#this is the biggest emotion reaction a piece of media has ever gotten out of me /srs

[enlighten3d]

chapter 503 of orv has emotionally damaged me. i am so not ready for the epilogue, holy shit.

[moreracquetball]

Youtuber AU Headcanons

(Lowkey inspired by a post by @whizzerbrowne who brought the idea to my attention and it has since dominated my brain). Let’s just get started:

(This got way too long, yikes. I had to include a read more line)

~ Three Youtubers: Jason, Cordelia, and Whizzer.

Jason

Type: He’s one of those younger, newer youtubers. He started when he was nine, and he talked frankly about stuff like divorce (bc his parents were going through a divorce at the time) and being an introvert and being autistic and being Jewish and dealing with a difficult relationship with his parents. He has trouble really talking to people so it was like really easy to just sit in front of a camera and start talking at them. Side note: this was totally Mendel’s idea as a therapy exercise that actually worked, okay? And (as we’ve seen in the musical), Jason has this raw honesty and wit to him that is very funny and real to watch. As he’s gotten older, he’s started talking about other things - like not such heavy topics. He talks about the things that he’s hyperfixated on (baseball, chess, the emoji movie, etc), and though his content is pretty erratic and all over the place, people just love his commentary and he’s amassed millions of followers in just a few years??

He also vlogs /a lot/, which is how his audience got to know Trina, Mendel, and Marvin.

Trina - Everyone literally adores her. She is v nervous and awkward in her cameos in Jason’s videos, but she is also very honest and vocal about her opinions and calls herself the Cool Mom even though Jason’s like “Mom, you don’t let me stay up past ten even when it’s not a school night” and Trina’s just “A Cool Mom can’t still care about your healthy and well-being??”

Mendel - As a one-off, Jason asked his followers to submit questions to Mendel the Psychiatrist for a collab idea with his stepdad, and his pieces of advice were kinda off the wall and funny and it quickly became a series and one of Jason’s most popular series ever. Some people are convinced Mendel is just playing a character so Jason has to be like “no he is actually like this. You have to believe me.” Also: Mendel gets a snapchat that everyone follows. He uploads grainy pictures of like trees and makes puns and constantly spams his story with pictures of Trina with captions like “look at how pretty she is” and “how did i get so lucky” and “rare photo of an actual goddess.” 

Marvin - Tbh, the audience’s reaction to Marvin is a little more mixed, esp at first. Jason had talked a lot about his difficult relationship with Marvin and his “Draw My Life” video did stir up some contempt for Marvin’s selfishness. But like, over the years and through small snippets of cameos, it is generally believed that Marvin has changed and grown up a lot and is like an amazing (but dorky) dad. His cameos in Jason’s videos are the best bc it shows how eerily alike those two are and at one point Marvin briefly talks about internalized homophobia and toxic masculinity and hints at the stuff that he is’t proud of, and everyone - no matter their outward opinion of him - has like a little crush on him. Also, the videos with Marvin and Mendel both?? Their petty arguing gets like millions of hits every time.

Jason also totally does all the trend/tag videos but also has like that sarcastic, almost ironic vibe at first but he ends up really sincerely liking it. 

Jason also does like monologues of his thoughts and opinions while also doing mini skits in between and he is iconic and a jack of all trades really.

He is very articulate and seems so mature but like any hate whatsoever does get to him a lot. He’s learned how to deal with his self-doubt and ignoring the trolls better than he had when he first started, but every once in awhile it still gets to him.

Also??? Remember that Roast Yourself Challenge trend??? Jason did that, and it was on the top page for like a solid week. He went too hard and too real.

Cordelia

Type: Totally like Hannah Hart’s Drunk Kitchen, are you even kidding me?? That it totally Cordelia. She drinks and talks about current events and makes really bad food puns and it is Everything. She also branches out after awhile and starts doing like satirical how-to videos. Lowkey once she tried to make a wry, parody version of a beauty vlogger how-to and she ended up having so much fun with it and her after make-up looked ballin, so she starts doing make-up tutorials, too.

She’s also very very proudly gay and out. Like, her username is literally lesbiancaterer. But she still gets like comments on her videos saying “are you straight?” or “her boyfriend must be a lucky guy” and it just makes her go “????? How could I ever make this clearer?” (once, in a collab with Marvin, one comment said “ahh, her and her bf are such #relationship goals” which then launched a very satirical, very deadpan boyfriend tag video with her and Marvin that made it abundantly clear just how fucking gay those two are).

Charotte first got introduced very very early in her videos bc once during a drunk kitchen, Cordelia cut her finger with a knife and called for her girlfriend and Charlotte went into complete Doctor Mode and started treating her immediately. Cordelia is a little tipsy at that point and starts blatantly flirting with her and calling her “my doctor” and that video’s comment section is just keysmashing and the phrase “my doctor.”

Cordelia does not try to hide her relationship in any way. She and Charlotte have done all those cute couples tags and Charlotte is the star of Cordelia’s social media and vlogs. Now they are #relationship goals.

Cordelia actually got into Youtube bc of Jason and everyone was like lowkey shocked when it turned out that these two popular but different youtubers knew each other and cameo in one another’s videos a lot and Cordelia is like “he is literally my godson, guys. Ofc I’m gonna be around him and support him.”

Whizzer

Type: Ohhh boy!! Whizzer is def the kind of youtuber that has been around on the platform since circa 2007 - are you even gonna try to fight me on that??? He is a fashion channel (also has like a series of the youtube version of fashion police) but also like a major storytime channel bc he’s been around and tells the craziest but realest stories of all time. He is also quickly considered The Gay Icon^tm of Youtube.

He is definitely one of the biggest youtubers on the platform but he also lowkey feels too old to still be on here and has that like Shane Dawson kinda feel of like keeping it real about youtube drama and rebranding himself and learning from stupid old videos when he was still like a shit 20-something that was lowkey problematic. 

He stans so hard for Britney Spears and Carly Rae Jepsen and he got Carly in one of his collabs and he could not stop smiling and fangirling and he is literally all of us.

He is very, very vocal and honest about his sexuality and sexual history. He has a lot of Body and Sex Positivity videos and speaks very bluntly about the importance of self-esteem and body image and safe sex.

(One of his most popular videos is the one with him candidly speaking about having HIV and he talks about his mistake with unsafe sex and all the terrible stigmas around the topic. He talks about how it’s both a physical and emotional struggle, and he also talks about treatment and awareness and prevention and seeking emotional help to combat depression).

He arranges a collab with Jason bc they are alike in that they always speak candidly about issues and struggles and have like the exact same sense of dry, almost scathing humor. Whizzer meets Marvin bc Marvin is like “Jason, there is no way you’re meeting a strange man who you met over the internet. I am definitely going to be the one that goes with you.”

(Awkward moment when Marvin and Jason get to Whizzer’s apartment, and Marvin and Whizzer’s profiles light up with one another from one of those websites like Grindr). Whizzer has like lowkey commented on Jason’s videos before with lewd comments about his hot dad, but like this is so not what Whizzer had been expecting?? Yeah, at the end of Whizzer and Jason’s collab video, Whizzer puts like a small blooper reel and it’s him continually flirting with Jason’s dad (who’s behind the camera) and the Internet suddenly has a new fave ship.

(Marvin and Whizzer totally messaged each other and hooked up like the next day).

But like, they keep the budding relationship very underwraps bc they both really don’t want it to affect Jason’s channel and neither really think at first that their whole arrangement will go anywhere close to serious because Whizzer has never been in love or had a steady boyfriend and Marvin cannot hold a relationship either even after his divorce.

But of course they fall in love, and of course the internet knows something’s up. Whizzer keeps vaguing on Twitter about the new man in his life with weird tweets like “I can’t believe I’m deliberately sleeping with a man who UNIRONICALLY knows every word to Allstar” and “get you a man who always sends that courtesy ‘thank you.’ text after you send him a dick pic.” And when Whizzer vlogs, he always makes sure to keep the camera trained on himself but you can see that his eyes are always looking away as he’s like smiling at someone who does not want to be on camera. Also, Jason’s weekend vlogs have cameos of Whizzer in them now.

They mess up when in one of aforementioned Jason’s vlogs, there’s a grainy clip of Marvin and Whizzer in the background and Marvin kisses Whizzer’s cheek. The internet loses their minds

(After nine/ten months of dating, Whizzer and Marvin abruptly break up and neither really acknowledges it. However, weeks after their break up, Whizzer decides to make a story-time video about this fucking asshole boyfriend that broke up with him over a chess game. He wanted it to be like both petty but also very funny because that is such a ridiculous story, but like when he’s editing it, he notices himself being like on the verge of tears in some parts and being overly bitter and tense, and he never uploads it and he realizes that he isn’t over Marvin like he had said he was).

(However, Whizzer does end up making a story-time video later about how Jason’s baseball game brought him and Marvin back together).

After they get back together, they’ve worked out their issues and are couples goals now and they do not hide their relationship and Marvin makes cameos in both Whizzer and Jason’s videos/younows and it is incredible.

Through Jason and Marvin, Whizzer and Cordelia meet and they become best friends. They collab all the time and they complain about queer struggles and they talk about their relationships and get drunk on camera and be weird, loud idiots and those videos get tons of views.

And Whizzer gets candid about how he’s always felt like alone in the world and hasn’t really had the opportunity to rely on anyone but himself but through Jason and Marvin, he meets Cordelia and Charlotte and Mendel and Trina, and even though they might not get along all the time and some people are closer to other people, they’re all his family and he never thought that he’d really have one that close before. It’s one of his most vulnerable videos.

The most successful videos on all three’s channels are the collabs of the three of them together: Jason and Cordelia and Whizzer. And they become like one of those Youtube cliques that collab all the time and tweet about each other’s videos constantly and always hang out with one another at all the events like Vidcon and Playlist Live. 

[blschaos3000-blog]

Its 3:52 pm

Welcome to “8 Questions with…..”

In doing this series and especially of late,I have been really blessed to be able to talk to a lot artists that I have on a “wish list”. These are people whom I really want to talk with but I don’t think I’ll get a chance to. Ashley Kate Adams was on the list. I first was introduced to Ashley Kate and her talent when the cheetah and I watched a excellent film called “1 Message“. Its a story about a young woman who gets breast cancer amd who is slowly falling into a deep depression. When the young woman meets a man online while tracking down her family tree,the connection changes her life on so many levels. This is a movie that I loved quite a bit and I thought Ashley Kate Adams did a great job in what I found later was her feature film debut and she was only 21 when she filmed it. Since then I have been following her career and chatting once in a while on Twitter. Last week I decided to take a chance and ask Ashley Kate for a interview and to my surprise answered “Yes,I do” within 5 minutes. While we were talking,I asked about her new big project,”Boy Hero” which is set during the 1954 Senate Comic Book Hearings and where publisher Williams Gaines and his legendary EC Comics were grilled because of the content.  It was also during the height of McCarthyism and the Hollywood blacklisting,a dark and despairing time (as well as a forgotten period). As soon as we as a society are allowed ,Ashley Kate is kicking “Boy Hero” into high gear and we’ll be posting updates on how the film is progressing. * As you can see,Ashley Kate is a woman on the go,go,go!!  I am so happy that we got a chance to catch her in mid-stride so she could slow down enough to answer her 8 Questions…….

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your latest project?

Hello! My name is Ashley Kate Adams & I am an actress, producer & writer living in NYC! Right now we are so excited to be introducing Frankie! The Musical Cast Concept Album to the world. It releases this Friday, May 29th, on Broadway Records and will be available everywhere music can be streamed. Frankie! The Musical (@frankiemusical) is written by 16-year old Composer and light, Elise Marra. The album is produced by AKA Studio Productions & Mitchell Walker!     Our other main project is “Boy Hero”, a feature film inspired by the Comic Book Trials of 1954. I wrote the 1950’s period film which was inspired by a panel I saw called “When the American Librarian Saved Comics” by Carol Tilley. The film is rounding out development and will be Produced by AKA Studio Productions, Pigasus Pictures & AR Productions and will film in Cincinnati! Please follow us (@boyheromovie) for more exciting updates on fundraising development and production of the film. 

(Michael Kushner Photography)

How have you been coping with Covid-19 pandemic? How are you staying creative and focused?

   I have been thinking a lot about this recently. I’ve been coping with Covid-19 productively. I think many things prepared me for this, the main being thing being the sudden loss of my father in 2016 to cancer. During that time I had to learn to balance many things in conjunction with being completely gutted out with grief. During that time I turned to creating to heal myself and process my emotions so during this pandemic I have followed suit. I’ve actually been working at home with my production company since 2011 so that routine feels like a continuation. We were very lucky, we had just gotten many incredible projects like Frankie! in the can before it felt as if the world froze. Now these projects are able to bring joy to others during this time. On Friday’s I’ve been going LIVE with #BYOP to lead conversations on Grief & Productivity for the Creative @ashleykateadams on Instagram. It’s been important for me to try to help folks navigate this time! 

 When did you first catch the acting bug and what was the reaction like with your family and friends?

I don’t know if I ever caught the acting bug I was kind of just born into the industry. It is what our family does as our family business. You know some families might have a restaurant or a heating & cooling company, we are performers. My parents, who also majored in musical theatre in college (that’s how they met) were VERY honest with me about how hard my future was going to be to move to NYC and pursue this full-time but they knew it was what I was called to do. And I got to make space here for my sister 10 years my junior, Audrey Belle Adams, who recently began her adult career also based out of New York City. 

 How did you land the lead role in your first feature film “1 Message”? What three things did you take with you from the experience? How important is faith to you?

I actually landed my role in “1 Message” thanks to my father. He pitched me at a dinner meeting where the director happened to be. I then auditioned and got the role. That film taught me a lot. The first was that leading a film and being on camera 14 hours a day, 6 days a week is an extremely challenging job. Which leads me to the second thing, I learned how to treat actors on set. The “1 Message” experience is one that seeded in me the need to become an independent film producer to make sure I was always taking care of my actors in an extremely supportive way. Environment, transparency & discernment are everything on a project. The third thing I learned was how strong and aware I was even at a younger age on set. Faith is important to me. It is important to me to believe in something much bigger than yourself. 

(Michael Kushner Photography)

   Which do you like more? Doing TV/film work or live theater and why?

I love both equally but for different reasons. Right now I am very much falling deeper in love with film. I love learning and because I was raised literally at a theatre, in film there is still so much to learn for me. I love each new project on any side. It’s a blast to me navigating each nuance! 

(Michael Kushner Photography)

 What  have been the three pieces of advice given to you in regards to being a performer?

Wow! Great question. “Your best secret weapon is yourself”. That was taught to me by the head of my musical theatre program at CCM, Aubrey Berg. He was correct. I would say the next is to “Be a kind person who people enjoy working with” from Sandra Rivera of Dancensation Studios and the most recent from this past winter break  to “Keep saying yes to the right things and keep expanding” from one of my high school mentors, the great Gail Benedict. 

(Michael Kushner Photography)

 What roles challenge you most as an actress and how do you adapt to make the role yours?

Wheeew. For me the biggest challenge of my actor life was doing “A Christmas Carol(e)”, a one- woman show, directed & written by Alex Freeman. It was terrifying because it was only me on stage for 70 minutes. All I could do to survive it was to walk through it and continue to adapt. Every. Single. Second. I had to be truly present without a fourth wall. There was no protection, no sheen. I love hiding behind characters. I revel in it. It allows me space for courage to be more vulnerable. I’m a weirdo, my prep is usually reading, researching and then I adapt my breath and body. Everything else just kinda happens. The magic of acting! 

 How did the idea for #BYOP come about? What makes a good producer in your opinion?

#BYOP (Be Your Own Producer) came from seeing the need for it. As a producer, actor and creative I can only take on so many projects full time at once but #BYOP allows me to be available to you and your project on an hourly basis. It also teaches content creators how to producer so they can become sustainable and independent! During the pandemic it expanded to teaching these intentions in a group digital setting. The brand is continuing to grow and diversify. In development are many exciting new pieces, perhaps something you could listen to and something you can hold. Stay tuned and be sure to follow @ashleykateadams for updates! ! ; ) 

(Michael Kushner Photography)

You created a one woman show called “A Christmas Carole” for the theater, where did you come up with the idea and how hard is doing a one person production on a nightly basis?

I helped to create the show but I cannot take credit for the idea or writing on that one, that was my creative partner in crime, Alex Freeman. We put it up in 6 days with the help of our two amazing stage managers. It’s exhausting and exhilarating doing a one person production. I lived like a nun during the day to stay calm and preserve all of my energy for the performances. I still can’t believe I did it! 

 How important are awards to you as a performer?

Awards are not important to me as a performer, but the respect and nod that comes because of them is appreciated. I got my first best actress award in 2018 for Alex Freeman’s two-hander “Love” at the New York Theatre Festival. It’s hard being a woman in the business on every side. Especially as a Producer. So when a group of people decide not only that you  “did well” but that you should be “acknowledged”, that is nice. 

You love to sing,what makes a good song and which three Broadway scores would you love to sing if given a chance? Who is your favorite singer/band at this moment?

I do love to sing! It’s a part of my identity even though I’ve been more internal as of late with my creativity. I would say three Broadway scores I would love to sing through would be “Waitress”, “Sunday in the Park with George” and “The Sound of Music”. My favorite singer is my sister, Audrey Belle Adams @abelleadams, always and forever because she has the most flexible vocal instrument I have ever heard and my favorite band right now is M.N.O.P. @MNOP_music. They have rockin’ folk punk music, a kick butt lead female singer & a really cute drummer : ) 

 How important is self-promotion to you and your career? 

Self-Promotion is a large part of a creative career. In the age of social media & “influencers”, it has to be. I have not always been good at it. I had to learn to produce others to get comfortable producing & promoting myself. 

 What do you like to do on your down time?

In my downtime I like doing yoga, going on walks, listening to true crime podcasts, reading, taking class and spending time with my loved ones. 

 The cheetah and I are flying over to watch to you in “A Christmas Carol(e)” but we are a day early and now you are stuck playing tour guide,what are we doing?

If A Christmas Carol(e) played NYC and there was a day off I would say to spend the morning in Central Park, afternoon around Bryant Park popping into the Strand Book Store & the Bean coffee shop and to spend the evening in the theatre district enjoying an OPEN Broadway. Late evening in the village hopping venues and listening to live music! 

(Michael Kushner Photography)

  I want to not only thank Ashley Kate for chatting with us but also for being inspired to make “Boy Hero”. I cut my fanboy teeth reading EC Comics growing up. When I read William Gaines bio and found out just how close that comic books were to being banned,it was shocking. Without Gaines and a slew of others,including many librarians fighting this censorship,there would no “Star Wars”,Marvel or DC or many cultural icons we take for granted today.     Like I wrote before,this is a forgotten piece of American history and much respect to Ashley Kate and her production team on making this film to hopefully remind us of what we almost lost.

Ashley Kate has several different ways that you can keep track of her and her various projects.

You can follow Ashley Kate on her InstaGram page. You can check out Ashley Kate’s next project via her IMDb page. You can also follow “Boy Hero” on InstaGram as well. You can also visit Ashley Kate’s personal website by going here.

Thank you for reading and supporting (and sharing) Ashley Kate’s interview. Feel free to drop a question below and stay tuned for updates about “Boy Hero”. You can also read past “8 Questions” interviews by going here.

8 Questions with………..actress/producer Ashley Kate Adams Its 3:52 pm Welcome to "8 Questions with....." In doing this series and especially of late,I have been really blessed to be able to talk to a lot artists that I have on a "wish list".

[prochazkovap-19]

5) Can we tweet things into being?

The technologies we use have their consequences. They’ve meshed themselves with our lives so fully that we aren’t the same without them, and they certainly aren’t the same without us. The process in which they’re are made is not independent from day to day life, human needs are built into the design. The idea that humans can somehow transcend the tools they use, unaffected, has been proven to be an oversimplification. What we control controls us back (Latour, 2007). 

Social media is a powerful force in our lives thanks to the attention that we give it. It only reflects our experiences and realities because we’re there, sharing, liking and commenting, creating value as we do so, with our brains getting actively addicted to the jolts of adrenaline that readily available daily sources of outrage provide (Nakaya, 2014). This is not a new phenomena, and modern technology did not magic it into being, rather, it’s a culmination of the collective choices that we have made, party due to our natures, partly due to our circumstances. However, this reality has never been quite as as urgent and quite as transparent, allowing itself to be easily broken down into data points and spread worldwide. 

Just like the technologies we use have their effects on us as people, the public sphere expanding and democratizing, there’s a process of immersion of the online world with the offline one, with its questionable ethic standards and anonymous feeds, affecting the ways we both report on politics and do politics, an increasing polarization and ambivalence combining in ways that have yet to be explored (Zuboff, 2019).

One of the first major worldwide Twitter trends of 2020 was World War 3. A reaction to the United State’s drone strike, which killed an Iranian major general Qasem Soleimani, this trending topic is the perfect example of the power of social media. The moral panic that arose on not just Twitter, but subsequently traditional media as well, neither helped solve an already tense political situation, nor did it help people understand said situation more fully. What it did do, however, is satisfy the parts of our brains that have gotten used to watching tragedies unfold in real time, coaxing extremely high emotional reactions out in the process. With constant overflow of information and stimuli, it can be hard not to get overwhelmed and checked out, and it’s only pieces of content that are extreme and exaggerated that find ways of piercing the defenses we’ve built up in order to protect ourselves from the endless flow of information, sensensionalized for the very same reasons. 

Livetweeting a world war that isn’t yet happening is just the last example in an endless stream of people trying to feed the addictions that the platforms they use and the corporations that host them have created, a pavlovian response if there ever was one. But the market has a way of adapting towards the trends that create the highest revenues. And, perhaps for the first time, the power to create the biggest conflict might have put into the hands of the many, not the few - because, after all, the biggest conflict would bring the biggest ad revenues.

References:

LATOUR, Bruno. Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network-Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Signet Books. ISBN 9788574603902.

NAKAYA, Andrea C. Internet and Social Media Addiction. Missouri: ReferencePoint Press, 2014. Signet Books. ISBN 9781601527615.

ZUBOFF, Shoshana, Robert W. SNYDER a Malcolm MILES. The age of surveillance capitalism: the fight for a human future at the new frontier of power. 2nd ed. New York: PublicAffairs, 2018. ISBN 9783593439631.

[deviouslydescriptivedevil-blog]

Love and me, the loneliest digit

What is it that makes people attracted to one another? Science says that its a response to hormones that are projected from our bodies. These hormones trigger a chemical reaction within our brains to create the emotions: Love and lust. Thus creating attraction to one another, or-at the very least- another. And to an extent this is what happens, but its only one component of an even bigger system. Ever wonder why we don’t have heat cycles like every other species of organisms on our planet? Its because we’re intellectually advanced, were capable of preference, and unlike animals we have the luxury of variety. Animals operate off of survival of the fittest. So naturally, they select the strongest mate in order to breed the strongest offspring.However, we use a much larger set of criteria to determine our mates. Some of us look for people who are cute, or who has the biggest bust, or phallus. Others search for fair skinned people, or dark skinned partners. Some of us search for smart mates, or even stupid ones. It all depends on preference, that being said what is the most common preference? What is it that males or females look for most in a mate? Well that’s simple, all we need do is turn to any piece of media to find out. Women commonly search for physically fit, charming, funny, and “cute” men. All of which I’m not, I’m chubby, smart, serious, and eccentric. Thus far I’ve yet to encounter another person who finds me attractive. I’ve never gotten a valentines, or at the very least had someone try to subtly choose them as my Valentine’s. And if I’m being honest its rather saddening. What about me is so unappealing that I’m not even worth approaching platonically? I don’t think I’ll ever get a proper answer, but I hope that I’ll grow into a better version of myself. Maybe one who can shed these insecurities and self doubts. Otherwise it’ll just be me. And I really hope it doesn’t come to that because one is the loneliest number.

[mi5016ranchan]

Written Reflective assignment

During my years at university, I have gained and developed my skills in relation to animation in hope of finding a job in an applicable industry with my skill set and knowledge. As I am still developing my skill set and improving where I can, I’ve also began to expand my presence into the wider world.

My main aspirations are to work in the games industry because I have a strong interest for video games, which as a medium I believe it to be exciting. One of the reasons that I feel strongly about this is that the medium is always innovating as time progresses and has been a constant source of inspiration for me, thus I would personally like to give back by helping with the creation of future games for a new generation of gamers and creators. As someone who really enjoys stories, world building and strong narratives not just in games, but also in film and animation, I wouldn’t mind working in the animation industry. What appeals to me, is how fiction can be conveyed to bring emotional impact to an audience and to make them think about the concepts that they are being shown, even if they knowingly see what is in front of them isn’t real. Speaking as a person who has grown up having been influenced by the tales of other people, I also want to breathe life into my work and to share them too.

During this module, I’ve gotten a better understanding of the various types of industries and their workflow, through the many speakers that came to talk to us throughout the year. Not only have they talked about the processes that they had been through, but also the qualities that is desired when finding a job and the etiquette needed when working with a client. All of the speakers were highly successful in their respected fields, all whom were equally passionate with a drive to create work, and in short, they loved doing what they strived to make. Chris Lavelle, one of the speakers whom worked with projection mapping, had said that a job never feels like a job when you’re having fun. From this, I came to the conclusion that it was appropriate to find a job that you enjoy doing rather than sticking with a job you dislike, even if the profit you make is lower or having your name associated with a specific brand. I also came to an understanding, that I will have to be bold and persistent if I was to start getting companies to look at my work.  

My skill set is still evolving and changing but I will defiantly still need to improve in more ways than one. However, ever since I’ve came into university, new applications and knowledge have been introduced to me, software such as Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Audition,  Autodesk Maya, Render man, Nuke, Dragon frame and Unreal Engine, I have gained new skills technically as well as the ability to think critically. Software that I’ve previously had experience with, mainly Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, I have been able to use proficiently than ever before. On a weekly basis, I use Photoshop for personal work and is the most proficient software that I can use where I can say that I am confident at using. One personal skill that I’m particularly fond of is creating art. Since before entering university, I have been drawing as a hobby but also, I have been collecting a few art books based on games or creators that I liked. I am an avid fan of Japanese Manga and anime, which has been a source of inspiration for me for long time now. In addition, I regularly follow artists on social media and platforms that specialise in illustration i.e Pixiv, Deviantart. I wish to keep improving my craft so that not only that it will help my portfolio, but to also create consistent pieces at a level where I’m satisfied in making.

My skills as a person have had a bit of change. I’ve become a bit more confident ever since I had begun to live by myself in a new city. The many presentations where I had to stand up to speak in front of everyone had some impact, although I do still feel that I have a long way to go as I am naturally shy and self-conscious. As an artist and a content creator, I have improved just a bit, through observational studies, story boarding and film studies. I’ve also been applying the things I’ve learned to personal projects and to hobbies. Learning about composition and colour theory has helped me to understand a bit more about how I go about to make my work stand out in addition to analysing the pros and cons of my work efficiently. I also learned that personality can play a large factor when getting a job, and if I was to evaluate myself, my best traits would be that I am honest, creative, kind and virtuous. On the opposite end, I can be stubborn, shy, depressed, and sluggish. These are traits that I will have to conquer and hopefully, won’t be excessive enough to hinder my prospects at finding a job or while employed.

In order to achieve my goals, I will need to be persistent at contacting people and to also improve my work, where I can showcase it at a professional standard. As said before, overcoming my shyness will be my biggest hurdle that I will have to overcome. I believe I should start small by following people of interest/studios on social media before going to events or places of interest (possibly conventions as well) and get to meet people physically. Building relationships takes time and I understand that being desperate won’t help. Apart from physical relationships and connections, building an internet presence will help me immensely, and as learned from this module, will attract awareness from the public and members of the industry, thus I have tried my hand at starting one. So far I’ve made Social media accounts on Twitter, Linkedin, Tumblr and Facebook. Video sharing sites are also vital to having a presence, in which I have made a Vimeo and YouTube account to post my work. If a person of interest happens to follow me or likes my work, then that is a sign in the right direction. To project myself further, I have started to brand myself using my real name as well as designing my own logo. Using the tips from a previous speaker who specialised in branding, I have tried to keep in mind how simplified my logo must be, so that it can be seen from various sizes and so that it can be recognisable from a glance. It should also be designed to sell myself as a person, giving it a form of personality.

As my work is seen by the public eye, I will have to be mindful of the various ethics that can affect my audience. I understand that being culturally insensitive/ignorant can bring about a negative reaction towards me, the community, and the industry. As such, I will always attempt to do thorough research about the concepts that I choose to put into my work, before finalising ideas and the actual product itself. Being mindful about health & safety practises is also top priority in both the workplace or in general. As someone who has a weak constitution, I make sure to take regular breaks and to have an ergonomic working space i.e sitting up straight and facing the monitor at the correct height. I also intend to reduce work accidents by being conscious around my environment and encouraging a healthy workplace with my peers where possible.

By having a healthy relationship with my co-workers, it can increase productivity and morale, therefore increasing the chance of releasing a better product. While I aspire to work in the games industry, I am aware of the numerous issues that the gaming industry faces. An ethic that I feel strongly about is how a studio/publisher/company perceives itself with their target audience, in which they should aim to strike a balance between business and trust. A recent example of this problem is the way EA (Electronic Arts) handled their “loot box” controversy, where they decided to release a full priced AAA game that included usable in-game items and characters (which can greatly enhance the skill of the user), that was tactlessly locked behind a paywall through the use of the “loot box” system, which essentially the customer had to gamble in order to get their desired item. The game encouraged you to spend real money into buying these “loot boxes” as the other option was to spend a ludicrous amount of hours to unlock just a few items/characters. As a business practice, this would maximise profits but as it turned out, many gamers and fans of the franchise began to criticise EA’s practices and consequently tarnishing the brand as well as losing the trust of the target audience. In my opinion a company would naturally succeed if they have a product that performs well and rewards the audience generously. Having a mutual trust with one another is beneficial to everyone no matter what industry you work in.

In conclusion, this module has helped me to gain a good foothold towards a clearer path after university, and how I should go on to increase my presence, show casing specific skills depending on what the employer is looking for and gained an idea of what other companies look for in a potential employee and colleague. Although I still have a bit to go before working professionally, I’m quite glad that I’ve gained some learning experience that will be of great use sometime in the future.