MSVC 206: Media in Practice
George Moore
St07002094
Words 3406
Reflective Diary
Over the course of the module we have encountered employees form the media and careers advice to enable us to create a better picture of what we want to do when we finish the course next year. I found the sessions to be informative and interesting, yet confusing when I tried to apply them to my own interests, desires and aspirations. I will now review the usefulness of each session and explain how it related to my own career ideas.
Our fist guest speaker was Es George a careers adviser who asked us about different careers we were interested in and offered personal career interviews which I have not yet signed up for but am planning to in the future when I have a better idea of what I want to do, or research into. We went over a few different careers and explored some of the skills needed for these roles. Make up artistry was an example used, and the exercise showed us there is a lot more to a career than there may seem on the surface. For example the glamorous side of Makeup Artistry is only shown on the face of the model and the work carried out by the actual artist is busy, stressful and without glamour. I have noticed this to have become a re-occurring theme in the module, where the job criterion is in depth and stringent than originally thought. Es also gave us the address of a website (prospects.ac.uk) that has proved helpful to view possible positions and graduate schemes which I am currently considering applying for. Finally in this first session we learned the value of setting goals and planning in terms of career which I am still yet to implement but am realising the value of this tactic.
The next session was also with Es George, and I found the fact we can sort out work experience placement through Es to be a valuable option. The rest if the session helped me greatly as I was currently attempting to re-write my C.V and Es taught us how to structure this properly whilst clearing up any other doubts I faced, answering all questions, such as the need for all your educational qualifications and achievements. The use of a cover sheet on a C.V had never occurred to me, and the fact you may need to adjust your C.V depending on the type of job you are applying for. I cited the skills and tips she gave me as reasons why I was unsuccessful with previous applications for employment. I have now re-written my C.V and believe it to be of a higher quality, clearer and more informative, and will now see if Es’s tips, such as to target the employer, have paid off.
In week 4 we had a guest speaker from advertising company ‘Ogilvy’ which had a positive effect on me. I have never been keen on working in the media since I have progressed in the course, yet advertising has become an attractive proposition after this session and further research. I particularly found the summer school training course to be an easy way to learn new skills and train with other people. Also the fact there is a high number of applicants but only a few places encouraged me to research further as competing against other fuels my desire to work further. The competitive nature of the work itself is also another attraction. I would most like to work in the creative side of advertising as I believe this would be the most rewarding, and allow me to use my imagination and turn ideas into a piece of work. I enjoyed the laid back approach of the speaker and his personal history which demonstrated the role to not require someone of a highly academic, well spoken background.
During the next session a group from the course visited the Media Wales building in Cardiff to see how newspapers and journalism function in a work environment. The rows and rows of computers in a massive open plan office on every floor immediately had a negative effect on me, considering when I first joined the course I wanted to be a journalist. I felt I learned little from the trip yet the experience of seeing a recording room with a green screen was enjoyable and different. There were five floors in the building yet every floor in the building appeared the same, just with a different clientele of people, yet the monotonous feel of the building was enough to put me off journalism or any type of work which requires your person to be contained in an office environment. There is always the chance to work freelance, and I have decided to always continue to write, whether they are stories, reviews or reports. This mainly for pleasure and skill building purposes yet I always have the option to try and get things published, whilst keeping a record of all my writings will help if I ever need to construct a portfolio for a relevant position.
A small number of our course also visited Glamorgan radio station which I found to be a more worthwhile and enjoyable experience. I have always considered the possibility of working in radio and after visiting I can imagine myself being interested and engaged in such a position. The demonstration of how music and programmes are lined up on the system and played out across the radio was very straight forward and offered confidence to myself as I know I would be able to learn the basics so quickly. The difficulty in getting work for the radio, away from local stations is a reason for not researching further, yet working from the bottom is essential in most jobs so I still consider the possibility however a radio station is still an office environment, yet the studio itself has a glamorous feel inside. More research is needed into radio as a professional career however I feel less inclined to take this research on as I desire a different type of employment in the future, but I may consider applying for work experience at a radio station, to add to my C.V, and essentially to try different things.
The final session I was present for, which had a considerable impact on me was the visit of guest speaker Paul Smith who came to talk about his work as film publicist. The travelling aspect to his work immediately attracted me to the position. Also similarly to advertising the main priority to the job is to target an audience and persuade them, an aspect of the media I feel drawn towards. I believe myself to have good communication skills which would be needed for a position such as this. Attempting to generate interest in people though could be difficult and boring especially if your product is dull and uninspiring. I found more interest within the film critic position Paul described to us, which would enable me to use my skills as a writer and combine this with my love of film. I will strive to write mini-reviews to keep this area of employment a possibility even if I don’t act on it straight away, building a portfolio of pieces of writing.
Having reviewed each session of our ‘Media in Practice’ module I will now begin my self evaluation describing how I have developed as a student and a person since coming to university along my aspirations for year 3 and the future.
Firstly I will state what I have enjoyed most about the course so far. This would have to be any work focused around the topic of film in particular year one with Andrea where I was able to further my textual analysis skills and learn to read films in more depth. This was my favourite activity at A Level and a main reason I chose to do media as a degree. I was disappointed to have fewer assignments based solely around textual analysis and film as the need for wider theory and culture is often confusing to me, yet as I have progressed further theory has become easier to apply, and the relevance of films to culture is something to have struck me over the duration of the course heightening my already apparent interest in films. Another main enjoyment from the course would have to be the gender and sexuality module mainly the work focusing on masculinity as it applies to segments of my own identity. Other work on femininity and sexuality in the module was also of interest to me as my friend’s identities are invaluable to the construction my own. Work on representation of sub-ordinate groups within the media showed us that it is still not at a satisfactory level, for example homosexuals are still portrayed in an in-accurate light, and women are excluded from many genres such as computer games. This has surprised me as I thought equality was being sought after, yet the media can still portray things inaccurately and still get away with it. A fair and accurate portrayal of things is always what I will strive to create in any aspect of life or work now after learning what I have. Finally research projects have been satisfying and pleasurable as they enable me to pick a topic I have a passion for which means I remain interested throughout and feel more engaged with my work. For example my assignment on Eminem fandom not only re-kindled my love for the star yet it was a highly enjoyable and nostalgic experience getting to talk to fellow fans and interviewing friends.
Secondly I will review ways in which I believe myself to have changed since coming to university. On a personal note, I still struggle financially and find it difficult to stick to a budget. But compared to the amount of disposable income I had before I went to university, I think I have learned the true value of objects and money, becoming less wasteful with my purchases and going the extra distance to seek out those bargains. Academically I think I have developed my reading and writing skills, in particular learning how to structure my essays thanks to a session with Lucy English on essay writing held last term. By breaking down work into sections, word counts seem less daunting, and my work reads more clearly. I have always been good at signposting my cogency my written work is fine but by employing structure techniques I believe I have raised my writing to a higher level. Additionally my confidence has been improved during public speaking mainly form practice and further planning and research going into my presentations. I seem not to suffer from the same nervousness I faced in the first year, and believe I can carry this attribute forwards and increase my spoken vocabulary to make this a primary skill. These academic developments above also would be my main skills in relation to my degree with the addition of creative writing skills which have always been apparent to me, and have helped me whilst learning to write academically.
Issues which have hampered my learning are mainly down to my motivation, negativity and time keeping skills. I have difficulty in motivating myself to read fictional books that are of a genuine interest to me, so attempting to read long winded academic texts that have little interest to me, let alone entertainment value is often hard. I have improved in the amount I read but recent assignment deadlines have shown me this is still nowhere near enough if I want to further improve my skills to the level I desire. The planning side to my essays requires more work, as I often feel there is a missing link between my text and theory. I must find a way of taking notes without copying quotes, instead attempting to make links between different theories of culture making sure I note them down on the way. Finally timekeeping is the main problem I have had during my time at university. Deadlines seem further away than they actually are and the pressure never seems to take hold till the last week or so. I must learn to begin research for my assignments early, which I have done to some extent this year and reaped the benefits when it has come to the writing stage. With the dissertation imminent I believe staring research early to be unavoidable so my third year should be better planned and therefore produce a higher standard of work.
So as mentioned above my first goal for next year will be to start research and reading for my assignments as soon as the brief is handed out, doing a little work every week rather than rushing last minute. To achieve this I will ensure I spend a few hours in the campus every weekday outside of lecture times to enable me to work without pressure in a controlled and relaxed way, building notes and progressing every week. Secondly I will aim to read every day, not just academic texts but for pleasure also as I believe this will increase my vocabulary and general English skills, and I feel my lack of reading has hampered these skills and sent me backwards in some respects. Finally I am going to aim to improve my general health and wellbeing by going o bed at a reasonable time and getting up in the morning every week day, as this will actually give me the time to get to university as oppose to spending most mornings in bed. To do this however I will need to exercise more regularly, and eat at the correct times of the day, implementing more structure in to my life will be key if I wish to succeed to the standard I desire.
During the final section of my reflective diary I have chosen to research into advertising as an area of employment, more specifically the planning role with advertising as this contains the greatest chance for creative output from my person. I believe myself to have certain skills that would be applicable to this area. The guest speaker from Ogilvy also influenced my decision to choose this type employment, mainly due to the freedom aspect described by Tom, travelling perks and the notion of working under pressure also attracts me to the position. I visited the Ogilvy website to learn more about the kinds of skills and qualifications needed to earn a place with the company and more importantly to discover which sector of the company I like to work for. The design and creative side is the most attractive to me as I enjoy using my imagination, and constantly have ideas about various things, yet have no medium or reason to portray them. The website however only described the company as a whole and was not specific about the types of roles available only leaving a contact e-mail to send a C.V stating which type of work the applicant was looking for and contained little information on skills needed stating only that the work would be challenging and rewarding. I e-mailed the head of the advertising sector but never received a reply.
So to outline exactly what the job entails, someone working in the planning side of advertising basically receives a brief from the company who which to sell the product. It is then the creator’s job to come up with how to execute the brief adding their own creative flair and input whilst sticking to the criteria outlined in the brief. Many companies can be stringent with their criteria meaningless freedom for the designer/creator yet I believe to have skills which enable me to take an idea and adjust it slightly to make it my own, meaning I could be suited to the role. My imagination requires a spark, therefore receiving specific criteria from a company wishing to sell a product would ignite this spark, basically from my point of view the planning and legwork is all there provided for you – they know if they want a poster, they know the name of the product, and which celebrity to use, so bringing all these elements together would be a rewarding and creative process which I believe I could achieve. In other cases the company will have very little criteria meaning greater freedom. Here working as a part of a team would be key, and is a skill which I feel comfortable with, whilst the freedom to work to your own ideas creates pleasure and excitement. Once formulated the plan will be moved up to the next level of the company where the advert will be produced and locations will then be decided by the marketing a sales department, who decide where and when the advert will be shown if this is not included in the criteria offered by the company selling the product.
Having outlined what a planner for advertising company entails, I will now briefly review reasons why I originally felt drawn towards advertising. The Ogilvy website offers a number of different tips to aid yourself if you wish to work in advertising one of which is being creative. They state many of their employees do various creative activities, which I also participate in during my spare time, for example I try to write short songs or poems for fun, draw pictures and create sculptures with strange materials, and make short videos. Other skills and tips on their list include what they call to ‘love your internet self’ basically meaning to keep building a profile online, which I regularly take part in though many different mediums including my you tube account where I upload many videos, my face book account, and my academic blog. I will now build my online profile to a higher standard after realising this may be applicable to my career one day, and will try to implement a certain level of pride to my videos and online diary’s attempting a move towards professional whilst remaining witty and fun. My I.T skills are already of a high standard and improving all the time which is greatly important in any aspect of modern work, yet particularly in advertising. My love of advertising itself as a medium would have to be another reason for choosing this area of employment to research. I pay attention to adverts I find interesting or inspiring and have a strange ability to memorise taglines, or notice the product merely form the style or look of the advert. I also have an issue with what I view as poor advertising, those which are uninspiring or boring attempting only to offer fact in order to draw the consumer. I believe advertising to be moving forward away from boring traditional adverts, in a new direction, for viral videos have become centralised for many products due to their ability to reach so many people, whist entertaining and informing, as well as selling. I want to be a part of a new form of advertising, come up with weird and diverse ways to sell to the masses, attempting to stand out, which will aid me in my goal to become an independent individual.
I further researched into the Ogilvy website finding information regarding their fellowship scheme where applicants spend a summer learning and training to work in advertising. The guest speaker was a member of this fellowship scheme and his story exemplified the freedom to change within the world of advertising, a main reason I found this type of work to be attractive. He changed from being a planner during the scheme, and then when actually reaching level of employment he was re-assigned to the publicising department where he was found to have more skills and therefore raise the company as a whole. My uncertainty surrounding my own career choice found a level of reassurance when viewing a training scheme such as this one, where the applicant is not tied down to a specific position and has the option to change and try something new if their skills are not best suited.
In conclusion I believe myself to be the type of person who is unsure of their own skills, therefore entering a training scheme like the Ogilvy fellowship scheme or something similar would be extremely beneficial to me as potential would be able to discover where my skills lie and decide which position I would be best suited to.
Bibliography
http://www.ogilvy.co.uk/ogilvy-advertising/
http://www.ogilvyfellowship.co.uk/getting-into-advertising/
