TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
LEADERSHIP:
Being able to direct and instruct groups of people affectively
ADAPTABILITY:
Being able to adjust and change plans based on circumstances
PROBLEM SOLVING:
Being able to find a solution to complex and difficult-to-navigate situations
RESILLIENCE:
The ability to stay strong and prevail regardless of unfortunate/disruptive events
ACTIVE LISTENING:
Paying your full attention to a speaker and providing adequate signs of engagement (nodding head, looking at the person etc.)
ORGANISATION:
Being prepared, keeping things neat and ordered, making sure you have everything you need before starting a task.
CRITICAL THINKING:
The ability to sift through facts and knowledge in order to arrive at a grounded and accurate conclusion.
WRITTEN & VERBAL COMMUNICATION:
Being able to convey meaning effectively through either the spoken or written word.
All of the above skills are crucial if your looking to work in any kind of Media. For example, Active listening, Leadership, Adaptability and Written/Verbal communication are all useful in group projects/working with a client, where you'd be expected to listen to each others/the client's ideas, make compromise and communicate effectively. Organisation, Resilience and Critical thinking are also important for both group and solo projects.
​
Personally I hope to go into something photography/graphic design/image-adjacent, for this I would need to listen attentively to clients, be able to communicate ideas effectively both verbally and through written word, keep documents and work organised and be able to manage my time effectively so that work is completed on schedule.
FIRST YEAR REFLECTION
Last year I developed a multitude of both creative and transferable skills, such as research, self-management, written communication and software skills, like working with photoshop and premier pro. I think my skills were utilised best when I worked on projects that were more graphics & photography based, like the podcast website, the horror themed things and my FMP. I think this is just down to the fact I've only been working with video close to 2 years, but I've been working with photoshop/doing photography since I was 13.
​
I found working with people last year mildly tedious though somewhat enjoyable. It was nice that people were talking to me and its fun hearing out each others ideas, but your not going to get on with everyone at the end of the day. My partners were often withdrawn and didn't seem interested in participating. This caused me specific issues during the Music Video project, where we went with another member's idea for the video. For their idea, they had to be the focal point of the video and the centre of the footage - despite this, they were clearly uncomfortable being filmed. They assured us that they would record footage at home over a break and would have it in time for us to edit. They didn't, despite having ample time, leaving me and my other partner to go away, come up with an idea, storyboard, plan, film and edit an entirely new video over a weekend.
I could very easily improve my video editing/Prem pro skills and filming by just practicing like I did with photoshop, this is something I'd like to achieve this year. More specifically, I want to be able to add creative transitions between clips and implement more creative angles when filming. I really appreciate when I'm watching a show or movie and there's creative and unique camera work, I feel like its not as common with new media and I'd love to see it come back. I think id be able to do this by Feb-March time.
I'd also like to get better at staying focused for longer periods of time. I get bored and distracted insanely easy, even spacing out while actively trying to listen to someone. This has caused detriment to my work and academics in the past. I'd like to avoid that this year by forcing myself to finish things, keeping focus and making sure I don't fall behind by attending each lesson. I hope to fix this by my next FMP but honestly I've been like this my whole life so I'm not sure how attainable that goal is. Regardless, I can always make improvements.
GOALS AFTER COLLEGE
After college I'd like to go into freelance - though I'm aware with my being incredibly unorganised and unfocused this is less attainable. Regardless, I think its really valuable to be able to work for yourself, especially since I've found it very hard looking for employment outside of media and have a hard time being around and talking to people I don't know well - especially in a stressful environment.
​
If I was to work for myself, I'd likely sell photography/art/illustrations and be open for commissions - I have received paid artist commissions before so I know this is an attainable goal.
I've worked with multiple businesses/people before and most have been satisfied with the results I provided, so as far as I'm aware all I would need to do is build a more notable online presence and get my name out there. I already have a semi popular Tumblr blog with ~8,600 followers, I'm certain I could re-direct some of that traffic to an account more representative of my business.
​
If not working for myself, I'd still want to do something photography/design related, hopefully id be able to incorporate illustrations in there somewhere though my artistic skills are not very developed on a technical level.
​
Doing any of this is virtually impossible without a portfolio - which is why I have one. see it here.
ACTION PLAN
SKILLS I WANT TO DEVELOP: organisation, filming & angles, Prem. Pro transitions & editing, active listening and Illustration skills.
​
I aim to be more organised hopefully by the end of this week.(12/09) I'll make sure I come in to every lesson, I'll hand in the permission slip given to me last week that, so far, has slipped my mind (haha) and I'll ensure that I complete all the work given to me without procrastinating. I hope in doing this I'll set the tone for this year and it'll encourage me further to keep the trend of 'being organised' going.
​
I can improve my filming & editing style at a point where were doing practical work, as well as perhaps practicing in my free time and creating little short films that I'll film and edit.
​
To improve my active listening, all I have to do is make sure I'm paying attention and not spacing out whenever someone is talking to me. Again, I'm not sure how easy that's going to be since its been a constant thing for me my whole life but I'm still going to try.
​
Illustrating is a weird one, since its not something I'm going to be taught during this course, its a personal interest and pursuit of mine. i'll have to practice in my own time, which is perfectly okay since drawing is what I spend a lot of my time doing anyway.