Nothing to show.

I feel like this summer has been my most productive ever. Yet right now I don't have anything to show for it.

After speaking about my goals for the year in todays seminar I realised that I have done a lot of thinking this summer, a lot of planning and networking alongside building up my skill base however the amount of projects currently I have to show for it is very small. 

For instance the idea for 'Shakespeare's New Globe' came about because I was panicking about approaching a company on the understanding that an internship is a job based thing - as in they give me odd jobs to do around the office and I occasionally help out but mostly I learn by watching. Then I had the email for Seeper saying to send a project over and they'll have a look but here's the thing. I didn't have a project. I didn't even have an idea. I went through ideas surrounding the Olympics/Paralympics and even an interactive Shakespeare 'game' that took you through London to discover certain areas of London that the bard had significance too. But I really wanted to do a sound piece.

So I put together a proposal (with some help from UCA Careers - thanks for that!), I had a conversation about it with Anne because I ran into her on campus whilst at work and I sent it off. I also had a look around the actual Globe and it cemented the idea in my head. I have to make this thing.

Then Seeper decided it wasn't for them.

Completely understandable as this is a more art/film based piece and what they normally make is more technology based work which is something that right now I just can't do. Maybe one day in the future I will have an idea more suited to them but for now they have recommended taking the idea elsewhere because even though they don't want it, they still think it's good. They've recommended the National Theatre and the RSC/Shakespeare's Globe - so I'll see what happens there.

A SeeperArt project that was a jumping off point for the original idea

I feel like my future lies within post-production simply because having tried everything else post-filming is always the thing I look forward too. Now obviously project wise I need to have something to work on during semester 1 and if I leave Uni with a showreel of approximately 2 films with nothing much else it wouldn't look too good. 

So I'm working on 2 films both in editing (Avid and Sound Design), also 1st AD for one of said films, and working on my own project alongside. The Shakespeare project a sound and visual installation. 

To read the project proposal as it stands click here.

This idea was originally proposed as a week long project, so the proposal reflects that.

Something that really hit home recently is I actually already have a big collection work that I've overlooked for the past 2 years - my vlogs. It wasn't until marketing used me as part of their 'reinvention' of the ambassador scheme that I realised how big of a deal interacting with students through video was and how building a recurring audience was a rare thing, no matter how small. 

So I approached a company set up by ex-UCA students and asked for some work, they've given me a test video and I've been editing that for the past week or so. The fact that people can see my skills (+confidence) growing through my vlogs is a big deal and people are drawn to it, so I must have done something right.

Screenshot of rachelbramley.com showcasing my vlogs in a new section on my site

And that's what I've done. 

Like I said not much to show for summer but it's changed my perception of my work drastically.