Life in the Afterworld

This talk was about freelance photography and was given by Alison McClean of photofoundry. She taught me to gain some business experience as it would be crucial to further my career. She also says it is beneficial to get a part time job as I would struggle on freelance alone. Most of the information given in this talk, such as making websites and creating links had been reiterated before in previous talks. To me, this just shows how strong this can be to help me on my way. I found out about a website called family stock. This has been a great addition to my knowledge as it means I can look at briefs for extra-curricular work and build up a stronger portfolio along with more skill. Linked in was also useful as it means I can now tie in all of my social network account to make them easier to manage and maintain. This has been one of the best talks I have been to and will help me so much over time. 

Digital Fluid Film

Dan Fox studied Creative Media at the University. This talk was on the transition of Film to digital. It was a very interesting talk, teaching us about the fluidity of digital filming. A key piece of information given was that imagination makes possibilities. I believe this to be true and will be a quote I work towards. This talk was very informative as it toght me about the technology behind film and the advancements of it. However it did not help me think of my future. It was still a valuable lesson to learn.

Gin and Tonic

Tim Mckracken, the founder and director of Gin and Tonic design company, graduated from Glyndwr in 1996. I did not get anything useful from this talk as, again, it was all about him and how he got to where he is now. I could not take anything that could be relevant to me from this talk.

Putting a portfolio together

Jason Minsky is an ex student of Glyndwr University and now works in marketing and advertising. This was not a very helpful talk as I thought that it was more based on the speakers personal work and experience. The only piece of information I gathered from this was to make link and make sure that my portfolio is about me. I also learnt that applying for anything of interest can be helpful to me.

Ffresh

Berwyn Jones works for Ffresh, which is a student moving image festival in Wales that was established in 2002. It provides a link between students and the industry and awards are considered a good thing to achieve. Submissions start in the summer and next year the festival will be held at Glyndwr next year. I am interested in looking into this more as not a lot of information was giving and the talk was quite boring.

Studying Abroad

Stuart Milne of Erasmus gave us this talk. I have always been interested in studying abroad so this talk was beneficial to me. When studying abroad, the modules will be different but must count to credits back in the UK. A special grant is given to help cover the costs of living while in the EU. This all needs to be arranged in advance so I need to look into this so I can decide when and where I would like to study. The best thing for me to do would to be consult my programme staff. A learning agreement needs to be made. It was also useful to find out that I do not have to be fluent in the language. No tuition fees apply either which is another plus. Accommodation and extra money is needed prior. I think the information given was very helpful but I will need to do more research before making a decision.

Piece to Camera

This was another talk hosted by BBC Wales, this time by Matthew Richards, a reporter for Wales Today. I did not find this talk helpful at all but it was a good insight into the work of the BBC. 

Getting a Job

Before heading to this talk, I thought that it would be one of the most useful and informative lectures I attended in this week. It was given by Wendy Rees, BBC Wales head of HR. She studied law and got into working for the media by working at S4C in their legal department. She says to do what she did – take oppurtunities as you get them to gain more experience which will, in turn, make you more flexible. The BBC is worth looking into because there are so many oppurtunities for work experience. I have looked into some of the things she told us too and made note of them for in my final year when I need to start making career choices (www.bbc.co.uk/jobs). Recruitment processes can be lengthy so it would be worth my while to start applying early and get myself known with extensive but relevant portfolios backed up with more evidence. The most important thing to remember is that work is always out there, but there is a lot of competition. This talk was a little helpful but focussed mainly on the BBC so did not really transfer to all jobs I may be interested in. 

How I make a living from death

This was an extremely interesting  lecture. I found the story of the skull illusion fascinating (www.theskullillusion.com) . Violet Fenn, the speaker and founder of skull illusion studied silversmith at North Wales School of Art and graduated in Design Craft. Her website shows post mortem photographs from the Victorian era. Her company is making jewellery that compliments this. It is vintage and Victorian. This was not her first project and she has had a few of her own companies, all of which have been quite small. Her advice to us was on how to manage our own businesses. She told us that too get anywhere within a creative industry, web presence is of upmost importance. She was speaking from real experience and I really valued what she had to say. She says that the web gives us the most chance to be seen in this online era. Since this talk I have set up my own blogs, websites, flickr and various other social network accounts. Income, she said, is not always in the form of finance, but can often be publicity. She reminds us to stay curious, never turn down work and fit as much as we can in without jeopardising other commitments.  

Getting Started in Photography

This lecture focussed on the freelance world of photography. The speaker was Paul Hermann, photographer and director of the photography company, Redeye (www.redeye.com.uk). Redeye is a not-for-profit organisation which helps photographers launch careers, get themselves known and find work. They hold regular events and exhibitions along with portfolio clinics to aid in this aspect of their company. Basically, membership into this site will gradually give a photographer they exposure they need. I have looked into joining the site but as of yet I have just taken to following them on twitter - @redeyenetwork, and joined their mailing list. Information that I have gathered from this lecture was that photographic practice is ever changing. It was a very inspirational talk, teaching us to believe in ourselves and never give up faith. It was a good talk and I felt better afterwards but it wasn’t very informative.

Copyright for creative

This was one of the most helpful workshops I attended. The speech was given by a journalism lecturer that works at the university. I have always been unsure on the rules and laws surrounding the copyrights of my own creative works. I found out that there is legislation that protects intellectual property of a creative. This covers the original work of an individual effort. I used to think that copyright was something that had to be bought but this lecture taught me that once my ideas had became a tangible work, it was protected by this legislation. I will now make sure that my work does not become orphaned and I can always prove the copyright belongs to me. The Copyright designs and patents act cover me in ways that mean if my work is stolen or used unlawfully I will receive compensation. I will fully take on board all of the information I gained from this lecture and have no criticisms of it. These websites also make everything more clear; www.dacs.org.uk  , www.theaoi.com , www.prsformusic.com , www.cla.co.uk and www.copyrightservice.co.uk

Influence Boards

CFW - Key Notes Speaker

The key notes speaker was Angus Montgomery, the editor of weekly publication, Design Week. This is a magazine that reports on the design industry and education. It was a print based publication that has now been transformed into a digital one. It can be found at http://www.designweek.co.uk/. Angus gave us a lot of advice on how to make ourselves known and stand out above other graduates. I know now that I must show my passion for my discipline, whilst also branding myself without making a cliché of my work. He told us that companies are keen to invest in new talent, and to nurture it and watch it grow. To be spotted I must show enthusiasm and take pride in my work. It is also crucial to my success to find a balance between business and design to forge out my career. I should be unique and not follow the crowd. Lending my talents to other designers and them lending theirs to me can be very beneficial. Collaborations mean that different talents can come together. A good degree is worth its weight in gold so I should show it off and be proud when I graduate. There is a need for an influx of fresh talent.

CFW - Opening Address

In the opening address of Creative Futures Week, I learnt some valuable information that I completely took on board. We were told that there are gaps in creative skills. This means that if I gain enough skills across the board, even if they are basic skills, I am more likely to get a job than somebody who has an in-depth knowledge of one niche area of the creative arts. This made me realise that I need to branch out of my comfort zone more and learn more about things I am not confident in, such as graphic design and illustration. I also learned that 67% of employees across the creative industries are graduates, 94% of which were employed or in training six months after graduating. This said to me that I could use Creative Futures Week to gain a lot more skill and push myself to be one of the graduates that was employed. Creativity and technology is changing which means that creative such as myself need to be flexible and adapt to the changes to succeed.