Guest Speaker | Nimble Ape Ltd

Dan Jenkins' presentation was extremely refreshing, hearing about his journey from as an undergraduate, the early stages of his career and then the progression to his own web development business provided an interesting perspective on life after university and a great example of a successful placement.

Five years after graduating from the University of Kent, Dan Jenkins is now the founder of a development company called Nimble Ape Ltd with a strong client base and international connections in the USA. It was clear that the knowledge he gained during his placement had a huge impact on where his is today. His first hand experience of how industry works meant that the transition into self-employment was that bit easier. one of the most important things I took away from this talk was that despite your level of technical ability, without passion, individuality and drive you will not get you very far both within this competitive industry and generally in life.  

Alongside his Engineering career, Dan is a public speaker. The sessions he runs are based on web development and are delivered to all types of people. This way of passing on knowledge and empowering aspiring individuals in the field is type of support and unity needed to help mould future career paths. Although I am not a developer, I have been inspired to attend more talks about my chosen art forms to extend my knowledge and better equip myself for my own creative journey. 

Trends | 4k Technology

The world of high definition has changed significantly in recent years. The 4k screen resolution or frequently referred to as as ultra high definition and all of its features have become a popular format within the media world. Offering about 4 times more pixels than HD, UHD boosts image clarity, increases frame rate, provides more vibrant colours and improves image depth. Although one of the first 4k cameras, the Dalsa Origin was used in cinematography in 2003, UHD only arrived on the mass market in 2011when cinemas began using 4k projectors. The filming world has seen companies such as RED make accessing the necessary tools to creating quality footage affordable within the filmmaking industry.

One of the first movies to be filmed in 4k was snow white and the seven dwarfs in 1993. Despite capturing the initial footage in this form, it was downscaled to 2k in order to fit the technologies at the time. Now, most of our favourite films such as Interstellar, Gone Girl and After Earth are shot and displayed in UHD through mediums such as Netflix. This technology is broadly used across many devices and gadgets such as cameras, drones and televisions underlining the notion that better picture is attainable anywhere.

4k is the future, however the debate about whether the transiting to UHD is advantageous remains. Despite the doubts of many, statistics show that there has been an increase of 17% in the sale of UHD televisions in the UK in the last 2 years alone. The issue many have with this format is that it is not widely used enough to be standardized in the media world, some deem it to be a waste as the visible advance is not as advantageous on smaller screens resulting in an expensive transition to accommodating this technology.

The preservation of the Creative Industry

Creative industries council
The Creative Industry Council bridges the gap between the creative industry and the government, members of this forum are leading representatives across this industry including Josh Berger (warner bros), Dinah Caine (Creative Skillset) and Tony Hall (BBC). This body aims to stimulate growth and expansion within the industry by seeking funding, offering advice for legal aspects such as intellectual property and copyright. having a structure such as this to guide, advice and promote people is essential within this lucrative field.

In 2014 the council launched a website (thecreativeindustries.co.uk) to promote the UK's creative industry internationally, the statistics for this project proves that it has been successful in unifying this sector, showcasing opportunities and generally demonstrating the accreditation of the British sector.

Venters such as these really make a statement about British hopes for the industry's future, the support from the government with this scheme reinforces that this is an investment in the economy. A platform such as this is useful not only for professionals both here and intentionally but also for newbies trying to get a feel for the industry.

Creative Skillset

Creative Skillset focuses mainly on the new generation of talent, educators and creative businesses within the industry offering a diverse range of free resources such as masterclasses, online courses and career advice. Their online presence and partnerships with other organisations makes them a leading service. I first heard about Creative Skillset through a volunteering experience, at this time I had no idea that in would be so heavily invested in this commerce in the near future. I have personally benefitted from this resource on numerous occasions, through attending events and enrolling in online courses with the hope of improving my own creative skill set.

A recent collaboration between Creative Skillset, FutureLearn and international leading universities has expanded the means of accessing interactive courses online thus building a digital tool to take convenient learning to new heights. MOOC is the result of a calling from the government and the creative industry to provide a network which promotes cross innovation and acts as a portal into exploring the best avenue for each individual.

Guest Speaker | Eurocontrol

The guest speaker for this week was, Moritz Graf von Hochberg, a student who just completed his placement year at Eurocontrol. A European organisation which governs air navigation and traffic based in Luxembourg. Moritz's presentation instilled confidence in my ability and transparency in my doubts and worries. My biggest concern was starting my placement with a limited experience and therefore struggling to deliver work of industry standard, whilst adapting to all the other challenges this experience would bring. His honest and open advice made it clear that this journey is very much about gaining knowledge, the focus isn’t so much about where you are when you start but what you draw from the experience. A break down of his 12 months at Eurocontrol articulated that placement schemes take this common worry into consideration. This opportunity acts as a gateway between the amateur and the professional world. The intensive training and hands on projects for interns during the introductory months aim for students to utilize the transferable skills learnt at university such as group work, working to tight deadlines and pitching ideas.  

The option to study abroad was one I have briefly considered, although Moritz had connections in Luxembourg prior to his settlement, the idea of moving so far away from everything that is familiar to me would be a real test. The creative industry in Europe contributes to approximately 6.8% of the GDP and generates 6.5% of jobs. Unfortunately the lethargic integration of new technologies within the sector has resulted in the destruction of thousands of jobs. The implementation of Horizon 2020, an initiative aiming to conduct research to better develop this sector by 2020. Joining the industry halfway through the initiative would be beneficial as I would gain first hand experience of how new advances are being made and the impact they will have on society, the economy and their way of life.

My upper-intermediate proficiency in Spanish makes, an opportunity in a Spanish speaking location a viable route. I would rapidly improve my Spanish, gain a better insight into the economy and proceedings of businesses outside of the UK all whilst expanding my knowledge in my chosen field/craft. Embracing a new culture and adapting too a new way of life would equip me with imperative life lessons, I am confident that these combined aspects would only heighten my experience. I was really able to identify with Moritz, everyone’s experience and review of their placement year is different and getting an insight into his experience of working abroad has offered me a new perspective.

Guest Speaker | Soapbox

Soapbox is a communications agency based in London. Their team of designers and developers work hard to bring alive the ideas of non-conglomerate businesses such as research based NGOs and academic institutions - offering services for the web, print and imagery. The focus of this talk was on their services within web development, and a brief outline of their placement scheme. 

As an employer and Production manager, Farina Broadley-pederson expressed her concern for creative students who are enthusiastic about their chosen art forms, but do not have any evidence or work outside of their course requirements to validate this.  Her view really spoke volumes for me and put into perspective the critical thinking of industry professionals. Applying for internship roles are one thing but impressing potential employers and making your work memorable is the real challenge. 

The projects Soapbox has been involved in during recent years have ranged from online summaries for The International rescue committee, to branding for Lankelly Chase. The visual design for UNICEF's 'Education Equality now!' campaign by Soapbox really is the definition for good design, it it is efficient in delivering the necessary content and is aesthetically pleasing. Not only do I love what the campaign stands for but the visual communication is presented in a way that will maintain the attention of the intended audience.

Stuart Brockwell was a great case study of a student who underwent a successful placement at the company and who now after graduating has started his career in the very place that helped to lay the foundation. I managed to draw a lot of relevance from this talk to apply to my own understanding of finding the right placement and about where it could take me in the future. Stuart expressed that the skills he had learnt during his placement year were invaluable and were in some respects more advantageous/relevant to the teachings during his time in university. The practicality and efficiency of learning on the job enables students to apply their structured or conditioned learnings to real life situations; developing our expertise to industry standard.