Why use Harvard Referencing?

Using Harvard referencing in a research project (if not in all work) is essential to ensuring your work is professional and of high quality. For example, using Harvard referencing helps to avoids plagiarism by letting the reader know where certain data is sourced from and who created it (the author). In order to properly reference a piece of writing for example, it needs to be included with an in text citation and a full reference in your bibliography (or reference list). This form of referencing is also helpful as you can include data using it to back up research you're conducting to make a more impactful point. Furthermore it lets the reader know that you've committed to your research and explored different books, websites, magazines etc.

When referencing a book for example, the reference would look like this:

Bell, J. (2010) Doing Your Research Project.

5th ed. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

The authors surname followed by their initials: "Bell, J.", the year of publication in brackets "(2010)", the title in italics with the edition if it applies "Doing Your Research Project. 5th ed" and lastly the place of publication and publisher "Maidenhead: Open University Press.". This covers all relevant information to not only show exactly where you've sourced the data, but also to let the reader find the data for themselves.

Interview Reflection

Interviewing someone from the industry gave me a great perspective of media and the real life practical aspects of it. From completing this task I learnt 3 main things. Firstly, I discovered that I should keep doing things related to media, be it watching films, taking photos, writing scripts or experimenting. The second thing I learnt was that any work in the industry is good work, even if unpaid. It enables you to make contacts and connections which is vital and can help towards you getting noticed. Lastly I found that I should try to make a portfolio and show myself off. This means that when people ask or find out about you, you have something to say for yourself.

Critical Analysis - Contextual Studies

Portfolio

Strengths
-Had a minimalistic layout - didn't look too complicated
- Was organised into sections and neat looking
-Shows a variety of photography types, letting viewers know my range of skills

Areas for Improvement
-Content limit - more photos could have been added
-Not much information, add text for details
-No contact information or details about me

3 Things I've learnt by completing these tasks
-Important to get yourself out there online
-It can prove quite challenging to make your own website
-Constantly keep creating content

Presentation

Strengths
-It was to the point and concise
-Arranged in an easy to understand manner
-Good choice of goals

Areas for Improvement
-Too simplistic - add photos maybe?
-Short length, add more information/goals? Go into more depth
-Present it better - use gestures, face the audience etc

3 Things I've learnt by completing these tasks
-Work hard to get into uni - the sooner the better
-Do independent research/work outside of college
-Contribute/go the extra mile in lessons

12 Month Personal Development Action Plan

For my 12 month development action plan I've split the plan into three main goals and gone into detail of each goal, listing details of the goal and how I can achieve it in a specific timeframe. My first goal and most important goal to me is to get into University to do a course in either film or photography.

To do this I'll need to work on a personal statement and have this complete, ready to send off before the 15th January (which is the deadline for applications). I'd like to have my personal statement complete on the 15th November so that I can apply to Universities sooner rather than later. This seems like quite a daunting task so to get this done I'll need to set out a plan for each paragraph of the personal statement, brainstorm ideas of what to say & do research online by watching videos and reading articles and other personal statements. I'll also need to ask for feedback from my lecturers and adults so I can keep adapting and improving the personal statement.

Next I'll need to find some University courses that apply to me so I can apply to them and have good options (if I get a place). I have some universities in mind already but I'd like to find a couple more and ideally I'd like to have this done by the end of the month, so to make a sound decision of courses I need to read their prospectuses and look at their websites which will state what they look for in a student.  

Lastly I'll need to take action on what the university websites say about ideal students and make myself appealing to the university by acting on this. This will mean working to my best ability in this college course to try and get a distinction, and working on personal projects outside of college. I'd like to make at least one product a month up until University so I gain lots of experience and knowledge whilst also having some work to show for myself. This product could be something moving image based, audio based, or photography and design based. I'd also like to try and watch at least 3 films a week to get more familiar with analysing and understanding them, and again to gain experience.

My second goal is to improve in my college course so I can achieve the best grade possible, which will help to lead me on into higher education. I've split this section up into the three lessons we're taking this year: Contextual Studies, Moving Image and Audio. To begin with, for Contextual Studies I'd like to learn how to pitch better, which means delivering my ideas and presenting more effectively. This is because pitching is an important skill to have in the media industry and can help massively towards getting your ideas heard. To do this I'll need to research effective techniques online and practice pitching in these lessons.
 

Something I'd like to improve on in Moving Image lessons is knowledge on real life aspects of film and tv such as budgeting a production, lighting techniques, scriptwriting and storyboarding. I know how to do all of these things but I'd like to research them in more detail and learn how to do them better so I can improve my work. I'll be able to research all of these things online so I aim to be more skilled in all of these things by the end of the year.

For audio I want to become more familiar with sound in premiere so that I can apply this knowledge to my video productions. To do this I need to pay full attention and contribute in my audio lessons with Tom, as well as doing research and experimentation outside of college by watching videos on it and googling it.

My last main goal is for personal things outside of college. For these I'd like to make myself more attractive to future clients and employers which means making a portfolio and personal website. Which I aim to have completed by the start of 2018. I also need to work on independent projects outside of college with other creative individuals which I will do on my free days and in the holidays. Lastly I need to keep myself organised so I can work to my best ability. I can do this by setting deadlines and achievable tasks for myself.

I hope to check back on this blog monthly so I can see what I'm doing and what needs to be done, leading to my personal development.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Good eye for design - I have a sound knowledge of colour theory and text placement etc, which is effective for the creative aspect of a project. I'm also interested in mise en scene which is helpful when setting up a scene and editing footage.

Analytical in my work - I have the ability to be thorough and analytical with my work so that I can achieve the best grades for research and written work.

Writing skills - With an A in GCSE English I can safely say that my writing is at a high standard that makes my work look professional, clear and easy to read.

Ability to follow brief effectively - When following a brief I make sure to read it in full and check that I have accomplished all tasks listed to achieve the highest mark possible.

Weaknesses

Not asking for feedback on work - When doing my work I get fairly engrossed with it. I also feel self conscious about it and this means that I don't ask my peers or lecturers for feedback, which I will try to change this year. To improve on this, when I have done a first draft for my work I'll ask a lecturer to look at it and give me some feedback. Hopefully it will help me view my work from another perspective so I can improve it further.

Leaving work to the last minute - A lot of the time I'm not motivated to do the work set which means I leave it to the last minute and have to rush it so I can't put as much effort into it as I like to. This can be improved by me creating a schedule so I know the due dates for all of the different production targets, and becoming more organised so I have a motivated mindset allowing me to do the work. After the October half term I'll put a schedule into action so for the next set of work I'll have a clear understanding of deadlines. This leads me on to my last point:

Bad organisation - With Google Drive and files on my computer I allow things to get very jumbled and disorganised which can lead towards me losing work or making it harder to complete work. This can be solved by me allocating some time in the half term to tidy up files on my laptop and google drive making everything more clear and organised.

Opportunities

Work experience - In the summer holiday I had a weeks work experience with the crew of Doc Martin filming for ITV. This helped me gain a lot of knowledge on what its like working in the industry and was a great opportunity.

Client/Industry placements - During this year of college we will be given client work and maybe industry placements which will be a helpful opportunity for me.

Access to equipment - The cameras and other new equipment at college mean that I can produce an excellent standard of work effectively.

Out of school projects - The hobbies I have outside of college like my YouTube channel and Independent magazine business are a big help in giving me opportunities in the media field.

Threats

Distraction from work/Time management - When doing work I'm easily distracted by social media and other distractions so I hope to cut down on this. One way this could be achieved is by giving myself a set time to do work with small 5 minute breaks in between. This way I would be less distracted and allow myself to focus on doing the work.

Only doing bare minimum of work - Sometimes I find myself only doing the bare minimum of work so I need to try and make an effort to go the extra mile. This links back to my weaknesses of me not being motivated enough so to solve this problem I will have to again try not to rush the work (leave myself a good amount of time to complete it) and make sure that everything is organised well.

Lack of motivation - I find it hard to be motivated to do work sometimes. In order to solve this I'm going to try getting motivated by watching videos or setting myself achievable targets to do with the work, as a lot of the time I'm not motivated because there seems so much to do.