1) What are you studying here and what year are you in?
I am doing BA (Hons) Media Production and am in my first year.
2) What did you study at Long Road and what results did you get?
I got an A in Media Studies, a B in Film Studies and a B in Photography.
3) Did you start uni straight away?
Yes, I worked in the summer and then came straight here. Actually that is one piece of advice I would give people, work out what you think you will need and then triple it. I would be so broke right now if I hadn’t worked in the summer.
4) How would you describe your experiences so far?
It’s a lot better than I thought it would be. I’ve just finished a soundscape for radio and the best ones get played at Siren FM, the community radio station. Everything we do is a lot of fun.
5) What do you like most about the course?
Definitely the practical side, they show you how everything works and you get an idea of how stressful working in the media can be. They talk you through all of the different roles in a production. It is a lot of fun.
6) How similar is the course to the media course at Long Road?
There isn’t as much focus on the theory, which is what I really enjoyed at Long Road. There is a lot more practical work than we did at Long Road.
7) How well did media at Long Road prepare you for media at University?
The experience I had of editing and also of Photoshop have been really useful. You don’t get as much help unless you ask for it but when you do ask for help it is always there. I think I would have felt quite lost if I hadn’t done media before.
8) What opportunities have you had to make industry links?
I’m not sure. Everyone is always talking about there being lots of opportunities. I know that someone got some work from an industry person who came in as a guest editor and really liked there work so offered them a job. I think that kind of thing happens a lot.
9) What do you think of the quality of teaching and the facilities here, rate them out of 10.
8-9. Everyone is very helpful. Sometimes it can be hard to get hold of people but when you are in touch they are very helpful. The facilities are great, I love the little TV studio we get to work in and I can’t wait to get into the big studio.
10) How many hours a week do you spend in lessons?
I have three 2 hour workshops a week, four 1 hour lectures and two 1 hour seminars, so that is about 12 hours contact time. But there is an expectation here to do a lot of independent study. When we were doing our soundscape we were in the radio edit suite everyday from 5-8 or 9pm, sometimes later if we booked the last slot of the day in the edit suite.
11) On a scale of 1-5 how enjoyable is University?
5, it’s great. There is good night life here and the course is brilliant.
12) On a scale of 1-5 how hard is University?
3 to 4, it is difficult. I think it does depend on how much knowledge you have when you get here. Some things are really easy to pick up but other things are really difficult. I found Photoshop tough to get the hang of. The reading they set can be difficult too, 60 pages on representation in soap opera, that wasn’t easy. All the books you need are in the library though so you don’t have to spend loads of money on buying them all.
13) Would you recommend this course to other Long Road students?
I would definitely recommend the course.
14) What do you enjoy most about studying media at Lincoln?
The practical work is good, and lots of fun. There are loads of places to socialise between lectures and I really enjoy the group work. Our whole class, 15 of us, made a comedy drama, it was great. We had behind-the-scenes people, camera and technical people and then the actors. It was great.
15) What is the next step for you?
You can pretty much go anywhere from Lincoln. I’d really like to get into editing or behind the scenes on a TV show, maybe a floor manager. I’d also love to go on the American exchange next year so I need to make sure I get good grades this year. I’m really enjoying myself here in Lincoln, it’s a great place.
