Unit 11 - Preparation for Progression

 

Progression Route Research w/ bibliography.


To help give a better idea on what studying at a university is like, ex-Stanmore College students visited so they could give us. I had asked a lot of questions regarding the lifestyle and working environment, and the answers I got were satisfying.

I have unfortunately lost the notes I had written during the Q and A, but I remember the baseline questions and answers, and will share them as I remember them.

Q: What is the working environment like at university like compared to college?

A: The working environment and studying you do at university isn't all that different from the work you do in college, the only differences are the seminars, and how much of your work is done in your personal time. University puts a lot more emphasis on the researching and reporting of subjects for classes than college does.


Q: For someone like me who wants to pursue university to do more of what I love, is university a necessity?

A: Not at all, it can be helpful for you to learn more and exercise what you want to do as a career, but it isn't really a requirement for art.


Q: Are there any negatives to say about the university experience?

A: It can be relatively stressful to keep up with work and report deadlines, but that comes with any place of education, it just boils down to how well you can manage your time. The seminars teachers hold for talks can be boring since you'll be writing and listening throughout most of them, but that's it from my experience.

This discussion with students who went onto University has helped me understand the working environment and conditions a lot better, knowing that applying for a university is entirely optional helps me feel a lot more comfortable in deciding if I want to go. 


Open days I attended:


University of Westminister open day experience: 

The University has two campuses; one in Central London, and the other in Harrow, I attended the open day at the Harrow campus, and I'm hoping to study there because of how much professional equipment is there and how close it is to my living area.

I really admire how compact the studio within the campus looks, how the course is structured, and how it goes about teaching its students; the animation departments are designed to operate similarly to animation departments in the professional animation field. They explained how there was going to be a lot of emphasis on the theory of animation and how it can be done, as well as practicing with a number of different mediums, including traditional paper animation. The animation course puts a lot of care into recognising the different mediums and tools used to create animation, and the Bachelor of Animation qualification I could achieve from it would make a prized addition to my CV and portfolio.


Middlesex University open day experience:

The Middlesex University open day took place in the main hall, with separate campuses for specific courses all within walking distance. Before I could see the animation campus, I was directed to a conference presented by the headmaster on the accomplishments, value, alumni, and prestige of the university. The university spared no expenses on its presentation.

I went up to the animation campus to join an introductory talk, and the campus was very glamorous. The animation room showed a lot of professionally presented animations, concept art, and cardboard cutouts of characters who are in the animations they were presenting. The animation teachers told me a that some of the classes would be presented by industry professionals and Middlesex Alumni, and they even showed us animation projects shown by students, which were all incredibly impressive. I thought the campus was great, but I feel it wasn't suited to what I look for in an animation course; they didn't really show the working environment or explain how the animation course would be structured. I was impressed, but I left Middlesex University feeling like I didn't gain a lot in terms of knowledge on how the course would operate.



Bibliography:

UCAS. (2022). Animation at Middlesex University. [Online]. ucas.com. Available at: https://digital.ucas.com/coursedisplay/courses/bda7bc97-798e-1cec-7ba2-1ba3cfc0d6c6?academicYearId=2023 [Accessed 3 November 2022].

UCAS. (2022). Animation at University of Westminister. [Online]. ucas.com. Available at: https://digital.ucas.com/coursedisplay/courses/3e7b4b9f-1b72-dcbf-c4de-36a0bfa708f4?academicYearId=2023 [Accessed 3 November 2022].



Middlesex Workshop Visit.


To see what Middlesex University is like, we went to an open-event and were given a tour of the University and its facilities. We got to see the art, animation, business, game development, fashion, and photography campuses, all of which were just as professional as I had imagined since my last visit to the university during its open-day.

All of the facilities were very practical and spared no expense in giving students as much opportunity and flexibility to work with the tools given, and it made for a very exciting tour.

(Photography facility)


(Screenprinting facility)


(3D Printing facility)


(Film and Television facility)

While I'm still not planning on going to university anytime soon, I can say that if I was going, I would be very convinced in going there. what the university put on display was a big step-up from their open-day, which didn't convince me applying. Middlesex University definitely looks like the type of place people should go to if they want to put their work first.



University/Apprenticeship Requirements.



  • University: Middlesex University
  • Course: Animation
  • Course Code: W615
  • Qualification: Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
  • Starting Date: September 2023
  • Application Deadline: 25th January 2023
  • Tuition Fees: £2950 (UK Fees)
  • Address: Hendon Campus, The Burroughs, Barnet, NW4 4BT
  • Travel Time: 40 min - 1hr
  • Webpage: https://www.mdx.ac.uk/study-with-us/undergraduate/entry-requirements-for-undergraduates
  • UCAS Tariff Point Requirement: 112 - 128



Personal Strengths and Weaknesses.

If I want to apply for a university, job, etc, I understand that I have to take my personal strengths and weaknesses into heavy account, and this course has helped me understand and solidify a lot of aspects about myself.

For starters, the group projects that I participated in have made me realise how much I enjoy taking the leading role, and while their are aspects of my leadership that I need to work on, like how easy I go on colleagues, and how I try to take more work than I should handle for the sake of making work for my teammates easier. Leadership is something I want to pursue as a part of my career, and it can be applied as a helpful soft skill for the role of a waiter as well, since the confidence and planning that comes with leadership is very beneficial in a catering environment.

My history of volunteering for my classmates projects also has benefit in both jobs. sine animation and catering require lots of cooperation and teamwork for the final outcome of what you're making to go right. 




Personal Statement First Draft.







Curriculum Vitae(s).

This is my curriculum vitae for the animation work I will be trying to get after my year of college finishes, I am also working on a part-time CV alongside this, and I'm hoping to finish that before Christmas comes long.

I had completed this CV alongside one of my uncle's, who had told me on what to do and not do when writing a CV, after taking in his constructive feedback, I assembled a second draft of my CV and sent it to him so he could stylise it to give it a more professional presentation. In the CV, I mentioned my college project outcomes and developments as examples of my strengths, and I still believe that those past projects had helped me immensely in learning what works best for me in a working environment. I am very proud of how my CV came out, and I'm looking forward to putting my eventual work experience on it as well.


Below is a an additional CV I made for part time jobs in watering. I have had a long history of going out of my way to help other people when applicable, so I should be able to flow naturally into a job revolving around serving people what they need.  Admittedly, the steps needed to apply for a job were very daunting, before building my CV, my dad had offered me a part-time job at his work under trainee maintenance for work experience. While I am satisfied with the experience I got, it doesn't exactly connect very well with being a waiter, outside of maybe cleanliness and hygiene, which meant I didn't have proof for why I would be a good pick for the role of a waiter.

I had used the skeleton of my art CV for how I would structure this part-time one, and I am quite happy with how it came out. Admittedly, I am hesitant because of how much the CV relies on what I'm saying mixed with my lack of experience in the profession, but I'm confident I will get picked up for a job in this area.



Portfolio Building

Before I could apply for any jobs as an artist, I needed to assemble a portfolio containing a decent amount of work I have done throughout the years for employers to see what kind of art I draw and specialise in, and the kind of artist I advertise myself as. I had been establishing multiple portfolios across multiple websites before I had started this course, I constantly update my Artstation, SNS's, and Ko-fi websites have been updated whenever I produce more artwork I feel is worth sharing.

(Pictured: My professional portfolio website intended for employers and applying for jobs)

I was encouraged to use Weebly, a free website-building platform, but I had opted to use my existing Artstation profile because it's a platform made exclusively for artists to showcase their work, and it allows me to link my social media profiles and other portfolios effortlessly. One of the key things I had learned in this lesson related to the importance of building connections through people, which is something that Artstation is built around; if a friend of mine was looking for work in a specific area, and I knew this guy who knows this guy in said specific area, then I could very well inform them of my friend who is looking for work. A website would be beneficial if I was already deep in industry work, but since I am about to get off of my feet, I felt a portfolio on different social media platforms was the best direction.

Another website I made a profile for, Ko-fi, is dedicated to commission work and casual drawings. While I use Ko-fi for commissions I recieve from strangers. Since Ko-fi is more casual compared to my Artstation, because I intend to draw artwork for strangers at low prices, it isn't exactly a priority like Artstation is, which I intend to use to find professional industry work.

(Pictured: My Ko-fi portfolio intended for customers who would like to commission me)




QUELL Industry Presentation


QUELL, an independent video game studio researching ways to bridge the gap between fitness and gaming recently came to the college to give an industry talk on who they are as a company, who the people working there, what they do, and give overall advice and insider information what it's like working in the industry.

The talk gave me new information and reaffirmed some of my initial beliefs regarding industry work; one of the most important confirmations was in regard to art and portfolio building, and how impactful the results are. Having an active portfolio, even if it contains work that isn't considered "professional" is really important as a portfolio is supposed to demonstrate your skills, and show you're still greatly involved in the work you want to do.


The most vital knowledge I had received from this talk was the emphasis on establishing connections and contacts with other people. I was made aware of how important building connections through social media was prior to the talk, but hearing the two presenters Ellie and Bradley retell their experiences in work and how they got to where they are now with QUELL had really opened my eyes to how important establishing connections can be. 

Before Ellie joined QUELL as a technical artist, they had previously worked in the VR establishments of Facebook, and for the mobile games developer King, and had told us interesting stories of what is was like to work there.The most interesting story to me was their experience of working at 
Facebook; everyone working at Facebook could only use tools and communication software provided by Facebook because of how big the company is and how much competition they have. Hearing Ellie recall how they jumped from one job to another was really intriguing because of how different they all seemed to me, and it further cemented the importance of making your name known more than anything else.


This presentation gave me a lot more confidence and pride in my artwork and how I present it, especially in  regards to smaller scale commission work, which is something I had felt admittedly self-conscious of for a while, but that needs to go if I want to adapt t the industry since confidence is such an important element to work. Once I get a job in waitering, I will continue pursuing illustration and commission work as a means of building portfolio and hopefully making more money on the side.

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