Starting The Ball rolling

The last few months have been a creative dead end for many in the arts and now we are starting to see a relaxing of the rules and feel that we can open up a little more our core UK team has begun putting together small shoots and will continue building up a whole new portfolio including videos for an upcoming new site and as a part of the current slate of Lost Media work, all headed up by creative director JamesC. At the moment we do have a small amount of work that is being edited (inhouse) being prepped for submission to a very specific selection of magazines and we are looking closely at the options for creating our own logo and branding around the Lost Concept that will expand our reach further into the future.

Naturally, we are still working with our South Asian contacts especially Nepal Film Production who has been instrumental in the most recent changes to what we are doing and helping us with details like our web presence which we are extremely grateful for.

Keeping the flow of work going has been difficult but thanks to a combination of social media like Instagram, Facebook messenger and of course Whatsapp, we have been able to continue working and the Lost Project, in particular, has been really gathering attention and support thanks to our resources and contacts in New York at the Sarah Gargano Agency, who are a fantastically professional team to work with.

Overall, the ideas that we had to set up our own small studio and continue have been shelved instead we are going to focus our energies on a more mobile version of this with our main work being done on the computer anyway from the running of the various sites and social accounts we have to the editing work for our shoots it has become more about practicality as we think of ways to minimize our footprint and give us the freedom to travel, move quickly and of course provide a service.

Lost In The Horror

We are in the midst of what would (and most likely will be) the source of many new thriller and horror film and TV plots, the lockdown is the start of a refresh of the industry which we will be taking full advantage of and have been in all honesty planning around for a long time as Horror is the genre of choice for us both artistically and commercially, more than ever with the support of the HOD TV team (submit your films here).

For us and our partners, Horror has all the potential we need to feel fulfilled as an artist: our actors can play the character and develop the narrative, the writers are loving the scope of the human mind for fear, for our creative director JamesC, it’s about the makeup and of course our remote teams it’s all about the locations (our Nepal production contacts are delighted with this idea). There is something in this for each of us to get our teeth into and we have room to work together as a collective to push an agenda that suits us and it does also open up other potential aspects that could be realistically deemed vanity projects with a slight commercial twist.

With many magazines and film festivals dedicated to the Horror and Thriller genres, we can easily utilize different suppliers and resources to keep the costs down while maintaining the gore and chills.

Talking of Keeping the costs down, it is fairly straightforward and can be augmented by companies like Monster Fx or the supply house Red Carpet FX (who stock our favorite IPA palettes from Ripper FX).

The future is in our hands and we are taking our own direction on this with plans in motion to do both editorial/print work in this darker style and of course TV projects that will be at the heart of the work, a commercially driven but still artistically driven venture.

Keeping The Creative Flow Going

While many are rethinking their place in the industry and how to progress, ranging from selfies to blogs, we at The Lost Creatives are working hard behind the scenes and taking time to reevaluate (as you will guess by our previous blog). A complete overhaul is underway and along with our partners in Nepal, this is pushing us to think about how we want to be seen in the market.

As you can imagine, social media plays a heavy part in this and it is really exciting to see Nepal film Productions opening a new account with Instagram which is a step forward as we see the restrictions being lifted and people slowly returning to normal and business becoming a part of their thinking again.

We are also putting the social media plan into action and will be reviewing our work and creative plans, led by our creative director JamesC, with a view to pushing forward which as we have previously stated means we will be looking at investment into editorial marketing with tears and covers which we are excited about and have to admit the design process alone is worth it to help clear our collective headspace.

Our film and TV plans are on standby and we are extremely grateful that we have HOD TV on our side with their platform for horror and thriller distribution. Which we fully intend to make use of and recommend those who have projects they want to sell check the link here for submissions.

As time moves forward we are going to push to show more of a commercial stance and stay away from more theatrical styles as we just feel it doesn’t suit the working look we want to create. From the portfolio plans to the film and TV projects we have in mind our goals are strong and we are pushing forward progressively and with mutual support from our remote partners.

The Changing Face of Cinema and TV

In the coming months, there will be some major changes to how we view film and TV with a massive shift in the production side, in conjunction with our partners at Nepal Film Production, we have been looking at the different elements we see changing and how you can logically, make the most of your budget and maximize the scope of your work using lower-cost locations and setups.

Naturally, as our partner, we looked closely at Nepal as a potential avenue for us to shoot when we are able to travel again. *Even allowing for travel, accommodation, visa’s, etc it is still a much more cost-effective prospect for us to work abroad than in our home base of the UK as we will get tax breaks and with the Lost team being more thriller/horror based in our plans we can use HOD TV distribution (Nepal also has this option available), we can tackle smaller budget projects with an exotic edge that really does appeal to our team aesthetically.

Taking logical steps toward the future here are the base reasons we work with the team and will be shooting on location in Nepal:

• Beautiful locations.

• Lower overall costs.

• A 24-hour service.

• The team can arrange any permits required.

The potential of Nepal is astronomical and more details can be found via their own blog by clicking here.

Choosing our Editorial Path

Editorial is often used as a means to test new styles, try new techniques and work with new people but if you are smart it can also be a way to create new business and a smart proactive tool that will draw attention to your business and bring new clients to the table. Which for us is the primary reason we are being selective about the magazines we are choosing and calculating our approach carefully and strategically to ensure we get the maximum from the work. When we look at a magazine we have certain criteria that we are looking for and markers that will put them higher on our list:

• Branded tears.

• Covers.

• Minimal costume requirements.

• Minimal image requirements.

• Cost of submission.

Starting with these factors we then spend time pouring over their content and style as part of phase two, of our plans, we prefer simplistic and clean looks with priority going to men’s magazines at a ratio of two shoots for our male models to one for our females. *The reasoning for this is simple, we have core team members who are actors and models and they are our priority in marketing as this will have a knock-on effect in the spread of our work over time with social media advertising. Our preference is for digital magazine first but we will (for certain clients) be working toward print at a later stage. The reason we prefer online is fairly straightforward: reach. A print magazine can have an overall reach of 20,000 in terms of people buying the magazine whereas digital can move into the millions of views between social feeds and website stats, which for us makes it a more profitable and farreaching prospect.

At this point we have it broken down to a total of 2 magazines that are being marked as priority for us and will be used to promote the business overall building to what will be a series of shoots with our remote team headed up by creative director JamesC.

Choosing our editorial path is in truth is 1 part art and 2 parts commercial with our team plotting out how we can maximize the potential of the work undertaken.

Using Editorials and Tears To Market The Lost Concept

Creative frustration is starting to kick in for many of us in the arts and while we are all on hold it is a good time to plan for the future and marketing your business once the restrictions are lifted and we can submit fresh work to the various online and print publications out there. For us, we do have several concepts that are part of a larger-scale and ultimately long-term project around The Lost concept.

Our goals are split into two areas:

1. Photo Stories and editorials.

2. Single image and portrait.

There are magazines that we are looking at with very specific designs and concepts, thankfully we have talked to a few of them and they have opened up the single image option (tears and covers) that will be integral to our marketing over the coming months along with our partners.

For us its the single image option that is the biggest challenge as we want that image as a standalone to tell a story or at least inspire the imagination which is the intellectual challenge part that we are eager to get into, none more so that our creative director JamesC who has been instrumental in much of the marketing planning underway and has offered insight based on his experience of the industry both good and bad.

Our style of work is going to change dramatically and we will have a more refined and focused look that is a different creative stream than what we would do for our private sector and commercial clients. Conceptually The Lost Concept is a mixture of styles and will strangely, benefit from the current lockdown as it has forced us to reassess how we look at images, models and who we will book for shoots especially for our in house projects.

We fully intend to keep the team small on shoots and make the maximum use of the locations around our current base with an emphasis on simplicity of look touching on the more creative with darker touches brought into play.

From a marketing stance, we are enjoying the plans being put into place and our budget is going to reflect this across our 3 main sites of JameC mua, Lost Project, and of course Lost Creatives.

Marketing and the Lost Concept

While we have been a little quiet over the last few days it has not stopped the work thanks in part to Facebook and Whatsapp we were able to continue meetings and even showcase some of our past work in line with our creative director and founder JamesC. The crux of much of this has been discussing marketing strategies. Many people are unaware of the pages and sites involved in our marketing just for the Lost Concept and our core team and we are now in a place where we feel that the sites and pages (in most cases) are sufficiently “liked” enough that we are collating all the backlog of work into a folio of work and with certain magazines offering open submissions of single images (we are going for exclusive but this is not a requirement for many digital magazines) and once the lockdowns are sufficiently lifted we do have plans to do a full marketing campaign with more work built around the Lost Boys and Lost Girls concept as outlined in the Lost Project blog.

Marketing is something we are really keen on and we do work with our partners in Nepal (the Nepal Film Production team), on campaigns and this will be revised again at the end of this month in line with changes to the market as it stands.

One of the main reasons we are looking at this now is we have time, the blogs are keeping us busy along with various other elements but like many in the creative fields, we really are keen to get back to our real work. The focus of our upcoming campaigns will start with the two lost sites and then the actual artists who are working on the creative side such as actor Raj Srivastava and of course JamesC.

TV Production and Development

As you can well imagine, we are really keen to get back on set and start working properly again, much the same as our partners in Nepal. The Lost Creatives team is working quietly on marketing, planning and with their usual dark minds in motion, we started looking at the horror/thriller script options we have open to us with a view to the future. Taking everything into consideration we are going to be focused on TV projects and have 2 already earmarked with a 3rd being discussed and developed. We want to have a set of projects that can be set up as long term with options for multiple series follow ons and continued creative development.

In the short term, we have been watching the indie magazine world and have decided on a total of 4 photoshoots planned as part of a wider project to be done as soon as we can. With 2 male and 2 female concepts in place and more being discussed collectively by the remote team. *Naturally, we are following current guidelines and our meetings are done over the phone or via Whatsapp/FB messenger to ease the strain on those who are not in the country or cannot risk attending meetings.

Our Creative Director JamesC, is happy to hold for the moment and has agreed that he will begin stock checking so we can order in new materials that are needed for the work planned, blush is going to be a big part of our upcoming beauty shoots.

Stay tuned for further updates and news from The Lost Creative Team.

JamesC Makeup artist and Creative Director

It has been just over a year since JamesC took down his website and took a break from the world of media and fashion, focusing his energies on the blogs and building up The Lost Concept (for which the team is extremely grateful) but we all decided that it was long overdue that he came back. With new commercial projects and plans in motion, we needed our creative director standing tall and being showcased.

We have been planning this for several months and carefully selected from his previous work for the new site, showcasing only the pieces we felt were the best illustration of his work creatively and offering a starting point to what will be a resurgence in the commercial aspect of his and our business.

The team is really excited about the prospects of this and with our Lost Photo and Video project being planned strategically (for further details or collaborations please email the team) with a series of editorial shoots, cover images and of course short films to start the ball rolling, it is gratifying to see his work back online and moving toward a goal again.

JamesC has been instrumental in all aspects of the Lost Project and Lost Creatives, making the calls and arranging the meetings so it’s truly a pleasure for us to be able to showcase the work.

Naturally, we will be taking steps toward an increased marketing strategy that will fit all aspects of the work of the Lost Concept and the Lost Team with JamesC leading the charge toward new and exciting areas.

To learn more about JamesC and his work see:

JamesC Website.

JamesC Instagram.

JamesC Facebook.

JamesC Linkedin.

Product Placement and Behind The Scenes

While we have been slow in going public with much of what we are doing, we are always working. Not just on the blog aspect but other elements and it has really started paying off for us in terms of a photo project and 2 short films with other aspects still in negotiation or set to be discussed soon.

In terms of the photo project, it has been split into different elements and lengthy calls and meetings have been held over the actual content in terms of how it will be shot, managed and promoted across the varying networks we have open to us and this took us down the path of product placement (which we are working through already and have a provisional interest for the editorial side from a designer in London).

Our creative director JamesC, has found a series of deals and offers with his preferred format of online magazines that will give us tear sheets and covers that will be promoted across the board, with a view to utilizing our resources in the designer realm and with our other contacts across South Asia at a later date, allow us to shoot editorials and submit with a higher percentage chance of publication with some careful structuring and planning at the creative director level.

Brushwork cosmetics code JamesC 10% discount

Something we are going to push is the “behind the scenes” element, capturing the team at work, focusing on the creative aspect because our talks are taking us down the line of makeup with options and avenues that we are keen to pursue heavily.

In the coming months, we will open this to allow for smaller packages and individual project support giving placement in the behind the scenes, in the projects themselves (for film and TV) and looking closely at building our own magazine.

The Lost Concept has been building slowly and we are really proud of what we have achieved and will be showcasing this in more detail soon with a series of new sites and public projects.

*featured image example of product placement is for Brushwork Cosmetics (promo code JamesC 10% off).