Deciding what career and industry is a major choice and a decision that is probable to change as one grows up. I personally know I went through a flurry of professions from being a fashion designer to authour! Before eventually deciding on a career in medicine, I previously considered a career in media after starting and enjoying my GCSE course in media studies. Consequently, I decided to search for work experience in media so I could gain an insight into what a career in media might behold. It was during this search I was introduced to the Ideas Foundation, an organisation that offers 13-19-year olds the opportunity to work on creative brief from a range of global companies.
The Experience
The brief that I had to complete was an advertising campaign for Mrs Peringuine’s Home for Peculiar Children, a Tim Burton movie that was about to be released by 20th Century Fox, where we would essentially be working as creatists/ campaign advertisers. The only requirement of this brief was to make the theme peculiar to fit in with the movie’s theme. This flexibility allowed our creativity to roam free and gave us more than enough ideas and concepts to work with. To complete this brief, I was put into a group with other people taking part and together we created our own campaign. The aim of the campaign was to raise anticipation and awareness of the movie, as it was a new movie based off a less known book. The campaign my group created incorporated all of our different skills from time management to Photoshop and drawing skills.
Whilst we were working on our campaign, campaign advertisers gave us a talk and also answered our questions on working in the industry. This was useful as they helped to answer questions that we had. Taking part in this project developed my skills in media production and my general creativity, through having to think outside of the box for this brief. Moreover, after completing the project, everyone who took part was offered an opportunity to join the organisation’s ‘ladder’ programme. This programme allowed young people to learn and develop skills required for work in the creative industry and to have more opportunities in media related work, develop their skills.
Highlights of my Placement
The best thing about this opportunity was the fact the brief and company were both real, not fiction. Furthermore, I can now write on my CV that I have worked for 20th Century Fox, which will stand out in my CV. The work that my group and I did on this brief was presented to advertisers who work for 20th Century Fox; some of the ideas we presented were actually incorporated into the advertising campaign for the movie. Furthermore, after presented to the 20th Century Fox representatives, we were able to mingle with them; through doing this, we were able to get contacts from Fox, and more importantly in media, and possibly get further work experience/ placements in media. This was hugely beneficial for any considering to continue in media. In addition to this, I, along with others who worked on the brief, were invited to a private screening of the movie at their film corporation ltd in Soho. Overall, taking part in this work experience gave me and enhanced my skills in a range of areas.
My Final Piece of Advice
Although I am no longer pursuing a career in media, the experience gave me a depth of knowledge and was thoroughly enjoyable; this experience is one that I never would have imagined myself having. It’s important to gain a wide range of experience in varying fields, alongside the field you want to go into, as you never know if you will discover a new passion, be exposed to a unique opportunity or will develop transferable skills!
Whilst this experience of mine was over a year ago, my interest in media still remains and recently having the opportunity to visit both Twitter and Facebook have been memorable and insightful experiences. The media industry is thriving and new job opportunities are constantly arriving, making it a thrilling prospective career field that definitely should be considered.
