There was a clear message to take from today’s lectorial: in the media industry, your reputation is everything.
Today we were given a vague introduction to the next project brief, which is to be a group assignment. The focus in class was more on the group work aspect of the assignment that the work itself, reason being that learning to work with others is just as important as learning how to make media productions.
There was some discussion about good and bad group experiences, and what is required to ensure a group works well together. Immediately, I thought back to a film I worked on in high school media in which the person who was directing not only had terrible communication skills, but also refused to do more than one take of any shot, resulting in many out of focused and over exposed shots as well as a very frustrated editor. While I didn’t really enjoy that experience at the time, it has taught me a lot about what not to do when working in a group, especially when your the leader.
Rachel gave us a list of characteristics often found in positive collaborations:
- Clear objectives
- Good communication
- Consistency
- Respect
- Support
- Responsibility
- Equitability
Together, these characteristics can improve the quality of the finished product as well as make the experience of group work far more enjoyable, which is important, as the people I’m working with at university today may very well be the people I work with later when I graduate. As Louise pointed out, the Australian film industry is so small, that if you gain a reputation of being someone who is difficult to work with, you may never work again.
Although it’s a little scary to think that my actions today will influence my future career so greatly, I’m excited to work with other people on a project again, as media is far more enjoyable when you work with others who you can bounce ideas off and create something you could have never dreamt of on your own.