Task 3 – Preparing for Progression in Creative Media Production

My Digital PortfolioInstead of producing a digital portfolio on any of the given suggested websites on the PowerPoint given, I remembered that I already had an online portfolio with all the video content which I have produced. Since the beginning of the year I had been posting all the main projects and mini projects on my YouTube channel: @FilmTV2018_AT. Since reviewing my YouTube’ channel from when I completed the social media presence task in this document from last week (task 2), I made a few changes to my channel to make it look even more professional as a portfolio. The changes which I made was adding in thumbnails for each of the videos. I made most of them have a plain background with the title written on top of them. This makes them look more sleek and basic.

Below I have screen grabbed my digital portfolio in the form of a YouTube channel containing all of my mini projects and final projects for the first year:

Screenshot above taken by A.T on 21/6/18

My CV

Ameera Thind7 Hoads Wood Gardens, Ashford, Kent, TN25 4QB

07447 941149

Ameera.Thind@gmail.com

About me

Age: Seventeen years old (currently in 2018)

Date of Birth: 1st February 2001

Employment History

Current employment status:

UNPAID - Started in August 2017 – 2018+ – Working as a Tutor at ‘The Learning Academy Ltd’

I am a tutor at ‘The Learning Academy Ltd’ who helps and supports mainly primary school aged 6-11 with the

11+ and other subjects such as English or Basic Maths skills. The Learning Academy offers expert tuition in

Non-Verbal Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, Maths, English, Reading and Spelling for primary school children.

Whilst also covering GCSE Maths, GCSE Biology, GCSE Chemistry and GCSE Physics for secondary school

students.

UNPAID – Started in 2016 (over the year - 3 months): Volunteered at Barnardo’s Charity shop in Ashford

As a part of my Duke of Edinburgh we were required to do some volunteering for the preparation of the

expedition. I chose to do this in a local charity shop which is Barnardo’s based in Ashford town. The job role

which I was given was to tidy up shelves on the shop floor as well as placing new items on the shelf. I wasn’t

able to serve anyone but could help them if they were looking for something specific on the shop floor. I

volunteered for three months over the year 2016.

Barnardo’s is a charity which believes and focuses in supporting children regardless of their circumstances,

gender, race, disability or behaviours. Their purpose as a charity today is to transform the lives of the UKs most

vulnerable children.

Education

2017 – 2019: Canterbury College

U.A.L Level 3 Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production & Technology (Film & TV)

This course develops your practical media skills, with a focus on the moving image. You will develop your

video, audio, animation and multimedia production skills using high-quality, industry standard equipment.

You'll produce your own short film, make experimental videos, produce animations, create corporate videos

and documentaries, and work with real clients.

Grade: No Grade for the first year yet

2012 – 2017: Highworth Grammar School for Girls

(2017) GCSEs obtained:

Mathematics Option H – Grade 6

Religious Studies – Grade B

Art & Design Fine Art – Grade B

Additional Science (Route 1) – Grade B

Science Route A (Route 1) – Grade C

French option LH + RH + WH – Grade C

English Literature – Grade 5

English Language – Grade 4

History - Grade D

Level 2 Thinking and Reasoning – Grade P (pass)

Achievements

2016 – 2017

Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award – PASSED the expedition and award in 2017

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in by Prince

Philip. By carrying out and passing this bronze award it has given me the skills of leadership, communication,

confidence, self-motivation and teamwork skills, particularly for the expedition part of the award. I did this

award throughout the years of 2016 to 2017 during my GCSE year.

Personal Statement

At university I hope to study Digital Media Marketing as this is something which greatly interests me. I would,

love to not stop creating edits and video content as I enjoy it too much and would love for it to be my job and

career. I am organised, hardworking and keen to learn. In my spare time as a hobby I appreciate dance, the

style of dance which I practise is an Indian form called Bhangra. I often like to choregraph my own routine

which I then dance to and film for my professional Instagram account as a part of my online film portfolio. I can

competently edit videos using my knowledge and skills which I have independently learnt and I am able to

prepare for a video, planning it out carefully using some creative well thought out ideas. At the moment I have

a lot of free time which enables me to explore more about film and ways of capturing the best shots for my

Bhangra dance routines.

Personal Interests

When it comes to choosing the course, I hope to study at university, I will be mainly looking at Digital Media

Marketing courses as this is one of my main interests. Some of the other personal interests which I have are

firstly, I like sharing things on social media. Personally, I believe that social media is a great network and tool to

share projects and things if you use it in the right way and manner. I often share my Bhangra dance edits on

my social media account and request for feedback based on the cinematography. Another personal interest of

mine is that I really enjoy watching Bollywood movies. Bollywood movies aren’t like any other movie which

you have seen they are almost like musicals as in almost every Bollywood film you will see songs integrated

into the story which is one aspect which draws me in. My last interest is just producing edits of absolutely

anything, it could be an edit of Bollywood songs/film trailers, or advertisement edits.

References

No references at this current time

Cold call letter/emailMiss Ameera K Thind

Wednesday 20th June 2018

Posting Address:

15 Harling Cl

Boughton Mochenlsea

Maidstone

ME17 4UX

Subject: Applying to be an employee at ‘Copper Tree Media’ based in Maidstone, Kent

Dear, Copper Tree Media

My name is Ameera Thind and I am writing to you in regards of being a suitable candidate to working with you and your company to produce short films and videos for clients. Currently, I am studying a Film and Television Media course at College which I have a huge passion and interest for. However I would like to showcase my skills in a much larger scale and that would most definitely be by producing video footage for clients.

Previously, I have experienced film making for huge companies such as a well-established tutoring company based in Ashford called The Learning Academy Ltd. I have produced two advertisement videos for them so far which they seem to feel proud of. Since producing these for them, their company has gained more and more customers due to the high quality, marketing.

Personally, when I discovered your company I couldn’t take my eyes off how intriguing your work is. As a viewer I can see that you work is highly skilled with the most high tech cameras. I would love to have the opportunity to learn new filming tips from professionals like yourself but also by using the equipment to create such immensely amazing footage as shown on your professional website. Your company would be ideal to work with due to many factors. Firstly I am willing to work within a team which is something I have experienced before, even up until now, when I have worked in a group with around six people or more, whilst making productions at College. Secondly, I am very skilful with already having a large portfolio of videos on my YouTube channel I can say that I have learnt a lot of skills and put them into practise. Some of the skills which I have are: using Colour Correction in video, Green screening, editing, filming, handling a camera, use of sound (producing Foley sounds) and many more. Thirdly I am very creative, since loving art from a young age I have always had a good imagination and idea base where I have been able to easily come up with a basic idea for a film or video which is extremely useful for projects. Lastly, my main skill is managing my time, I am very organised and like to use my time very wisely.

Overall I have a passion for producing films for people and from seeing your website and portfolio of work, I can see that you are very focused with your films which reflects almost the way I am as person. This is why I think it would be ideal for me to be a suitable employee to work at your media company. Another factor being that I am local to you as I live in Ashford so if you needed me on the last minute then I would be prepared to travel to get down to you as soon as possible. This is because, it wouldn’t take me long to get to where you are based.

I hope to hear from you very soon and I hope that you take into consideration my skills and why I would be a suitable candidate for becoming an employee at your company.

Kind regards,

Miss Ameera K Thind

Social Media Presence This task was taken from Task two and since then I have updated my YouTube channel a bit for the digital portfolio as I wanted to demonstrate that I can improve the way it looks professionally and how it can make a huge difference. The photos which I have

screenshotted down below, they were taken on a different day as the screen grabs in the digital portfolio were taken four days after the ones below that’s why it may appear slightly different as I have added custom thumbnails to the videos.

For my College work and projects which I want to share and keep for myself I like to post them on my professional social media accounts which I have set up for myself to utilize and post on. At the start of trimester two we were asked to set up a YouTube, Twitter and Instagram account, where we would regularly upload content. Some of the type of content pieces which I would post would be of my short film projects as well as the behind the scenes footage of the pre and post production process. Below is a screenshot of my YouTube channel where I have been posting for frequently as I have been producing more projects whether they are huge or just as mini projects:

Screenshot above taken by A.T on 16/6/18

From my channel, I have tried to use different elements which can make the channel look professional and benefit me from gaining employment. The first element which can help me gain employment is by making the channel look bright and appealing for viewers to see. I have added this nice channel banner which is bright – this will capture people’s attention to watch the kind of content I create. Secondly, throughout all three of my social media platforms I have tried to be consistent with my branding, this includes my username and profile picture. Circled in red above is my profile picture, I have maintained this and kept it as simple as I can. In particular the username of my platforms, I wanted the name to give a lot of information away. My name tells my audience that my channel (what I study) is Film and TV, the present year and lastly the first initials of my name is important, so professionals can refer you to ‘A.T’.

Thirdly, having a custom made thumbnail (circled in yellow below) is important for all of the videos I upload, for some of the projects I have on there they automatically selected thumbnails appropriate for the content of the video. However, for some of my videos they

don’t, however in the future I will be adding more custom thumbnails, so it just looks even more polished.

Fourthly, if you add in related hashtags (circled in blue below) into the description then more and more people will be allowed to watch it based off who clicks and searches for any of the hashtags placed into this section. When it comes to social media, the hashtag is used to draw attention, to organize and to promote. This tool was first used in Twitter however they are now used in other social media platforms in order to share it to a range of people. This will gain employment as it will show employers that you are willing for people to see your work and that you aren’t shy or stuck in a bubble of just yourself viewing it.

Lastly for the viewers to remember and note your branding and name (circled in green below) I have inserted into the title for each of the videos the YouTube channel name @FilmTv2018_AT. It makes the title look longer however this doesn’t matter too much as long as the viewers feel engaged and want to return to the channel to watch more.

Screenshot above taken by A.T on 16/6/18

I have got two other social media accounts which have very similar things on them, this includes the branding, hashtags and lastly content. Below are screenshots of both of the accounts:

Screenshots above taken by A.T on 16/6/18

The only other elements which I have different about my Instagram account to my YouTube account is that I have placed a link (circled in yellow above) to my YouTube channel in the bio description. This again is a great way for your followers on your Instagram to see your content and the types of films you create rather than just following the Instagram page. They will also be able to remember your brand and recognise it as they follow more than one of the platforms. Overall, I am happy with each of my college, professional social media accounts. They all look crisp and polished however for each of them I can even still improve aspects of them which can improve them even further.

Conclusion

After completing this task I thought to myself that I have the ability to use my knowledge and understanding of ways of promoting and presenting skills which will enable myself or anyone to gain employment in the media industry. Employment is so important and can be particularly hard in the media industry as this industry itself is very competitive, so this can affect you gaining employment. Nevertheless, above I detailed four methods which can benefit you: having a digital online portfolio on social media platforms, have a professional CV, if you prefer writing or going old school you could write a formal letter to the company you want to work at and lastly have professional social media accounts on any of the three main platforms (Instagram, Twitter, YouTube) where people can follow your posts and work which you are willing to share. Each one of these methods have their strengths and weaknesses which I have clearly detailed in Task four as a separate document.