So, what are your plans after uni then?…

Working part time in the local shop the question of what I study at university is inevitably going to be asked at some point during the time it takes me to pack this woman’s shopping bags.   90% of the time after telling the customer that I am studying Film and Theatre Making at Queens, I am asked the dooming question… ‘So, what are your plans after uni then?’. Why couldn’t we just stick to the rising price of fuel and how cold it is outside?  Knowing that without a connection to a company it was going to be an unlikely story that I would walk out of university and into a secure job was a frightening prospect for me, and so I wanted to gain the knowledge, experience and connections that would make that dreaded question slightly easier to answer.

When I discovered that I could complete a placement module I jumped at the chance, I was determined to gain a closer relationship with an organisation, and in an ideal world, enjoy my time with them, want to work for them, and be offered a job after university, or, at the very least, enhance my employability skills.  I knew immediately that Cinemagic was where I would like to complete my 100 hours. Throughout this blog, I will systematically reflect upon the beginning stages of acquiring my placement with Cinemagic, as well as my first day using the Gibb’s reflective cycle.

My relationship with Cinemagic began when I was still in school. At this point, I was not entirely sure on what I wanted to pursue as a career, however, I was pretty clear on the fact that Moving Images Arts was the class which I enjoyed most. My first project with Cinemagic was filming a short along side industry professionals. It was my first time on set, and by the end of the three days I was absolutely certain it wasn’t going to be my last.

I have been involved in many Cinemagic events since, completing three short films with them as well as working as a runner on one. I would be lying if I said I didn’t have this goal in my head all along, I most definitely was working towards getting my foot in the door with Cinemagic after completing the first short film with them. After meeting with their CEO and having her express interest in having me work for them it felt like a no brainer to contact them again about completing my placement there. I must admit, it was not a long nor difficult process in gaining my placement position with Cinemagic, and I owe this to my time spent with them previously.  The short process which included only a phone call from one of their senior staff gave me confidence that my work I had previously done with Cinemagic was of a high enough standard to immediately offer me the place with them. I was thrilled to have confirmed my placement without any complications and was feeling excited about starting my time with the company.

I received my rota for October via email, and at first glance I knew that October was going to be extremely busy for me, with my part time job, university, and a placement rota which had my name all over it.  However, your final year of university is renowned for being a very busy year, so this did not come as a surprise, what did surprise me however was how well I coped with this major change.  The night before my first day rolled around, it was a SFX makeup workshop taking place in the brand-new Game of Thrones exhibition in Banbridge. The workshop was organised by Cinemagic for key stage three students to inspire young people early on in their school career to explore the creative arts. I had never drove to Banbridge before, and so I decided that it would be best to search for the destination the night before on google maps, to ensure that I would be there for 9am the next morning.

As you can imagine I was excited for my first day, I pulled on my red Cinemagic T-shirt and headed out the door for my first day with time to spare. And yes, it was a good thing that there was time to spare, as I set up google maps to take me to my destination and the time to get there read 40 minutes more than it had the night before. Unknown to me, google maps changes the roads that you take in order to miss traffic, and it just so happened that these were tiny, country roads…

I am aware of the golden rule, never be late on your first day, but I, of course, was. I contact my superior on the way to let her know of my problem and kept my foot down the whole way to Banbridge. I ended up being around 10 minutes late, however, I moved on from this after apologising, I introduced myself to one of the Cinemagic photographers whom I had never met before and asked my superior what she needed me to do. I began setting up for the event, helping the makeup artist set up her things, putting up Cinemagic popups, and welcoming the children into the workshop once they arrived, as well as helping them out while they completed their SFX makeup on each other.  

Despite the slightly stressful morning, I remained calm, I did not let the situation hinder my work once I arrived. I felt I handled the situation in the best way I could have, by apologising and then moving on with my work. From this experience I have learnt that Google maps should not be trusted, but I also learnt that I can carry myself in a professional way, while also creating an enjoyable experience for young people who are interested in film. As I mentioned earlier, my application process was extremely short, and I was rather thrilled that I had been accepted. However, I do think I should have perhaps asked more questions about what exactly I would be doing during the festival, as I turned up to my first day without knowing much about what exactly was going to happen. Since my first day I have gained confidence within my role and do ask more questions which has definitely helped me throughout my time with Cinemagic so far.

Bibliography

Gibbs, G. 1988, Learning by doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Oxford: Oxford Further Education.

Cunningham, I. Dawes, G. and Bennett, N. 2004,  The handbook of work-based learning. Aldershot: Gower.

Ryan, M. 2017, Producer to producer: a step-by-step guide to low-budget independent film producing, M. Wiese Productions.