Preparing for Progression in Creative Media Production Unit 11

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Strengths and ambitions

While being in college I learned that most of my strengths come to the theory side of film rather than technical. However I felt comfortable working in teams or being able to lead a team for my project. Also I have done some working experience where I had to work and deal with clients and try to meet their criteria of what they want to be produced and being able to follow deadlines. The past two years improved my communication skills as I am getting more familiar with terms in film industry. I have also developed skills in editing by using editing software Avid.

Ambitions

I would like to be able to create creative advertisements or music videos for well developed companies.  I would like to be the director and the producer of these projects as I would like to be able to lead rather than follow others vision.

To achieve this kind of career I need to have good connections and reputation for myself and a creative, eye-catching ideas that can intrigue the companies to employ me for a project. I need to be more open and outgoing for this kind of job as it is as much in business and marketing side as it’s creative. Also currently working in retail I am learning more about customer service and how to deal with problems quick and effective.

I also looked into career tests quiz where I got asked various of questions about my personality to determine the best career choice for me.

Career Test I personally think that these tests cant really narrow down the career choices as people are more complex than to be put into two different categories, however it was quite interesting to see the results and compare it to my peers to see if we maybe see each other differently than we see ourselves.

I have also produced a university research plan where I look into various universities and what are their requirements to be able to apply for a course. I also looked at the budgeting and which university would I get the most of.

Timeline

Unit 11 timline Timeline looking at what I expect to do in the next 4 years and what I hopefully will be able to achieve even though it isn’t a straightforward in a media industry.

Timeline Powerpoint

This timeline looks at the units I have gone through in my two years of college and what are the skills I’ve learned.

Task 2

Traditional ways to get into the industry

I will be looking at the more traditional ways to get into the industry and have a career.

Personal statement

By Aivis Lacis

I am applying to this course, because I would like to extend my business and creative skills to be able to succeed in the commercial film production industry. I always been interested in this subject, as I am fascinated how advertisements are able to tell a small story while still being able to get their message across and sell their product. In addition, the commercial production industry is as competitive as there are many other advertisements that try to get publics attention, which makes it a lot harder for people to make an advertisement that will catch the people’s eye and stand out from the rest.

Over the last 4 years I have developed marketing and film production skills that are required to excel in this industry. Also I am able to work in teams as much individually which is absolutely necessary when working in this type of industry. I have studied a year of business and marketing and also have spent three wonderful years doing Film and TV production which I absolutely enjoyed and got me passionate about the whole media industry. When studying Film and TV production I learned a lot about the technical side of filming like working with cameras, tripods, audio management and Avid media composer for editing. I also studied a lot of film theory which included research, critical analysis and contextual analysis. While studying I was well- motivated and convinced that this is the industry I want to get into and make my impact on. At the end of the first year I had to put all the skills I learned and developed on the course to make my first advertisement that brings awareness to gambling addiction and what can be the consequences of it. I am proud of it as I did put a lot of time into researching about awareness advertisements and trying to find a market for something that hasn’t been that popular amongst awareness advertisements and I explored a lot of editing aspects while producing my advertisement.

While studying business and marketing I took 3 weeks’ experience working in a stationary shop where I had to answer phone calls for orders and present the products we sell to the customer. This three-week work experience helped me with my presentation skills and how to communicate with the customers, as in the industry you will have to able to work with customers and come to the same conclusion of how the product your making is going to look.

My hobbies would be sports especially team sports as I enjoy the competiveness it brings and the teamwork it requires for people to win. I have competed at tournaments in different kind of sports like ice hockey, football and dodgeball and I have over 20 medals so feel accomplished, as I have achieved something. I think that a lot of these aspects from team sports transfer over to working in an advertising or Film & TV industry where you work as a team and you have to compete with other companies as well. This kind of environment is what I enjoy the most, because I feel like I am getting challenged and the satisfaction of succeeding feels a lot more rewarding, because you put your best efforts in it and you feel like you deserved it.

I have also undertaken some volunteering work, were I produced a promotional video for a company called ‘Purple Flag’. The company focuses on nightlife of Canterbury, so I did various interviews, with club promoters, restaurant managers and safety department. The work experience was great to assess my skills and feel how it is working in that department.

In my future, I would like to be able to participate into making high budget advertisements that people actually look forward to seeing rather than just skipping it.

University research

University research

Before I choose which university I want to go to, I research the courses, environment of living and budgets for 5 different universities that I was interested in. After researching I’ve decided and applied to Greenwich University Advertising and Digital Marketing. I felt like the course offered the skills I would like to develop to be able to work in media industry. Also a big reason was the location of the University as there are a lot more chances to find an part time job or work experience in media industry living in London rather than Kent. Hopefully this choice will give me more opportunities to build up connections with people in the industry and expand my networking for future.

—Apprenticeships

Alternatively to universities I could of had applied for Apprenticeships.

It is an way to get education plus work experience and get even paid for it. It is a good alternative for people that don’t want to go into depth of university and start working earlier.

While looking for the apprenticeships that I would find useful I found this one that caught my eye because it is exactly what I would like to start off doing.

https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeship/-114129

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Marketing Apprentice that specialises in digital media/marketing. This would be a good opportunity for me as I was already planning to go in University for digital marketing as I feel like those are the skills that are really important to have when entering an industry that thrives on the exposure of media products. As no matter how good your film or music video might be produced if it doesn’t have any promotion for people to see it. It may never be discovered and recognised as this has happened to a lot of artists and film makers.

Capture

 

I seem to fit the requirements as I am qualified enough and have the skills and knowledge in social media and Photoshop editing software. So I seem like a perfect candidate for this position as it is a workforce I want to get into and I am qualified enough to start off. However It is 6 days a week that I have to work and the pay is £131.25 which is quite low for amounts of hours. But as it s an apprenticeship I would get an education and work experience out of it at the same time, while also making new contacts with people from the industry.

Non-Traditional ways

If you are a filmmaker that already had made short films that you would like people to see you can enter filmmaker competitions. It is a great way to get exposure in the industry as you are putting out your work to the public and potentially gaining new contacts with people that you could be working with or for in future. Also it would look great on the CV as it shows that you are competitive and aren’t afraid to take commitment. The money could also be a bonus if you win the competition as usually there are money prizes for winners.

Social media

Social media has gotten huge over past couple of years. As many people using YouTube, Instagram and Vine have gotten their work seen and got a career in social media. And it has become so popular that many people don’t even need to be in TV or Film industry to make a living and be successful, because social media has gotten so big and its mostly free so the audience grows larger everyday. It has gotten to the point where the TV industry is trying to promote themselves through social media. To put out your work on social media is a good way to get started as anyone can see it and there is a possibility to even get a career out of it.

Portfolio:

https://wordpress.com/posts/aivislacisfilmtv.wordpress.com

My most impressive portfolio that showcases the work I have done in last 2 years is my word press blogs. Even though there may be some errors or not so qualitative work you can see the growth and improvement throughout my experiences of different projects. It lets the employer to see how I have improved over the years and my analysis and opinion on different aspects in film. The blog also has gotten large over the two years so there is a lot to read and learn about my work.

CV

 

Job interview:

I was applying for a runner position in BBC. This meant I will be taking and handling all the tasks that other people in project don’t have time to, like getting food, mic people up or help move around props or lights around the set. This job would allow me to experience the work environment that is in film industry and give me a good understanding of if I want to pursue into this field of work. I was set-up an interview with a BBC employee that was looking for someone qualified enough for the position.

Conclusion

The interview went extremely well as I got the job and I felt like the interview got quite interactive as it got more informal and we began to create a less stressful environment. The interviewer liked my enthusiasm and commitment to the industry and was fascinated by the fact that I learned English through films.

 

Preparing for Progression in Creative Media Production Unit 11