Task 5-Personal Statement/Cv/Business Plan

 I want to study media at university. I'm fascinated with the that way videos and pictures are created and edited and I’m excited to learn more techniques and skills to improve my work. I like the contrast between having the freedom to create my own work and have my own ideas but also enjoy the challenge of working to a brief. I am really enthusiastic about technology and the way that it has evolved in the modern world. I think that media has developed in so many different ways in recent years that everyone’s life is now affected by these changes.

A family trip to Canada and the USA really sparked my interest in different types of media. During the trip, I spent a lot of time taking photos and videos of the places we visited. I also noticed different types of media during our trip, for example, a bus tour around New York City which used immersive multimedia to bring the tour alive. I was also interested to see the huge digital billboards and advertisements in Times Square - they were very impressive! On our return home, I spent time editing some of the photos and videos that I took. I used YouTube tutorials and Photoshop techniques to do this.

I have learnt how to use Adobe Creative Cloud while I have been at college and I also now use it at home. I mostly use Photoshop, After Effects and Premiere Pro but I have also used Animate, Illustrator and Audition. I really like using Photoshop to do graphics design and visual effects editing and working through the process of starting with a photo or video and seeing how I can improve or manipulate it to get a completely different result. My favourite piece of work so far has been the set of posters I created for my final major project in year 1 of my course. I created a set of posters around the theme of travel. I researched different types of media to decide which would best suit my idea. Once I had chosen to create posters, I then looked into the effects I could add to the posters to improve my work and make it more eye-catching. After I had completed my research, I created multiple posters based on the travel theme and including my visual effects. I found this project both challenging and very rewarding.

Whilst at secondary school, I completed two weeks of work experience at Anglesey Abbey, a National Trust property near Cambridge. I worked in various department teams including Reception, Catering, Historic Re-enactments and Retail. I feel that during this time I gained lots of different skills including how to communicate effectively with staff and customers. I learnt about the different processes that were in place in each department and how organised each department needed to be. This work experience really helped me build my self confidence and develop my organisational skills. These in turn have helped me during my time at college.

I consider myself to be a good team player. At college, we often work on projects in a team of 3-4 students. I enjoy being able to work together to pool ideas and skills within the group and I think the communication skills and confidence I have gained during these tasks will help me at university. However, I also like working independently as it gives me creative freedom to create a piece of work based solely on my vision.

I hope that studying media at university will further develop my skills and experience so that I am able to find work in the media industry. I have researched the different career paths and ideally would like to work in digital media editing as I enjoy the variety of projects and applications. Attending university will help me continue my personal development journey increasing my independence and confidence. It will enable me to improve my organisational skills as I have to balance my studying and personal time. It will also be important to keep track of my finances while I’m at university. These transferable skills will help me in the future with adapting to different workplaces and enabling me to have a rewarding career.