09/01/2025:
We received the brief for the final project of B1 today. The brief is about preparing me to be a professional in the media, creating a brand for me. As I have already done a film and podcast piece, I will do a written piece for this project. I also understand that as well as a written piece I need to also produce an infographic, a showreel, work on my social media presence and redesign my website. All of this is in aid of preparing me for the media. The project is due 14th February.
As a class, we mind mapped what we could do for our piece.
I was interested in the idea of writing a narrative interview about myself to promote myself on the internet and social media, so those who read can get a good understanding of me, my work and my career aspirations. To do this I could interview myself, record myself answering some questions about myself and then use that to help me write up a narrative interview. I have already done the majority of the research about the media and the career I want, and of course I have knowledge about myself. However, I will need to research what to include in my narrative interview, to determine what questions I need to answer. I could embed the interview into the article, and do a two way interview with myself, asking the questions to myself and answering them. I can also reflect on what the future could hold for me and the landscape of media in 50 years. I will talk about my experience in my studies and how it will fuel my progression.
SWOT MATRIX:
STRENGTHS + | WEAKNESSES – |
It is about myself, which I am most knowledgeable. | A lot of work to do in not a lot of time |
OPPORTUNITIES + | THREATS – |
The two previous projects also feed into this project so I can use the research from them to help me in this project. | Could be short for time with all the tasks needed to be completed |
13/01/2025:
Today I need to visualise the final product, create an elevator pitch (style, angle, format, influences, what you want to get out of the product), and set a detailed timeline for the project.
The deadline is February 14th. I would like to have the final product finished by 10th February so I can use the remaining days to publish, reflect and evaluate the project. This week starting Monday 13th January I'm going to use for pre-production, so I will plan the project, conduct research and prepare for production. Next week, beginning 20th January I will be in the production stage, where I will do the interview and then start writing up my narrative article. The last two weeks will be for post-production, editing the written piece and formatting it into a magazine layout. This may take some time as I have never done this before, so I need time to learn the software. It also give me time to finish the re-deign of my website and social media sites. Then on the week of the deadline I will publish my final product and reflect on the process. Throughout I will also work on an infographic and showreel and also re-design my website and social media.
Style: Narrative interview, light and entertaining, some humour, 1st person
Angle: My career goals and experience in media so far
Format: Written piece, narrative interview, 700 words, formatted into magazine layout using Adobe InDesign, it will feature pictures
Influences: Past work of mine, narrative interviews from online news
What you want to get out of the product: A clear insight into my career goals, and motivations, show interest in presenting and being on camera
Elevator pitch:
Hi I'm Rachel, and I'm working on a project about my brand. As someone who is training to be in the media industry it is important to have a strong public presence and my current work is all about that. I will be re-designing my website and social media to promote me as a professional and display my best work, aswell as writing a promotional narrative interview about my experience so far and career goals.
To write my elevator pitch I used my previous one that I did for my FMP and a pitch template from this website: https://asana.com/resources/elevator-pitch-examples
Website re-design:
I need to plan my website re-design so I can make the best portfolio to display all my work and my brand.
I need to consider who uses my website and for what reasons.
I use my website to host my work, I want to display my best work on the front page so that it is easily accessible and I want a showreel or video introducing me so that when new people visit my website they get a good first impression of me.
Visitors if my website want to use my page to view its content. All content must be easily viewable and accessible within 2 clicks at most. The website must be easy to use and engaging so that visitors will stay on the site longer, view more of my work and will be more likely to return. This can all help in establishing an audience for my work, people who like what I produce and trust my work.
I also need to express myself and my unique selling point on my website to attract potential employers or clients. As I prepare to enter the media industry, my website will act as a portfolio of my work to show potential collaborators what they can expect from working with me and what I bring to them - why me? I need to show people that they should choose me to work with, or my documentary to watch, or article to read instead of others. I need to sell myself on my website and I can do this through my unique selling point (USP).
I first need to determine my USP so that I can lead with that when planning the re-design.
Unique Selling Point (USP):
To determine my USP, I researched:
I need to consider what I do well, what my competitors do well and what the clients (audience and potential employers) want?
My USP could be signature style (my aesthetic, how I produce my work, my speciality), industry experience or a complimentary add-on (what extras I can bring, other skills).
To display my USP I will use visual storytelling. The best way for someone to understand my USP would be to show them, through videos, pictures, infographics ect.
16/01/2025:
We looked at the history of infographics and how they are used in journalism and the media industry. Then we had to create an infographic about a topic of our choice.
I chose to compare different social media sites and their pros and cons. I was inspired to do this by looking at infographics for inspiration. I found examples like these:
I'm going to create an infographic comparing Instagram to Tik Tok for content creation. I used canva to create the infographic and found a comparison infographic template which I customised:
References:
I have learnt that infographics are really useful to get information across. It is easier to look at a picture than read a long bit of text and is more engaging. I can use infographics for my FMP maybe as part of my video and for promotion. I learnt how to make an infographic which is a useful skill and I realised how often they are used in the media.
17/01/2025:
I started getting ideas to re-design my website. I went on Pinterest to find inspiration for my website. I created aboard of pins for inspiration https://pin.it/3cI8hMBGz
20/01/2025:
I need to create a list of questions to help me write the article. I can also consider asking people I have interviewed for testimonials. I plan to do the interview with myself and use that to inform my website re-design as it should help me define my USP and tell my unique story to connect with my audience.
Ideas of questions:
Who are you?
What are your interests?
Where are you from?
Describe yourself in three words
How would others describe you? Your family/friends, the people you interview, fellow students?
What is an average week like for you, what do you get up to in terms of working towards your career goals?
How did you get into studying journalism?
What are your career goals?
What do the next 5 years look like for you?
How are you on camera? Are you confident?
What is your favourite element of journalism?
Do you like being on camera or off-camera?
What is your favourite thing that you have done so far? A highlight of studying journalism?
How are you going to progress from studying journalism?
What is your biggest takeaway from studying journalism? What advice would you give to others who want to follow in your steps?
What would you say to a younger you who dreamed of this career?
If you could go back to when you started this journalism course what would you say to yourself? (advice)
What has been your biggest challenge? How did you overcome it and learn from it?
What are your targets for the remainder of your journalism course?
What is your dream job?
What made you want to study journalism?
What was your dream job as a child and how has your personal experience influenced your dream career?
How do you plan to achieve your dream career?
What impact do you think you can have on the world?
Why do you want to have your dream career?
What is your main goal in life?
Do you think you can make a difference?
What is your biggest strength?
What is your weakness?
What opportunities do you have?
What threats to your career goals do you have? Is it hard to achieve?
What is it like studying journalism?
What hobbies do you have?
What do you do outside of journalism?
How have past studies informed your current studies?
What is unique about you? What can you bring to the table that others can’t?
What are your thoughts about the industry’s state now?
What are your skills?
What skills are you currently working on improving?
What motivates you?
What environment do you work best in?
What are you looking for in a job?
Describe your ideal job
Do you have any safe options? Are you considering other jobs?
Why should people work with you?
Why should people watch your content/films?
What do you want people to know about you?
What are your best qualities?
What may others think your worst qualities are?
SWOT MATRIX:
STRENGTHS + | WEAKNESSES – |
Have planned the project and are preparing for production. | There's a lot of work, I need to do the written piece and format it, re-design my website, and create an infographic. |
OPPORTUNITIES + | THREATS – |
I have re-designed my website before, so I have past experience to help me and it should be easier. | The formatting of the written piece may be hard. |
23/01/2025:
I need to condense the questions and then answer them, making notes to help me start writing my article.
I'm going to split it up into sections. I will start off the narrative interview with introducing myself and sharing information about me. Then I will talk about my dream career and what role I think I can play in the world. After that I will talk about my current studies and goals for the next 5 years or so. I will finish it off with what I have learned, what I aim to do in the future and advice for people who may want to do similar to me. These segments won't be visually visible as it is a narrative interview that needs to flow throughout.
Narrative interview planning:
Segment 1:
Who am I?
Who are you?
I am Rachel and I'm 18 years old. I am from Derbyshire in the East Midlands. I currently study a BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Journalism.
Describe yourself in three words
Ambitious, passionate, committed
What hobbies and interests do you have?
I love writing, watching tv and films, dance, fashion, motorsports
What is unique about you?
Some things that are unique about me are that I like making films
What are your skills?
I'm good at writing, I am confident in front of the camera,I am good at editing using software like Adobe Premiere Pro and Audition. I'm a good teamworker, a natural leader, and work great independently. I am very creative but can also think practically.
What motivates you?
My main motivation is wanting to prove that the biggest dreams are possible. No matter where you come from, what barriers you have to break and how hard you have to work anything you put your mind to is achievable. It's not easy, but its possible. It requires a lot of willpower and strong desire.
What are your best qualities?
My best qualities are problem solving, teamwork, persistence, initiative and creativity. I have a range of qualities that I have gained throughout my education.
Segment 2:
Dream career. What's my goal?
What are your career goals?
I have many different goals but all of them are in the entertainment industry. I am not someone who wants to be tied down by expectation or convention. My career goals are to do a range of different projects as a actor/presenter, be on camera and also create my own films and tv shows. The industry is very dynamic so I will see where opportunities will take me.
What is your dream job?
My whole life I have wanted to be in the creative or entertainment industry. I grew up dreaming of being a performer and that has been my main dream as I grew up dancing. However that career path is filled with so many uncertainties and is very hard to achieve. So when it came to picking my studies I often thought about picking safe options, and picking journalism allowed me to follow my creative passions, but also gave me the opportunity to show myself that I was able to be on camera which is the main goal of my career. I want to be an actor and presenter, and when everyone asks me what I want to do I just say that I want to be on camera. I'm extremely ambitious and won't stop until I reach the top. I have never dreamed of an 'ordinary' job or life, and wish to have my goals achieved as soon as possible. This is informing every decision I make and is inspiring me to take risks to do the things I want rather than play it safe.
How do you plan to achieve your dream career?
To achieve my dream career I need skills, experience and most of all connections. My main priority needs to be networking to get a foot in the door if the industry because that is the only way that I can prove my skills and potential. I need to take every possible opportunity and make my own to increase my chances. I want to be on camera, so I'm focusing on that, trying to make my own short films and documentaries gaining experiences and credits that I can add to my CV, building my portfolio. I also want to do a range of things to show my versatility and spend time learning, researching and practicing to gain new skills. I need to reach out to people and create a network that I can rely on. There isn't a map of how to achieve my goals from where I am currently as it isn't very common however, I will be the one to show that it is possible.
Why do you want to have your dream career?
I have been passionate about the entertainment industry my whole life and love being on camera.
Segment 3:
Current studies and present goals
How did you get into studying journalism?
When it came to picking my post-16 studies I decided that I wanted to do a BTEC and I wanted to study in the city, because of the work experience I did in Year 10. Although I was good at academic subjects I didn't find enjoyment in them and chose to follow my creative passions instead of continuing on to do a-levels. I chose to study journalism as it felt like the perfect option for me; I had an interest in presenting on camera, in motorsports journalism and content creation and it also was a course that provided many opportunities to gain practical skills, like being on camera. Even though I still had other goals in life, I chose to study journalism as the best course for me considering different elements such as what the course entails and the skills I would gain to help me in the future.
What do the next 5 years look like for you?
I'm going to complete my BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Journalism, then most likely progress to university study. I will focus on my studies and making the most out of my time at university. Hopefully by time I leave I will have good connections, and have a great portfolio. Then I will try to get presenting and acting gigs, maybe during my time at uni aswell as after, and hopefully it will be substantial enough to be a career. I want to make a few short films in the next five years and hopefully submit them to festivals and hopefully they will find success. The career that I'm chasing is not easy and may take many years and I may have to fall back on safe options but I need to make sure I have a range of skills so that I can give myself many different options. I need to explore different career options and my plans may change over time as I get into the industry.
What is your favourite thing that you have done so far? A highlight of studying journalism?
My favourite thing I have done so far is my short documentary 'Dare to Drive; A Woman's Race'. This is the best quality piece I have made and took a lot of time, effort and resilience to complete. I love the outcome but the process was also very valuable, I got to talk to some big names in motorsport, and enjoyed the creative freedom I had.
What is your biggest takeaway from studying journalism? What advice would you give to others who want to follow in your steps?
Studying journalism has taught me to create as much as you can. Experiment with your work, its okay to fail on a project, because each time you make a new film, podcast or article you are learning from it and gaining experience.
What has been your biggest challenge? How did you overcome it and learn from it?
My biggest challenge has been facing imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is when you feel inadequate or like a fraud despite your achievements. For me it often felt like I didn't belong in the industry and I don't have the right to do the work that I do, mainly because I feel I don't have enough skills or experience. This really affected my motivation and interest in the things that I am doing. Like when making my short documentary about motorsports I felt that I didn't have the right to interview the drivers and talk about the subject, because I don't have a lot of experience and my knowledge may be limited, which caused a lot of apprehension. Especially when I am reaching out to interviewees, I often procrastinate to avoid doing it because I feel like I have to right to do so. This is something I still deal with and may always have however the way that I try to overcome it is by having belief in myself, reflecting postively on my past work, and faking it because confidence is key, even if it is not real.
What made you want to study journalism?
I wanted to study journalism as I had an interest in motorsports journalism. It looked like an interesting career and I have always wanted to work in the creative industry. I also wanted to get some foundational skills that I can use in future study and work. Most of all, I wanted to prove to myself that I could be on camera. Studying journalism has provided me with many opportunities to present on camera and shown that I have a confidence in doing so. This has helped me realise that my goals of being in films and on TV is achievable and has motivated me to pursue my dream career.
Segment 4:
Takeaways and conclusion
Personal Statement:
My UCAS application was submitted today and I posted a blog about my personal statement, how I wrote each section, what I considered when writing it and why I wrote it.
Website Re-design:
I started re-designing my website. I started by re-naming it and adding a new page dedicated to Trackside Rachel, where all motorsports work will go, so that my website can incorporate all of my interests, which is why I changed it to just my name, to make a brand for myself. I haven't yet got a design in mind, so I will continue looking for inspiration, but I will focus on the About Page, filling it with detail so people can get to know me and then work on the Trackside Rachel page to put all relevant content there. I will re-organise my page so that it is ready for the media world.
About me:
I did some research on what to include on an about me page.
What value do I give to my audience?
Who is the audience of my website?
Why should someone read my blog posts?
What will they get out of my posts?
Which types of posts do I make?
Why does my blog have credibility?
How did the site start? Incorporate the history of the website and how it came to be what it is
Blog objectives
Testimonials and positive feedback
Contact details (on contact page)
Photo (of me and my work)
Include links to social media and other important things
Show my achievements
Understand what your audience wants, and describe how you meet them
My story to help people connect with me as a brand
The values of my work
Credibility
A call to action for my audience
A video, my showreel
I'm planning on asking people I've interviewed for a testimonial. I want to tell visitors of my website my story and connect with them aswell as displaying how I am unique.
I will be able to complete the other parts of the website re-design once I have interviewed myself and identified my uniqueness and how I should convey my interests and goals.
25/01/2025:
I added photos of myself to my website. I'm answering the questions about myself to help me start writing the piece, I'm not going to record interviewing myself as it would take more time editing and instead I'm going to edit a showreel for my website and make my portfolio for university.
27/01/2025:
I answered the questions about myself. I changed the email on my contact page.
30/01/2025:
Today I am starting my first draft of the article. I first researched narrative interviews to get an understanding of how they work and tried to get some inspiration for how the structure it. I also looked at my previous narrative interview for inspiration. I compiled all of my answers from the questions, and went through to highlight key points that I want to use in the article. Instead of using all of it, its best to just focus on a few key ideas and explain them well.
I wrote a first draft. I focused on describing me in three words and using those to explain my dream career, and what I have done so far to pursue it.
I used my first draft to practice using Adobe In Design. As it is a new software for me, I need to spend time learning how to use it, so that when it comes to finishing the piece I can easily format it into a spread.
I watched this video to learn about Adobe InDesign:
Notes:
Zoom= ALT+ Mouse Scroll Wheel
Pan= SPACE+ Left Mouse
Interface on the left has all tools, like direct select tool, zoom, pan
At the top is action bar
Quick access to tools on right
Add new page to create a spread, can delete by clicking on page on right side control
Master page controls what happens on over page, can use to get things on other pages like logos
Layers: Go to Window, turn layers on, get a new pop up, can put on quick access tab
Layers put things on top of each other, can create different layers for images and text
ALT+ Drag to copy
Create the text layer using the text tool on the left side
Layers allow for text to be placed on top of images, can turn off layers on right side
Can lock a layer, and if you try to move it you can't, but you can still move another layer which isn't locked, only selects unlocked layers when you drag to select
Go to layout at the top, select create guides, can chose the number of columns and rows, can change the gutter to narrower or wider
To import images and text go to rectangle frame tool on left tab, drag to how big you want the text or image to take up, how many columns and rows, find image in files and simply drag and drop
Change fitting on imported image but right clicking on image, selecting fitting and chose either fit proportionally to fit frame or content proportionally or squeeze image so its 100% in the frame leaving white top and bottom
You can also just drag and drop and image and it will create a small thumbnail and you cab drag it to enlarge and can frame it
Preview using W key
To add text, go to left, hit type tool, change properties in right tab
If the text gets cut off just drag down and it will reappear
Create a text box by clicking type and just dragging
Can fill with placeholder text by right clicking and choosing the option
Can change the fill or stroke of text, select text, go to appearance and pick fill or stroke option
Fill= inside colour
Stroke= outside colour
CTRL+ Z= undo
I had a go at formatting my first draft in In Design:
31/01/2025:
I worked more on my portfolio for NTU, making notes for my written statement that will go with my portfolio
01/02/2025:
I wrote my about me information on that page. I looked at other blog sites for information. I gave information about myself and my journalism studies. I added titles and split it into segments to make it easier to navigate and more engaging. I added a number of different elements to my home page, including a photo gallery, graphics and information about tracksiderachel. It is more visually engaging now, which will hopefully make it a better experience for viewers of my website.
I looked at all of my pins (from the browsing of website designs on Pinterest) and identified features I wanted to include in my website, which helped me re-design the layout to be more visually appealing, whilst keeping the colour scheme I had already established in my previous re-design of the website, as I thought that was still on brand for me. Instead I chose to play around with the sections and elements, particularly on the front page as that is the first impression, so it must be engaging, to encourage people to look at my work. By doing this, I merged a range of different designs together, to find the perfect home page, that was creative but also practical.
Once I have edited together a showreel, I will find a way to put it on my home page so that it is the first impression people have of me.
Home page re-design:
I kept that same colour scheme that I had from creating a brand last year. I added more pictures because from looking at other websites I realised they are very visual rather than focusing on text, its more engaging and eye-catching when you use more images, and it will help people get a first impression of myself and my interests. But I also wanted there to be information and links that take people to other pages where they can get more detail.
I also changed the social media links from the tracksiderachel ones to the TikTok and Instagram accounts under my name, and the tracksiderachel social media links are available on the tracksiderachel page. I also made sure the buttons for the about page and tracksiderachel page were linked to the pages so that they would take viewers directly to the content they want to see.
03/02/2025:
I asked Jemma Mccarthy for a testimonial. I received one saying "It was a pleasure to be interviewed by Rachel - she was extremely professional, had clearly done her research and was very engaging to speak with".
06/02/2025:
I added a testimonial section to my home page and put the one I had received from Jemma in it. I also added a blank section where I plan to put an infographic, however I decided not to make an infographic for the website home page as the page already seems like an infographic, with a mix of text and images telling the story. I want the website to be as visually appealing as possible need. I will use an infographic elsewhere. I will also work on a logo for my brand and website. I'm using Canva for my logo like I did for my Tracksiderachel logo. I want to find a suitable template and then edit it.
I started by starring templates that I liked and then I looked at all of them and identified features I liked.
I also added a Spotify icon to my tracksiderachel page and the link to the podcast so people can go to the Spotify page there or listen on the podcast page.
Re-writing my narrative interview:
I'm going to re-write the article paragraph by paragraph. I started by just writing what I thought. Then once I have done that I can bring all of it together, picking out the best points into a 700 words article.
I wrote a second draft of the written piece.
Then I put together my first and second draft and compiled it into one, picking sentences and paragraphs from each one. I am telling the story of my interests and how they make my dream career and how I plan to achieve my dream of becoming an actor from where I am now in my studies.
The draft has came out to 710 words. I like this draft however I feel that I still need to edit it.
I can add an infographic on my about me page, could format all info into one.
I added vector art to my the bottom of my home page. Instead of using text for the titles, I just used these icons and put some small text under so people know what is available.
07/02/2025:
I used Microsoft Clipchamp to edit together a showreel. I made a minute and a half video out of the footage I got from filming in the studio.
I uploaded it to YouTube and then put it on my home page of my website with its own section.
10/02/2025:
I edited the contact page of my website to add social media links. I also looked at the mobile version of my website and edited things to look smoother and deleted certain elements for the mobile page, to make the website experience better. I added new tags to all my B1 posts, for informing ideas, communication, problem solving, technical skills and professional practice.
13/02/2025:
I read through my draft again, and made any final adjustments.
I am now going to format in into a magazine article using Adobe Indesign.
I researched magazine layouts for inspiration and found this as inspiration for my design:
I like the two different colours on each side, I will use the colours from my website colour scheme for this as that is part of my brand.
I first used the rectangle tool to create a box that was half of the spread. I found the colour number and went to windows, chose colour, and added the number from my website.
Then I added another rectangle and imported a photo of me to the top of it. After I started adding text. I researched fonts to use in Indesign. I chose Book Antiqua after trying a few different ones, and used the bold one for the headline and pull quote, and the regular for the copy. I used the colour tool in windows to change the colour again.
This is my final design in Indesign:
I found it easy to use, however it wasn't simple and finding how to change the colour of the text took time. I made a very basic design, with a image and basic formatting. I am going to export but also try out another software like Canva, which may allow me to create a more visually appealing magazine design.
Exporting was hard as there were different options that I didn't understand so I exported it using a type of PDF and when that didn't work I exported in High Quality Print and PNG. None of these options were working, as when I opened the file I couldn't see my design. Despite changing export settings I still couldn't see my design so I had to think differently.
I researched how to view your design without the columns and rows, so that I could screenshot my finished design.
I used this information to help me get a clear finished screenshot. This is my final Indesign creation:
I learnt about the justify tool, which I tested out. It can make pieces of text look more professional, so I will try it out on Canva.
I started using Canva to create a design. I followed the same design as I did using Adobe, as I liked the used of colours, however, I want to make it more visually appealing.
I couldn't get the text on the one document, so I am going to try to create a spread using two portrait documents.
I made two pages and it allowed the text to be bigger so it easier to read and I could add more photos.
I combined the two halves using google sheets and then took a screenshot of it.
Final product:
I used the justify tool on the text to make it look more professional and rounded. I added some more photos to the bottom and this is my finished product.
Reflection:
The project went well. I was able to re-design my website to make it more visually appealing and professional. I also applied for university and wrote a personal statement in hopes of progressing my skills and experience in the coming years. My main outcome was my written piece formatted as a magazine spread. I found using Indesign easy due to my research about it however it was hard to add elements so I used Canva as it has templates and a big library of content to use when designing the layout. I took inspiration from research of other magazine spreads. As the project was about me and my work I found it quite easy as I could use my knowledge and my website to build a brand for myself. When it came to writing the piece I found it easier than I did when I have written other articles, which shows my improvement as well as knowledge of the subject, which is my career plans. However one thing that I could have done better is finishing my written piece sooner so that I could have more time to experiment in design.
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