Media & Photography
Former Media and Photography students share their experiences at Callywith, what they are up to now and what they are planning on doing next.
From the course
Grace
Progression: Media and Communications - University of Sussex
Courses studied: A Level Geography, Media Studies and Photography
Extra activities: Academic Academy
Previous school: Callington Community College
How are you finding your course / experience at university?
Obviously during these crazy times my university experiences have altered since my first year. However, I have just been making the most of it with my housemates, living with you best friends in an incredibly diverse city such as Brighton definitely has its perks. In terms of my course that’s a tricky one, we all miss in person teaching, but having recorded lectures and seminars that I can return to when I need extra help writing an assignment is actually really useful. We're all just hoping that next year things are back to normal.
How did your time at Callywith influence and support your choice of / transition to university?
I’m actually the first member of my family to go to university, and it was a really nervous time for me applying and even how loans work because I didn’t have a family member to explain everything to me. However, Callywith was amazing in explaining the process to me, and my parents.
What do you enjoy in particular about studying media?
To put it simply, media is in our everyday lives, it’s unavoidable. It’s a reflection of societies values and constructs which have major influences. I wanted to study Media to understand these themes better, to gain an understanding of the ways in which it controls us. It’s an extremely relevant area to study, where important topics such as race, class, gender and feminism is debated in most classes. We study the serious issues, and that’s what I enjoy most.
How have your A levels helped you in your degree?
Doing your A Levels is an extremely difficult point in your life, endless hours of revision and studying, but the truth is, it’s worth it. A-levels for me revealed the areas of academics that I really enjoyed, and provided me with notes and skills I still reflect on to this day. From key theorists to understanding the difference between quantitative and qualitative data my A level work still shows use in my university assignments.
What are your plans for the future?
The media industry is so vast I’m still unsure exactly what area I want to go into. From a personal point of view though, I would much rather work for a smaller independent company focusing of change and working with facts that bigger media conglomerates and Newspapers such as The Sun.
Holly
Progression: Film Production - University of Gloucestershire
Courses studied: A Level English Language, Media Studies and Photography
Previous school: Liskeard School
How are you finding university?
I am absolutely loving it. I have met some great friends on my course despite restrictions as we were lucky enough to have three in person lessons a week in first semester, which has really helped my initial progress as almost everything is practical group work.
How did your time at Callywith influence and support your choice of / transition to university?
My time at Callywith really helped me to become more independent and was a great stepping stone from school to university. The lecturers were incredibly supportive with everything, especially applying to university.
What do you enjoy in particular about studying Media at university?
I chose to study at Gloucestershire because the course had everything I wanted out of a film degree and Cheltenham is also a lovely town to live in. I love studying film as it allows me to be creative but the collaborative nature adds a nice social element.
How has your A Level Media Studies helped you in your degree?
Studying media subjects at college has really helped in my degree so far with practical skills such as knowledge of editing software but also group skills such as organising a shoot and working alongside a crew.
What are you hoping to do in the future?
In the future, I am hoping to work on feature film sets as a production designer or 1st Assistant Director, and it would be amazing if I could travel around the world doing this job too.
Matthew
Progression: Game Art - Plymouth College of Art
Courses studied: Level 3 Games, Animation and VFX Diploma
Previous School: Budehaven Community School
How are you finding your course/experience at university?
Although socialising and making new friends has been hard due to lockdowns, overall, university and the work has been fun so far and I feel like I'm being really productive.
How did your time at Callywith influence and support your choice of/transition to university?
I feel that the freedom given by what you can do on the Games Diploma course at Callywith is amazing in comparison to some other courses.
What do you enjoy in particular about studying Games Art?
I really like studying game art because I love digital art and think that many of the career paths that lead from the subject are just really fun, including (but not limited to) concept art, illustration icon design and even comic illustration.
How have your A Level studies helped you in your degree?
I would massively recommend doing the Games Diploma course at Callywith if you are planning on studying game art at uni. It quite literally puts you 2 years ahead of everyone else on the course. I am over half a year into the first year of this course and the lecturers have covered everything that I have already learned in-depth from the Callywith course, which has not only been great for confidence, but above all, this gives me the opportunity to focus on growing my skills without worrying about learning the programs or the hardware or even worrying about understanding any terminology the lecturers may use.
What are you hoping to do in the future?
In the future, I hope to go into freelance illustration/concept art and to make my own comics and illustrated novels.