P6: Showreel

A link to my current Showreel: https://vimeo.com/216506308

Justification

I have made a minute long showreel to display a few a examples of my work, it includes clips from a documentary, tv drama, and a music video. I used these as I feel that they give a good summary of my skills and experience.

The documentary featured is about young musicians in and around Cambridge. I worked as director/producer on this project which gave me experience of being in charge on set and working with our interviewees. I also conducted the interview which I enjoyed and gave me a good insight to chatting to subjects and making them comfortable with the situation to enable us to gain as much information from them as possible during the interview. I worked with two other people on this which meant on a practical level, we all had to help out. Therefore I was in charge of one camera (Canon 600D) on a tripod, we were filming outside and had to work with the stages lighting as we were not allowed to take out own. I also created my own edit of this which gave me practise in Adobe Premiere and syncing audio with video which is definitely one of my weak points.

TV drama 'Elizabeth' was something we made in a group. I also worked as producer on this which meant I had to be very organised and keep track off everything going on and everyone working on the project. As this was shot at various locations with external actors, we had to keep everything running smoothly to schedule and make sure and problems were sorted as quick as possible. One part of this was filmed in a local corner shop which meant we had to work around the public going in and out of it, we were not allowed to get them in shot due to legal and ethical issues. Due to it being in a small public space we were also limited to what we were able to do with lights etc as too many wires and tripods around would have become a big hazard. We had to work with the natural sunlight outside and the shop's everyday lighting inside meaning a lot had to be fixed in the post production in terms of colour grading and brightness.

Our music video for Gavin Chappell-Bates gave me practise with cameras and sound equipment. My official role for this project was 'Location manager' but I helped out on set with the practical aspect of things. As we already had a shooting script for this we had to keep to it and frame shots accordingly. We had  very limited amount of time with the artist for this so again everything had to be kept to schedule and we weren't able to spend a huge amount of time on retaking shots if they weren't completely right. This was shot completely in a studio which gave us full control of lighting and allowing us to get a range of shots. Shots included using a tripod and a slider as well as a few hand held bits. Due to having no budget for this project we had to improvise a lot of our setups, for example, the scripts called for a shot of him on stage with a crowd in front. Because we didn't have a stage, we had to get the artist to stand on a wooden block and have a crowd of people kneeling down in front of him, with the camera at quite a low angle, giving the illusion that he was on stage above everyone.

P5: Prepare for work, HE or business/self-employment oppotunity

Covering Letter

CV

Job Application

Below are some screenshot form an application for an Events Apprentice at O2 Academy Islington with Live Nation. I chose this apprenticeship as its a very easy commute from where I live and I think it would suit my skill set. I enjoy, and regularly attend concerts and have been to this venue many times before, I think being involved in the planning and management of live music events would suit me as I would gain the experience and skills from working both 'behind the scenes' of events and at the front of house with the general public which would then help me carry on to build a career in a similar area of work. There are areas of my skills which definitely need improving and feel this role would help me with that while also allowing me to excel in my stronger areas. 

P4: Careers Flow Chart

I plan to take a gap year when I leave college. I will continue work in my current job as a freelance groom and possibly get another part time job to help save money for travelling in Japan. I can build a portfolio by photographing horses and wildlife which could also help me gather some money. I'd like to spend a few months in Japan travelling around the rural and urban areas while continuing to build my portfolio. After this I'm thinking of applying to Cumbria University to study Wildlife Media (a link for this course is below). 


Short term
At the moment in focusing on completing my subjects in Long Road and leave with 3 A levels (or equivalent). After this I will continue to work more through summer and save money to go travelling with. I will also research and plan a trip to Japan.

Medium term
If possible, I'd like to go to Japan early 2018 and travel around various urban and rural areas looking at different cultures through the country. During this time I will build a portfolio by photographing where I go and potentially put together a short film. I will also have applied to Cumbria uni.

I think by travelling and being self employed, my general organisation will improve as I's need to keep on top of my work and getting things done on time. While doing my photography, I can do some filming of wildlife as well and make some short films which will greatly improve my skills with Premiers and other Adobe software. 

Long term
Assuming i get accepted to university, I will study a Wildlife Media course for 3 years. During this I will probably get some work as a freelance photographer to improve my skills, experience, and portfolio.
http://www.cumbria.ac.uk//study/courses/Undergraduate/Wildlife-Media/

Contingency planIf I don't get a place on the course or if I decide not to go for it, I will most likely continue to work in small freelance jobs (hopefully by then I will have more experience with things I not so good at now) and begin looking into working for a company in a more long term job. 

P3: Personal Resource Audit

Essential Resources
Equipment
Transport
Contacts
Locations
Online Presence 

Desirable Resources
Work Experience
Extra equipment on hire/loan
Locations

Luxury Resources
Bursaries/Funding
Courses/Workshops/Academies

Evaluation of Resources
Strengths
I currently own a Canon 600d camera with a standard lens and 15-200mm lens, this camera is good for basic short productions.....When it comes to editing I use an Apple Macbook pro with the entire Adobe Creative Cloud. I have a few firm contacts in the music industry including, artists and band management. My web presence is pretty strong, I currently have accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Vimeo, Youtube, and Linkedin. In terms of locations for filming/photography, I am free to use my flat and places within college, I can also easily get permission to use public places. I can get direct trains to London and Cambridge from where I live which helps when filming elsewhere. 

Weaknesses
In terms of weaknesses, I currently have pretty limited work experience and have a large area for improvement with using adobe programmes. I do not have a driving license which limits my ability to get to certain places however I will hopefully have this soon. I do not have any official funding, only any spare money I have from working. 


Opportunities
There are loads of apprenticeships, paid, or unpaid work in the media industry which I can apply for to extend my knowledge. I can work with friends on projects in my free time which will also allow me to work with other kinds of equipment and give me practise in my weak areas. 

Threats
While I am at college I don't think there are any threats really, however the media industry is very competitive and is always changing which can make it difficult to establish yourself in a self employed role.

P2: Evaluating Own Qualities

Personal characteristics
Trustworthy
Reliable
Open Minded
Good Initiative
Sociable  

Skills
Adobe Creative Programmes e.g Photoshop, Premiere, Illustrator 
Camera Work such Filming and Photography
Pre-production forms and paperwork
Animal handling

Relevant achievements
8 GCSE's (4 B's and 4 C's),

Experience and interests
Interests include, Music, Photography
Experience in promoting bands to the public

Strengths
In terms of strengths, I'd say that I can be motivated and hard-working with in areas that I enjoy. I can work efficiently in a group, keeping good communication with other members. I have some basic knowledge about the music industry, having worked for some bands previously by promoting them and selling merchandise, I know many people within the pop punk/alt scene.  

Areas to improve
Organisation and time keeping - I definitely need to better these qualities as it would greatly improve my quality of work and would generally make day to day life easier.
Editing - In a practical sense, I would like to improve my skills on Adobe Premier when working with large amounts of footage. I can do this by editing video and short films in my free time.