Introduction
My curiosity in Digital media stems from an interest in watching animated content like American cartoons and Japanese anime. But to modify that into a viable career was a tough choice as there were limited career opportunities in India at that time. But eventually I did follow my passion and did my undergraduate degree in BSc. Animation & Multimedia which gave me creative and critical foundation in animation, designing, storytelling. While trying my hand in various fields, I found my interest in storytelling through motion graphics particularly in eLearning as I felt a sense of satisfaction and happiness while doing it since my visual and intellectual skills were both at use. I have also had the opportunity to create eLearning content catering to Universities, corporates and manufacturing sector. Working for all these sectors has taught me many different aspects of design and animation, but I felt I faced challenges in creative design thinking and motion graphics which a master’s degree in Motion Graphics will help me garner along with enabling me to recognise the demands of clients.
LeaRNING GOALS
As I want to continue to work in eLearning industry after completing my masters, my main goal is to get better in -
1. Visualisation and prototyping – It is a vital part of being in any creative industry let alone in eLearning. Whenever there is a new project, the initial steps are to understand the needs of client and research and develop a prototype version which can be presented.
2. Motion graphics – As there’s so much learn in motion graphics, I want to further augment my skills in Adobe After Effects and Cinema4D. Expertise in these tools will open plethora of opportunities ranging from eLearning to creative media industry. So, my main aim is to create a blend of 2d and 3d animation video consisting of eLearning content which will perfectly showcase my skills. I am planning to enrol in school of motion training to learn some precise animation techniques.
3. Articulate – This tool is predominantly used in eLearning which I am planning to learn via online learning.
4. Time management – I believe I need to get better in managing my time and tasks, so I will create and follow an effective time management plan throughout my MA.
DEVELOPING MY SKILLS
During Semester 1, I tried working on some motion graphics skills that I didn't got the opportunity to work for a long time. Even though I have a professional working experience, i still feel that I lack in some aspects of motion design, for instance in 3d camera animation and human walk cycle, since there was hardly any work that involved these skills in my previous organisation.
While working the proposals, I gained hand-on experience with Adobe Xd and augmented my skills Illustrator whlist applying UX design principles. Furthermore, I think unless and until I practice one skill repeatedly, I don't feel confident, thus, I set myself task for each week to challenge myself and gain more confidence.
Below are some of the videos in which I tried and experimented in After Effects camera, particle playground and human walk cycle.
REVAMPING MY PORTFOLIO
As I am not particularly interested in learning to code, therefore I want a tool for my website on which I can drag drop my content. Though I have worked on Wix before, I found about Adobe portfolio in one my sessions with Ian Lock and after exploring into it, I decided to build my portfolio website with as it automatically transferred all my pre masters work on Behance to the website and it gives me 5 portfolio websites to design and host as part of my subscription. Also, all the options in the portfolio editor simple and easy to use and works well with Adobe software.
My previous portfolio on Behance consisted of all the work I had done through freelance and previous organisations. It was a good medium to showcase my work but I always felt that I needed to develop my website to display my own style of work .Furthermore, I have the freedom to change/edit visuals as per my needs.
Behance portfolio
SPECIALISATION MODULES
For the module option in second semester, I had chosen motion graphics since I first enrolled as it will provide an ideal platform to augment my skills especially in After Effects and Cinema 4D and engaging with live clients as well as working on individual projects which will help me in enhancing my creative thinking. It will also help me in my future aspects of working in eLearning where my designing and animation skills will be used as you can see in the image below.
Preferred area of study
CAREER GOALS AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
As an international student, I would need Tier 2 sponsorship to work in the UK. So, I researched and found the list of companies eligible to sponsor an international candidate, please see the list here - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/register-of-licensed-sponsors-workers. (gov.uk, 2020)
After researching jobs opportunities in my particular industry, I have segregated the list in 3 main sectors, the roles available and company names in eLearning (Sharma,2020). Please see the whole list in appendices.
Preferred organisations to work
Since I have a working experience of almost 7 years which includes handling and leading teams and delivering several projects, I will be looking to work at a seniority level. My dream would be to join the University of Winchester as a Lecturer or Digital learning technologist since after completing my masters I will be familiar with the majority of the staff members and how the teaching process work. Otherwise, my other priorities include eLearning companies like Skillsoft and Dayone technologies which are leading eLearning firms in the UK according to a research and consulting firms like Deloitte and Accenture which makes training courses catering to B2B sector (eTraining Pedia, 2020). I would love to join a Hampshire based organisation as I am familiar with the place but at the same time, flexible to relocate anywhere in the UK.
As I am writing this proposal, I started working part-time at a warehouse and noticed the warehouse work was related to the health and safety I made in my previous organisation. So, I showed a video to the warehouse manager who looked fascinated by watching it and promised me to set up a meeting after Christmas. So, if that goes well, I could start creating some health and safety training courses for the warehouse.
CONCLUSION
So, I would like to conclude by summarising my goals, objective and skills in a visual resource graphic to give a succint description of my future journey along with my CV.
REFERENCES & BIBLIOGRAPHY
Businesswire (2020) Lumapps COVID-19 Impacts: E-learning Market Will Accelerate at a CAGR of Almost 13% Through 2020-2024IStudent Engagement Through Gamification to Boost GrowthITechnavio (2020). Available at: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200730005334/en/COVID-19-Impacts-E-Learning-Market-Will-Accelerate-at-a-CAGR-of-Almost-13-Through-2020-2024Student-Engagement-Through-Gamification-to-Boost-GrowthTechnavio. [Accessed 01 December 2020].
Caroll, A. (2020) The Rise of eLearning: Is It Time to Jump On the Bandwagon?. Available at: https://webwriterspotlight.com/rise-of-elearning-is-it-time-to-jump-on-the-bandwagon. [Accessed 05 December 2020].
Gallagher, R. (2018) UK entertainment and media industry ‘worth £76bn by 2021’, Available at: https://www.insider.co.uk/news/uk-entertainment-media-pwc-europe-12650656 [Accessed 05 December 2020].
Li, C. (2020) The COVID-19 pandemic has changed education forever. This is how. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-education-global-covid19-online-digital-learning/. [Accessed 02 December 2020].
Sapient Consulting (2017) Sapient – Digital Transformation in Asset Management. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjJ1HIbw4KE&list=PLyeszfwJp3QWBuDvlI2yS5mbM93gFhkm_&index=2 [Accessed 12 November 2020].
Smith, J. (2020) Best 20 eLearning Companies in UK. Available at: https://www.etrainingpedia.com/elearning-companies-in-uk/. [Accessed 30 November2020].
