongside my commentary partner Brandon Smith. We went on to win the tournament and from then on got a couple of opportunities to cast. We went into it with the mindset of taking every opportunity and making sure people took notice of us.

How has esports changed since you joined the industry?

Esports has changed quite a bit since we joined the industry in 2017. The main change has been the mainstream appeal in the esports industry in the last few years from millions of players on League Of Legends to millions of dollars being awarded at the Fortnite World Cup. It’s expanded to a mainstream audience rapidly and that expansion is expected to continue.

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Esports has been named as a trial for the upcoming Commonwealth Games. What does this mean to you as an industry specialist and what will this bring to the industry?

The inclusion of esports in the Commonwealth Games is a very important moment for esports and sports as a whole. For me personally, the Commonwealth Games needs esports more than esports needs the Games. Esports captivates the younger generation so well and bringing it into the Commonwealth Games will breathe new life into the games that has been needed for a long time. Hopefully you might even hear my voice on the broadcast!

You do a lot of work with real-life football teams. How did that come about and what has it brought to your career?

I work with a lot of football clubs and esports organisations on my broadcasts including Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris St-Germain and other elite clubs in Europe and further afield. It has been a really positive experience working alongside these clubs and being associated with them as it brings a lot of attention to my commentating, helping me to reach a wider audience.

How have you found being involved in the launch of an esports course at ACC? I have really enjoyed being a part of esports at ACC. I’ve spent a lot of time understanding and developing the course to bring enriching experiences to the students and help them to get set up for the esports sector. The potential we have for esports here is very exciting, with multiple centres across the country allowing us to create national events that give students lots of real world experience in the esports industry.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to study esports?

If you have a passion for gaming and esports, the esports course is 100% for you. It allows you to learn key skills and knowledge that can be transferable, not just within esports, but across the rest of your life.

What do you think the future of esports looks like?

The future of esports is very bright! The industry is growing every single day.

Education is also getting better within the esports sector and I’m excited to see what happens and where it goes in the future.

Check out Richard on Instagram at rbuckley98. access issue 20 | Spring 2022

“The future of esports is very bright!

The industry is growing every single day.”

Would you like to start your career in esports like Richard?

Scan the QR code to check out our Esports Management Level 3 course.

Richard Buckley: Our In-House Expert, Excelling at Esports

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LUCID PUBLICITY:

MARKETING YOURSELF AS A CREATIVE Words by Karim Khan, all images supplied by Karim, Lucid Publicity

Marketing is a vital part of building your career. We asked Karim Khan from Lucid Publicity to give us a rundown of the best ways to market yourself as a creative, the pitfalls to look out for and the opportunities that could easily be missed.

My career in its various guises over the past 20 years - starting as a music journalist for my student paper, going on to write for magazines like i-D, DAZED and HUNGER and for the past eight years as a Director of

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Lucid Publicity – has given me a fairly extensive experience in what makes (and breaks) an artist’s PR campaign.

It’s also exposed me to a lot of different methods on how to market and develop your brand, be that as an artist, creative, designer, photographer, stylist or another one of the roles that make up pop culture.

The building of your brand is always done off your own back at the beginning.

This seems obvious but it’s more about what goal or end point you see for yourself – what is it you want to achieve ultimately and where, or for whom?

How do you reach that from where you are now? If you want to resonate with a particular audience or brand, what you

do from the very beginning must relate to it. If you want to be taken seriously then the work must be serious, if you want to be held in a certain regard, then all the output, the ideas, the music you make, the art you create, must always speak to that, from right now.

Understand your market. What is it that people want in your chosen audience and how can you give it to them? What I tried to do in my early days in PR (and still do today) – was to build a credible, meaningful brand around every artist I worked with. It doesn’t matter if they want to be an international pop star or an underground sensation, the same process applies to both.

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Build credibility and style around your proposition. For example, to resonate with tastemaker publications, your image and touchpoints have to be a good fit. Look at what they’re covering right now. Do you need to align certain things about what you’re doing in order to give them the confidence to support you? It’s likely that if you’re at the very start of your career, they won’t care about what you’re doing. That doesn’t matter. If you’re determined to get there, your output must always have them in mind.

Understand your USPs or ‘Unique Selling Points’ – what makes you different.

This might be your backstory, the people you’re working with, the particular art you’re making, or what you’re saying with it. It might be your look, or your artistic influences. As a general rule, the creatives that achieve more success nearly always have more to say or show off about themselves in a meaningful way. Again, look to your end goal. How can you edit or adapt your USPs to make you or your brand seem compelling to that end?

Aesthetics are key. Visually or verbally, it’s the truth to say that after your work itself, your image is the second most important thing you have. It’s the first impression that audiences will have of you, so make sure it’s as strong and as clear as possible. This doesn’t mean your press shots (or copy) need to cost the earth. A tasteful street image, for example, shot by a decent photographer in black and white can be as visually

arresting as a big budget studio photoshoot if done properly. The same applies to the wording for your brand.

How you communicate your brand defines how you’re perceived, so make sure it’s relevant to your aims.

Credibility = Longevity.

There is a difference between building something that will blow up quickly, and something that takes longer but forms a dedicated fanbase across an artist or brand’s whole career.

UK rapper Little Simz is a testament to believing in your integrity and not compromising on short-term trends. She has been putting out music for 7 years at least – bypassing fads and sticking to her strengths and vision for herself.

It’s now seen her act in hit show Top Boy, win a BRIT award and become one of the faces of Gucci. Sometimes it takes the wider world a little longer to appreciate talent in all its shapes and forms, so the key is to not give up. If you keep the quality control high, and remain consistent, you will get there, and moreover with the identity that you initially set out to create.

“Public image”. With the all-conquering domain of social media, you can be yourself and amplify it any way you want. The secret to it is to keep it authentic to you. From Michaela Coel to Louis Culture to Corteiz to Slawn – some of the hottest creatives and brands in the country right now – all portray

themselves uniquely and with a distinct style. You don’t even have to be on trend: Amelia Dimoldenberg and Francis Bourgeois have made earnestness and awkwardness work. Good public image is simply being expressive with your art, and consistently so.

To finish, I thought some ‘first steps’ would be helpful - what can you do tomorrow to try and get seen or heard for the first time? There are plenty of smaller publications and platforms that are actively looking for interesting things in their scene to write about.

Search them out. Do some research on who’s writing for them. Put together a rough press release, send emails, follow them up. These platforms are your key stepping-stones: any bigger publication will want to see you making waves at these early levels before they feel you deserve some higher-profile exposure.

Or if you have the budget, find a decent PR company – a lot of creatives sadly don’t think it’s necessary to hire a PR company if they can help it – when it’s actually one of the most important, proactive things you can do. If they’re any good, they’ll push and challenge you to make sure your output is the best it can be, clarify and amplify your brand, plan your campaign with you, and get it out to networks of journalists and editors they’ve spent years building up.

If the work is serious, take it seriously. You will get somewhere!

See more from Karim and Lucid Publicity at lucidpublicity.com and on socials @lucid.publicity.

Ready to embrace your creativity and turn it into a career?

Find out about our upcoming open days by scanning the QR code.

Lucid PR: Marketing Yourself as a Creative

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ART & IMAGE:

BILLELIS

Words by Seanen Middleton & Billelis, all artwork supplied by Billelis

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Billelis is a titan in the world of Digital Art, His beautiful intricate 3D sculptures are a collision of opposing worlds- expressions of death and the macabre often gilded in luxurious golden materials- darkness and light, life and death, the old world brought into the modern age. There is little surprise that he has amassed somewhat of a cult following online.

We caught up with Billelis to find out a little more about his craft.

Hi Billelis! Please tell us a bit about your work. How would you describe it?

Hi there, I’m Billelis. I’m a 3D Illustrator & Digital Artist specialising in dark visuals and decorative art. Currently based in the gothic city of Edinburgh, I spend countless hours experimenting, learning and expanding my artistic skill set to create a personal style that can be best described as a dark yet elegant, romantic fusion. I have a keen eye for intricate detail, as well as bold contrasting colours, and my work has often been described as hyper-real.

How did you first get into creating digital art?

It must have been over ten years ago now. I went to university for coding and digital mediums, but I realised how useless I was with code. I spent four years looking up photoshop artists and illustrators on DeviantArt and feeling inspired to pursue my own art. It took years and a lot of experimentation but I kept at it, day in day out, developing my skills.

Can you tell us a bit about your technical process? What software and tools do you use to create your images?

Experimental processes are key. It’s important to just mess around and play

with mediums. After years of doing this, I have my own set ways of developing artwork. Most of the time I use ZBrush, Cinema 4D and OctaneRender.

Sometimes I simulate fabrics or play around with some more procedural elements but that is the basis of how I work. And finally I colour grade with Camera Raw for stills or Lumetri for video.

You seem to reference death a lot in your work. What draws you to this?

Inner fears. I wanted to learn to cope with the fear of loss and darkness, so I made it my mission to beautify that which haunts many of us. All the while creating statements about religion and questioning narratives of ‘divinity’ & ‘evil’.

What are some of the proudest achievements in your career so far?

I feel working for John Wick, the game series Diablo and many of my art gallery shows are up there. Years of work which comes down to a series of consistent efforts to be seen as an artist, eventually being in a space where digital art has value in its native medium.

of animals, NFTs are so much more than that. Art, games, music, digital authentication, freedom, Web 3.0 the list goes on and on. NFTs have helped me connect with collectors in a digital medium. Finally, animation and digital art have real value in the medium they were meant to be created and enjoyed in.

What advice would you have for a young artist who wants to follow a similar path to you in the digital/visual art world?

Find artists you look up to. Keep showing up daily, even if it’s for experimenting. There is no secret formula besides hard work and love for what you create.

What are your plans for the future in regards to your art career?

Keep building, keep vibing with what I create. I also want to release more physicals, create gallery experiences and, overall, be content and proud of what I have created.

See more of Billelis, check him out on instagram at @billelis and online at billelis.com.

What is an NFT and why should we be excited about them?

NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are an ever evolving medium in digital ownership and experiences. Forget the pictures

Interested in learning more about Animation and VFX? Scan the QR code to check out our Animation and VFX course!

Art & Image: Billelis

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CRAFT YOUR BRAND:SEASON A MAKING FESTIVAL

ARTIST DEVELOPMENT SLAM DUNK PROGRAMME Words by Ian Johnson & Matt Thompson

An artist development deal was traditionally something that formed the backbone of the beginnings of a relationship between an artist or songwriter and a record or publishing company. The deal took the form of a contract that showed a commitment to developing the skills and profile of the act or songwriter while working on their material and recordings.

It also means that the act would have some income in the shape of a small advance and a tailored development plan agreed and actioned over a period of time.

These days,artist development deals are a lot less common as significant changes have occurred across the industry. With the advent of streaming platforms and the explosion of social media platforms, labels and publishers are investing less money in artist development deals.

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Because of the many changes within the industry, it’s much more likely that the artist themselves will take responsibility for developing their USP and “sound”, using distribution platforms to selfrelease music and developing a social media presence to grow their fanbase.

Once said artist has developed their brand and found their audience, a label or publisher is more likely to pay attention and get involved.

But what if you’re an artist that wants help to develop in a guided and structured way? Well, that’s where ACC comes in with our Level 4 Artist Development course. If you have a Level 3 in a music related subject, we’ve designed this qualification to fill the gap and develop the very skills that were built into old artist development deals. At the same time, we’ve included relevant learning rooted in the modern music industry, developing knowledge of social media, brand development and the digital elements of the music industry.

We also give students a wealth of time to practice, write and record their material, as well as opportunities to collaborate with other writers and producers on the course, so they’ve got plenty of space to really refine their sound.

As an added bonus, we also make sure that our learners understand industry trends, how to network with people, venues and companies, and industry functions which are the key to achieving success.

Take the opportunity to learn and interact with your peers, experienced tutors and music industry guests and mentors, and also get the chance to play festivals and industry showcases such as Latitude, Wide Skies Festival, Mostly Jazz and Funk, Wild Paths and Soho Music Month. You could even be signed by our in-house artist management label, Cetera and follow in the footsteps of Lili Caseley, Oliver Say and Archy Tomás by receiving even more guided help to get your career off the ground!

You’ll leave us with a developed brand, industry knowledge, contacts and experience of some of the UKs biggest stages. What more could you ask for?

But don’t just take our word for it.

Check out some of our AD4 alumni, featuring some people that you might have heard of!

access issue 20 | Spring 2022

Nilüfer Yanya

2022 is definitely the year of Nilüfer.

Scheduled to appear at Coachella, Latitude and End of The Road festivals in support of her critically acclaimed third album, as well as supporting Sam Fender for his Finsbury Park gig, there are big things to come from AD4 graduate Nilüfer and we are so excited to watch her grow.

Amy Love, one half of Nova Twins

Nova Twins vocalist and guitarist Amy Love is also an AD4 alumni. Nova Twins have taken the rock and alternative world by storm since they appeared in 2014. With their sophomore album due imminently, an award for Best UK Breakthrough Band at the 2020 Heavy Music Awards and a collaboration with Bring Me The Horizon, their meteoric rise is definitely not slowing down.

Ed Sheeran

One of the world’s best selling music artists with over 150 million records sold globally and the highest grossing tour of all time (his ÷ tour from 2017-2019); there aren’t many people that don’t know who Ed Sheeran is. What’s not as well known is that Ed is also one of our AD4 alumni and our patron!

Are you interested in ACC’s Artist Development course?

Scan the QR code to get more information about the course and book onto an open event.

Craft Your Brand: Artist Development Programme

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access access issue issue 20 |20 Spring | Spring 2021/22 2022

VICKY CLARKE:

SOUND & MACHINES

Words by Joe Vass, Vicky Clarke & Matt Thompson, all images by Vicky Clarke.

Artist Vicky Clarke is a Manchester based sound artist that creates sculptures and artworks using sound, AI, coding and DIY electronics, as well as the techniques of a field called Musique Concrète.

Joe Vass, computing tutor at ACC Bristol sat down with her for a deep dive into her work.

Hi Vicky, very nice to meet you.

Can you start out by telling us about yourself and your work?

I’m a sound artist and work with lots of different electronic media, creating sound sculptures and DIY electronics.

I have a research residency at the University of Manchester focused on machine learning and Musique Concrète.

I research materials and create field recordings to be used for music production, visual art and noise-making with electronics. I also teach young people at Brighter Sound in Manchester.

Vicky Clarke: Sound & Machines

Can you describe what sound sculpture is for our readers?

I think there’s different definitions.

What I’m most interested in is sound as a material, and the idea of creating objects to uncover the sounds within those materials themselves. I’ll often work with things like metal or wood and amplify those sounds to extract the rhythms and patterns that are there. A few years ago, I started working with contact microphones and it blew my mind, the idea that every surface and material has potential sound to unlock.

I first got into sound sculpture at art school during my art foundation and I was looking at some French artists called the Baschet Brothers who made these quite spectacular sound sculptures that I really like. I was also reading a lot about noise music and getting tape recordings. Making sound sculptures (like the one on the above) and recording these sounds got me into production and recording as well. It was outside the idea of organised sound and traditional music, and more about getting close to those sounds.

I noticed one of your most recent pieces is working within Musique Concrète. Does that link into the ideas you’ve talked about, with you pulling some inspiration from the history of music technology?

Musique Concrète or concrete music is using recorded sound as a raw material and then transforming those sounds through electronic media.

That sounds really obvious nowadays with drum machines, samplers and Ableton, but back in the 50s and 60s, Pierre Schaeffer was inventing the idea of using tape machines to record fragmented sounds and manipulate them.

I was starting to learn a bit about the sound and the history, as well as the female pioneers of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop like Delia Derbyshire and Daphne Oram. It was the idea that you could take the recorded sound and transform it into something else that fascinated me, pulling apart these materials to find rhythms and patterns and reinventing these worlds. >>

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Some of the most interesting stuff I’ve seen you doing is related to machine learning and neural networks. How did you get into using machine learning?

I’d heard about a thing called neural synthesis where you could work with large datasets, train a model and generate new material from that data. That idea really stuck with me as I’m obsessed with technology and machines and wanted to explore how humans could further interact with them.

I did a short course during lockdown about the history of AI and was lucky enough to go to Russia with The Arts Council to research machine learning and music. There were technologists and artists using these creative tools that I hadn’t tried before and I wanted to test it out within my own material. I came back to England and realised there wasn’t a lot of sonic machine learning at that time. I saw on Twitter that PRiSM had just released an updated sample algorithm for music synthesis that was like what I’d heard in Russia. That was when I had the idea of combining Musique Concrète and working with samples, materials and machine learning.

There’s a lot of barriers to working with sonic machine learning including technical skill barriers and access to equipment including computation.

I naively wanted to train my own algorithms and write my own codes, so I learned Python, but quickly realised you need at least five years of experience to reach that level of sophistication. Luckily I was able to use the machines at PRiSM and I’ve been working with them for a year and a half.

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There’s some really long processes involved with neural networks. Did it take you a long time to assemble, clean and process the dataset you were working with?

I made a concrète dataset using sounds from sculptures like metal, glass and wood and recordings from Manchester mill spaces, trying to capture the aura of the industrial spaces. I also had recordings of noise and electricity. I was told that your dataset needs to be as clean as possible and to not use noise.

But some of the noise sounds I got back from the dataset were really quite beautiful and informed the piece that came later on.

I built the dataset with about two hours of sound fragments and original recordings. I used a range of recording equipment including contact mics and electromagnetic frequency detectors.

“I wanted to concentrate on the texture of these sound fragments, so there were no rhythmic aspects in the dataset.”

I didn’t overproduce the sounds, I wanted this to be raw material, to see the materiality that the model would spit out in the end. I got some really interesting artefacts through using that dataset, like glass and static, sounds I hadn’t really heard before.

I think it really pays off having a good dataset. How long did it take to train the neural network?

I was using the PRiSM Sample neural network, and gave the dataset to PRiSM Research Software Engineer Dr Chris Melen. Chris trained it on their supercomputer machine for five days.

I wanted to be able to generate this material myself. I worked with that material for about a month before

making the first piece, thinking about how to approach working with those sounds and making my own classes of sounds and just trying to pick out what was interesting compositionally.

Did the neural network generate anything you weren’t happy with?

During my residency, I was the guest artist in a research group called Unsupervised at NOVARS. The research group is largely classically trained students. I think for some of them, it was quite difficult to work with that material. There was a lot of scratching, screeching of metal, and whistling (called machine wind) which can sound quite howling and beautiful, but can also turn quite sinister and harsh on the ear as well.

What is your advice for people who may want to get into sound sculpture and musique concrete?

I’d recommend reading In Search of a Concrète Music by Pierre Schaeffer, a brilliant book about his early experiments into concrète music, Daphne Oram’s An Individual Note, a great insight into her thoughts on sound exploration. For sound sculpture, read Handmade Electronic Music by Nic Collins, a really fun and hands-on guide to building your own circuits and exploring sound. You can also hear sound art and experimental music art on CAMP, Radiophrenia Glasgow, Resonance FM- The Wire Show and BBC3 Late Junction.

Check out more of Vicky’s work at vickyclarke.org and on Instagram at vickyclarke_sound Glossary: Dataset - A collection of information that relates to a subject, i.e words on a page, test scores etc. In this instance, the dataset is audio files.

RNN - A Recurrent Neural Network uses data to solve problems. They’re often used in language translation and speech recognition. A machine learning or AI technique to predict and generate new information from a dataset.

PRiSM - Practice and Research in Science and Music, a research environment that is part of Royal Northern College of Music.

NOVARS - Research centre at University of Manchester.

access issue 20 | Spring 2022

Feeling inspired by Vicky’s work?

Scan the QR code to check out our Software Development T-Level course and begin your career in computing.

Vicky Clarke: Sound & Machines

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CREATING WORLDS OF PURE IMAGINATION TO WOW AUDIENCES:

ANIMATION & VFX Words by Matt Thompson

We’re excited to introduce Animation and VFX, one of our new courses starting in September.

Year 2:

Year 1:

Studying at ACC comes with a number of unique benefits to give you an edge. Jump into our innovative, tailored careers service with enriching experiences including one on one time with industry professionals to help you understand where you’re going and where you want to be.

• Learn about motion graphics, compositing, motion capture and rigging • Get to grips with animation packages such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and After Effects, as well as Unreal Engine • Develop your skills in creating animated 2D and 3D content • Learn to build believable worlds that feel real and engaging

• Build on the skills learned in Year 1 • Explore the VFX industry & future roles

All of this is set in centres designed to help your creativity thrive. With experienced industry tutors, professional grade technology and equipment and a welcoming, supportive environment, we truly believe that there’s nowhere better to hone your craft.

Want to find out more and apply to our new Animation and VFX course?

Scan the QR code to see a full breakdown of the course and to apply!

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access issue 20 | Spring 2022

WORK EXPERIENCE:

SETTING YOU UP FOR INDUSTRY SUCCESS Words by Matt Thompson

At ACC, we’re all about industry. We take any opportunity to bring our learners into the professional world to build a better CV and portfolio, help students build relationships with their future colleagues and employers, and provide unique experiences that are exciting, fun and informative, all at the same time.

It’s so important to us in fact, that we have specific Creative Industry Placement Officers (CIPOs) within our staff at each of our centres whose job is to source employers for work experience opportunities across all of the creative disciplines we cover. Our CIPOs aren’t just there to source work experience for you either. They’re able to help you refine your CV, build a professional portfolio and even guide you through interview skills to ensure you’re ready and prepared when you need to be.

The people behind this service have

been selected for their passion and commitment to bridging the gap between education and industry, so you can rest easy knowing that they’re right there with you, working to boost your future.

‘Sourcing work experience is awesome due to its ability to create meaningful partnerships with employers, which in turn, creates amazing opportunities for our young people. It’s something I really care about.’ - Luke Guest, CIPO in Bristol.

Here’s a snapshot of the amazing employers we’ve connected with students: • • • • • • • • •

Birmingham Film Festival Birmingham Music Awards Commonwealth Games 2022 Viper Innovations Futureproof Photography Condense Reality Lock Studios YourCinemaFilms Morrow

The full list is too long to mention here, but we’re working behind the scenes everyday to open up working

relationships with even more passionate and knowledgeable employers nationwide.

Let’s hear from Morrow, an app development company that currently has Harmony, an ACC student, working with them: “Having Harmony with us for work experience immediately had a positive effect on the business in terms of work and culture. The team enjoys having a junior member as it allows them to work on their mentoring skills. In addition, the project has benefitted from Harmony and other students’ knowledge as they have different perspectives on problems.

Work experience students are motivated and engaged with tasks that other team members don’t have time to do.”

- Morrow Work experience is beneficial for both learner and employer, with positive results that keep on giving for a long time afterwards. The benefits that both sides experience are exactly why we focus so heavily on this subject, as it forms an integral part of working with our students to help them get where they want to be.

Scan the QR code to find out more about our work experience, as well as our wider careers service.

Work Experience: Setting You Up For Industry Success

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KHADIJA SHAHZAD:

DIVERSITY DESPITE ADVERSITY Words by Khadija Shahzad

“As a woman, it’s critical that you don’t let voices or gender expectations dictate what you can and can’t do.

Continue to fight for the rights of others while working towards your ambitions.”

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access issue 20 | Spring 2022

Meet Khadija Shahzad, a multitalented media and marketing professional who teaches across three different subjects here at ACC. We wanted to know how she’s found her time working in this sector, and what advice she would give to the next generation of young women who are just starting out.

Being a woman working in a maledominated field has its obstacles, one of which is sexism, but being a ‘young, ethnic, muslim’ woman bears a different type of weight. Hidden racism, ageism, and other stereotypical views are only a few examples. However, I truly believe that working in any industry, no matter where you are in the world, has its advantages and disadvantages. Having faced the challenges mentioned above did not deter me from pursuing my passion. Rather, it inspired me to work harder, instilling resilience, motivation, dedication, and determination, and teaching me that perspective can make or break you as a person and professionally.

I have also learnt that it is critical to renew our intentions and maintain integrity, and that the reason I am facing these challenges is that there are few young women of my background, gender, religion, ethnicity, or social class working in the creative or other STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) industries due to stigmas or a lack of diversity, inclusivity, equality, a negative work culture, and other factors.

Although I am aware that the challenges regardless of the knowledge gained from my experiences, are intolerable and unjustifiable, and that few people will find a positive in a negative situation.

“I have made it a personal obligation to hold my head high and fight my way through in order to become a catalyst for change, breaking down barriers and prejudices.”

Because this profession holds so much weight, I consider myself privileged to be working in it. A lot needs to change, and it can only happen if people from all areas of life join together to pursue STEM-related fields.

My advice to young girls is don’t look at people or deal with them for what they are, look at them and deal with them for who they are. How are they as a person, for example, and what are their morals and values? Respect others for their mindset and perspective, regardless of who you work with or what you do and what you believe.

Integrity Come into the industry with an open mind; everyone is talented and creative in different ways. Rather than being intimidated, see this as an opportunity for professional learning and development and believe in yourself.

People will always be willing to share their opinions, especially once you start to succeed. As a woman, it’s critical that you don’t let these voices or gender expectations dictate what you can and can’t do. Our surroundings and social expectations can work against us in terms of breaking down barriers and pushing for progress. Being a woman in a male-dominated sector hasn’t stopped me from pursuing my goals, which include working with a variety of clients, becoming a published author, purchasing my own home, and becoming a successful independent business woman while lecturing. Only you can decide what your constraints and aspirations are in terms of your career.

Inspiration Finding new opportunities to broaden your experience and expertise is critical for personal and professional

development. Throughout my life, I always learn from others, to inspire me and provide answers to my questions.

We all need teachers in our lives, especially when we advance in a field where competitiveness and gender bias are the norms. We can profit from others’ ‘learned experiences’ by using extensions, especially if these experiences can help us avoid repeating past mistakes or bad judgements.

Learning from successful people, both men and women, has helped me approach challenges from different angles and have a deeper understanding of my field.

You want to be treated as an equal player in the game, not as a woman.

Gender should not be a determining factor in your capacity to achieve in a field like STEM. It’s all about how you see yourself and how well you perform.

Women are a valuable asset to the industry and deserve equal playing time, but that requires putting in the necessary practice time. When you come into the game, regardless of your gender, you are there to win – do not limit yourself to being labelled differently.

Empowering women Woman-to-woman support is the most effective strategy. This means that we, as women, must actively advocate for and lead by example for other women.

Compete with the person you were yesterday, not with the people you work with. We can work smarter and avoid falling into old sexism practises in the sector by unifying women.

“Have faith in yourself.

Continue to fight for the rights of others while working toward your ambitions.”

It’s difficult, but not impossible, to succeed in a male-dominated industry.

You will be able to conquer any impediment in your path if you are ready to put in the effort, show up with results, and use the tools available to you to expand. Remember that you are a valuable asset who adds value to the table. Don’t limit yourself to what others expect of you. Consider the possibilities.

Do something bigger. There is always room at the table for those who are ready to put in the effort to earn their place.

Do you think you might want to follow in Khadija’s footsteps?

Scan the QR code to find out more about our esports course at ACC.

Khadija Shahzad: Diversity Despite Adversity

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MEET THE STUDENT:

JOE TODD

“I really want to impact people’s lives through my code.”

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access issue 20 | Spring 2022

Words by Joe Todd & Matt Thompson, photography by Seanen Middleton

Meet Joe Todd, Software Development T Level student with a passion for embedded software and a strong drive for success. He recently started a part-time job with Viper Innovations, and we got in touch with him to find out how it’s all been going!

Hi Joe, tell us about yourself Hi, my name is Joe. I’m studying at Access Creative College on the Software Development T Level. I’ve been programming for about 3-4 years now. My favourite coding language to program in is C, because I like the control it gives to the programmer and the things it can be used for. My hobbies consist of learning languages and evolving my academic abilities through programming free and open source software projects as a means of self study.

Congratulations on your job at Viper! Tell us about how that happened, and how has it been going?

My Careers Advisor Luke Guest set up meetings with local CEOs of tech companies. One of the CEOs was friends with the CEO of Viper and expressed to them that I was interested in drivers and embedded software. They reached out and arranged an interview.

It’s been going very well. I’ve learned a lot about embedded software and drivers in general as well as things like TDD (test driven development), how to read schematics, interfaces such as SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) and loads more. The work place environment has allowed me to challenge myself and further my learning.

You’ve got an interest in embedded software, where has that come from and what interests you about it?

From a young age, I have always had an interest in computing and how things work. My uncle inspired me to start experimenting with a Raspberry Pi in 2016 where I started to learn about Linux and the basics of Python.

My interest in the Linux kernel and its developers has pushed me to try and get involved more by fixing or creating kernel drivers.

Linux is used in a wide range of products, including embedded environments. For example, routers often run a type of Linux distribution.

When I learned this, it sparked my interest in the field and drove me to learn more about it. I really want to impact people’s lives through my code running on their devices.

Why would you say embedded software is so important in technology?

Embedded software is so important in today’s society. All of our devices today need some sort of embedded software to work the way they do. This demand will continue to grow as technology advances and more things become digitised.

How have you found the Software Development T Level so far?

I’ve found it intriguing studying the wide range of software related subjects in the course, including legislation and emerging tech, data science and cyber security. I love the work experience aspect of the course and really feel as though it will help me grow, now and in the future.

What are your hopes for the future, and what steps are you taking now to make the most of the role from Viper?

My hopes for the future are to travel, and to take the experience and skills learnt at Viper and use them to help me get a job in embedded software or driver development. I’m asking questions and making the most of being around my colleagues who have a wealth of knowledge and strong academic background.

Lastly, what tips would you give to someone who wants to apply for a job relevant to their course while studying?

Make sure to put your portfolio on your CV! All the teachers at college are well equipped to support you along the way.

Don’t neglect your studies as these are equally important, they’re the building blocks of your career.

Are you interested in Software Development?

Scan the QR code to check out our Software Development T-Level.

Meet the Student: Joe Todd

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19+ AT ACC & DBS:

READY WHEN YOU ARE Words by Matt Thompson

So, if you’re at this point in the issue, you’ve seen a lot of what we have to offer you if you’re 16, leaving school and ready to jump into college.

But what if you’re over 19? Maybe you’ve had a career break and want to restart education, turning that hobby you found a love for during childhood or adolescence into a career. Or maybe you’ve started working, but feel a bit of guided study and a qualification might boost your opportunities. Or maybe you’re about to leave college, or have done already and you’re looking at what to do next.

Well, great news! There’s a place here for you as well.

Let’s start by looking at our Access to HE courses. Access to HE is exclusively for 19 year olds and over, and provides a one year fast-track qualification that gets you ready for a degree. We currently offer four Access to HE course, which are:

• Access to HE Games Development • Access to HE Music Production • Access to HE DJ & Electronic Music

These courses are available at our Bristol, Plymouth and Manchester (coming September 2022 but more on that in a moment) centres. You’ll get access to our state of the art equipment, sprawling creative centres and specialist, insider knowledge from our tutors who have combined decades of experience between them.

And even better, if you sign up to a degree post-Access to HE, your fee loan is written off! Who could ask for more than that? We truly believe that our Access to HE courses are a welcoming, supportive and exciting environment to get back into the swing of education, but don’t just take our word for it. Let’s hear from Ash Bligh-Wall, one of our Access to HE students in Bristol.

“I think Access to HE courses are extremely valuable.”

“The knowledge, skills, connections and industry knowledge that I gain from studying are hugely beneficial.

Personally, I wouldn’t be able to access higher education and be working towards becoming a music producer if the Access to HE course wasn’t available. I feel so grateful every day that I’m working on my passions through study.”

Now for those of you who already have the necessary qualifications for university! dBs: The Sound and Music Institute is a member of the Access family, an experienced degree provider with a long history in the South West and an all round great bunch of people.

They also have a wealth of creative degrees on offer, both undergraduate and postgraduate.

Established in 1998, they’ve kept themselves at the cutting edge of industry trends and filled their centres with the best of the best in equipment and tutors, creating curriculums that take your knowledge to the next level and make sure you hit the ground running when you graduate. They’re

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currently offering courses across various fields within music and games, so there’s something for everyone.

We’re also excited to share with you that dBs is coming to Manchester at the incredible and historic New Century. New Century (formerly New Century Hall) has been a cornerstone of Manchester culture since the 1960s, hosting Tina Turner, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones and many, many more huge names from across the decades.

The space has been completely refurbished and modernised, ready to welcome you in September 2022.

Study in a purpose-built dBs centre on the bottom floor, created to the same high standards that both dBs and ACC expect at all their centres, and stuffed to the rafters with everything you need to hone your skills. Alongside that, capture the attention of a public audience on the same stage as all those legendary names listed just a moment ago.

Found on the top floor, the venue has undergone a substantial modernisation, whilst still keeping hold of the instantly recognisable features like the wood panelled walls and sprung dance floor that the biggest stars that played here would’ve looked out at themselves.

New Century is set within the trendy and popular NOMA district of Manchester, so you can expect to be in the middle of a thriving area, filled with like-minded people both inside and outside the centre. New Century Kitchens, also on site, is the perfect place to catch up with coursemates or friends with five different food vendors to choose from.

We can say with full confidence that no matter which dBs centre you choose to study at, you’ll be in the best possible place to get truly career-ready.

Thinking ahead is a vital part of what we do, and we know that education doesn’t just stop at 16. Whether you’re ready to jump into an Access to HE course, or you’re itching to start a degree, we’re here, equipped and excited to work with you to build your future.

access issue 20 | Spring 2022

Do you want to find out more about Access to HE? Scan the QR code to get more information and register your interest in Access to HE or dBs HE.

19+ at ACC & dBs: We’re Ready When You Are

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ELDEN RING

AND THE EVOLUTION OF OPEN WORLD GAMES Words by Matt Thompson, artwork by FromSoftware

Look, you probably don’t need me to tell you that open-world games have been around for a long time now.

I bet you didn’t know though that those routes go back as far as 1970, with the release of Jet Rocket, a Sega arcade game that was also an early flight simulator.

Over the fifty or so years that have followed, openworld games have been slowly simmering away, eventually becoming entrenched in the modern gaming landscape.

Some examples of amazing open-world games include The Legend of Zelda series, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Odyssey, The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series’, Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption. Half a century is a long time and there’s no shortage of names to mention here.

Clearly then, an open-world is popular, but being able to fill all that open space with interesting things to do is a key element of producing a great game.

No Man’s Sky launched in 2016 with the promise of 18 quintillion planets (18,000,000,000,000,000,000 for the record) and a whole host of features that weren’t actually available in the game. When players logged in for the first time, they found that the game barely had any of the promised features and the vast majority of planets were empty apart from a few strange animals.

(Disclaimer: Hello Games has spent the

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six years since launch working on No Man’s Sky and the game has progressed significantly since launch.)

And this is a great example of where sandbox games can be a pitfall for developers. Unless you fill the world with reasons to keep playing, your designed world will get stale very quickly. Antisandbox sentiments have grown over the years as players grew tired of forgettable characters and meaningless, repetitive side quests. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, for example, received criticism for uninteresting gameplay, confused storylines and too much space in between built up areas in the world that meant travelling for long periods to progress the story. It’s great to have a wealth of space to explore, but only if you actually find enough to do to feel immersed in the intricacies of the world.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was at the top of ‘greatest games of all time’ lists for decades after release, due to the immersive story and impressive attention to detail of its world. Filled with things to find, quests to undertake and a wide range of areas to explore that kept the 26 hour main story fresh and interesting. The best open-world experiences focus on activities and tailoring the space to be big enough to feel expansive, but also not too big that the player feels like they’re wandering an empty wasteland with occasional things to do.

Now this brings us to the modern era.

Some of the most popular games of the last decade have been open-world.

GTA V was acclaimed for the realism of its world. You can jump into the story, a rich tale that follows the exploits of three criminals pulling off various heists with an array of unique side characters.

If you want a break from the story, you can take time out and go for a bike

ride, play a round of golf, go hunting in the mountains of San Andreas, grab food with friends, get some yoga in to strengthen your core or numerous other options that only pull players in and make San Andreas feel like a real, livedin environment; as close as you can get to running around California without catching a flight.

Rockstar carried on the amazing foundations they set up with the launch of Red Dead Redemption 2. A game that built on the celebrated first game, transporting players back to the late 1800s and allowing them to do pretty much everything that a person living in that time would have been able to. Alongside activities that included fishing, hunting, heists, gambling and so, so much more, the game takes players through a 40-60 hour story that is arguably one of the best stories ever put in a game that at the end stays with you and leaves you feeling like you really lived as these characters during a period that forever changed the face of America.

The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim gets an honourable, if brief, mention here for a world filled with complex lore, fascinating characters and an experience so strong that it has been ported to other platforms nine times since its release in 2011, and often called one of the greatest games of all time.

The last stop on our whistlestop tour of open-world games is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. When it was released for the Nintendo Switch, it was a literal gamechanger. Dropping most of what was known and expected from the series, players launched into a wide, open space and could literally go anywhere from there.

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With no rules or set order for completing objectives, the only restrictions were breakable weapons and stamina limits for climbing and running. Breath of the Wild will be remembered as the game that launched an entirely new outlook on the open-world concept.

And that brings us to Elden Ring.

For those who don’t know, Elden Ring is FromSoftware’s newest game, a challenging, rich and rewarding experience that pits you against a world that is more often than not at an equal or much higher level than you. This game, like the rest of From’s releases, is built to teach you to accept failure, learn from your mistakes and try new tactics to progress.

From’s games have always been difficult, but Elden Ring has been getting particular attention as the open-world setting allows players to change tactics and find other areas to explore when they hit a wall on their current route.

The Lands Between, Elden Ring’s setting is a beautiful, colourful and extremely vicious landscape taking in mountains, swamps, rolling meadows, decrepit ruins and daunting castles,

all filled with creatures that are unique, terrifying and extreme.

Another game in which exploration is actively encouraged, each new path presents a new style and level of danger than the one before. Elden Ring feels like a celebration of all the developments built into previous open-worlds, refined into something truly spectacular. With no clear marker system for locations, no real guidance on your next objective and only fragments of a map to start off with, the game puts you on the back foot from the outset and it’s up to you to survive, thrive and make it through to the end, roughly 60 hours later. And when you do make it, boy, is it worth it.

Elden Ring feels like the next evolution of open-world games.

Providing a wealth of refined and interesting things to do, a beautiful world in which to do them that is never stale or boring, and a sense of real achievement at the end that is rarely felt in other video games.

FromSoftware President and brains behind the company’s games, Hidetaka Miyazaki, has said that Elden Ring will inform the future of its releases and it’ll be very interesting to see how Elden Ring impacts the wider open-world concept.

Do you have an interest in games and games art?

Scan the QR code to take a look at ACC’s Games Art Level 3 course.

Elden Ring and the Evolution of Open World Games

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ACC RECOMMENDS:

VLOGGING KIT Words by Matt Thompson

You’ve read our cover feature with the amazing Helen Anderson and now you might be wondering ‘what equipment do I need to create professional-level vlogging content?’. Well, great news, Helen’s back to run through a list of the equipment that forms the backbone of her content creation.

Canon EOS 6D and a 50mm lens.

A decent camera is something I couldn’t live without. There are a lot of options for great cameras at a range of prices that will do the job. I use the Canon 6D with a 50mm lens. I can shoot photos and videos in up to 4K quality with it, and it’s super portable and strong enough to survive being knocked around when I go out and about with it.

Macbook Pro

DJI Pocket

Apple’s MacBooks are a creative’s dream. I use one from their Pro range and it handles everything I throw at it. I use a lot of intensive software and upload, download and edit huge amounts of video and image files, and it doesn’t miss a beat.

Definitely worth the investment.

I use my DJI for daily vlogging. It’s super portable, perfect for filming content when I’m out and about and at home. Really useful for those spontaneous moments! The device is packed full of great features including amazing stabilisation and Active Track, an impressive tracking system that keeps the subject of a video in frame at all times.

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Software

Ring light

In terms of software, I use Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Adobe Lightroom, and Adobe Photoshop regularly. These pieces of software are affordable, but handle everything I need them to.

They’re so popular for a reason, allowing me to quickly create or edit what I need to, and are super reliable.

A ring light is essential, especially for at-home video content.

It allows me to fully control the lighting to get the perfect look on camera. A good ring light is portable and useful for a wide range of photo and video needs.

iPad Pro

Røde microphones.

I use an iPad Pro with Apple Pencil and Procreate software for all my drawings. The iPad integrates really well with my MacBook which is definitely a positive. Alongside that, it’s made for creatives and gives me a nicely sized canvas to work on, with the speed and power to allow me to create without worrying that it won’t keep up or can’t handle what I’m drawing. The Apple Pencil is seamless as well, and Procreate is an amazing drawing software.

Røde on-camera microphones are brilliant, especially the wireless ones. There are options to fit every budget. The sound quality is incredible, which for such an affordable range makes this a must-have for my work.

ACC Recommends: Vlogging Kit

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Industry News Sony announces launch of rival service to Xbox Game Pass

Commonwealth Games Esports Pilot - full lineup announced The full lineup has been announced for this summer’s Commonwealth Games esports pilot. Three games shall be played including eFootball, Rocket League and DOTA 2. Each game shall include a women’s category.

UK games market now worth record £7.16 billion The UK games industry is now worth a record £7.16 billion, an increase of 2% on 2020 and a remarkable 32% increase from 2019. bbc.co.uk

nme.com

Inside the world’s first metaverse Fashion Week Metaverse Decentraland has held its first Fashion Week, featuring NFT wearables, virtual shops and a collaboration with popular NFT Bored Ape. The Week also included well-known fashion brands such as Selfridges, Tommy Hilfiger and Dolce & Gabbana. forbes.com

theguardian.com

Government launches study into music streaming services The UK Government is undertaking a study into music streaming services and whether they hold ‘excessive power’ over the music industry. theguardian.com

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theguardian.com

Channel 4 to be privatised The government has announced plans to privatise Channel 4. Channel 4 has been on the air since 1982 and funded by advertising but publicly owned. Money made from the sale of the network will be reinvested in a ‘creative dividend’ to be shared among the TV industry, including independent production companies. bbc.co.uk

ACC Blogs: Protecting our technological future: The new frontier of cyber security

Legendary Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins passes away The music world was rocked by the passing of long-time Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins in March.

Hawkins, a member of the band since 1997, played on 8 of their albums as well as singing in his own side project Taylor Hawkins and The Coattail Riders. A loved and respected musician, he shall be sorely missed.

Sony has announced a merging of their existing Playstation Plus and Playstation Now services to form a new service that will launch in June. The service will include a three tiered subscription plan ranging in price from £49.99 a year to £99.99 a year.

Cyber security is one of the most important sectors, growing daily as cyber attacks become more common and more sophisticated. With this expansion comes new skill demands and more jobs. accesscreative.ac.uk

A behind the scenes look at how Gotham City was created in The Batman The BBC looked into how filming in Liverpool, Glasgow and London were stitched together to recreate Gotham City in the recent film The Batman. UK cities are more frequently being used as filming locations, with Liverpool substituting New York City in Captain America: The First Avenger, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Florence Foster Jenkins. bbc.co.uk

Esports: How to kick off your career in this thriving sector Back in February, the esports industry revelled in the news that esports will be piloted at the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham. Find out what this means for the sector and why now is the best time to join the industry by reading the full story. accesscreative.ac.uk

access issue 20 | Spring 2022

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