Self Assessment

So the seminar was a great success, thanks to all the team who pulled together and put on a fantastic event. However, part of the assessment to this series is self reflective. So this is all about me.

Contribution and collaboration:
Was consistently active in contributing to group discussions both during meetings and via social media. Helped to shape the seminar as far as guests, theme and execution. Committed substantial time in preparation before, during and after the seminar with respect to emailing potential guests, set-up of theatre and handling of guests on the day (in my role as PA) as well as editing photos and contributing to video editing. My collaborative process was to be inclusive with everyone to assist them to contribute towards the seminar, identifying strengths and using positive feedback. This was helpful as issues of members joining late meant only a few people were speaking up. (22/25)

Proactive Learning:
Took a large responsibility to self-direct my learning as far as researching industry contacts, liaising with professionals and using social media which I had not previously done before. As well, I took it upon myself to learn about sound recording and introduced myself on the day to the AV technicians to find out how the sound desk was set up and operated. Also learnt more about video editing and working in event management. (21/25)

Participation:
Attended all of the classes and seminars, the event and our group meetings as well as consistently participated via the group’s social media and helped with the post-production editing session. Was always encouraged to engage and contribute to the group which made my efforts satisfying. (22/25)

Connections and Intersections:
I feel that the series was both inspirational and insightful as to gaining employment but also helpful to map out possible careers. The networking aspect has been particularly beneficial to me as this has been a weakness in the past. I have learned that given a problem, I can work through it to find a solution; which will be important in my role as a media practitioner. (22/25)

Overall mark: 87/100 (HD)

Post

With the seminar complete, we had some great footage to go through, which Simon and I picked the highlights. Unfortunately there were too many good moments (pearls of wisdom and funny anecdotes about magazines and pancakes) to use so we just hoped to capture the feel of the event. Which was quite positive from the feedback we got on the day. The sync seemed to drift as time went on which overall didn’t cause a problem when chopping up the footage to small grabs. It looked and sounded great which is credit to the guys on lights, sound and cameras. Sent off some photos of the event to the steering committee to use on the website and had one of the guests do a call out (via our newly created network) for a intern to help with her film. Be nice to think that although the series is finished, some connections and opportunities may come about from it.

On the line

And so we come to the final seminar of the series … online jobs.

Three digital guests (Beatrix Coles – Screenherd, Anna Horan – TheVine and Steinar Ellingsen – MelbourneWebFest) spoke about the realities of working and more importantly, surviving financially in the emerging online environment. As there is so much content out there already, with anyone able to start up a blog or upload videos, it comes down to either finding your voice and more importantly an audience for it or going down a different path of curating rather than creating.
Beatrix spoke of the film industries’ difficulties in understanding the online landscape and the perils of the echo chamber where your film peers are not your core audience. Social media should be used to reach out to as many people as possible with select online contributors championing your media projects.

The content was very relevant to the audience and quite informative as to capitalising on social media skills already practiced as well as offering both practical and sensible advice as to internships and freelancing (HD).
The approach was coherent and engaging, with questions asked throughout the seminar rather than a Q&A and the end. Perhaps this could have been explained at the start as I felt some people were reflecting on what was said and would ask a question at the end (D). The theme of ‘The Matrix’ was quite clear and executed with style and originality (HD). The staging was quite professional with good integration of background music, eye-catching slides and confident presenting from the hosts (HD).
The promotion was timely but could have been more varied as I only saw a couple of social media posts and a poster in the stairwell outside the theatre (D).

I found this seminar particularly useful in introducing me an achievable media practice of online content producer, which can complement other aspects of writing work and content creation I wish to pursue.