Strengths: I have strengths in Photography, Videography, and editing. I have been improving on these skills for over 4 years and feel that I have a strong grasp on them but things like Photography and such aren’t skills that you can learn to 100% as there are always new techniques being created and new ways to do things etc.
Weaknesses: I have lost a lot of my creativity over the years from not doing much with my life, I don’t explore or go out anymore, watch a lot of films or play a lot of video games to spark my creativity. I do want to go out and do more things and try and re spark my creativity however things such as college and other things, stop me from having the time to do so, and when I do have the time to do things I want to do I just end up doing nothing to relax and just sleep so I don’t have to deal with anything.
Opportunities: With the experiences and skills that I have with creative media, I am fairly certain that I could get a job as a Photographer for Wedding, Models, Celebrities, Festivals, and Artists etc. I could direct and film Music videos, films for a company or my own, documentaries and many more. Or I could become an editor for a company or do any of these jobs freelance and go by my own rules, however getting one of these jobs or starting them freelance and becoming successful is another story.
Threats: Life and all its problems.
3 Goals for this Year
- Complete this year with a grade or Merit or higher if possible.
- Applying for University
- Getting a Job in Photography
5 of my favourite aspects of this course
- Photography
- Editing
- Videography
- Video Game Design
- Creating Magazines
I have enjoyed the film and photography aspects of the course I am currently studying on more prevalent than the rest as those are my bigger interests and reasons for joining the course. I have enjoyed the graphic design work when it came to creating the business cards and magazine pages and cover however it is not a strong enough interest of mine to want to pursue it further.
Improving Photography
To further improve my photography the only thing I can do is take more photographs and experiment more with the craft, move out of my comfort zone and start to capture things I do not normally take photographs of. I have been strongly moved by photo journalism and have be focusing more on pursuing that form of photography.
Improving Editing
Again like with the photography all I can do to improve with my editing is by learning new techniques and improve my colour grading and timing skills etc. Improving on Story telling would help me improve with my editing as it will bring more creativity to my edits and will change how I structure my work into more of a narrative flow and have more artistic transitions or visual look for example.
Improving Videography
The best way to improve with filmmaking and creating stories is by watching a lot of films. Watch as many films as you can in your life, good ones and bad ones, visual pleasing and or strong narratively and if something grabs your attention and you want to replicate that or it gives you an idea for something then go and create it, no matter if you have got the best equipment or actors etc. As long as you make it and finish it, you can add it to your portfolio and watch it over and improve for your next project.
Improving Video Game Design
The easiest way to getting better at creating Video Games just keep messing around and trying things, if something does not work you can figure out how to fix it and know what things then work and don’t. Also playing more video games and trying out different genres will help you see how they’re games play, which can lead to you figuring out what they did to create things or how to get a certain thing to run etc.
Creating Magazines
I have not got as strong as an interest in creating magazines as I have in filmmaking, photography etc. I have been looking at skateboard magazines recently and the way they are structured and arranged which has inspired me to create my own magazine for photography however have it in the style of Skateboard Magazines.
Ambitions
My ambitions in life is too become a photographer and do portrait photography and photo journalism and or film making. My main goal in life is to create one complete film at least but obviously if I can make more or get asked to make more then I will in a heartbeat.
What University and Courses I am interested in Applying for: Film
University of South Wales – BA (Hons) Film
I was interested in applying for USW as the University is close to home, so if for whatever reason I needed to travel home, it is only a train ride away. Also the accommodation and cost in general is the cheapest than in say London or Bournemouth, which would allow me to not only live away from home but also be able to afford things to help with my future career like buying a MacBook to be able to edit at home, Adobe Creative Cloud, lenses and other camera equipment that I would not have. Also the University has ties with Bad Wolf Industries and the BBC and a lot of the graduates from the course have gone on to work on Sex Education the Netflix series and His Dark Materials on BBC.
Arts University of Bournemouth – BA (Hons) Film Production
The main reason I was interested in applying for Bournemouth to be honest was because my tutor Justin, me and him both have the same feelings towards theoretical work and that you shouldn’t be doing more theoretical work than practical in a course and career choice where you mainly are creating things. I’d rather just make as many films as I can over the 3 years that I am in any University. Another reason I wanted to go to AUB was because Edgar Wright is an alumni from there and I love the way Edgar Wright’s filming and comedic style
Speaker: Andrew Chainey (CEO of Tantrwm)
On the 24th of October, Andrew Chainey, the CEO of Tantrwm came into our college today to talk to us about how he and his company have worked for these big names and grown as a business and mainly how to run a business.
He explained to us how he left school at 15, without an idea or a thought on what he would be doing for a future career, he did DJ work and did some busking on the side to get some money in his pocket but realised he wanted to get into the creative industry, and primarily in Film, Radio and Television. He joined college and went onto and electronic engineering course as he believed it was a good way into the creative industry due to him not being creative but knowing that he wanted to make Films, animations etc. He then went to University and was put on placement, believing this was going to be his chance to get into the industry he was sent to and Iron and Oil factory and he hated every minute of it. Because of this he left and travelled to Cairo, started a business renting projects, did that for several years and realised that he still wanted to make films and be in the creative industry. So he joined a 4 weekend Film club and had the best time, but due to it not lasting long he and the other people in the club came up with a business idea that would formalise the club, make them more of a professional business and be capable to reach out to a bigger audience, this is when Tantrwm was born.
Not long after the business came to fruition, the director and screenwriter pulled out because he did not become another Spielberg straight away, the musician left to make music for Robbie Williams and after a while Andrew was left on his own to help nurture and grow the business he had created.
Since then Andrew has hired 5 other employees, has worked with David Cameron, The Black Eyed Peas and many other celebrities and has made many of the animations and other work that you can see around the world and even in your own train station today.
Business Cards
Business cards are small rectangular pieces of cards with your name, business, proficiencies, email, and your work number printed on it, with maybe some artistic designs added to it, this is mainly only done if your career is in a creative area.
Here is a business card I created last year as an example:
Business cards are an easy and quick way for people to know your business and what you are about in general, with ways of being able to contact you without having to watch a video, or looking at a website. Business cards are simple and small which allows them to be very portable and can be stored in your wallet for safe keeping and ease.
There are cons to business cards however. With the digital world growing everyday, business cards have become worthless with people being able to see your entire work, your email, website, and contact you through private messaging in a flash with apps like Instagram and Facebook. Even though having a business card shows a sign of professionalism, they are becoming redundant.
Interview Techniques
There are different types of interview techniques such as:
- 1 on 1
- Group
- Practical
- Audition
1 on 1
1 on 1’s are your standard interview where you will have previously brought in your CV, or application for a course. There you will be asked general questions such as why you are interested in the line of work or course you have applied for, then they will look at a portfolio and ask you questions about previous work you have created. This is done in a formal setting and you should come into the interview prepared with answers for questions they may ask.
Group
Group interviews are mainly done when you are applying for a College or University course and are hardly seen in interviews for jobs if ever. These types of interviews usually have a discussion with the course tutor where the course you are applying for will be explained in more detail and what sort of work you will be completing during your time on the course. Then you will have a group work to complete, this will be assessed by the course tutor. The work you will do will be just simple practical exercises just so the course tutor can see what each applicant is capable of, after this then you will have a 1 on 1 style interview with the course tutor.
Practical
Practical interviews are where you show the employer what you are capable of. For this they will give you a task that is in your field of work which you will have to complete in a certain amount of time. They will then assess you on your time management, how well your finished product, piece, dance etc looked and how you presented yourself in general.
Audition
Auditions are mainly done by actors, musicians vocalists for roles in film, television shows, theatre etc. Here they will have already been given material to perform and have a type, genre, theme or outline they must perform, however everything else is them as a way of the employer to see the applicants improvising skills. Sometimes the employer will only give the applicant a brief knowing or synopsis of the piece and its the applicants job to see how they would act or what they would perform in that situation for example.
What is a CV?
CV stands for Curriculum Vitae which is (usually) a 2 page long document that it presented to businesses and employers that you are interested in working for and it shows your qualifications and is a form of showing how you are an accurate candidate for the job you are trying to apply for.
A CV consists of your name, your current address, nationality, contact information and this is needed as a basic information segment so that the company or business know who you are and where they can contact you if need be. You then make a personal segement which is just a paragraph of you explaining what type of person you are, make yourself sound usable and or needed by the company without using stereotypical sentences like, “I love to socialise.” Now many business just skim through CV’s and just look at the necessary segments, however it is still worth putting into your CV as they still may read it.
After this you will have your education qualifications which usually start from your GCSE’s from School to any higher education you have whether that be College or University, you have to include every single one of your qualifications, even if you failed or you didn’t complete the course, you must still include it into your CV as this will give you a boost towards getting the jobs as the more they seen in your qualifications and work experience the better.
Then you will include any work experience you have had over the years, does not matter what the work was, just put any sort of work that you have done down because the job you are applying for will be able to see that you are capable of working in the work place. However depending on how many jobs you have had in the past, the interviewer may ask why you have gone from so many jobs to others.
You now put down your interest and hobbies as this will give the business an idea of if you are the correct candidate for the job. For example if you put down that you enjoy hunting animals for food and fishing and you’re applying for a job at Quorn, they are more than likely not going to accept your application.
Finally then you add Referees. Referees in this sense are keeping watch and guard at a boxing match, more that they are people that the business or company can contact to find out if you are who you say you are and they can get more information on what sort of person you are etc. You are able to put down your course tutor as a reference or someone you have previously worked with however you cannot put down friends or family as the business will be suspicious on if what they say is actually true or just exaggerated to make you seem better than you are.
Portfolios and Showreels
What is a Portfolio?
A Portfolio is a physical and or digital document or website that presents your best work that you have created for you chosen subject or career to be displayed to interviewers and course tutors so they can see what quality of work you can achieve and have achieved.
Digital Portfolio
A digital portfolio can either be a website or a collection of your best work in one folder for examples. Digital portfolios are mainly used by 3D artists, filmmakers, musicians, and Graphic Designers. The pros to having a digital portfolio is that it is easy to access by course tutors and job interviewers, its easily portable as it can all be stored on a small USB or external hard drive, or even over the internet. The cons are that you cannot have the work you have created be physically in the hands of the interviewer, having a physical representation of your work is sometimes better as you can see more than what you can on a screen. Also if your hard drive or USB gets corrupted, or for whatever reason there is a computer availabe to use, you will not have any work to show them, and thats another reason why printed portfolios are prefered, however not all courses and jobs are printed portfolio friendly, for example film makers work are all practically digital work with them majorly being videos, and you don’t really print out your videos you watch them.
Printed Portfolio
A printed portfolio is a collection of work that is physically available to hold and view in person. A lot of the printed portfolios are mostly used by 2D Artists, Writers, Painters, Graphic Designers, and Photographers for examples. Printed portfolios are good to use as you can look at all the work you have created in front of you, in your hands and look at all the sutble details up close which you can on a screen. Printed portfolios do have their problems with you having to carry them, and depending on how much work you have, it can become rather difficult, also if the weather is awful and you do not have any form of transport then your printed work could become ruined before you reach the work place or campus etc.
For myself I created a digital portfolio through a website called Squarespace, as I can access the site from a computer or even my phone, I also have a folder with all my best work on a USB so I have a back up if needed. Also all of my video work is on YouTube so no matter what I will be able to show anyone my work.
Here is my portfolio:
What is a Showreel?
Showreels are mostly used by Directors, cinematographers, Animators and Game Designers for examples as a Showreel shows off your best work in a 30 seconds to a minute video. Photographers, Graphic Designers and Artists won’t usually use Showreels as their work is not a moving picture or has any sort of motion. Showreels are a great way of showing off your work as they can show everything the interviewer wants to see whilst also being visually appealing and quicker to watch than having to go through each individual piece of work.
I created a showreel and was really happy with how it came out, it had a clip from each of my favourite pieces of work, ran smoothly with no awkward long moments whilst showing what needs to be shown.
Here is my Showreel:
I'm a 90's Child... 