Lo1: Analyse an interactive based problem
what are you trying to achieve?
A portfolio is a collection of your work that reflects your skills, experiences and attributes you want your potential employer to see. It is creative way to set yourself apart from other applicants, by showcasing your best work that highlights your abilities in your chosen field. I am creating a portfolio as it is important in the media industry because it provides proof of your skills to the employer and demonstrates you are qualified for the job you have applied for. Creating a network portfolio is also convenient to the employer as your accomplishments, goals and aspirations are accessible whenever.
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I would like to achieve a career in film production, specifically cinematography or video editing. I think a career working as a camera operator could potentially take me to all sorts of locations where I could see and learn more about the world. I also enjoy video editing and could see myself working as a video editor professionally however I hope that I work on a variety of projects that interest me rather that go into work and repeat myself every day.
I am selling to an employer my skills in camera operation as well as years of experience in video editing. My set of skills include a good understanding of mise-en-scene and colour correction, 3 years of first hand experience using DSLRs for photography and cinematography and the ability to edit footage t a high stand in programs such as premiere pro and final cut pro.
I have had a thought about which social networks I would like to include in my portfolio and I have considered LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter. I will go on to research these sites among others to decided which should feature in my portfolio.
I am selling to an employer my skills in camera operation as well as years of experience in video editing. My set of skills include a good understanding of mise-en-scene and colour correction, 3 years of first hand experience using DSLRs for photography and cinematography and the ability to edit footage t a high stand in programs such as premiere pro and final cut pro.
I have had a thought about which social networks I would like to include in my portfolio and I have considered LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter. I will go on to research these sites among others to decided which should feature in my portfolio.
References
JIST. (2003) Your career and life plan portfolio (2nd Ed.). Indianapolis, IN: JIST Publishing, Inc.
Kimeldorf, M. (1997). Portfolio power: The new way to showcase all your job skills and experiences. Princeton, NJ: Peterson’s.
Kimeldorf, M. (1994). Creating portfolios for success in school, work and life. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing, Inc.
Kimeldorf, M. (1997). Portfolio power: The new way to showcase all your job skills and experiences. Princeton, NJ: Peterson’s.
Kimeldorf, M. (1994). Creating portfolios for success in school, work and life. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing, Inc.
researching network sites
Social networks are perfect platforms to connect with companies and they act as you can use them to to represent yourself to employers. To create a strong network portfolio, I will need to consider which platforms I should use professionally and whether employers should have access to them.
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Facebook is the most popular social network in world; I even have a personal account myself. Many people say it is like the worlds online yellow pages; you can connect with new people and those who you have not contacted for years. Although it is used by many companies and is really good for social connections, I believe Facebook is more for friends and family so I keep my account private and inaccessible to those I am not friends with nor do I intend on creating a new account for business purposes. This is because of the website LinkedIn.
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LinkedIn is a business-focused social networking site that launched in 2003. Its main purpose is to help people network professionally. The site lets you find other business associates, clients, and colleagues whom you already know. You can post your key skills, qualifications, previous employment as well as references and tag keywords so employers can easily find you. LinkedIn is really useful for businesses looking to hire and it is a social network I would like to include in my portfolio.
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Instagram is a network that shares your life through images and videos. Businesses use Instagram to promote new products, events and advertise to it's 600 million users. Instagram is especially useful for photographers who want to share their work to their customers and potential employers. I don't think posting my media work on Instagram would be beneficial as it will already be on YouTube, embedded in my online portfolio.
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youtube |
YouTube is the number one video sharing platform on the internet that can be accessed on computers, smartphones, tablets, TVs and gaming consoles. It is the perfect platform to post my media work and create a show-reel of my work where employers can watch whenever they want. I think it essential that I create a YouTube Channel purely for my media work as my videos can be embedded on websites like Weebly where I can create my own online portfolio.
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Twitter provides you with the opportunity to network with influential people, and if you use Twitter in the right way, you can slowly build a following and become one of those people yourself. It allows you to find customers, stay on top of the news, be part of your community, learn new things and pass messages on. I think Twitter would be useful to me as it may keep me posted on whats going on in the world as well as connect me to people in the media industry that may benefit my career.
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the portfolio
To create my online portfolio I must firstly research which site will be right for me. This will be chosen by its initial layout, whether it is easy to use, and whether it can fit criteria my employers are looking for in a portfolio.
This video talks about what to include on Cinematography Portfolio websites as well as which website builders to use. The presenter makes it clear that the website should feature: no more than 9 of your best work with the best thumbnails, clear contact information easy to find, as well a link to your Instagram account.
platform research
Wix is the biggest and by far the most popular online website builder and hosts a 90 million websites designed for small businesses, restaurants, online stores and artists such as musicians and photographers. The interface of Wix is fairly simple and easy to use, all the basic elements of a website are straightforward to configure and an email tutorial is offered to all new customers. However some customers have complained about the time consuming process of building a website without a template and building elements not fitting together properly. Similar to how I created the look of my Weebly, I would start with a template and remove elements to create my own look.
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Squarespace is another best known brand for website building with a long trusted history. Squarespace templates are very attractive and have been known to be better than it's competitors such as Weebly and Wix. It also offers everything you need to get found in search engines and the sites are optimised for mobile devices. Squarespace is said to not be as easy to use as website builders such as Weebly and Jimbo, and also costs to use.
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Adobe Portfolio is a web-based service that lets you build a website for your best photography, design, video, and other creative work. It comes free with Adobe's Creative Cloud and is designed to build a portfolio of your best work. The site does not feature as many templates and build options as Weebly, Wix or Squarespace, but specific to creating an online portfolio. This may be useful as I would spend less time working around options I don't necessarily want to include in my portfolio that would feature on a website - as long as I can showcase my work and provide contact details, the site would do the job.
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Design layout
This website gives the employer an immediate impression of his quality and style of work. The lack of colour is substituted by content which tells us David Vollrath has a lot of experience and has worked with big companies (BMW and James Franco can be identified on the homepage. The simplicity of the website and ease of navigation is very effective and gives a clean and professional image of Vollrath as a Director of Photography.
This is the home page to the portfolio website of Sloan, an award winning South African cinematographer. Like David Vollrath's website, Sloan includes a collage of his best work on the website however this features after clicking the enter button. I think this is effective in enhancing the users experience however it may be annoying for employers who want to go straight to the product. Many portfolios feature a show-reel and best work collection on the home page so Sloan stands out to employers and shows them his image in the profession is very important and this reflects in his work. The home pages also includes clear social media buttons which could be hard to find on a home page like Vollrath's.
Peter Mosiman's portfolio website features his video show-reel above 3 of his best pieces of work with options to access his other work, under specific areas (e.g music videos, narratives) as well as his about page and photography. Each page is simplistic and is very content focused. Large images of his work give the employer a choice of what content to watch and tells them that Mosiman's is proud of his work and produces it to a high standard.
content and design - Contact
The three companies I chose to contact when researching design and content of online portfolios were the BBC, Sky and Changing Horizons.