Looking Back, Moving Forward

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

-Analyse and discuss media objects in terms of disciplinary frameworks.

-Analyse and evaluate your own learning styles.

-Explore and use a range of production technologies to make media.

-Reflect upon and explain your creative choices in individual and group contexts.

My first semester of university is already over and it feels like it past, somehow, in both a second and a century. Its as though I started this degree yesterday, yet yesterday was a year ago. I get that feeling every time I do something in life that pushes me down a certain path; it all happens so quickly and yet, looking back, you barely recognise the you that you were before. As someone who has known where she wanted to make her mark in the world since childhood I was tentatively expectant with what this semester would have in store and, as I expected, it was both and nothing and everything I thought it would be.

I have pushed myself this semester, and I think that is really what I found in mapping out my graph. Each new task involved handling new software, and if it didn’t I would incorporate new software anyway. I think, for this mindset, this course was perfect. You could probably get very little from the content and the assessment tasks if you never asked much from them, however I really enjoyed the breathing room within the course. Each task had its constraints to help better acquaint oneself with doing work for clients, and it also allowed conceptual room to explore ones creativity. This has taught me to approach tasks with strict structuring whilst still allowing my creativity to wander, encouraging it towards methods and materials that are foreign to it.

This encouragement, however, comes with its challenges. Setting myself the task of conquering new software with each assignment makes them both far harder and far more time consuming. I found myself somewhat overworked this semester because of it. Whilst the the conceptual elements of the semester were reasonably manageable for me, being someone who is well versed in the analytical side of media studies, I was challenged by the technological component. I was somewhat aware of this coming into the course and that is the exact reason I have pushed myself so much in the technical aspect of this semester. It feels like years of going to the gym to work on my left bicep and then finally shifting the dumbbell to my right hand. I wanted to even out my skill set, but that came with its share of blood, sweat, and tears.

This effort, though time consuming, has payed off. I am comfortable now with 4 pieces of software (Premiere Pro, Audition, After Effects, Photoshop) I had barely used back in February, which has made me realise something important. The course is an opportunity, and needs to approached as such. Our tasks are opportunities for growth and how far I develop myself within my craft depends on how firmly I grasp at those opportunities. This semester I chose to face my weaknesses head on and it payed off. This course (and I would even argue its grades to some extent) can adhere to those who never really expand outside of the essentials of each task, as long as they complete them with competence. Visiting the studios of later years and seeing the diversity in ability and attitude made me realise that. That is because this is a creative course which entails personal creative growth as a huge aspect of what the course has to offer.

In completing this semester I now understand the equilibrium I must keep in my education from here onwards. The fragile balance between practical discipline and creative exploration is one I will have to walk, and it is my personal approach to the tasks I am given, rather than the tasks themselves, that will define me as a media practitioner. I have learnt some key skills in navigating the media industry and have learnt how to use software that serves to expand my creative ability. I will continue to take advantage of an environment in which I can learn to work beside and collaborate with my peers and use each task to push at the boundaries of my abilities. This course gives a great framework to learn how to interact and participate in the industry whilst also allowing space for personal growth. I am proud of how much growth I managed this semester and I am looking forward to continuing to push myself towards the media practitioner I will someday become.