Having come to the end of my BA Professional Practice (Acting) course at Middlesex University I look back at the wealth of knowledge I have accrued along the way.
I have been taught the importance of using existing networks, and discovering new ones, and how this can work to your advantage. I have been taught about different learning styles, how to use new online resources such as Delicious and Google Docs, and how to write a blog. All of these skills that we have been equipped with have not only helped us through our modules and our final project, but they are skills which will now be transferable to jobs I undertake in the future.
The final project has been a mammoth climb for me. I have never considered myself to be naturally good at writing and so being faced with a 12,000 word project appeared extremely daunting in the beginning. Being able to work through my fears and complete this project has been one of the biggest challenges I have faced so far. I have learned so much while carrying out this project about the importance of planning and executing such a large scale research project.
I was not sure at the beginning of the course what I hoped to get out of it. In realism, what I have gained from the last two years is more than I ever expected. I hope that I will have obtained a degree in which I can be proud of and that I can take the skills I have learned and put them into good practice in future work I do.
Thursday, 5 May 2011
Log 3: Summary of Project Findings
The project I have undertaken has been an exploration into the role of, and possible career progressions of Supporting Artistes. My aims were to establish if it is possible to progress from being a Supporting Artiste to an actor, to find out whether people that are influential to an actor’s career progression feel being a Supporting Artiste to be beneficial or not, and to find out how professionals such as other extras, actors, agents, production crews and casting teams within the industry perceive the role of a Supporting Artiste.
The results showed that the majority of people felt that it was possible for a supporting artiste wanting to progress into acting to achieve this. It also showed that the majority of people working in the industry valued the role of the supporting artiste, and that casting directors were willing to give supporting artistes who wanted to progress, a chance.
I hope that my project can be used as an informative tool to supporting artistes wishing to progress who are unsure if this is possible, and to people who are not sure about how to get into acting; I hope my project could allow them to consider using supporting artiste work as a route into acting.
The results showed that the majority of people felt that it was possible for a supporting artiste wanting to progress into acting to achieve this. It also showed that the majority of people working in the industry valued the role of the supporting artiste, and that casting directors were willing to give supporting artistes who wanted to progress, a chance.
I hope that my project can be used as an informative tool to supporting artistes wishing to progress who are unsure if this is possible, and to people who are not sure about how to get into acting; I hope my project could allow them to consider using supporting artiste work as a route into acting.
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
Log 2: Google Docs
Google Docs is a site which allows people to upload documents and to invite others to view or edit the documents which have been uploaded. It also allows users to chat with other users, and to publish documents onto blogs or web pages.
Google Docs was particularly useful to me as it allows you to look back at previously uploaded documents, which meant I was able to scan through drafts and feedbacks to tweak my final document.
In the module handbook we were issued at the start of this year it talks about the benefits of having someone else look over your work. Using Google Docs I have been able to invite friends and family who I have wanted to read my drafts to go onto Google Docs and view my documents. This has meant they have been able to offer vital advice and support on my project, without me having to individually send each person a copy of my draft.
Being able to access my documents from anywhere has been really important for me. I am not always in a position in which I can take my laptop with me, so being able to work on my drafts away from my laptop, in the library or at friends’ houses has been incredibly useful to me.
Google Docs, as with Delicious will be something I can use in the future and is a welcome new addition to my ever growing knowledge of the web.
Google Docs was particularly useful to me as it allows you to look back at previously uploaded documents, which meant I was able to scan through drafts and feedbacks to tweak my final document.
In the module handbook we were issued at the start of this year it talks about the benefits of having someone else look over your work. Using Google Docs I have been able to invite friends and family who I have wanted to read my drafts to go onto Google Docs and view my documents. This has meant they have been able to offer vital advice and support on my project, without me having to individually send each person a copy of my draft.
Being able to access my documents from anywhere has been really important for me. I am not always in a position in which I can take my laptop with me, so being able to work on my drafts away from my laptop, in the library or at friends’ houses has been incredibly useful to me.
Google Docs, as with Delicious will be something I can use in the future and is a welcome new addition to my ever growing knowledge of the web.
Log 1: Delicious
The website Delicious is a social bookmarking site which allows you to bookmark a website that you want to go back to. It allows you to save as many websites as you like and lets you share them with others, not just on the Delicious website but also via email or websites like Twitter. Delicious will categorise your websites based on tags that you give them, for example; I saved a website which looked into a career in acting, and I gave this website two tags, career and acting. This then enabled me to see all of the bookmarks saved by others with the same tags.
Delicious has served as a fantastic tool for me whilst carrying out my project. The ability to search the website for sites that had been saved by others relating to my project was invaluable when carrying out my Literature Review. It has also meant that if I have been away from my home computer and come across a website that I thought was relevant to my project, I was able to log into Delicious, save it and go back to it when I got home.
Carrying out my project and being introduced to this new website has taught me about a new aspect of the World Wide Web that I was unaware about before beginning the project. It is something I can use in the future, not just in further academic work but in future work and social settings.
Delicious has served as a fantastic tool for me whilst carrying out my project. The ability to search the website for sites that had been saved by others relating to my project was invaluable when carrying out my Literature Review. It has also meant that if I have been away from my home computer and come across a website that I thought was relevant to my project, I was able to log into Delicious, save it and go back to it when I got home.
Carrying out my project and being introduced to this new website has taught me about a new aspect of the World Wide Web that I was unaware about before beginning the project. It is something I can use in the future, not just in further academic work but in future work and social settings.
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