In College, I studied a UAL Creative Media Production Extended Diploma (basically a triple BTEC). As someone who’s not academically gifted, I knew a more practical and hands-on course such as a BTEC would be the right path for me. Therefore, when applying to university, I knew I needed a course that would further focus on practical learning, allowing me to expand my skills and get as much hands-on experience as I could to help me get the best out of my education. This is how I found Bournemouth University. With its state-of-the-art 4K TV studios (literally rivalling industry standard) and abundance of hands-on modules, I knew it was the uni for me.

Now, I’ll take you through my first semester (September – February) to show you a summary of what we do. So, starting with the studio projects, in groups of about 15 we did one 20-minute ‘Magazine Programme’ show. This included opening titles, end credits, news, weather, at least two VT feature items, at least one skype/zoom interview, and one studio or skype/zoom performance or demonstration. This was a lot of work, especially along with learning how to operate all the new equipment in the gallery and studio, but it was a blast. We had the whole term to prepare, having studio sessions every few weeks to get to grips with it all and the teachers were incredibly helpful.

Outside of this, we had even more practical work. Over the whole semester, we shot five 1–3-minute films in groups of 4-6 people. Some examples of the given briefs were to being “pick an emotion” and “colour and sound”. These open briefs gave us room to experiment and be as creative as we wanted to. For example, with the colour and sound project, my group had the idea to film ink being injected into a tank of water- you really could do anything -in fact, creativity is highly encouraged.

Then, at the end of the semester, everyone shot a solo short film, using the new skills they’d learnt throughout the semester.

Of course, there is still a lot of theory work that goes with it all; such as research reports, essays and more risk assessments than I can count on one hand. However, if you’re a hands-on media creative who wants to spend as much time with a camera as possible, then I couldn’t recommend Bournemouth University enough. TV Production has expanded my skills so much already, with so many great opportunities, and I’m barely halfway through my first year. I can’t wait to see how much more I learn in my 2^nd and 3^rd year where I continue to adapt and change.