http://www.mediafactory.org.au/elise-milner/2015/03/17/120/
http://www.mediafactory.org.au/elise-milner/2015/04/19/rookie-error-1-and-2-and-possibly-3/
http://www.mediafactory.org.au/elise-milner/2015/04/18/voices/
My first semester as a university student has been an absolute rollercoaster. I’ve learnt new things, such as juggling a student workload with my employment, the fact that organisation is key and that completing work as I am assigned it is a far more logical decision than leaving everything until the last minute. There have been new self-discoveries, such as the fact that I love writing about media and that I am able to learn new skills faster than I thought. I have been out of school for two years working and travelling and thought it would be extremely difficult to adapt to a studying lifestyle again, however with much practice I managed to establish consistent study habits. The skill I most proud of developing is independence, especially in relation to using new equipment and software. I have never had difficulties working as a member of a team, but in the past I have doubted my abilities in operating new technologies and applying new concepts by myself. I feel that the course has prepared me really well in not only educating me with the skills I need, but also how to work independently. I now feel more confident moving forward to new studios with a combination of second and third year students.
In discussing my successes, it is important to describe the low points in this course that I have also experienced. The most challenging aspect was brief 3. Perhaps I chose a difficult person, but I think it is an incredibly difficult task to do someone justice in a short film in a mere couple of weeks. Especially as a first year student, as I would have loved to have more experience before completing such as task. It was a very overwhelming point in the semester and my exhaustion led me to make mistake after mistake. I got very upset and stressed that I would not do my Nana justice as a person or even begin to illustrate the type of person she is to me and love I have for her. What helped me during this stressful time, was understanding that all my peers were in the same boat, with the same pressure and anxieties about the brief. I did the best work I could after the large mistakes made, but it was definitely one of the most difficult assignments in the semester for me. However, I did learn and grow from this experience, which I think is best highlighted in my final assignment with Jack. Working as a pair allowed me to progress the independence I had learnt, as well as consolidate skills of cooperation and negotiation. A light bulb for me was the breakthrough of a relatively simple concept, that I can only do my very best. I often strive for excellence and perfection in my work, sometimes where it cannot be achieved with the limited media knowledge I have at this point. Mistakes and challenges are apart of life, especially in the creation of media content, and as a media practitioner it is important for me to develop resilience and problem solving skills. I learnt that most mistakes can be amended through re-shooting and re-editing, and not worth stressing over in the early stages of drafting my work.