Looking back on it now, I would say it was a balance between both. Perhaps we could've put more passion and ambition into our pitches. Although having more knowledge would've helped as I was incredibly weak with trying to describe the models at first.
Digital Spy Apprentice Series 4 - Task Five Boardoom
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Originally Posted by _NiallDEE_:
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A frequent comment I got from the buyers regarding your team was that they felt there was a lack of passion from your team - do you think you could have improved on this in hindsight? or do you think it is merely a result of your lack of knowledge and interest in art as a team?
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I for one was passionate about the artist I had chosen because it seemed to strike a chord with me and thus i was able to interpret it in different ways, ways many other probably would never consider. And i would hope this passion came across in the pitch to others.
I do think the lack of knowledge and passion probably impacted it in some ways. For example, as Steve wasn't able to describe the artist's pieces he had chosen resulting in me and Iain having to describe and interpret it for him.
Originally Posted by grizzlyvamp:
“Honestly I think we'd lost the task before we'd even started. Very much there was a negative attitude towards the task right from the start particularly from Steve and clearly the other team put in a lot more thought and effort into their choices. I think the combination of the 2 was the ultimate reason for the lose though we all could have put in more effort had we tried. Of course our lack of knowledge didn't aid us either”
“Honestly I think we'd lost the task before we'd even started. Very much there was a negative attitude towards the task right from the start particularly from Steve and clearly the other team put in a lot more thought and effort into their choices. I think the combination of the 2 was the ultimate reason for the lose though we all could have put in more effort had we tried. Of course our lack of knowledge didn't aid us either”
As you state, it did seem like as a team you had a negative attitude towards this task and I noticed this on the task announcement thread - I was kinda disappointed in this as even if you aren't keen on the task, I expect you to get on with it and try your best and not to make a show of it on the main thread. It made it seem like you'd already accepted you'd lost from the beginning and were trying to make allowances from that on the thread, and the bit I've highlighted in bold from your bit in the post kind of reinforces that. Do you think this is a fair assessment? Do you think the negativity had a detrimental effect on your performance in this task?
Originally Posted by NarutoFan100:
“I do think the lack of knowledge and passion probably impacted it in some ways. For example, as Steve wasn't able to describe the artist's pieces he had chosen resulting in me and Iain having to describe and interpret it for him.”
“I do think the lack of knowledge and passion probably impacted it in some ways. For example, as Steve wasn't able to describe the artist's pieces he had chosen resulting in me and Iain having to describe and interpret it for him.”
I agree, I would add in hindsight (at the risk of sounding exactly like Tom in series 7) that the skeletons were a poor choice as we struggled to do decent pitches for them and as project manager I should have stepped in and said this isn't working lets choose a different artist, I'm happy to hold my hands up to that.
Originally Posted by Soppyfan:
“Looking back on it now, I would say it was a balance between both. Perhaps we could've put more passion and ambition into our pitches. Although having more knowledge would've helped as I was incredibly weak with trying to describe the models at first.”
“Looking back on it now, I would say it was a balance between both. Perhaps we could've put more passion and ambition into our pitches. Although having more knowledge would've helped as I was incredibly weak with trying to describe the models at first.”
Do you think you could have put more effort into this in terms of putting in further researching and gaining better knowledge on the your pieces of art? Surely you would have been able to find some interpretations of the art online if you searched hard enough?
To be completely honest I'm not really happy with the 'lack of knowledge' excuse for the failure of the task, and that goes for all of you. None of the members of the other team were art experts but they clearly eclipsed you in terms of performance on this task. Ignoring the 'lack of knowledge of art' claims, what else do you think lost this task for you?
To be completely honest I'm not really happy with the 'lack of knowledge' excuse for the failure of the task, and that goes for all of you. None of the members of the other team were art experts but they clearly eclipsed you in terms of performance on this task. Ignoring the 'lack of knowledge of art' claims, what else do you think lost this task for you?
Originally Posted by _NiallDEE_:
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As you state, it did seem like as a team you had a negative attitude towards this task and I noticed this on the task announcement thread - I was kinda disappointed in this as even if you aren't keen on the task, I expect you to get on with it and try your best and not to make a show of it on the main thread. It made it seem like you'd already accepted you'd lost from the beginning and were trying to make allowances from that on the thread, and the bit I've highlighted in bold from your bit in the post kind of reinforces that. Do you think this is a fair assessment? Do you think the negativity had a detrimental effect on your performance in this task?
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Yes I agree that that was a fair assesment and I probably shouldn't have made that post. I definitely would agree that negativity had a detrimental effect on our performance though I tried to get as upbeat an attitude as I could considering.
Originally Posted by grizzlyvamp:
“I agree, I would add in hindsight (at the risk of sounding exactly like Tom in series 7) that the skeletons were a poor choice as we struggled to do decent pitches for them and as project manager I should have stepped in and said this isn't working lets choose a different artist, I'm happy to hold my hands up to that.”
“I agree, I would add in hindsight (at the risk of sounding exactly like Tom in series 7) that the skeletons were a poor choice as we struggled to do decent pitches for them and as project manager I should have stepped in and said this isn't working lets choose a different artist, I'm happy to hold my hands up to that.”
Both you and Naruto have said the skeletons were a poor choice - Steve, as the person who was pitching the skeletons, what are your views surrounding this?
Clearly the skeletons can't be put as the direct reason for losing this task, however, as you lost the other two pitches - do you think your choice of art for the other two pitches was the reason for this and would you have chosen different ones in hindsight?
Clearly the skeletons can't be put as the direct reason for losing this task, however, as you lost the other two pitches - do you think your choice of art for the other two pitches was the reason for this and would you have chosen different ones in hindsight?
Originally Posted by _NiallDEE_:
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Do you think you could have put more effort into this in terms of putting in further researching and gaining better knowledge on the your pieces of art? Surely you would have been able to find some interpretations of the art online if you searched hard enough?
To be completely honest I'm not really happy with the 'lack of knowledge' excuse for the failure of the task, and that goes for all of you. None of the members of the other team were art experts but they clearly eclipsed you in terms of performance on this task. Ignoring the 'lack of knowledge of art' claims, what else do you think lost this task for you?
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To be completely honest I'm not really happy with the 'lack of knowledge' excuse for the failure of the task, and that goes for all of you. None of the members of the other team were art experts but they clearly eclipsed you in terms of performance on this task. Ignoring the 'lack of knowledge of art' claims, what else do you think lost this task for you?
The artists chosen. I think if we had spent more time researching artists in more detail and probably getting a sense of the artist, i think we would have been better focused on the artist and what pieces would be good, and be able to come across more passionate in the pitch.
Originally Posted by _NiallDEE_:
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Both you and Naruto have said the skeletons were a poor choice - Steve, as the person who was pitching the skeletons, what are your views surrounding this?
Clearly the skeletons can't be put as the direct reason for losing this task, however, as you lost the other two pitches - do you think your choice of art for the other two pitches was the reason for this and would you have chosen different ones in hindsight?
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Clearly the skeletons can't be put as the direct reason for losing this task, however, as you lost the other two pitches - do you think your choice of art for the other two pitches was the reason for this and would you have chosen different ones in hindsight?
Ultimately what caused Aliyah to choose Roxie over me was passion and lack of on my part. As I said earlier I should have gone with my heart and stuck with my original choice of artist as I believe I could have conveyed more passion in my pitch.
Originally Posted by _NiallDEE_:
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Both you and Naruto have said the skeletons were a poor choice - Steve, as the person who was pitching the skeletons, what are your views surrounding this?
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At first, I felt they seemed to be a good choice and I thought that with the way they appear in most of the modern artwork, they would still be appealing if shown in creative ways. But I guess the trends have moved on in modern art and this kinda saddens me.
Originally Posted by _NiallDEE_:
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Both you and Naruto have said the skeletons were a poor choice - Steve, as the person who was pitching the skeletons, what are your views surrounding this?
Clearly the skeletons can't be put as the direct reason for losing this task, however, as you lost the other two pitches - do you think your choice of art for the other two pitches was the reason for this and would you have chosen different ones in hindsight?
”
Clearly the skeletons can't be put as the direct reason for losing this task, however, as you lost the other two pitches - do you think your choice of art for the other two pitches was the reason for this and would you have chosen different ones in hindsight?
I was 100% happy with my artist, pieces of art and pitch before the boardroom and Katie agreed that it was a good pitch. I think I made the mistake of not considering pricing details carefully as some pieces were considerably higher than others and museums may not want to take a big risk, so i think i could have considered it more apart from a little research and some estimates.
Okay, well obviously there's only three of you left on this team so I won't be asking you who to bring back to the final boardroom Iain, however I will send one of you back before the boardroom finishes.
Before I do that, however, I'd like to hear an honest answer to this question with reasoning from all of you - who do you think deserves to be fired based on this task?
Before I do that, however, I'd like to hear an honest answer to this question with reasoning from all of you - who do you think deserves to be fired based on this task?
In all fairness, I deserve to be fired as for the second time, I have shown to be weak and incompetent.
Whereas the other two have worked far much harder than I did, so neither of them deserve to go.
Whereas the other two have worked far much harder than I did, so neither of them deserve to go.
Originally Posted by _NiallDEE_:
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Okay, well obviously there's only three of you left on this team so I won't be asking you who to bring back to the final boardroom Iain, however I will send one of you back before the boardroom finishes.
Before I do that, however, I'd like to hear an honest answer to this question with reasoning from all of you - who do you think deserves to be fired based on this task?
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Before I do that, however, I'd like to hear an honest answer to this question with reasoning from all of you - who do you think deserves to be fired based on this task?
Honestly I have to say Steve. I really like him but he has been very negative about himself and quite frankly has been for the past few weeks. Based on this task he struggled the most and I think his choice of artist didn't make things any easier on him. I don't really know what else to say.
Originally Posted by _NiallDEE_:
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Okay, well obviously there's only three of you left on this team so I won't be asking you who to bring back to the final boardroom Iain, however I will send one of you back before the boardroom finishes.
Before I do that, however, I'd like to hear an honest answer to this question with reasoning from all of you - who do you think deserves to be fired based on this task?
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Before I do that, however, I'd like to hear an honest answer to this question with reasoning from all of you - who do you think deserves to be fired based on this task?
Based on this task, Steve. He did have a slight defeatist attitude when the task was revealed and he was the weakest in constructing a pitch - he wasn't able to interpret the models he had chosen, so I volunteered to give him some points which he could expand. After giving the points, Steve again found it difficult to expand upon these points so it resulted in me and Iain having to step in and actually write part of the pitch for him. Apart from that, me and Iain did everything we were supposed to d as best as we could so Steve was the weakest.
Thank you for your responses. Firstly, Naruto - your pitch received the most positive feedback out of all three of your pitches and from what I've heard from my advisor and evaluations it sounds like you worked hard on this task and still managed to produce a good pitch even though you were beaten by Shadi.
Naruto, you are not in danger of being fired and may leave the boardroom.
Naruto, you are not in danger of being fired and may leave the boardroom.
Steve, as your team mates have pointed out as well as many others your constant negativity is glaringly obvious and starting to grate a bit. I appreciate your honesty, but it's a bit much at times and often unwarranted. Naming yourself as the weakest for two tasks in a row and stating you deserve to be fired is a disastrous move from a tactical point of view and the latter was unneeded considering I have not made a decision yet and you could very well be safe. What do you have to say about this?
Iain, I don't know if you've read the feedback Aliyah posted yet but if you had you'll notice that one of the criticisms was your lack of pricing scheme and failure to answer when questioned. Pricing was not a specific requirement that I stated in the brief but when asked about it I would have expected you to give a proper answer and estimate a price rather than brushing the question away, I was extremely disappointed in your response. Furthermore, your answers were a bit on the brief side and possibly even shorter than Aliyah's questions, especially when you compare them to Aliyah's other pitch with Roxie in which she gave in depth responses that were clearly researched and well thought out, and did well to dispel any qualms Aliyah may have had over their pitch. Do you think you could have handled the Q&A aspect of the task better?
All I can say is that I tried my best to do with what I did and to be honest, I don't care if others find all that I said was "a disastrous move", because it is what it is and there shouldn't be any need for sugar coating on this fact.
However, on the positive side, I was willing to work with any of the tasks as long I could show my main strengths and in all of the tasks before this one, I had no problem really, just not on the side of modern art and pitching.
But whatever happens, at least I tried to do my best when the chance appeared and I have learnt a lot from this experience and I have got myself a lot of new friends and contacts out of it and I feel quite happy that I took part in this.
However, on the positive side, I was willing to work with any of the tasks as long I could show my main strengths and in all of the tasks before this one, I had no problem really, just not on the side of modern art and pitching.
But whatever happens, at least I tried to do my best when the chance appeared and I have learnt a lot from this experience and I have got myself a lot of new friends and contacts out of it and I feel quite happy that I took part in this.
Originally Posted by _NiallDEE_:
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Iain, I don't know if you've read the feedback Aliyah posted yet but if you had you'll notice that one of the criticisms was your lack of pricing scheme and failure to answer when questioned. Pricing was not a specific requirement that I stated in the brief but when asked about it I would have expected you to give a proper answer and estimate a price rather than brushing the question away, I was extremely disappointed in your response. Furthermore, your answers were a bit on the brief side and possibly even shorter than Aliyah's questions, especially when you compare them to Aliyah's other pitch with Roxie in which she gave in depth responses that were clearly researched and well thought out, and did well to dispel any qualms Aliyah may have had over their pitch. Do you think you could have handled the Q&A aspect of the task better?
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I know I could have handled the Q&A better but I had about 20 minutes to answer the questions which again was my fault - I should have gone with an earlier time so I could answer the questions properly. I'll admit I was sloppy on the prices and really should have done more to do some research even if I looked at similar pieces of art and their prices.
Originally Posted by _NiallDEE_:
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Before I make my final decision, do either of you have anything else you'd like to say?
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I know that I made some major and silly errors this task but I feel I still have a lot more to show you and can and will grow in this process. I have shown to be a strong candidate in previous tasks and I did try as much as I could though I should have done more this task in hindsight.
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