Wednesday, 22 April 2020

Bonus tasks

Below are a series of bonus tasks to keep you occupied over the Easter holiday. We have tried to prepare a range of activities that can be completed with a bare minimum of equipment, and, crucially, without leaving the house. Some activities do require some more intensive equipment requirements.

The idea behind this is to use the time you have in the most effective way possible, to do something useful, creative and rewarding. This is not Easter work because it is not work. We do not expect you to do all of these activities! You don't need to do any of them! So pick and choose whatever takes your fancy.

Complete a MOOC course


Resources required: phone/computer

MOOCs are Massive Open Online Courses. They are free, and they are created by professionals in the field. Therefore, they're an excellent way for aspirational media students to further their own knowledge, understanding and practice. Below are a few examples of media related topics you could be checking out:


Download the Adobe Creative Cloud suite


Resources required: computer

At the time of writing, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, students are able to access the Adobe Creative Cloud suite for free. This means Premiere, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, and, my own personal favourite, Lightroom Classic.

You will need to follow this link, and input your college ID and password. If you have any issues with this process, please email IT.

Become a Photoshop master


Resources required: computer

Photoshop is one of those tricky things with an extremely steep learning curve. However, it's a skill that can be utilised in a variety of job contexts, and not just media related ones. All you need is time, and patience. Get hold of photoshop by clicking on the above link, then simply search for Photoshop tutorials on YouTube. Your mileage may vary: everyone has different learning styles, so make sure you find a presenter/teacher who you can stand listening to for hours on end...

Create a macro photography portfolio


Resources required: phone/camera

With limited ability to leave the house, now is an excellent time to experiment with macro or close up photography. Most phones and camera have a macro setting, which will allow you to take in focus close up shots of corners, insects, your cats eye... anything really. Macro photography helps you to concentrate on composition, and creating abstract landscapes out of the most banal things. Give it a go, and why not set up a blog or an Instagram account to show them off?

Recreate a music video/work of art/scene from a film using what's around you


Resources required: phone/camera/computer

With artists around the world suddenly working with extremely limited resources, a number of online challenges have cropped up, including the 'recreate a painting' challenge. You can also use your phone or camera to recreate a still or sequence from a film or a music video.

It might seem silly, but it's an excellent practical exercise that artists have used for decades. For example, the director Hideaki Anno of Evangelion fame used found footage and clever camera angles to create a parody/remake of Ultraman while in the first year of university. This bold experiment allowed him to hone the skills to become one of the world's most respected animators and cinematographers, and even saw him directing the most recent Godzilla film!

And in the 1980's, a group of American teenagers used a cheap camcorder to recreate Raiders If The Lost Ark shot for shot, despite not having access to the film on video!

Become a film reviewer


Resources required: notebook, phone or computer

You're probably watching a lot of films and TV shows at the moment. Why not review them? Simply start up a blog (or, even better, just use your existing media blog!), and write some detailed (or simple) reviews of what you've been watching.

Watch films and TV and play videogames


Resources required: whatever you have lying around

This might seem a little silly, but the more media you consume, the more aware you become of media, how it's made, and how it relates to other forms of media. Here are a few examples of what you could be getting up to:

Sight and Sound magazine's top 100 greatest films of all time

Cahiers du Cinema magazine's  top 100 films

Weekly Famitsu magazine's top 100 videogames

Record a podcast about absolutely anything


Resources required: phone/microphone and computer

Podcasts are an excellent way of creating media with very little barrier to entry. My blog post here presents a brief tutorial of how to use the free audio editing software to create a podcast. You can also use Adobe Audition (see above for how to download it for free!) if your computer is good enough.