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New Year, New Start
I entered into my placement after Christmas with a great deal of enthusiasm, as the first event of the new year was with the band ‘Gojira’, supported by two other bands; ‘Alien Weaponry’ and ‘Employed To Serve’. My physical…
Mashed up Memories
“My mammy is going to make the best mashed potatoes this Christmas and I’m going to get a beautiful doll with a red velvet dress”. This was the sentence that broke me. Using Gibbs reflective module, I will explain why.…
A Ghost In The Room
Reflecting on past experiences is a powerful way to learn and grow in both our personal and professional lives. In this blog post, I will share one of the most challenging experiences from my work as a streaming engineer for…
“In Theory”: Not in Practice.
Please use the buttons below to navigate between sections: Introduction Going into my placement I had a keen interest in understanding the inner workings of a small production company with the hopes of one day creating my own. After undertaking…
If Opportunity Does Not knock, Build A Door! – Blog Post 3
For my work placement with Liam McMullan in GBL Productions, I was often working alone. Initially, I was tasked with general office work. I normally organised and categorised financial documents, as well as previous productions’ scripts, dance routines (in written…
From Pajamas to Productivity: The Challenge of Working at Home
Skill Transfer
Reflecting near the end of my work placement I have learned a lot through recording and mixing sessions and had a few challenges along the way. For the most part, it has been the ability to transfer all my Digital…
ERROR: Proceed with Caution.
Description WHAT HAPPENED? I found the charity Hourglass, which is the only UK Charity solely dedicated to supporting and preventing the abuse and exploitation of older people, they offered a true insight into the functioning of a third sector. Asked…
The Final Blog Post: Being a small fish in a big pond can knock your confidence.
Throughout my final blog post, I will once again use Gibbs’s reflective model to analyse my performance from the past year. On this occasion, I will discuss something that challenged me greatly during my work-related learning experience, independence. I have…
The View from the Control Room: Humble Beginnings
As I was approaching the end of my placement with Amps studio, I had undergone much training and professional practice in sound recording, editing, and mixing, and was ready to take on my first independent recording session with a full…
Practice makes Perfect
“Practice makes perfect. After a long time of practicing, our work will become natural, skilful, swift, and steady.” – Bruce Lee. One of the hardest parts of being a musician is having dedicated practice time and sticking to it to see…
Communication is Key… I had always thought of myself as an organised individual, which is most of the reason I would consider myself a pretty good (if I do say so myself) producer. So, when I turned up to one…
Entering a New Reality
This year I took on a placement with Belfast’s Extended Reality Festival, a new addition to the annual Belfast Film Festival, which introduced the public to a selection of works utilising virtual and augmented reality. I was brought on to…
THE CHALLENGES AND REWARDS
Throughout my work with CineMagic, I have been able to sample many facets of the film industry. Ranging from being present on a professional film set and lending a hand to taking photos and videos for their social media pages…
Navigating High-Pressure Work Environments: Reflections on Using OKRs at ByteDances
Teachers are Learners too !
In this blog, I’ll discuss how I overcome these challenges using the Gibbs Reflective Model to show how I adapted my approach to teaching for the benefit of my students. According to Gibbs, teachers ought to evaluate themselves in order to…
Outgrowing Your Role
‘Patience is a virtue’
Even though I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Forge Integrated Primary school as a classroom assistant, I would be lying if I said at times, it didn’t have it’s challenges. I have learnt that working with children is the most…
Finding My Feet Sitting in a meeting with a bunch of professionals can be daunting, and incredibly intimidating when you’re a student who is still trying to find her feet in this new workplace. 3..2..1..and its my turn to speak,…
Challenge Accepted Sir!
When I chose to take up my work placement as a teaching assistant, I thought, “How bad could it be? They’re children!” Little did I know how wrong I was. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that teaching was…
Dazed and Confused
The very first task I had to do for my placement turned out to be the most stressful. I learned a lot from this experience, both about editing in general and also the company; Lamb Films, which I was to…
Overcoming Obstacles
Closed Session
During my time at Kabosh, I was primarily production assistant on Rosemary’s Jenkinson’s Silent Trade. In her review of this production Bronagh Lawson (2023) highlights that “although the subject is difficult you leave better informed”. Something that I feel is…
Where Does the Future Lie?
I have chosen to make use of Borton’s (1970) model of reflection when considering the experience I have gained through my continued placement with National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI). I have chosen Borton’s (1970) model of reflection as I think…
Setting sail to Fiji
My Overall Experience from the Internship I gained valuable life skills as I expanded my cultural knowledge of the Fiijain culture through the fantastic and plentiful resources that Think Pacific offered during my 4-week internship. I did my action project…
Dealing With Rejection
Introduction When I began my placement at Humanity Cosmetics I had no prior experience in content creation for companies, meaning I was being thrown into the deep end. In addition, during my time with the company I have dealt with…
Challenges throughout my placement
Description The placement I undertook and was working was one involved in broadcasting live streams from Queen’s SARC building and music rooms. Concerts and conferences that would happen weekly would be recorded and directly broadcast on Youtube and other platforms.…
Flunk or float? My stressful experience of conducting a lesson for mature students
You clear your throat, you shakily hold the lesson plan you have formulated in your hand, it feels like you are giving a speech in front of the United Nations. Will you flunk it? Will you float? Only time would…
Ewww… couldn’t be Worse
Bridging The Gap – Blog 3
Challenges and learning outcomes from my work placement.
“The educated [person] is one who has learned to changed.” Karl Rogers In this essay, I use Gibbs reflective model to discuss a challenging aspect of my work placement. I outline the challenge addressed and my learning outcome. This model…
Working from Home: The Creative Challenges of Solo Videography
I have always considered filmmaking to be a collaborative process. In my freelance work, solo projects are very rare as I am usually working with a second shooter. However, my work with Humanity Cosmetics has been entirely independent. The style…
Becoming a Film Teacher
Do you know that saying when “life gives you lemons, make lemonade”? Well, I think I embraced this saying after getting my work placement sorted after many months of trying. I ended up working with Larry Cowan at his production…
My Name Is… Never Mind.
Have you ever tried to speak to someone who does not know the same language? During my placement when I was working as a classroom assistant, one of my tasks was to work alongside a pupil that only knew how…
Never Give Up
Editing feels almost like sculpting or a form of continuing the writing process. Sydney Pollak For ten years, editing has been my passion. I enjoy juxtaposing images together and combining sound with the visuals to transform the story through an…
The Importance of Personalised Lesson Plans – Learnt the Hard Way
By Kathryn Collins Reflecting on my work placement in Laurelhill Community College, there has been many challenges I have had to overcome. From learning new technology I had no prior knowledge of, learning how to manage behaviour within the…
SINK OR SWIM
Challenges – The Road to Learning
Throughout my placement, I learned an eternity of lessons; from how to plan a lesson, to how to present yourself in front of a class. Like all, with learning came the challenges. How else do we learn without challenges?Over the…
Orchestrated Chaos.
My time at the BBC has been a relatively relaxed experience, each day was much more of a learning curve than an over exertion of physical or mental labour. However, utilising the ERA cycle I will observe and reflect one…
Cinematographer an Intimidating Role
My Role My placement provider asked me to be the cinematographer for a short film he was making with a class he teaches. This was a dark comedy based in rural a bar near Belfast. Within this role I filmed…
Lights! Camera! Action!, My Experience Filming a Stock Music Video On Placement
I have to admit, filming is always a daunting experience. However, filming a stock music video that could be bought and consumed by thousands globally is at another level entirely. ‘Reflective practice can give strategies to bring things out into…
Trying to escape the 67%…
‘67% of employers suggest recent graduates need to improve their interview performance’ (Chronicle of Higher Education, 2013) Description What happened? The process required us to begin by finding a job description similar to one we are looking at for future…
Simulated Interview Reflection
Description For this simulated interview I applied to a freelance studio assistant in London, doing various jobs around studios assisting with whatever tasks needed. I applied to this job through Mandy, a website that presents job opportunities that are posted…
Fake it ’till You Make it: Reflections of a Simulated interview
By Olivia Peden In this blog post, I would like to reflect upon my experience of my simulated interview, taking into account both my self- reflection and peer reviews. I plan on employing Gibbs’ reflective cycle in order to discuss…
A Wandering Eye
I doubt anyone can say they enjoy the interview process, and if there are people out there that do, I am definitely not one of them. Throughout my 21 years of life, I can say I’ve had my fair share…
In Interviews, Grammar Matters…But So Does Confidence: Reflections from a Non-Native English Speaker
A High-Pressure Simulation
In this blog, I will be applying the model of reflection proposed by Boud, et al., (1985) to systematically reflect on my experience of the simulated interview session. Model of Reflection in the Learning Process (Boud et al., 1985) A…
The Blabber Mouth…
Entering The Lions Den… Although this simulated interview process was not going to make or break anything major, I still felt anxious as the day rolled around. I tried to convince myself ‘this doesn’t matter, it’s just my classmates, I…
LESSONS LEARNED by Luke Darby
Evaluating Anxiety
While working with director Paula McFetridge on the new writing piece ‘Not On Our Watch’ by Louise Matthews, the prejudice homeless women in our society face was an undeniable and constantly pervading theme. As one of the leading supporters of…
Mastering Preparation
“Miss Hannah Wasson, we are ready to see you”. Just like that, in a few words, my peers had become my interviewing panel. Their once friendly faces now peered at me with straight, stern looks, curious to find out how…
What I never knew about Interviews
Reflecting on my life and the job interviews I have had and ‘prepared’ for up to now, I realised just how unprepared I am for the world of graduate job interviews. The lecture on interview skills at the start of…
Simulated Interviews: Overcome the Nerves
The dreaded interview. From applying to part time jobs and places on programmes to assist my academic and working skills, I have had to participate in many. My interview experiences in the past have ranged from abysmal to good. I’ve…
‘So tell us a bit about yourself’- The Interview Stage.
The daunting task ahead. The interview stage is arguably the most difficult stage when applying for any job. It is usually the final piece of the employment puzzle in many workplaces across the world and a fantastic opportunity for any…
Interviews: The Dreaded Conversation
On Thursday 2nd February 2023, we conducted stimulated interviews where classmates acted as a panel for a job of your choice. As I want to pursue a career in teaching, I found a job advertisement for a teacher of English in…
FAIL TO PREPARE. PREPARE TO FAIL.
The interview is a conversation with a purpose’ – Bingham W.V Many people despise the thought of job interviews, and this is understandable. It’s scary to think that in a survey of 2,000 hiring managers, 33% claimed to know whether they would hire someone…
AEL Blog Post 2 – Simulated Interviews
Let me set the scene, it’s the last Friday of May. You’ve just woken up to the smell of freshly cut grass, the sun is peaking through your blinds, the air is warm. You cannot wait to go to school…
Talking Against Time
There is no stress that can quite compare to that of a job interview. Are you able to talk against the clock in a way that proves to the person opposite the desk, that there is no need to even…
INTERVIEW IMPROVEMENTS
How Things Are Going After having spent nearly 6 months with Cinemagic, I am able to reflect on how far it has taken me. Not only was I given a great opportunity to work with a well-known Belfast-based company and…
Laugh out loud has a whole different meaning in an interview: a reflection on combatting nerves
In the fourth week of our new semester, we took simulated interviews for our work-based learning module. I was really excited to practice my interview skills as I know approaching graduation, I will be taking interviews for important job opportunities.…
The Overcoming of Irish Humility in an Interview
The Overcoming of Irish Humility in an Interview.pdf
Eighty Percent Of Success Is Showing Up…
So where is the other twenty? American filmmaker, actor and comedian Woody Allen once stated that “eighty percent of success is showing up”, so is this the same for job interviews? This blog aims to look at how showing up…
Job Interviews: Selling Yourself For A Pay Cheque
Job interviews, torturous overly stressful conversations. Conversations which have a massive impact on your future. They are sales pitches where the product you’re trying to sell is yourself (Muir, 2005). However, in their most basic form, they are a conversation…
Simulated Job Interviews – Disengage the Simulator
What do I want to be when I grow up? Nothing quite compares to the angst and apprehensiveness faced when staring down the barrel of an impending job interview. Will I mess this up? Will they like me? Will I…
Interview a New You! – Becoming an Interview Guru
With the recent emergence of so many innovative interview tactics, ranging from spontaneous testing of situational awareness and technical skills to an inquisition of one’s morals- can you ever truly be prepared? Despite a surge of research on employers over…
The big bad Simulated World
The Search When searching for a job within the media industry, I tried multiple sources but ultimately found my ideal job on NI Jobs with the production company Farm Flix. This was the stepping stone to further research into the…
Nerves are a good sign…or are they?
As I stand outside the door before going into my mock interview, I only ask myself one question – “Why did I agree to go first?” At the time it seemed like a good idea, go first, and get it over…
Blog Post 2 – Simulated Interviews
Preparation For our simulated interviews with our peers, we were required to research and decide on a real-world job opportunity specific to our chosen career paths. I aim to become a Costume Designer for various theatre companies after university so…
Practice Makes Perfect: My Simulated Interview Experience
‘The Interview’ behind the scenes.
Heart racing. Pulse rushing. Leg shaking. This is how I’ve felt sitting outside every interview room I’ve ever been in. I always assumed I’d find interviews easy. Growing up in the arts I had ample experience auditioning in new, scary…
Frequently Asked Questions
I will use Gibb’s reflection model to evaluate my experience of completing a simulated interview for Impact Manager at the BBC by analysing my actions throughout the process (1998). Description After many hours of researching jobs in the charity, community,…
Reflection of Simulated Interviews
Utilising the ERA cycle, I will now self-assess the simulated interviews and my situational awareness when I was employer and employee. “Reflective practice takes its starting point from our experiences and assumes that we can learn from them for our…
“Fake it ‘til you make it!”: Finding Success in a Simulated Interview
This blog post’s title self-admittedly became my personal mantra regarding confidence in an interview. If any obstacle stood between me and a job offer it was my desire to curl up in a ball and avoid the process altogether. However,…
CONFIDENCE IS KEY, BUT IT WILL ONLY GET ME SO FAR.
In my second blog post, I will once again use Gibbs model of reflective practice. This time I will use it to analyse my performance in mock interviews held for a job that we each selected before the session. As…
Preparing for an Interview with Little Experience.
My looming graduation has sparked a spell of anxiety regarding my employable skills. On surveying job opportunities, I have identified gaps in my skillset which I plan to develop through voluntary work and freelancing. The job I chose to mock…
Grey Hairs At Twenty? A Reflection On My Simulated Interview
Chills running up your spine, sweat growing in your palms and knots forming in your stomach. You walk into a boxy room filled with people who are already staring into your soul. Was this an interrogation? No, it was a…
Situation + Task + Action + Result… How hard can that be?
Naturally, I am composed of feelings that range from passion to doubt and like Wordsworth, I often struggle with aspiration as it is becomes flooded with anxiety. As part of my Work-Based Learning module I have been challenged to develop…
Interview? Interview!
“Sitting in front of the desk, sweat beaded on your forehead, uncontrollable shaking in your legs.” This is a common sentiment of those who dread going to job interviews. Going to a job interview is definitely nerve-wracking, especially if it’s your first time. I recently…
Boo! It’s an interview!
Sweaty palms. Racing heart. Interviews are a nightmare. This month, I took part in a simulated interview with my peers where I was able to analyze my skills in interview-taking. I learned that interviews are largely about placing the candidate…
The Best Person You can be at the Interview is Yourself… or is it?
Nervous, fearful, anxious, on edge, etc. These are the words that I’ve always heard from people around me when work interview discussions came about but I’ve never understood why? I’ve had my fair share of work interviews, more informal than…
Simulated Interviews
An interview is often seen as a stressful situation, prompting anxiety and nervousness. Martin John Yate defines an interview as “a two-way discussion designed to help the interviewer learn more about you, your background, and your abilities, and to help…
Why Should We Hire You? UMMMM… I hate interviews. From the first question to the last question. Do you think every interviewer knows that majority of candidates have to cover their anxious sweat patches with a blazer or do they…
Stressed: The Blog Post
I had been dreading my simulated interview since I heard about it. In the end, and as somewhat expected, the lead-up turned out to be more stress-inducing than the interview itself. Though the interview was a blur, the value of…
Presenting Yourself, The Interview Process
Preparation In order to prepare for the simulated interview for a job with the BBC show ‘Countryfile’ I researched into other shows of similar genre to help demonstrate my interest in the company and this production. In their advert the…
The Interview Before the Big Interview
Teaching has always been my goal after my Bachelor of Music, and to achieve this it requires me to study a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE). This work experience module is an opportunity for me to see what…
Calming The Nerves
Introduction In the third week of our AEL work placement module, our cohort undertook simulated interviews. These were done to give us the experience of partaking in a dry run of a job interview where we could better understand what…
A Warm Welcome and Good Start
When I first took on the challenge of finding a placement, I didn’t think of some difficulties I would encounter. As I went about this journey, I had to think up solutions to continue forward. A lot of challenges popped…
Expectations and Reality
In preparation for my work placement, I researched the film industry in detail. I knew I had chosen a difficult industry to break into. As Gregory writes, ‘It’s estimated that 60,000 people try to break into the audio-visual industries in…
Under Pressure (Pushing Down On Me)
Securing a work placement – what a joyful experience. From the stress of waiting on responses from employers, the rejections, and my personal favourite, the ‘oh, what if I do not get a placement in time?’ narrative constantly running through…
Subject : Meet the Team
Subject: Meet the Team Why meeting your co-workers can be so intimidating I refuse to believe I am the only one these words fill with dread. Don’t get me wrong I like to view myself as extroverted and friendly at…
BLOG ENTRY:1
What comes first, porridge or milk? It seems to be quite a mundane dilemma. Surely porridge comes first, right? Then you pour the milk into the bowl just like you would with a cereal. Truly a rookie mistake! When microwaving…
Working with a Production House
When applying for my placement I knew I wanted to take the opportunity to gain experience in the field of cinematography. Therefore, I applied to a number of production houses in Belfast. The first (and only) email response I received…
The World of Theatre upon Reflection
‘Why?’ I have found there is no more adequate a question to ask when you are in a new world of knowledge. I was first involved in office work, mainly doing administration assistance and often shadowing Liam McMullan (GBL Productions)…
About my experience in drafting CV
Making a CV was an enriching experience for me, as I needed to look into myself and write my skills and abilities creatively in order to grab the attention of prospective employers. To reflect on this experience, I will use Gibb’s…
Communication is Key
After developing an interest in broadcast journalism over the summer in anticipation of beginning a placement in my third year of university I decided that a placement with the SARC Media team would be the best way to first introduce…
Work Based Learning: The first step into your career
The most important step in your career, is the first. As Neil Armstrong said “One small step for man; a giant leap for mankind” shows that by taking the initiative and getting the earliest start possible into your career can…
Another String to your Bow
Walking through the doors of a building I had grown very familiarwith over the course of three years felt instead like a maze as I enteredmy first day of work placement. The QUB School of Music, whichhas essentially become a…
So Far So Good
As my graduation approaches, I will always think to myself, “have I got enough experience for my future jobs or the master degree.” I should practice more skills instead of limiting myself to audio production, hence, why I applied for the SARC video team as my…
Run(ner) of the Mill
When applying for a post-production placement with Lamb Films, I imagined myself sitting alone in a dark room hacking away at footage for hours. However, it was through spending a day on a professional set for the first time that…
Amped-up for the Interview
In this blog I will detail my experience of my pre-placement interview using the Integrated Reflective Cycle (Bassot, 2013) to systematically reflect on my actions surrounding the event. The Experience My chosen potential placement provider was Amps Studio, a recording studio just…
Learning To Say ‘No’!
Ahhh, The First Day. The day that makes everyone a bit sick at the stomach. The day that your hopes and fears are eliminated… or sometimes confirmed. Will they like me? Will I get lost? Will I forget how to…
Earning the Trust of Clients and Employers
One of the most important skills a freelancer should develop is the ability to work collaboratively with their clients, framing each new project as an opportunity to improve communication, confidence, and efficiency. A strong first impression with a new client…
Uninterested teenagers in Drama?
Uninterested teenagers in Drama? “Education is probably the most powerful influence on the development of our society. The education that young people receive through schooling goes beyond knowledge about a body of academic subjects: it is built upon and shapes…
Save The Drama For The Stage!
Evaluating my first day teaching drama using Gibb's Reflective Cycle.
TO JUST GET STARTED
AEL3001 Blog Post #1 Source: Google Images KICK START Advancing a career after a few years of relative stagnation is an interesting thing. After studying for years, I hadn’t gone anywhere with it. There is a flow of emotions, like…
Out of the Blocks
Throughout this blog, I will be making use of Borton’s (1970) model of reflection, to reflect upon, and evaluate my work-based learning experience so far. The first job that I had with National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI) was working with…
Zoom through Fiji with me
The process of applying for the Think Pacific internship Welcome to my blog post (Bula) about my completed 4-week work placement based in the sunny and tropical island of Fiji. Through zoom calls… So join me as I zoom you…
Consequence of my Own Actions
Finding Placement It seems like just yesterday I was first applying to Queens to study Broadcast Production and now here I am three years later starting to decide what I am going to do with the rest of my life…
So… What will I be doing today?
100 hours. 17 days. 8 weeks. And not a single moment was the same as another. This was one aspect that I didn’t quite expect when embarking upon my placement as a classroom assistant, at Victoria College, Belfast. Through deep…
Finding My Placement!
Cinematography has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. When the opportunity to complete a work placement for my degree came up, I couldn’t see myself trying to secure a work post anywhere else but…
Learning to make a Negative into a Positive in the Film Industry
From the beginning of my search for work placement, I knew this was more than just another assignment set to us by our university to pass the school year because the reality was I was coming to my final year…
Too Little, Too Late
Procrastination at its finest. Procrastination. We hear it pop up in conversations regularly, particularly with students, but what exactly is it? The word ‘procrastination’ derives from the Latin word ‘procrastinare’ meaning “belonging to tomorrow” and is the act of deliberately…
A Helping Hand
It’s never easy starting a job or a new place of work, especially in the creative sector. Spontaneity and flexibility are key to surviving the freelance film industry. From meetings to production days, one must remain adaptable. My work placement…
Thrown in at the Deep End
The thought of starting work placement was something that made me anxious already. The thought of being around individuals who are established, successful, and older was something that definitely scared me and made me intimated to say the least. However,…
Procrastination. Through the eye of Gibb.
Work experience. One might think it could be rather straightforward, though obtaining a work placement isn’t as effortless as it seems, especially if you struggle with procrastination. Join me through this blog, as I show you the journey of finding…
Playing It Safe
When I picked my placement with Kabosh I was taken by their ethos to “produce provocative theatre that transforms our understanding of who and where we are, through giving voice to site, space and people” (Kabosh,2022). Shadowing artistic director Paula…
The Day We Went to Bangor…
Reflecting on my experience as a Festival Assistant with the Open House Festival over the Seaside Revival weekend, I will use Graham Gibb’s model of reflection to evaluate how I managed my expectations of my role. “Gibb’s cycle consists of…
FIX IT IN POST: Placement in social media editing
Introduction As an avid filmmaker with a goal of making a career out of editing, I would not have originally expected to be completing my placement with a cosmetics brand, however, that is exactly where I ended up. As Gregory,…
The Majors and Minors of Music Therapy
*C MAJOR CHORD* “Hellooo, hellooo, it’s time to play some music today!” Clapping my hands and singing a merry hello tune is how I have been starting my Friday mornings! Using Driscoll’s mode of reflective writing I shall explain just…
Teaching requires passion
Every good memory of school that stands out to me is music related. From singing Howard Goodall’s Requiem in St Anne’s Cathedral as part of the choir, to being in the chorus of every school production we put on.…
Confidence is Key – My First Live Event in Audio
Summer is ideally a rewarding period of time where we can relax and reflect on the stresses of the last academic year. The realism of Summer, for me, was anxiety and doubt. I had not heard back from any companies…
From Applying to Going Live – A first semester reflection of Work Placement
Applying for my Work Placement In this blog post, I plan to give account of my initial experience of work placement at the Sonic Arts Research Centre, Belfast. I plan to evaluate the processes of applying to earn my placement…
Imposter Syndrome in the Workplace is a Definitive Rite of Passage
The Importance of Preproduction and Editing
My placement is with Lamb Films under Larry Cowan. So far I have been working on the preproduction for a feature film that Lamb Films will be producing. This has included painting and setting up sets as well as writing…
Pressure Is For Tyres:
Former Ireland rugby player Cian Healy has often said before big games that ‘pressure is for tyres.’ This is something that has always resonated with me, because as someone who believes they can only work under pressure it never made…