Media is a competitive market, as we live in a day and age where it is easy to learn, study and practice the art publicly but getting to know people through networking and even get paid freelance work may appear or seem slightly more difficult.
As a task I will take you on a journey where I will progress myself in the media world and document all the actions I will take in order to be a freelance mediorite. I will attend social events where I will be with already established business partners networking myself into the media industry and progressing over a period of time.
I have established my skills and abilities through previous work in the media industry and have evaluated myself as a student and where I would like to be in the media world and I have come up with a conclusion. I have previously made contacts in the media industry that are photographers and videographers, also I have made contacts of people who work in the visual effects sector, working with people who have such skills has made me realise my strongest skills.
I feel that my strongest points in the media industry are photography, film directing and also film editing. As a task we have been requested to create our own business, which is personal to us. Meaning we would have to understand our skills and abilities meaning discovering our USP (unique selling point), creating our business names, business cards, establish how we would get into the industry and a mission statement.
As I have had previous experience in the freelance industry I have an idea of how to get my enterprise started and in the midst of completing this assignment I will be setting myself goals and achieving them within a time limit. My first task in building my enterprise is coming up with a company name. As my family names throughout my life has always been the initials ‘OR’ and my hobbies lie in the field of media, I think it would only be right to name myself OR Media. As the name is unique to me and represents my family name, and me, I believe I would be easier to remember than other independent media company names. I have conducted some research into creating my own website to put my work for clients to view. One thing I have noticed is that OR Media has actually been used as a domain and branded for another company therefore leaving me to reconsider a website name. the closest thing which was a success is ondreroachmedia.com which was perfect for both me and my company name.
As every company has one, I had to think about a mission statement, I had to consider the things which would make me unique as a photographer, videographer and as a company. As I had started my mission to network with as many people as possible, my main strengths I had gotten used to hearing is that I am very charming. Mentally, this has become a mission statement for myself as I feel as though being charming aids me to stand out from the crowd, even if it is just a little. Another mission statement of mine was to be at as many events surrounding my area of field as possible, just so people know my face and as a result could eventually working with some of he people at these events. On the topic of attending events, another goal of mine is to also work at the events in which I aim to go to. As a photographer/videographer the very people managing these events would occasionally want/need one to document the day/evening and that’s where I would come in handy. Also if people see me working professionally, it would show that I am serious about my line of work.
I have also looked into printing business cards with a QR code printed on them so if somebody looses my card but they scan the code before then my information will be on their tablet and smartphones making me handy to contact.
My end goals are to work as a teacher in a secondary school teaching media but also to work as a freelance photographer/videographer at events part-time. Knowing people in the industry now and building my contacts are all part of my mission and will aid me in getting to where I need to be in the long term. Currently the people who I study and work with have goals and ambitions for what they want to do in the long term such as; make-up, events management, stage management and many more. Knowing the right people now will be of help to me and me to them in the future.
There are a range of events that are currently happening, which will also aid me in achieving my goal of being in the media industry. Here are a list of 10 events that I believe are the most beneficial to me and why.
- Currently, in the Barbican there is a photography exhibit which has gotten worldwide reviews called Constructing worlds: Photography and architecture in the modern world. This not only is a good exhibit but also can work as inspiration towards some of the work I want to create.
- In the Victoria and Albert Museum there was a photography exhibit that I did go to for inspiration. Horst is the name of the exhibit and whilst being there I learned a great deal about exposure and the manipulation of shadows in photography.
- In the Whitechapel Gallery, not only do they have a wide range of art and photography work but they also have a small cinema to show independent world short films. As I have an interest in world cinema, I was instantly captivated by the pieces of film mainly surrounding the ‘art house’ genre.
- The Victoria and Albert have also shown a recent film, which has hit mainstream cinema and I was lucky to view it the film goes by the name ‘Belle’
- Conflict, Time photography – An exhibit held at the Tate museum which has been documented photography over the years while the world has been in conflict. This would be an interesting exhibit as this is photography through time.
- London Film Museum – This would be an excellent exhibit to attend as they showcase independent films to Hollywood classics. This would be an excellent place to attend to broaden my knowledge of the film world.
- Ronnie Scotts Soho – hold events with live music and open mic nights and anybody who might be looking for work may attend this event. As I am a film-maker, collaborating with other people would be something to get used to.
- Cass Art – have a range of art supplies but in particular they hold art classes using a variety of methods and this would aid me in increasing my artistic edge.
- YH World is a media company that I have worked with on a wide variety of media jobs and what would be beneficial to aid my development is to get back in contact and work on film projects with the creative people who work for this very company.
There is also a range of crowd funding opportunities on the net, the only thing that would stop me is simply research to find the best one suited for me. Crowd funding basically means you can get donated contributions to create a short/extended film production, all at the expense of strangers online willing to see your end product. Websites are as follows:
There are many more websites and associations such as these ones, the only thing finding the one best suited for you or someone in my position is to research.
Networking is also important in any area of work if you as an employee or freelance worker are willing to progress in life. Getting to know people and also getting on their good sides could mean all the difference from being at a desk 5 days a week for a company or being the person that employs people. Getting to know the right people is important and there are specific events that tailor to your needs of networking. Working in the media or arts industry I believe that they correlate in many ways, I believe your more than likely to find people to work with or to point you in the right direction in somewhere as simple as an art gallery. Being outgoing and talkative is essential to network to people but having work and looking professional to back up what you are essentially selling is also key.
Places to network;
- there is an event called Digital Shoreditch where young entrepreneurs showcase their work. There will be food and beverages, also creates a relaxed atmosphere to network to a variety of people.
- There is a venue called Boxpark in Shoreditch and every week there are events being held there, weather it be music, photography exhibits or fashion, box park does it all. This would be a nice time to network to people from different backgrounds.
- There is also an event in December; I will be working with a comedian giving him feedback for a show that he has performed on ‘Live At Apollo’. There will be a range of people at this filming event and this would be a good place to network and promote myself.
- There have been a range of people who have come into our college to give talks about getting into the media industry and as a result I have learned about the effectiveness of networking and aim to network myself to them. As they have given talks, after they conclude, selling myself to them would be a possibility and
- There are a wide variety of networking events that business enterprises hold, one name of the company that holds these events is called BITC (business in the community), this is an event where loads of business enterprises get together and network and pitch their ideas to each other. This event will be very professional and would require constant pitching and selling yourself to others.
Overall, I feel as though I am ready for the professional industry, it sounds very exiting and full of opportunities. As we have done this exercise I feel as though I have a better insight into how to present myself in the media world. Over the coming weeks I will be putting my techniques into practice by using these methods documented. Both the theory and practical sides will be explored and used over my life.
ondreroach 