The Road So Far – A Placement Blog Post

What?

Now we come to a week and a half before the deadline to find a placement, with my patience and hope running thin, I received an email from a subject tutor advertising a placement titled “Video Content Creator”. The title sparked my interest, it seemed very relevant to what I was hoping to achieve. This placement was with a company called ProfileTree, an award-winning content marketing agency based right here in Belfast. After investigating a little further, I discovered that one of their goals was to create “engaging digital content”, which engaged my interest even more! This placement seemed too good to be true, but with little hope, I sent off my CV and a cover letter and thought nothing more of it. Not even an hour later I received a reply! I had been accepted! 

The first few weeks were quite rocky as I gained my footing and figured out what I actually wanted to create. I was part of a small group of ‘interns’, as we are referred to, and we were to create video content for one of ProfileTree’s clients, Connolly Cove, an online tourism brand. During our first meeting with Gabbi Ferrin, the liaison between the interns and ProfileTree, we were given a basic list of what to get started on creating videos of. These videos were to suit Connolly Cove’s social media channels such as their YouTube and Instagram pages, and as I have never made content for a brand’s social media before, I was nervous. Of course, growing up in this digital age, I am very familiar with social media; I like to think that I know what is popular and trending, what people want to watch and how they want to watch it. So aside from the nervousness of trying something new, I was excited to gain experience in this field (which is probably the most important aspect of this industry!).

“The creative industries are about experiences.”

Rosamund Davies, and Gauti Sigthorsson. Introducing the Creative Industries : From Theory to Practice. SAGE Publications Ltd, 2013.

The pros of this placement with ProfileTree is that we can work from home and during our own time as well. Weekly meetings are scheduled so that we can talk about what we have been working on and ask any questions or worries we may have, as well as receiving helpful feedback on how to improve what we are making. At the beginning we were given the option to film using our mobile phones, but fortunately I have my own DSLR camera which can record in high quality, which makes my content look better. I also have access to Final Cut Pro on my laptop, which allows me to edit the videos to a high standard.

For the past two months I have been focusing on making tourism videos to show off Belfast. The content I have created so far include YouTube videos and Instagram Reels of places in Belfast including Queen’s University Belfast, City Hall, Botanic Gardens and Titanic Quarter. I even recently ventured up to the beautiful North Coast to make some content on Portrush and Ballintoy Harbour, two places which I think need to be shown to the world.

The video I made of Ballintoy Harbour: https://vimeo.com/649228564

The video I made of Queen’s University Belfast: https://vimeo.com/649229655

So What?

My search for a placement might have been easier if I had started slightly earlier, even a few weeks would have helped (as well as ease my mind)… I now know that following up with a phone call and being (almost annoyingly) persistent will help my case and get companies to notice me and my work. Looking back over the last few months, I am proud of the work that I have done so far, but I think that the editing techniques I employ are slightly too basic for the type of content I am trying to make. I could also spend more time in each location when filming to make sure I cover every angle, and make use of my tripod to make sure that the videos look high quality instead of shaky. The fact that we can do this placement in our own time is perfect for myself as a university student, as many nights are late ones in the library (or elsewhere), but sometimes I find that I am running late to meet the weekly deadline because I only do a few hours everyday. This is something to consider for the future.

Now What?

I am going to continue to do my best with ProfileTree, however, going forward I will dedicate a specific day during the week to do placement, instead of completing a few hours everyday. This structure will allow me to manage my time and other aspects of my life better. To further improve on the quality of my content for ProfileTree, I will strive to spend more time and patience when recording on location. I can also improve my editing skills by watching the vast array of tutorials available on YouTube. This can also help me to develop my own personal editing style which will make me stand out from others for future employers, a goal which I will work hard towards.

“Being mindful of your own goals and limitations is very important.”

Gem Barton. Don’t Get a Job…Make a Job. Laurence King Publishing, 2016.

Bibliography

Gem Barton. Don’t Get a Job…Make a Job. Laurence King Publishing, 2016.

Rosamund Davies, and Gauti Sigthorsson. Introducing the Creative Industries : From Theory to Practice. SAGE Publications Ltd, 2013.

Terry Borton. Reach, Touch and Teach. New York, McGraw-Hill Paperbacks, 1970.