Three’s a Crowd but Seven’s the Magic Number

Group Work.

Quite possibly the most terrifying set of two words to be spoken in an educational setting after “Final Exam”, and this week they were spoken. On top of my uncertainty with working within a purely sonic setting I was, within minutes of starting this weeks workshop, rummaging around in a bag and grasping onto a thin piece of paper that would seal my fate.

To understand my dramatisation you must understand how much I fear being in a situation that is outside my control, especially when they come to my academics. I have been drawn to post-production for this exact reason; Every narrative element is exactly how I position it to be, and I need make no consolidations. All the best and the worst features belong to me and I can handle that. However I cannot keep such a mindset. As much as I am naturally opposed to the idea of having to compromise and negotiate, it is a key factor in my learning process and a major hurdle in my becoming a media practitioner. As one of my greatest flaws as a practitioner, I knew that this collaboration would be my opportunity to develop, possibly more than anything else I had faced thus far. I need to learn how to be a piece of a larger puzzle, or else I my narratives will never be any bigger than I am. The creative process is a collaborative one, naturally, when it comes to the media industry and, knowing that this is my Achilles heel, I grasped at the tiny piece of paper in my hand, both shit-scared and determined to make the most of it.

7.

“number 7?”

“Nup, number 4?”

“oh.”

“number 2??”

“no sorry, number 7”

“… number 7?”

“… yeah, hi”

An awkward introduction and bag shuffle later and I was sat with Brook to my left and Christian to my right. Overall I had had little contact with either during the course and so we were all testing the waters somewhat. Having already contemplated the assignment topic for a couple of days prior I was the one to begin discussions on our podcasts theme and soon we were discussing American coverage of the 2016 election and our favourite late night satirists.

This put me at ease. Both my partners were quickly engaged with the topic. Christian even brought forward ideas of presentation, referencing his favourite podcasts which I, in turn, noted down, keen to engage more in the medium. It was easy to keep discussion flowing and I found that, rather than my ideas being back-benched, they were instead more thoroughly developed. Christian being as outspoken as he is turned out to be incredibly beneficial as consistent questioning made it necessary for me to properly develop my ideas into coherent concepts.

This positive introduction really impressed upon me the importance of being able to work in a group because, whilst we were following my idea, it belonged to all three of us and that was actually a good thing. Both of my partners had things to add to the discussion and questions that refined each of our arguments in turn. we could carry much heavier concepts because there were three of us to hold them up.

This made me reflect on the fact that it wasn’t really lack of compatibility, but lack of engagement that had spoiled group assignments for me in the past. I had always willingly taken the largest workload because it gave me a sense of control over our grade, but it also swamped me in work making the experience, over all, negative. In this group all of its members were willing to be understanding and compromising. So much so that when it came to discussing our strengths and weaknesses, I had to point out that my domination of debate and constant proposals reflect my enthusiasm not wish to drown others out. I did not want them to let me take over, as is my disposition.

I’m still battling my propensity to be controlling, but I think this assignment will be a great opportunity to learn to let that go. I have a really engaged group with people who are willing to work hard and that has made me confident in our collaboration. Only once I learn to trust the ideas and input of others, can I build my unrefined ideas into polished, intricate narratives.