1. UNIT B1: PERSONAL PROGRESSION – EVALUATION
Research Into Future Options
One of the main foundations to this project was my research into UCAS and future job options.
Firstly, I researched my inspirations within the media industry. I talked about creators, websites and
genres that have inspired me, and talked about how and why they inspire me. Upon doing so, I
realised just how much these inspirations have influenced my content, whether it be the style,
editing techniques or flow.
As well as this, I also
researched different
into potential job
options within the
media industry. I
investigated potential
apprenticeships such as
field engineering, I
found out that this was
something I didn’t want
to do, but the research
was helpful. When doing my research, I learned that certain jobs would require a large social media
following, and this is something I’m passionate about working on. An example of this would be full
time content creation.
This leads me on to discussing my experience with
UCAS and applying to university. Personally, I don’t
want to go to university, I have learned that higher
education isn’t for me, and I would much rather find a
job or pursue content creation. But I did do some
research and select some options, just in case I needed
something to fall back on. The three courses I opted
for were Media Production (Standard), Media
Production (Foundation), and Social Media
Management. These are all BA (Hons) and take place
at Sunderland University. These would all be local to
me, so I thought I’d investigate them. Personally, I like
creating, and editing videos, so Media Production
would be something I would enjoy. I also really enjoy
social media, and my experience within the industry
would drive me to become as Social Media manager.
These are all courses I have investigated, but I’m still not keen on the idea of going to university.
Although I’m not going to university the research has helped me gain a better understanding of the
type of things I would like to do, I personally love content creation and I know deep down in my
2. heart that’s what I want to pursue. But I would also be open to do other jobs within the industry,
such as editing.
That brings me nicely
onto my research into
editing jobs. I went on
Indeed.com and
researched into
potential
editing/media jobs
within the local area.
This research has
really enlightened me
on all the different
opportunities around
the local area. This
job I investigated was a Digital Content Coordinator at Motor Vehicle Dealers in Sunderland. I
learned about the type of salary I would be paid, as well as the job details. If I worked here, I would
be a part of their marketing team and I would market their products. I have experience with
marketing videos, so marketing could be another route I could go down.
I also did some research into this
editing job, I really enjoy editing
videos, so an editing job would be
a solid fit for me. This was for a
production company in
Newcastle. I did some research
into their requirements, and my
understanding of editing
software’s would make me
eligible for jobs like this. By
researching into potential job
types, I am forwarding my understanding of jobs within the media industry. This information is key
for my progression, and it is helpful to know. I researched into a career map as well, this helped give
me a better understanding of how I will enter and progress through the industry.
I have also emailed The BBC about an
apprenticeship; I will be open to take this
opportunity if all goes well. I have applied
for Media Production, although I would
also be open to Journalism. I really enjoy
content creation, and I would be working
with the BBC on their programs. This
would be valuable experience within the
industry, and an apprenticeship would
help give me the funds to get by. I have
sent my application to the BBC, and I am
currently waiting for a response. The
apprenticeship I have applied for is in Newcastle. The reason I applied for Newcastle is because it’s
3. the closest one to me, unfortunately they don’t do any in Sunderland. I would have to get the Metro
every morning if I got the role. This could be quite costly so I would invest in a MetroCard. The
money I get for the apprenticeship would cover the cost of this.
Here is the email, it says I’ll hear back from one of their recruiters, but it could take a while. The BBC
is a very busy company, and I understand that my response may take time. There will be lots of
competition for this opportunity, so the BBC must make sure they offer the roles to the right people.
I have lots of work I can show the BBC in order to promote myself to them. By creating my own
digital portfolio, I have a quick and easy way to forward the BBC to my work, whether it be YouTube,
Instagram, or Create Britain. I might even be asked to show them my show reel if so, I have the final
draft ready to send to them right away.
I want to give myself the best possible chance of getting the role, so I have made sure to be
prepared. I have also researched into the BBC in the past, and I know that there a politically neutral
company. The BBC’s three core values are inform, educate, and entertain, so I know my work will
have to follow these core values. The main reason why this is the case is because everyone with a TV
license pays for the BBC, so they can’t be biased towards any political party. This would cause
outrage because if the BBC were to side with the Conservatives, people who vote Labour wouldn’t
want to pay for it and vice versa. These are all handy things to know, because companies expect you
to have knowledge about them if you wish to work there.
Even if I don’t get the apprenticeship this experience has helped educate me about application
processes, so it wouldn’t be a waste of time. It’s important to be able to take rejections on the chin
and comeback stronger, you can’t let them stop you in your tracks. I will remain professional and
move forward.
Hopefully, I will receive a response soon because this is the path I aim to go down instead of
university. If this doesn’t work out, I will find a job somewhere else.
4. I also did a mock interview with David Longworth from the BBC; I pitched my TV show idea to him.
Before I Pitched my idea, I researched into mock interviews, and interview techniques. This helped
me get to understand how I should present myself in this situation. It’s important that I didn’t make
any key mistakes
The show I pitched is called Anonymous Discussions, and it’s show where I discuss topics such as
what’s going on in the world, drama, and interesting stories. I showed David my presentation that
contained all my information and resources about the show. For example, I discuss my idea, the
character stills I plan to use, and my target audience. I want my show to be on BBC Three, so I
explained that my show is aimed at young people. As well as explaining the concept of my product, I
also explained how my show complies the BBC’s main rules such as inform, educate, and entertain.
The BBC is also politically neutral, and I wanted to make sure David knew that my show wouldn’t
have any political biases. I then showed him my pilot episode, unfortunately he couldn’t hear the
audio due to the Teams Call not allowing that to be shared, but he did get to see what I was going
for. It was still helpful for him to see it.
5. I touched on the fact this interview was done over Microsoft Teams, so I was limited with what I
could show. At least I got to present my idea to him, because it is valuable experience. After the
presentation, David presented me with a few questions. He asked me “how will we make this more
TV orientated”? In which I said that we could improve the animation, introduce special guests, and
touch on more serious topics. He was impressed with my knowledge on social media, and he praised
me for that. Next, he confronted me on the gameplay in the background, I explained that the
gameplay was just for the prototype, and we could use backgrounds and presenters in the final
product. Finally, he asked me how my show would interact with an audience, in which I suggested
we do segments like Russell Howard’s playground politics. We could ask people questions about the
topics, and even have a live audience. David was impressed with the way I answered the questions
and gave me praise. He was impressed with my presentation and said that I put a lot of thought into
it.
CREATING MY BRAND
Creating my brand identity has also been an important part of this project, and the things I have
created could really aid me in real life situations. In designing my logo, business card, Create Britain,
and show reel, I have continued my creative process of making a name for myself as well as brand
familiarity which I now have the option to use in the future. For example, if I were to become an
editor, I already have a business card and a logo which can easily be implemented into my work. In
terms of professional practise, I also had the chance to create and improve my very own CV. I have
also written my personal statement; these things will massively benefit me when applying for jobs.
When it comes to my CV and personal statement, I have used research and feedback to amend and
upgrade my work to a more professional standard. I had both looked at by a lecturer who was able
6. to give me feedback that I used to improve them. I am happy with the overall outcome, and I can use
these when applying for job opportunities, and apprenticeships. When I get interviewed, I will be
able to show my work and passions to my employer. This could help broaden my opportunities. For
my CV, I was able to research the difference between good CV’s and those that are more
unsuccessful and learn which aspects to include or avoid. The main thing I took from my research
was that I should make my CV fit on one page, and it must contain relevant information such as
grades, aspirations, and skills. I believe it would be unnecessary for my CV to be any longer than one
page, because it makes it look more professional and easier to read. Regarding it meeting the brief,
the two products show that I am a digital content creator. As well as these being a part of the brief,
they also show my academic ability, and gives reason for my practical work. I also wrote a cover
letter. This is a quicker way of showing my employer information about me. This is all good stuff to
have, and it gives a variety of different material to show my employers.
My logo and business card have gone through a creative process and have added to my brand
identity. In creating these, I have continued to establish my brand. I can use these in the future if I
decide to go down the production pathway (For example, production, photography, editing). I can
also insert my logo into many pieces of work such as videos, and images. When it comes to my
business card, I can hand it out to my potential clients or people interested in my work. To do this,
one of my major things I adopted was a brand identity colour (Gold and Black) to which I now
implement into my work. I do this in order to maintain consistency throughout my work. They will
recognise the colour scheme. In doing my research on this, I found most successful companies have
colours that are consistent with their brand – for example, KFC use red and white, McDonalds use
red and yellow. This adds to my professional practise as I am now taking on board key marketing
strategies from successful companies. I created my logo before my business card, so I could
implement my colour scheme and brand. This helps maintain consistency. Looking back my skills in
graphics design have improved. The logo I have now looks more professional than my first draft. This
was mostly a trial-and-error process and I experimented with different techniques. For example, I
changed the colour scheme, shape and text. This made for a lengthy process, and this is something
that I thought was necessary. I wanted to make sure I created a nice logo. The feedback I received
helped me improve my work, and I am grateful for the constructive criticism I received. I used
Google forms to receive feedback. By receiving feedback, I am strengthening my communication
skills, this is something that was important to me going into this module.
7. This leads me on to the creation of my show reel. This was another product that went through
several exports before I was happy with the final product. I received feedback on this, which I took
on board and worked on two suggested improvements in particular – one which suggested adding
special effects and another which suggested to extend the end screen. I made three drafts in total,
and I am happy with my work. The special effects allowed me to experiment with splice and add
some cool effects to my video. These effects show a good understanding of technical skill, and I am
happy I could show more tools I have in my arsenal. The effects make the show reel better to watch,
and more appealing to the eye. The improvements have also given me the chance to develop my
editing skills. I extended the end screen by five seconds; I did this to make my business card easier to
read for the consumer. If someone still can’t read the card, they can always pause the video.
I really enjoy making videos, so I really enjoyed the practical side of this module. I believe technical
skills is my strong point, and I enjoy experimenting with effects and camera angles. Overall, I really
like how my show reel turned out in the end, and I believe I have done everything I can to make it as
professional as possible. I also enjoyed adding text, because it helped with the flow of the video. I
thought that a stylised moveable end screen, would look much better than just still a still end screen.
As well as displaying my technical skill, I was also able to show examples of my print work without it
disrupting the flow. This show reel will benefit me when applying for job opportunities, because I
can present it to my employers. I made this show reel using two different editing software’s,
8. Kinemaster and Splice. I use Kinemaster to edit the bulk of the video, and I use Splice for my
transitions. I like to be able to mix and match features from different editing software’s in order to
make a better product. The main piece of feedback I received was experiment with special effects,
so I wanted to make sure I showed as many as possible.
NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES
The personal progression unit gave me the opportunity to talk and interact with industry
professionals. The three main people we talked to where Zara McDermott, Lord David Puttnam, and
Sunderland Vibe. I was able to go to Sunderland University and listen to a talk by top director Lord
David Puttnam, and he gave us advise about how to make an impact in the media industry. It has
helpful information, and it has helped me with my journey into media. It’s interesting to hear stories
from professionals. I was especially grateful to ask Zara McDermott a question. I asked her whether
she regretted going on Love Island, and she said “No, it brought me the best and worst times of my
life, and it has made me who I am today.” It was interesting getting to hear from successful people in
the industry, and Zara’s story shows everyone just how ruthless the media industry really is.
9. Sunderland Vibe also offered us some insight on working in the media industry. They told us to make
sure you are working on something you enjoy, otherwise you won’t enjoy what you’re making.
Networking opportunities have allowed me to develop my understanding on the media industry.
These talks gave us the opportunity to learn about how these directors, stars, and companies rose to
fame. In Puttnam’s case he talked about going to the cinema multiple times a week and broadening
his understanding of movies and the film industry. He suggested that all young directors should go to
the cinema and watch movies on a regular basis. He also told us to think about the future, because
that’s the generation we are aiming to market towards. Puttnam also recommended going to film
festivals and seeing indie movies. The main film he suggested was CODA, it’s an award-winning film
and David criticised everyone for not watching it. I found out that Sunderland Vibe was created in
2015, in order to improve the cities reputation. The company prides itself on showing Sunderland is
a positive light, and that helped me grasp a better understanding of implementing regional identity
into media products.
Extra projects outside of college have also allowed me to work with and practise my skills and create
content across multiple areas. In my free time I make multiple different types of content ranging
from unboxings to commentary. I upload these videos to YouTube, and my unboxing videos make
me money. Creating these videos allows me to connect with a wider audience and create content
people enjoy. They also develop my technical skill. In this module, I included links to my videos
where I experiment with lots of different editing tools, special effects and music. When I upload
these videos, I receive comments giving me feedback, suggestions, and ideas. This helps develop my
communication skills, because I am interacting with people within the industry. I have different
styles of content, my unboxing videos are a lot rawer and include mistakes, which I use for humour.
Meanwhile my commentary videos are scripted, and I generally spend more time making them.
These videos have helped give me the chance to develop my editing skills, camera confidence, and
graphics design skills. I have been doing YouTube for seven years now and making videos has been a
key hobby of mine. In fact, it’s the main reason I took a media course, and if it wasn’t for YouTube I
don’t know where I’d be right now, so it has been an important part of my life. I think it’s key for me
to keep uploading videos, and grow my platforms as time goes on, if all goes well, I could become a
full-time content creator.
10. My work placement has helped expand my journalism skills, and it has given me valuable experience
within the workplace. I have written various articles for A Love Supreme and have really enjoyed my
time there. I enjoy writing about SAFC and helping build their social media page. Writing articles has
also improved my spelling and grammar. By writing articles I am connecting with a wider audience,
and posting a website with thousands of followers, I am developing my professional practise skills. I
need to make sure my articles are structured right, otherwise they will get torn apart by critics. As
well as writing articles I have done more practical stuff such as, cleaning the windows, packing bags,
and posting packages people have ordered. I have also done a stall at the Bede College Christmas
fair, I sold hats, scarves, gloves, badges, and Mackem dictionaries. I go to ALS every Friday, and
continue to increase my work experience hours, I am grateful for the opportunity. I started ALS in
October and have gone every Friday since. I would be open to take a job there, after I finish college.
11. CREATE BRITAIN
As well as creating my own content, I have also created my very own Create Britain account. This is a
place where I can store my work and develop my very own digital portfolio. I researched into
different types of accounts and took inspiration from them. I implement my brand identity into my
page and used my black and gold colour scheme. I also used my logo as my profile picture, and I also
included it in my banner. I talked about my skills and developed my very own skill wheel. This gives
the consumer a better understanding of what I’m capable of. As well as this, I also shared some links
to my social media pages, so they can see more of my work. This has helped develop my design
skills, and I now have my very own place to keep my work. I wanted to make sure my Create Britain
account was effective as portfolio, in which everyone I asked said yes. They said that it reflects a
media brand very well, and that is great to know. I have made various changes to my account, with
the most recent improvement being adding my show reel to my featured work. Having created this
account, as well as my various other YouTube channels, I can go on to use this as evidence in the
future. I think both projects show my skills in a positive light.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I have had a good and valuable experience in completing this unit. I have researched
and undertaken opportunities that might not have been available for me in my first year, such as
real-life interviews, networking opportunities, and work experience. I am more knowledgeable, have
a brand identity, and have more experience in the workplace. I have been able to improve my skills
and become a better editor, film maker, and journalist. I have a much larger body work to show my
employers, as well as very own show reel. This will help me when entering industry. I have found
12. myself becoming more confident, especially within interviews and production. I have also expanded
on my digital portfolio as well. I have created a Create Britain page, which shows a lot of my previous
work, whether it be college work or personal work. As a result of this my organization skills have
become a lot stronger. I have made good progress in my next steps, and I have thought about
potential jobs and what they ask of me. I have considered multiple options, and I am now applying
for an apprenticeship with the BBC. I have developed a lot of skills throughout this unit, and I hope
to be able to showcase them in industry. I feel happy that I have developed my journalism skills,
because it gives me another career path if content creation, and media production doesn’t go well. I
believe that I have included elements of all the ACs in this project, and I have made sure that I have
completed everything before the deadline. I aim to be as professional as possible, and I want to put
my time to good use. So, meeting the deadline was important to me. They are lots of different
routes I could down, and this module has enlightened me about all my options. I am grateful for the
opportunities B1 has given me, and I aim to make good use of my work. This module has really
helped me with my progression.
