I don't know about anyone else, but to me it felt like 2018 just flew by! I look back over what I did this year and my overwhelming thought is "How did I have time to do all that?". It's been crazy in the best way. At times it's felt like it's been too much but the results, the experiences and memories have been so worth it.
University has been a bit of a wild ride! I finished first year with flying colours and did some amazing coursework which I'm extremely proud of. The highlight of the year was taking on the role of producer for a live TV studio production. My team and I devised and produced a 5-minute broadcast named Bird's Eye View – a nature show about birds aimed at an audience of young people. You can read about all the antics that were involved in that here and check out the final piece:
Second year has begun and the latest excitement with that is the photography module. I spent a good portion of my holidays driving here, there and everywhere to get the images I needed for my portfolio – huge thanks to my mum for putting up with all the related shenanigans. My coursemates and I have an exhibition up of our work from this module that's open to the public at the Vallum Gallery in Carlisle. If you're in the area, why not drop by?
I've been working on some additional projects alongside my uni work, and that's been a huge amount of fun. My favourite was definitely the Carlisle Remembers project where I took on the role of Head of Video Production. My team and I worked to produce a film of a day-long remembrance event at Carlisle Castle and honestly it was such a great experience and an absolute pleasure to be a part of. We're not quite finished with the edit yet and I'm really looking forward to seeing that.
Being a part of this project has actually led onto something else quite exciting, but I'm not sure I'm allowed to talk about that yet. So stick around if you wanna hear about that!
I also got to work as a costumed marshal on a film set which was an absolutely incredible experience! I had the best lunch of my life on this project – eating Chinese food from a takeaway tub in full Victorian dress; I won't be forgetting that any time soon.
As well as all this, I've found the time to go on a couple of trips to some new places, the highlights of which included Berlin (very cold), Milan (very hot) and the Farne Islands (very wet). Hopefully I'll get to go so to some equally exciting places in 2019!
We're now a good way into 2019 and I'm on the hunt for ways to better myself and my practice. I'm not normally one for setting resolutions, but I think having some goals in mind can't be a bad thing.
Be more spontaneous: those of you who know me are more than well aware of my tendency to plan every last detail of my day in advance. While this often means that my time management is pretty amazing, it can also cause a lot of stress – especially when I'm running late. I'm going to try to do things without meticulous planning them in the hopes that I'll actually gain something that resembles a social life and enjoy living in the moment more.
Read more about producing: so after many years of fretting I now seem to have a goal – to become a television producer. I've been gaining some fantastic practical experience over the years, but I know that there is more I can do in terms of the theory of it all. So, I've decided to make use of the excellent library resources available to me at university. I'm starting off with 'Producing for TV and New Media' by Kellison, Morrow and Morrow (yes, that's two Morrows) which I actually came across whilst doing some coursework over Christmas. It's a great read and I'm thoroughly enjoying making my way through it. And this book brings me nicely to my next goal.
Dress better: in Kellison's book, there is a list of the top ten things needed to be a great executive producer. Number 10 is to be a snappy dresser. I'd say that currently I'm not... but it's something I'd like to work on. I don't really want to contribute to the fast fashion industry, so I guess I'll be hitting those charity shops (Thrift Shop by Macklemore starts playing in the distance).
There's loads of other stuff that I'd like to do this year; make less self-depreciating jokes, get back into writing and work on my photography for example. But I know I'm going to be hard pressed to even get the three I've spoken about done (and you can pry self-depreciating jokes from my cold, depressed fingers) and as I'm sure you can tell my resolution to write a weekly blog this year has already gone out of the window.
I'm fortunate enough to know that I've already got loads of amazing stuff in store, such as a conservation trip to Jersey, working with an amazing media collective and throwing myself back into my academic studies. I honestly don't think I've ever looked forward to a year more than 2019 – so let's see what the year has in store!
Image Highlights of 2018
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