1st days at Uni

Tuesday 2^nd October and Wednesday 3^rd October

So the first week of Uni. Very exciting and rather daunting, considering I hadn’t been in formal education since the 90s I was a little worried about how I’d fit in and how I’d adapt to the situation.
But after my first few days I think I’ll be alright… I think HND is the perfect system for me as it is a practical course based on learning whilst actually doing the job rather than getting stuck in a class room bogged down by thick, waffling text books of theory.

The first two days of our course were all about finding our feet: meeting the tutors who will be our guides for the next two/three years; getting to know our classmates and exploring some of the venues we’ll be working at during the course.

The tutors are all very nice, they all have a great deal of experience in the industry and are all still working so we can rest assured that everything we are taught is up to date and significant to what we are learning. These guys exude practical knowledge and natural authority, leading from the front so to speak, this was one of the things that had originally attracted me to the Royal Navy over the Army and Air Force, Officers are much closer to the level of the Junior Rates and are much more willing to get stuck in with the lower ranks and work things out together rather than just sit back ordering people around.
Our tutors come across as very approachable and if we’re having trouble with the work we can go to them and work it out, I’m sure that I’ll be doing this quite a bit on this first year of the course. Whilst I’m comfortable with the more artistic elements of Production Art when it comes to the technical elements of sound and lighting I haven’t the foggiest what anyone is talking about. (I don’t think I’ve ever heard that many acronyms in conversation before, not even in the Navy, and they really do love those abbreviations!!)

My classmates are a lovely bunch, I don’t think I’ve ever fit in/felt accepted by so many people in one go. There are people from all walks of life, ages, creeds and experience. We already seemed to be getting on but thanks to the ‘getting to know you’ exercises we participated in we’ve really come together well and there is a lovely team spirit forming that I hope will follow us on all the way through into our future careers in the industry.
Plus we are already planning regular get-togethers to socialise outside of class which I’m sure will strengthen our bonds even more.

This first week we spent time both at the Matthew Boulton Campus and the MAC in Edgbaston. At Matthew Boulton Campus we spent some time in the control room with Ruth and Anthony, a space that I’m sure will become very familiar to us and I think we’ll be able to personalise a bit so we can make it ‘our own’. (We need a fridge to store all the energy drinks and milk for tea/coffee that I’m sure us production artists will be consuming in great quantities!!).
At the MAC we have yet to visit the control rooms but I’m sure we’ll be getting there very soon.

So after our first week of classes the future is looking very bright indeed!!
BRING IT ON!!