Diamond Sword goes to Red vs Blue: UK 2013

Venue: Phoenix Square 

Date: 2^nd - 4^th August 2013

Hosted by: Sidefest

Sidefest is an event organising company who have been running film festivals and game conventions for almost 10 years! That’s a hell of a lot of experience and it definitely shows in the energy and effort each individual puts in to their work. They’re extremely passionate about promoting creative individuals and independent businesses. They also Host band nights and a quiz night called ‘Its all Geek to me’ which all of us at diamond sword attend and help run on a regular basis. When it comes to the quiz, I personally fail to do well and tend to celebrate if I know one out of the 60-80 answers available.

Wristband for the event

Anyway moving swiftly onto the weekend. I attended the event on the Saturday to take part in a panel hosted by Jason Boomer, the man behind the event , who looked as calm as anything when so much was happening around him.

On the Panel with myself were two other companies, ‘Say What Now productions’ and ‘Mair Perkins ltd Animation and illustration’. Say What Now productions is an online entertainment and journalism company. They produce a constant flow of content including podcasts, articles and videos in which the topic is mainly, if not all the time, gaming. I met Greg and Adrian from the company and instantly got on well with them... they're awesome. They have a unique determination to do well with their team and it shows in how successful they already are.

My seat on the panel

Mair Perkins ltd is a creative agency based in Derby specialising in 2D animation, motion graphics and illustration for business, entertainment and education. I can say the same of Mair and her boyfriend who joined her at the festival. Both great people and i can see how Mair has come so far with her work due to her commitment and personality.

The panel focused on the ups and downs of making creative content and how those who wish to create their own content can market and organise their material. It gave me the opportunity to share my personal views as well as those of Conor and Nick, who sent me through a ‘briefing’ type document thing beforehand.

Being on the panel also acted as a good advertisement for the company and I felt I was learning a lot of stuff from the other guys sat on the panel with me.

Gamers at the event

Later on in the afternoon I went to the gaming area which was AWESOME! It’s great to be around so many other people with similar interests to ourselves. The passion for competing on all gaming platforms, from xbox to card games, was great to see.

Gav: Founder of XBLGAMEHUB (left)
Greg: Member of SWNPRODUCTIONS

At this point i met Gavin Divers, the founder of the very successful XBLGamerhub, who are the 'top search on google' when you type in various things to do with tournaments and xbox'ing (this is what Gav told me... and then proved). I gained a lot of experience and insight into how to make a successful business just by talking to him. 

So all in all it was an awesome day and i felt privileged to be the person there representing us. Now for the most important part of the day... getting drunk... (See next blog: THE AFTER PARTY @ THE CRUMBLING COOKIE)

You can contact the other companies mentioned through their twitter accounts listed below...

Sidefest: @Side_Fest

RvB:UK: @RvBUK

Say What Now Productions: @SWNProductions

Mair Perkins: @MairPerkins

XBLGamerub: @XBLGAMERHUB

and then the usual places to find us at diamond sword are:

Youtube: Diamond Sword
Twitter : @diamondswordvid
Facebook: facebook.com/DiamondSwordProductions
Blogger: diamondswordproductions.blogspot.co.uk

Conor Twitter: @thetx1000
Nick Twitter: @NickJISmith
Tom Twitter: @Xstactik

Liz Twitter: @LizNels0n