Page 113 of The Examiner

Gela has asked me to write a report for today’s visit by our client and to log their initial feedback, so those team members who were not part of the hosting party – Alyson and Cameron – are brought up to speed on this crucial milestone.

At first we thought the team from RD8 was late, but it transpired Mae had brought considerably more people with her than security were expecting. I collected them from the gate, while Gela, Ludya, Jem and Patrick hastily cleared space in the studio and found more mugs and biscuits. While it was a small point in the grand scheme, it turned into a major stress factor, precisely when we should have been relaxed.

We can take several learnings from this experience. The main one being: next time establish how many clients are coming. Something as basic as not having enough teabags can derail an otherwise carefully organised event. In hindsight, I would have made it clear to the client in advance exactly how many of them could visit.

I felt at times the presentation we’d prepared was disrupted by clients wandering where they shouldn’t, touching things and wanting to ‘have a go’ with items in the studio completely unconnected to their project. Some were clearly from the more scientific end of the spectrum, whose attention was not held by our speeches on the progress of the installation. Herding cats came to mind.

However, it must be said Ludya spoke well about the tunnel, Jem did a great job explaining her soundscape and Patrick was very eloquent and interesting when he took us all through the evolution of our centrepiece, the clay head. Unfortunately one of the delegation tried to lift it up, and it was only Gela’s quick thinking and fast action that saved it from toppling off its plinth. Mae Blackwell, who we all remember from the pitch meeting, was a very engaged visitor and luckily so, as she is the person to impress.

That brings me to her topline feedback. She said, and I quote: ‘Wouldn’t it be better if the soundscape is piped into the tunnel, to avoid excess tech and allow us to focus on the artistic vision?’ She also mentioned something about the tunnel being more visibly branded with the company logo and specific radio components that broke new ground in their time, plus some other things – their names escape me – that she would like to see prominently among the ‘decorations’ on the tunnel walls. We can expect written feedback in a day or two.

After corralling the rest of them back into the studio we made tea and coffee, then showed them the door. In the nicest possible way. In our debriefing session afterwards we all felt a mixture of relief the visit was over and disappointment that our work hadn’t elicited the unbridled delight we’d hoped for. We all decided to tidy up, and not act on Mae’s feedback until we have her official response, as she’ll tie together the thoughts of all the others.

Finally I’d like to thank the entire team for their hard work and for being flexible, positive and good-natured throughout the client visit.

Jonathan

Danners Project Manager

Doodle message group MMAM(FTP), 25 April 2024:

Jem Badhuri

We should have let them throw some clay on the potter’s wheel.

Patrick Bright

That’s a very good idea. If we’d made the visit into more of a corporate day out, like on The Apprentice, they’d have been less fidgety.

Jem Badhuri

They’d realise how difficult it is and appreciate how hard we worked. Then they wouldn’t make stupid comments.

Ludya Parak

Clients are clients. We could fly them to the moon and still get pages of feedback.

Jem Badhuri

They’re in the business of radio communications – in other words: SOUND. Yet they have no idea how ASMR works. You NEED a binaural microphone and headphones.

Patrick Bright

I think you made that quite clear, Jem.

Jem Badhuri

Well, I had to say something. The head Gela and I have been working on is a replica of a binaural microphone. If we ditch the headphones, we can’t have a truly binaural soundscape, this won’t be a binaural installation, which means the centrepiece of our whole structure doesn’t flow.

Jonathan Danners

They liked the head sculpture.

Jem Badhuri

But without the binaural soundscape it won’t make sense!

Cameron Wesley