Unit 24: Preparing for a Career in the Media Industry: May 2015

In order to progress onto higher education where I want to pursue a career in television production by beginning taking a Television Production course at Gloucestershire University (1).
The entry requirements for this course require 300 UCAS points from at least any 2 A-Levels and combination of UCAS recognised qualifications. Applicants are selected by interview, so it is important that I put together a portfolio of my relevant media work I created over the course of my Cambridge Technical at UTC Sheffield.

Access to Equipment

UTC Sheffield has an excellent bank of software, cameras, computers and equipment that I have used in order to work on my projects. For the practical film units I have mostly used the Canon 650D DSLR Camera to record film with which I now have great proficiency with and knowledge of use. I have worked with RODE Sound Hardware including their Shotgun Microphones, personal voice recorders, the RODE DeadCat sound muffler, clip-on interview microphones and a RODE Boom Mics. Supporting equipment I have utilised include tripods, a professional jib-system, a Steadi-Cam apparatus, shoulder mounts and Camera Sliders.
In terms of production software, I generally use the Adobe Creative Cloud program package which consists of Premiere Pro for editing film, Audition for editing sound, Photoshop and Illustrator for producing graphic design, Bridge for organising and ordering footage and images and Dreamweaver for Web Design.

Work I have created and selection for my portfolio

My most notable visual production projects include:

Unit 46: Audio Visual Promos (2)

We were tasked with creating a trailer for a short film; along with 3 other people and the help of 4 local actors, we produced a crime/mystery/thriller called 'In Static'. We were presented to this task by Mark Herbert, a founding member of Sheffield based WARP Films company, made successful by the hugely popular Dead Man Shoes, Four Lions and many more feature length films. This was part of UTC Sheffield's employer opportunity scheme.

Unit 41: Production and Post Production for Film (3)

We are currently working on a full 5-10 minute short film, called Alter,which is set in an apocalyptic dystopia; the film is a mystery and action hybrid. Here is an early draft of the work:

Unit 17: Producing an Audio Visual Media product (4)

While filming for 'In Static', we met Jose Spinola, a radio host for a Sheffield Live! program called Urban Expression (5). He asked us if we could help with creating a promotional film for his show; Urban Expression is a Sheffield based Underground hip hop show. This promotional film will also be shown on Sheffield Live! TV.

Unit 43: Production and Post Production for Television (6)

As part of the many employer led units at UTC Sheffield, for this unit we were asked to create a 5 minute segment for an actual gaming focused TV Show called 'The Games Corner' for Sheffield Live! TV. The video covers a gaming night at the Sheffield RSPCA centre. I also created a shorter 3 minutes coverage video for EGX 2014, a gaming expo in London, and assisted with filming for The Bowery 'Game Over' event (7).

Other relevant units include:

Unit 11: Scripting for Media Products (8)

In conjunction with creating the television segment above, I created a script for the fourth episode of The Games Corner. It consisted of recent news stories spanning gaming events, the latest game and tech releases as well as local stories. I gained knowledge of script structures and styles as well how to create an industry standard script for a genuine Television Show.

Unit 22: Production Roles in Media Organisations (9)

I created a report outlining the required skills and the duties of two members of media production teams; a Sound producer and Director. The latter I analysed more closely referring to my own skillset and personality and comparing and contrasting this analysis with my own profile and experience I gained while working on my Media qualification.

Unit 1: Analysing Media Products and Audiences (10)

In this unit I gained the fundamental knowledge of the production processes of Media Products, the Advertising and Distribution methods, the legal and ethical considerations facing production teams and how we categorize audiences using the NRS Social Grades, Demographics and audience interests.

Locations
Transportation to the following venues have generally been from public transport

Sheffield

Streets and Bridges (For Urban Expression)
UTC Sheffield College (For Production)
Sheffield Live! Offices (For In Static and Urban Expression scenes)
Sylvester Gardens Derelict Factory (For In Static, Alter and Urban Expression scenes)
RSPCA Centre (For Games Corner Segment)
Showroom Cinema (Our trailer for In Static was showcased here on a Students Film Showcase event)

London - Eurogamer Expo 2014 (For Games Corner Segment)

Salford - Media City UK Tour

Contacts

For 'In Static', we enlisted the help of 4 willing local actors who were contacted by Will Hewitt, a recurring member of my production teams. Will has contact with Rob Speranza, director of the South Yorkshire Filmmaker Network and Film Producer, who put him in touch with these actors. Rob has also come into our college several times providing advice on starting a career in film and television and gave feedback on our work. This proved very valuable as getting criticism from an industry professional helped to improve our projects massively. Other film and television related individuals who came into college to give advice regarding Media Careers and project feedback include:

Vicky Kilby and Jordan Turner, the clients and hosts of our Games Corner Projects
Hussain Currimbhoy, an organiser for Sheffield DocFest
Ralph Razor - Event Organiser
Duncan Philpott - Steel City Media, specialising in sports videography
Nigel Stafford - Clear Channel UK
Mark Herbert, founder of WARP Films.

SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)

Strengths - Managing and Organising production teams, Great knowledge of Adobe Premiere
Weaknesses - Camera operation (based on previous experience, there have been instances where I have not been so skilled with operating a camera, leading to poor quality footage. I need to learn how to fully work with the specific model, I will be investing in a Canon 650D DSLR which is the model I have used most during college)
Opportunities - To speak with the people above provided an excellent networking opportunity, especially Rob Speranza who works with young talents producing short film. These are contacts
Threats - In my opinion, lack of funding could be a threat; if I didn't have enough savings to purchase my own equipment then I wouldn't be able to begin by working freelance, a potential career path. Not particularly a threat, but following university, work could be slow to acquire at first but once I establish my own name and upgrade my equipment I can start getting better work.

Sources of Funding and Investments

In order to pursue the career path, I need set up a more independent equipment collection meaning I will have to invest in my own personal recording equipment and editing software, Over the Media course, I have grown to work with Adobe Premiere and Audition efficiently so I will purchase my own license for the Adobe Creative Cloud. I quite enjoy using the Canon 650D DSLR and I have gained good knowledge of application and use so I will also buy my own, along with additional lenses in the future. For Sound recording, I will get a voice recorder and Shotgun microphone for the camera. Additional Equipment like portable lighting, tripod and memory storage I will also be investing in, including a dedicated camera bag to transport all equipment safely. The course at Gloucestershire offers high end camera equipment and equipped studios already (1), yet I believe it will be important to have my own equipment for personal projects which I will hopefully acquire over the 3 year degree.
Funding for this equipment will come from my income as I currently work as a retail assistant at Boundary Mills.

Budget Plan - I will rank equipment in order of most necessary.

Equipment	Use	Cost and Source
Adobe Creative Cloud Complete	Editing video and Sound Footage	£15.49/month (x36 = 3 years) = £557.64 http://www.adobe.com/uk/creativecloud/buy/students.html
Canon 650D DSLR Camera	Recording Film	£439.99 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-EOS-650D-Digital-Camera/dp/B0089V4CJC
16Gb SD Cards	Storing Memory	£6.50 (x2) = £13.00 http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-SDSDUN-016G-FFP-Ultra-UHS-I-Memory/dp/B00MWXUVH0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1431382725&sr=8-3&keywords=sd+card+16+gb+sandisk
Camera Case	Transporting equipment safely	£14.99 http://www.amazon.co.uk/AmazonBasics-Holster-Camera-Cameras-Black/dp/B008MWBY6W/ref=sr_1_18?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1431383198&sr=1-18&keywords=amazonbasics+camera+bag
Shotgun Microphone	Capturing improved Sound whilst recording	£19.27 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Neewer%C2%AE-SG-108-Camera-Shotgun-Microphone/dp/B008FTX1PE/ref=sr_1_9?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1431384189&sr=1-9&keywords=camera+microphone
Tripod	Steady shots	£14.00 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hama-00004161-Star-61-Tripod/dp/B0000WXD0W/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1431383582&sr=1-1
Voice Recorder	Handy for interviews	£21.79 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-ICD-BX140-Digital-Voice-Recorder/dp/B00IZEJFF4/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1431383952&sr=1-3&keywords=voice+recorder
Portable Lighting	For filming at night or dark scenes	£13.04 http://www.amazon.co.uk/NEEWER%C2%AE-CN-LUX360-Dimmable-Camera-Camcorder/dp/B00FOHJNSO/ref=sr_1_19?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1431383848&sr=1-19&keywords=led+camera+lighting

Total over 3 years = £1093.72

The University may be able to subsidise some costs such as the Creative Cloud as that is the most expensive part of the budget.

References:

Unit 24: Preparing for a Career in the Media Industry

Tuesday, 26 May 2015

LO 3: Task 4 - Understanding my own potential career/study routes

Monday, 11 May 2015

LO 2: Task 3 - Evaluation of my resources

Friday, 1 May 2015

LO 2: Task 2 - Evaluating my own profile