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.

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.

Creating Something Fresh: A Portfolio Journey

In the last ten years, the media industry has changed and we focus our energy on creating curated websites and social media accounts that (especially in the UK) are designed to be our portfolio and showcase our work. However, we at The Lost Creatives can see that changing and the physical portfolio book will make a comeback for those in makeup and photography in particular. There will always be a three-tier system in place when it comes to business and we have our goals and understand that we will need to go back to an earlier incarnation of how we worked.

We have been quietly discussing this in the background in our WhatsApp calls and Facebook messages as something we need to really push forward with hence our editorial plans. *Because we work primarily in-house (with thanks to creative director JamesC for his support) we can keep the team small and with the options available in the digital market it is possible for us to completely change our outlook to fit a new audience which is a major plus. We will maintain the websites as part of a larger marketing campaign but for meetings, we want to be able to show our potential clients or collaborators a book of work that will allow them to look at images which admittedly we have not done in many years and it is an exciting challenge to be in a position to create something fresh.

For this we do have a plan of action in place and have started working out exactly what we want and which magazines we will shoot for, there will be two portfolios of work focusing on key areas of the work we do and keeping them distinct and separate.

As our primary focus with any shoots will be marketing we will be starting with our fashion and beauty folio which will be geared toward tear sheets and covers (we have done some digging and can make this happen fairly easily), with a film/TV book being secondary and scripts being chosen to shoot for festivals to start and of course an array of Commercial projects that will include a showreel of the work done.

Something to consider as we move into a whole new arena of work in the coming months will be how to stand out in the market as an artist.

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.

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.

Digital Magazine Research

In the grand scheme of editorial, it is a great tool for marketing when you handle it correctly and put a little effort into the background work of creating and then the marketing after the image(s) are published. Over the last week, we have been really carefully planning around this idea and thanks to certain websites, we have pulled together a list of potential magazines we will shoot Marketing content for.

We are putting together a budget for this, as its a marketing tool, we will be spending a little extra time and money to make this work the best for us as a team.

looking at this as part and parcel of running a business, we decided that alongside our social accounts, website and film plans (a separate blog will come soon on this), editorials are a great tool for putting out your information and showcasing the work we do and what we are planning for 2020.

Each of our planned shoots will be built around themes that suit the magazines we are targetting and interestingly there is an option that will give us front cover style images that can be showcased across the board on our social media accounts.

An option we are looking at which a few of the magazines do look for is behind the scenes stills and video to be included in the submission, which admittedly is a great concept and allows a greater degree of marketing to the images and opens up an interesting dialogue about shoots that we do love.

As creative director and head of makeup this also allows flexibility in changing up the products used, JamesC is looking to downsize some elements of his kit and bring in new products including the My Beauty Brand range for one shoot, in particular, offering an overall experimental feel to the shoots we have planned.

More updates will be coming soon on the forward momentum of The Lost Creatives.

The Lost Creatives in 2020

In a short space of time, The Lost Creatives has become a major part f the Lost Narrative and we are really proud of what we have achieved to date. In 2020 we are looking forward to what will be a clean slate opportunity and taking the more strides toward achieving our creative goals.

We will be working on new and exciting projects with our affiliates and partners across the globe and making a concentrated effort to increase our marketing, expand on the narrative of professionals in the media sector. Our creative director is reopening his website as a portfolio only site and will continue in his capacity as the resident beauty blogger for The Lost Project and as our primary blogger as well as.

Expansion of the Lost Narrative is being worked on and we will be looking at bringing online (over the course of the year) an additional site that will become our home for film and TV, management services are also being addressed for the new year which will allow us a higher degree of control over how and where we are pushed as a brand.

Part of the expansion will include an increased and focused drive to work closely with our partners Nepal film production and of course HOD TV.

Both of whom we are really proud to be associated with on the film and TV side of our business. It is also worthy of note that World Fashion Media News will see more of our work in print and have exclusive access to the creative team for profiles etc.

In the coming year, The Lost Creatives will be pushed heavily and we will continue to work The Lost Narrative to showcase not just our creative team but the creativity and ingenuity of the media sector as a commercial entity.

The Office of Lost Creatives

We have been really working hard over the last few months designing, meeting with stylists and wardrobe staff and negotiating contacts that will come into full effect in the new year. Much of the work has been done in our home office with emails, WhatsApp messages and our social accounts being heavily used for international calls and messaging.

There are some really big announcements to come as our continuing work Nepal Film Production and they're associated businesses along with plans to shoot a TV series here in Scotland mid-2020.

Portfolio wise, the JamesC mua site will be reopened for the new year and we are working with James on updates and script choices for festival entries (micromania film festival we are coming). Naturally, we will be looking at the Himalayan film festival as well.

Something we are focused on getting done is more of the out of the box fx work to update our books and give some depth to the upcoming shoots we have planned and of course there is our beauty work which will be tied to creative director JamesC webstore with My Beauty Brand.

We are really excited about the prospects for 2020 and so grateful to all our supporters.

My Beauty Brand as a Professional Tool

From a professional makeup artist stance (or that of a beauty blogger) the newly launched range of My Beauty Brand has all the hallmarks of a game-changer for the savvy artist. Looking at key areas of the makeup range and potential avenues we wanted to break this down and show different artist positions and how this can be a beneficial range as a sales tool or for the sheer simplicity of access.

1: Salon freelancers/wedding artists: sales can often top up the wages of an artist and having a brand in-store can be expensive to arrange. My Beauty Brand offers up a simplified solution. Having the range in your kit (an investment with a potential return is always good), you can add the link to your own store to your cards allowing clients to choose from your curated favorites or buy from the collections giving you a commission on sales.

2: Fashion/event makeup: our creative director has worked on numerous shows as an artist and a supervisor, so understands that models do ask for information on the makeup used so they can buy it for themselves. What better option is there on two levels than My Beauty Brand, you can control the look and offer a one-stop-shop for a look, earn commissions on sales and ensure that everyone is on the same page for cosmetics with the back up of ease of marketing as stated above, your shop link on a card or linked to your site allows you to promote your own favorites and streamline the process as supervisor.

3: Film and TV makeup: in much the same manner outlined in the previous two, you can work theMy Beauty Brand range into your kit and know that you will be able to recoup some of your outlay (if you shop from your own store) and that the makeup is suited to your needs from the creative to the commercial. With the added bonus of knowing that actors who want to have a piece of the range can buy direct through your store via a business card or link on your site/social media page or account.

4: Beauty blogger/social media influencer: in much the same vein as other commission-based lines, My Beauty Brand is designed for social marketers and gives you not only a professional grade range that can be integrated into your work but a retail store that does not require you to carry stock or handle shipping etc.

It should be noted that this is currently available in the UK only for shipping and each link in this blog is tied to our creative director and head of makeup JamesC who offers his own professional endorsement of the range and is not affiliated directly with the company at this time he is a supporter and has a storefront of his own.

To learn more about the range or shop from the JamesC favorites click here.